Author: staff
A woman in Japan has married an AI-generated character based on a video game persona, sparking debates about the intersection of human relationships with artificial intelligence. Yurina Noguchi, 32, a call centre operator, recently exchanged vows with Lune Klaus Verdure, a customised ChatGPT character she created. The ceremony involved her viewing it through augmented reality smart glasses and her wearing a light pink puffy dress. Noguchi’s journey with AI began when she sought advice from ChatGPT about her troubled engagement. Following the chatbot’s recommendation, she ended that relationship, according to local media. Earlier this year, she returned to the platform…
BRUSSELS ―European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU leaders at their summit on Thursday that the Mercosur trade won’t be signed as scheduled on Saturday and instead would wait until next month, two EU diplomats told POLITICO. Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he agreed to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s request to postpone the signature so she can reassure the country’s farmers that they wouldn’t be undercut by cheap poultry and beef, von der Leyen told the group, according to the diplomats. An eleventh-hour turnaround from Meloni threw into disarray a self-imposed objective of signing…
Published on 18/12/2025 – 20:43 GMT+1 The head of the UN refugee agency in Lebanon said on Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their home country. The US Senate voted on Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administration of President Donald Trump temporarily lifted the penalties by executive order. Lawmakers imposed the wide-reaching Caesar Act sanctions on Syria in 2019 to punish al-Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s civil war. The vote came as part of the passage…
Running out of money For weeks, politicians have been unable to agree on which version of a financing plan they want. Belgium, in particular, has been opposed to the main plan of using Russian assets frozen in Europe. Belgium, which hosts the bulk of the funds and fears it is especially exposed to legal action or reprisals from Moscow, has consistently opposed the move. Despite weeks of painstaking negotiations over the assets, efforts to bring Belgium around appeared to be backfiring this week, according to officials. The country adamantly opposes using the Russian money held by Euroclear in Brussels, and…
Updated: 18/12/2025 – 18:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 18th, 2025 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Life has always been dangerous for the 600,000 Rohingya children who live in chaotic, overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, but the US administration’s decision in January to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has made life even harder. That’s what the Associated Press news agency found in interviews with 37 children, family members, teachers, community leaders and aid workers. Violations against children in the camps have risen sharply this year, according to UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency. Between January and mid-November, reported cases of abduction and kidnapping more than quadrupled over the same time period last year,…
By Euronews Published on 18/12/2025 – 17:01 GMT+1 Housing affordability is deteriorating across Europe, but Portugal has emerged as the EU country with the most overvalued property prices. “The Commission estimates that the average overvaluation is most substantial in Portugal, at around 25%, surpassing other overheated property markets in Sweden, Austria or Latvia,” according to a report accompanying the European Commission’s affordability push. Prices, the Commission warns, are rising far faster than people can keep up with. “Price growth has been stronger than income growth, reducing affordability for potential buyers, with marked differences between countries,” the report said. “The countries with…
By Euronews Culture Published on 18/12/2025 – 17:35 GMT+1 FIFA is set to return to the video game market after announcing a partnership with US media giant Netflix. The agreement signals a new chapter in the world football governing body’s gaming strategy following its high-profile falling out with Electronic Arts, which produced FIFA’s video game franchise for three decades. For decades, FIFA relied on US games maker Electronic Arts to produce one of the world’s most profitable sports video games. That partnership ended amid disagreements over licensing fees, prompting EA to drop the FIFA brand name and continue the extremely popular…
Update: Selenskyj beim EU-Gipfel – warum russische Assets für die Ukraine stocken – POLITICO Skip to main content
Published on 18/12/2025 – 17:21 GMT+1 Russia is trying to exclude the European Union not only from the diplomatic negotiations but also from any future security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response to a question from Euronews at the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday. “No matter what signals Russia sends, we understand that they would like to exclude the presence of Europeans. This cannot be done,” Zelenskyy stated. Ukraine’s president explained that a legally binding commitment from the European countries and the US security guarantees are “different things”. European leaders vowed to protect Ukraine…