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The two biggest names in European football never to win the continent’s biggest prize meet for a place in the final. It’s 20 years since Arsenal found themselves 14 minutes from glory, only for Barcelona to hit them with a couple of sucker punches; their continental roll of honour (one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, one Cup Winners’ Cup) is absurdly short given the size and status of the grand old club. Atlético Madrid have made more of an imprint in Europe, with three Europa Leagues, a Cup Winners’ Cup and three Super Cups, but the big one has eluded them as well: they’ve suffered the trophy being snatched from under their nose in excruciating circumstances not just once but three times, in 1974, 2014 and 2016, insult being bundled up with injury on the latter two occasions by good old Real Madrid.

We’re not quite at the Something’s Got To Give stage, seeing this is just the semi, and whoever gets through will be strong second favourites against either Bayern Munich or PSG. But something’s got to give at some point, surely, and reaching the final is the necessary step in making that dream possible. So here we are. Atleti were the better side last week in Madrid, yet Arsenal were nevertheless a contentious penalty decision away from a priceless victory. Mikel Arteta’s men were certainly the better side when the teams met during the league phase last October, though, scoring four goals in 14 second-half minutes. So both teams will fancy their chances. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. Extra time and penalties not beyond the realms. It’s on!

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Italian prime minister had received wave of criticism from people who believed deepfake pictures of her were real

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has criticised the circulation of AI-generated deepfake images of her, including one depicting her in lingerie, after they were widely shared online.

Meloni wrote on Facebook on Tuesday: “In recent days, several fake images of me have been circulating, generated using artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some overzealous opponents.

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Researchers say findings are not reason to shy away from restrictions as MPs consider ban in England’s schools

Strict bans on mobile phones in schools have “close to zero” impact on student learning and show no evidence of improvements in attendance or online bullying, a study has found.

Researchers at US universities including Stanford and Duke looked at nearly 1,800 US schools where students’ phones were kept in locked pouches and found little or no differences in outcomes compared with similar schools without strict bans.

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Inquiry set up by rightwing politician recommends merging major channels and slashing TV entertainment budgets by 75%

French politicians on the left and centre have criticised a parliament inquiry report that recommends sweeping cuts to public broadcasting, with a row over culture wars building before next year’s presidential election.

State broadcasting is a key topic in the run-up to April’s vote, with the far right, which is leading in the polls, highly critical of public TV and radio and vowing to privatise it.

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Activist’s latest arrest was in December and she has recently had two suspected heart attacks in prison

The jailed Iranian Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi is fighting for her life after being hospitalised under guard for the last five days with a heart condition, her supporters have said.

“We are not just fighting for the freedom of Narges, we are fighting so that her heart continues to beat,” said her Paris-based lawyer Chirinne Ardakani at a news conference of her supporters, adding that the 2023 laureate was now “between life and death”.

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ServiceNow acquisitions Veza and Traceloop join to monitor agents and AI workflows

ServiceNow announced an expansion of its AI Control Tower, transforming what began last year as a governance dashboard into what the company now describes as a command center for managing AI assets across an entire enterprise, including those running outside ServiceNow's own platform.…

A rough guide to when your signal will behave, or not

Shortwave radio enthusiasts are sure to know the problem: You're trying to tune in to your favorite global broadcast only to find that the signal is fuzzy. Is it you? Your equipment? It might just be the conditions in the ionosphere, which you'd know if you built this DIY device. …

Jake Bugg

The New Pornographers

Door heel Nederland zijn evenementen georganiseerd om Bevrijdingsdag te vieren. In verschillende plekken is, net zoals voorgaande jaren, grote drukte gemeld.