Author: staff
Published on 03/07/2026 – 13:35 GMT+2•Updated 13:38 A new artificial intelligence model from China is catching up to other leading American AI models. Called GLM 5.2, the company behind it, Z.ai, unleashed it just a day after the United States banned Anthropic from supplying its Fable 5 and Mythos models to non-Americans earlier this month, before the controls were lifted on June 30. Z.ai claims that its model’s performance is almost on par with Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 and OpenAI’s GPT 5.5. It also operates on a 1 million token context window, meaning it can hold roughly 750,000 words in…
Aegean has today resumed its air service between Athens and Paphos, returning to Paphos International Airport in Cyprus after an absence of several years. The first flight arrived in Athens at 6:31 am in the morning. From today, the connection between Paphos and the Greek capital will be operated with three flights a week, significantly strengthening passengers’ access to both the domestic and international network of Aegean Airlines. At the same time, it facilitates connections with key tourism markets such as Germany and other countries in Northern Europe. During a related meeting held last February, representatives of Paphos’ local bodies…
Following its world premiere in Competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski won Best Director for the second time after 2018‘s Cold War, Ojczyzna (Fatherland) is another monochrome historical snapshot focusing on a couple swept up by the tides of history. Instead of lovers, it centers on a father, German Nobel Prize laureate Thomas Mann (“Death in Venice”, “Doctor Faustus”) and his daughter, Erika. Thomas (Hanns Zischler) is heading back to his native Germany only four years after the end of the war. Having left in 1933 for the US, the returning national treasure is…
According to Michal, capitals should be more concerned about the cost of not deterring Russia’s Vladimir Putin because “the answer is measured not only in defence budgets, but also in lost lives, weakened security, disrupted economies and the price of rebuilding peace. Investing in deterrence today is far less expensive than paying for the consequences of aggression tomorrow.” “Supporting Ukraine is already increasing Europe’s security,” he went on, adding that “a Europe where Russia achieves its goals would be far more expensive than helping Ukraine succeed today.” EU leaders will grapple with the questions of defense spending and the bloc’s…
US Democrats are urging the European Commission to resist mounting commercial pressure and the Trump administration’s demands that the bloc scrap its methane rules, despite warnings that transatlantic energy exports, which are now the bloc’s second-largest provider, could decline if the rules remain in place. “At a time when the EU’s methane rules are facing increasing pressure to be delayed or weakened by fossil fuel interests, maintaining clear, consistent rules for all suppliers is essential to strengthening Europe’s energy security, while also reducing highly potent greenhouse gas emissions,” reads a 1 July letter sent by five US lawmakers, Sean Casten,…
By Sertac Aktan with AP, AFP Published on 03/07/2026 – 12:17 GMT+2 Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has defended her government’s response to the two devastating 24 June earthquakes. Facing intense criticism over an allegedly slow and haphazard relief effort, Rodríguez pushed back against claims that the official death toll is being under-reported and rejected accusations that poor social housing construction had exacerbated the disaster. The dual 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude quakes levelled nearly 200 buildings across Caracas and the hardest-hit northern coastal state of La Guaira, though satellite data suggests the true extent of destruction could be much higher. The official death toll…
Train enthusiasts will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a historic Swiss railway this weekend. Vintage steam locomotives will ferry tourists through the stunning Alpine scenery as part of the celebration. The Furka Pass, at an altitude of 2,431 metres, is among Switzerland’s highest Alpine passes and famous for its hairpin curves featured in the 1964 James Bond film “Goldfinger”. But long before 007 actor Sean Connery filmed a harrowing car chase scene there, a steam train first traversed the steep and winding route in a continuous journey on 3 July, 1926, kicking off a vital rail link between the regions…
The figures came after what scientists have described as Europe’s most severe heat wave on record, which stretched from roughly June 20 to June 28 and strained hospitals, disrupted infrastructure and affected power generation across the continent. The country’s health ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the country recorded an unprecedented spike in mortality during the period, including more than 530 deaths among people aged over 85 and around 180 among those under 65. “Such excess mortality during a heat wave is unprecedented in our country,” the ministry added. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke defended the government’s response, arguing…
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) administrator Alexander De Croo said on Thursday that the European Union’s long-term budget can balance defence and aid spending to ensure that Europe’s neighbourhoods are safe, as they are “two sides of the same coin.” “We see more military spending, and we totally understand that in the current circumstances,” he said. “But if you want that military spending to be as effective as possible, you will also have to invest in preventing that conflict from arising.” A stable neighbourhood means economic growth, democracy and peace, De Croo, also a former prime minister of Belgium, told…
A dog walker leads a group of dogs dressed in Argentina football jerseys through the streets of Buenos Aires as World Cup fever builds in the city. Footage shows the animals crossing roads and weaving along pavements while traffic and pedestrians pass by. The group moves through neighbourhood streets decorated with football imagery, turning the walk into a small tribute to the national team. The pack is known locally as ‘La Perroneta’ and is led by Nahuel Meneghini, who says the idea comes from his affection for the dogs and his support for Argentina. He says the group reflects belief…