Author: staff

Published on 25/05/2026 – 9:00 GMT+2•Updated 9:32 Germany is launching a €125 million artificial intelligence (AI) competition to help Europe build its own frontier artificial intelligence labs amid a global race. The initiative by Germany’s federal innovation agency SPRIND, called “Next Frontier AI,” aims to fund companies that could eventually become Europe’s own OpenAI or DeepSeek. Next Frontier AI comes as governments across Europe are becoming more concerned about dependence on American and Chinese AI companies. “Germany is leading this because we have no time to waste in waiting for other actors to get in that space. A competition globally…

Published on 25/05/2026 – 9:12 GMT+2 The numbers are in, and it’s not looking great for Star Wars’ return to the multiplex. The Mandalorian and Grogu, the franchise’s return to the big screen after seven years, has scored the lowest box office opening for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the IP. The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian bounty hunter accompanied by his tiny companion Grogu, made $102m at the domestic box office (North America and Canada) over the US’s four-day Memorial Day weekend, contributing to a total $165m global box office. That’s lower than…

Recent data shows that 43 percent of European citizens avoid booking multi-train journeys, and 25 percent had issues with the current ticketing and booking systems. It is currently impossible to book cross-border travel under one single platform, and those who brave the railways for these journeys often find themselves unprotected if travel is disrupted. TravW1ellers end up choosing air travel, which is cheaper but harmful for the environment. The EU’s new framework will force national rail carriers and digital platforms to offer point-to-point, multi-leg, cross-border journeys via one single transaction and one single ticket. Passengers will be able to find,…

Published on 25/05/2026 – 8:01 GMT+2 Around 20 people were injured at a luxury shopping complex in central Tokyo on Monday after a man sprayed a substance inside, police and fire department officials said. Tokyo police spokesman Yusuke Koide told the AFP news agency that a man sprayed an unidentified substance at an ATM on the ground floor of the building, while a local fire department official said “around 20 people were injured” after a report of a “smell.” Roads around the building in the shopping district of Ginza, where the mall is located, were blocked off following the incident,…

Nothing gets you in the mood for visiting exhibitions like May – what better way to spend a Bank Holiday, after all? This week’s highlights include a unique new showcase of Edvard Munch’s works for a chocolate factory in Norway, while the Natural History Museum is launching one its biggest ever displays dedicated to prehistoric sea monsters. If you haven’t yet caught up on the Venice Biennale, take a look at the must-sees here. For movie lovers, there’s indie crime caper Tuner starring Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman, while found-footage horror Backrooms offers liminal chills (stay tuned for our review…

Lima, developed by Cascade Systems, a Ukrainian defense startup registered in the U.S., generates powerful jamming fields that disrupt satellite navigation. If satellite signals are blocked, Russian long-range weapons can continue flying using inertial navigation systems, but their accuracy can deviate by about 2 kilometers for every 100 kilometers traveled — meaning they are less likely to hit their targets. “When Lima is on, it makes missile deviation even greater. In addition to simply suppressing navigation, we use spoofing and the substitution of coordinates by several kilometers. We can make their missiles fall in fields instead of hitting their targets,”…

Published on 25/05/2026 – 7:30 GMT+2 On 13 May, the European Commission announced that travelling by train across Europe will become easier. The new Passenger Package offers citizens smoother booking options and stronger passenger rights. A 2025 Eurobarometer survey found that 25 per cent of respondents struggle to book multi-operator rail tickets. 22 percent cite limited options on ticketing platforms, and 76 per cent feel discouraged from cross-border travel due to the absence of single-ticket solutions. The way Europeans purchase tickets for regional, long-distance, and cross-border train journeys will change. By eliminating the need to book separate tickets across different…

With flight prices currently on the rise, short-haul city breaks are likely to be one of Europe’s biggest travel trends this summer as holidaymakers swap costly long-haul escapes for cheaper, easier getaways. Now, in the latest City Costs Barometer by the UK’s Post Office Travel Money, it has been revealed which European cities offer the best, and worst, value for travellers once they arrive in the destination. In its largest comparison yet, the annual report analysed the cost of 12 everyday tourist items for two people across 50 cities. Giving travellers a snapshot of what a city break could actually…

“C’était un débat plus humaniste que théologique, dans lequel certains représentants d’entreprises technologiques étaient personnellement investis — quand d’autres sont restés dans les éléments de langage”, poursuit le même. “La réunion montre en tout cas qu’une partie du Vatican ne rejette pas la technologie en tant que telle, mais veut la mettre au service de l’homme”.  Les participants conviés par la Human Technology Foundation préparent une note de synthèse issue de ces échanges. Elle sera transmise à l’ambassadrice française au Numérique, Clara Chappaz, avec pour objectif d’influencer les débats sur le numérique qui auront lieu dans le cadre du G7,…

Published on 25/05/2026 – 6:10 GMT+2•Updated 6:13 Polls for mayoral elections in some 749 Italian municipalities reopen on Monday following the first day of voting on Sunday, the final electoral test before the 2027 general election. More than six million Italians are eligible to vote in the election to elect mayors and new municipal councils in 700 municipalities, including a regional capital, Venice, and fifteen provincial capitals. According to local reports, Sunday’s poll saw around 46.5% voter turnout, slightly lower than the previous election, where turnout was recorded to have been 50.1%.was recorded to be 50.1%. The run-off, for municipalities…