Author: staff
In a joint statement on Sunday, Merz and his counterparts in France and the U.K. — together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — called for “direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia with active U.S. and European participation” and set out five conditions to achieve peace, including an immediate and complete ceasefire. The current contact line between Russian and Ukrainian forces must be the starting point for negotiations, the statement read, and Ukraine must have “robust and legally binding” security guarantees in place. Russian assets must remain frozen until the Kremlin “ceases its war of aggression and compensates Ukraine for the damage…
Published on 08/06/2026 – 12:15 GMT+2 Residents in the western Afghan city of Herat told the AFP news agency they had witnessed several women detained by the Taliban government’s morality police, in a crackdown over clothing which has drawn criticism from the United Nations. The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Sunday it was “concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat Afghanistan for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements.” Taliban authorities rule according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law and have gradually tightened restrictions on women since returning to power in August 2021. Women nationwide must…
New round in the banking consolidation game. Intesa Sanpaolo, together with Unipol, a move that will also have repercussions for its investee Bper, on Monday launched a public purchase and exchange offer (OPAS) worth 30.6 billion euros for the entire share capital of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) banking group, in which the Italian state still holds a small stake through the Economy Ministry. Unipol will propose to Bper, of which it is the main shareholder, a merger with the Siena branches, from which a post-merger group would be created under the name Banca Monte dei Paschi. To…
By Anna Desmarais & AP Published on 08/06/2026 – 11:54 GMT+2 Apple will be setting its artificial intelligence (AI) agenda at its annual developers conference this week. The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), an information technology conference held annually both online and on-location in Apple Park, regularly focuses on software updates. Apple touted Apple Intelligence integration into its new operating system, iOS 27, ahead of the conference. Expected new AI features include improvements to Image Playground, which is rumoured to generate more lifelike images, and an upgraded Genmoji feature that would proactively suggest custom graphics based on a user’s photo library. The centrepiece, however,…
When it comes to visiting Turkey, Cappadocia is high on many people’s bucket lists. How could it not be when the UNESCO World Heritage-listed landscape, known for its fairy chimneys and underground towns, is best viewed on a sunrise hot air balloon ride? For the complete experience, visitors to Cappadocia need to stay in a cave hotel – and now there’s a stunning new option for you to book. Located next to Ortahisar Castle, one of the region’s most iconic landmarks, Elika Cave Suites Cappadocia, Curio Collection by Hilton is the brand’s first-ever cave hotel. “Our objective was to preserve…
“All this will be duly denounced by the Republic of Cyprus where appropriate,” Papadopoulos said. “The defense minister will today inform the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy [Kaja Kallas], and will also inform the European Council during its proceedings,” he added. The ministers were flying to Cyprus on Monday for a meeting of EU defense ministers on the island. Cyprus is the current holder of the six-month rotating European Council presidency. Radio communications with the aircraft were disrupted by controllers operating from the Ercan airport near the town of Tymbou in the Turkish-controlled northern part of…
What do AI mogul Sam Altman, Democratic Party firebrand Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump all have in common? All three want the public to have a stake in the AI boom. What they cannot agree on is how much. The OpenAI chief executive met the Vermont senator in his Senate office last week at Altman’s own request to discuss Sanders’ proposal that the public take a 50% ownership stake in AI companies such as OpenAI, with the proceeds used to create a public wealth fund. Altman told Sanders he supported the general principle but could not back the 50% threshold,…
French singer and actor Patrick Bruel was taken into police custody on Monday as part of an investigation into complaints of sexual violence filed against him, the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office said in a statement, confirming a report by franceinfo (source in French). Questioned at the offices of the 1st district of the judicial police in Paris, the 67-year-old singer will have to explain himself to investigators about the allegations newly brought to the attention of the judicial authorities, which are now being handled by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office. Among the complaints are those filed by Daniela Elstner for attempted…
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday demanded both Iran and Israel halt the military attacks on one another “immediately.” “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Trump’s remarks came after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday night for the first time since the U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in April. Tehran said the attack was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon earlier that day. Although Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to reciprocate, Israel responded with strikes of its own during the early hours of Monday morning,…
More and more of us are using AI chatbots in our daily lives, whether it’s to ask for advice, help us with work, or conduct research. But what happens when these chatbots start pushing disinformation and conspiracy theories? That’s what information reliability rating platform NewsGuard discovered in a recent study. It’s well-known that you should be careful when using AI chatbots because they often make factual errors, but NewsGuard found that one called “Uncensored AI” is being deliberately used by popular conservative social media accounts to spread outlandish claims and appear credible. Uncensored AI markets itself as different from mainstream…