Cannes film festival: Clio Barnard’s absorbing tale depicts five friends who grew up together in Birmingham but now face divided destinies

With warmth and heartfelt passion, and a quintet of outstanding performances from young actors shot in looming closeup for so much of the time, Clio Barnard has created an absorbing and moving social-realist picture. It’s a film whose mix of poignancy, defiance and contaminated euphoria stayed with me hours after the closing credits.

It is about five young people from Birmingham who grew up together, reaching the end of their 20s, sensing a looming crisis and on the verge of a tragedy that is mysteriously growing from within their own increasing disparity. It is adapted by screenwriter Enda Walsh from the novel of the same name by Kieran Goddard, the statically rendered pentaptych of five consciousnesses in Goddard’s book being transformed into a fraught and dynamic home town drama with a sense memory of Fellini’s I Vitelloni.

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London’s Metropolitan Police – the UK’s largest police force – asked tech companies to give officers access to private communications data over 700,000 times in 2025 alone, according to figures obtained by The Register under the Freedom of Information Act. These statistics expose the monitoring of everyday platforms like takeaway delivery services, and also show a massive surge in the force's surveillance of the users of low cost MVNO LycaMobile. Additionally, our FoI exposed the acquisition of data from encrypted messaging services designed to offer privacy. Since 2024, the Met says that it has obtained communications data (CD) from Proton’s privacy-focused mail service users 139 times. CD is not messaging content, but metadata. In Proton’s case, this could include account payment details and, in some instances, IP addresses. Although Proton did not dispute these figures, a spokesperson told us: "Proton does not transmit data directly to any foreign law enforcement agencies," adding that it operates under a “strict legal framework” so all requests must go through the Swiss authorities. Requests for data that don’t meet Proton’s legal and human rights requirements are refused, which it has an "established practice" of doing, according to the spokesperson. The Met also claims that it has acquired data results from ProtonVPN, although the non-profit says this is "highly dubious and inconsistent with our technical reality [...] because Proton VPN does not log user activity, there is no data to provide," referring El Reg to its transparency report. “We engage with every request in good faith, but we simply cannot hand over what we do not collect,” Proton said. The Met’s data also suggests encrypted messenger Signal has provided data once since 2024. But this is also, apparently, contrary to records that the non-profit holds. A spokesperson told us: “Signal collects very little data about its users to begin with and publishes the requests we respond to at signal.org/bigbrother. We have not shared any user data in response to a legal request originating from the United Kingdom.” If data was shared by Signal it could only include phone numbers, when the account was created, and when the user last accessed the platform. When queried about the denials by both Proton and Signal, the police force said it couldn’t comment on the specifics of how it acquired the data. The Met Police says that all companies “have a legal obligation” to cooperate with officials thanks to the powers of the Office for Communications Data Authorizations (OCDA). The OCDA is now a part of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO), which monitors the select public authorities, law enforcement agencies, and government departments with the power to acquire comms data. But there’s some fog around authorizations for the police, according to Dr Bernard Keenan, a law lecturer and surveillance researcher at University College London: “When it comes to communications data and metadata, it’s seen as a less severe intrusion than intercepting or accessing the content of a message, and so while the police need an authorization to get it, the decision is delegated to designated senior officers. So it’s something that the police can do operationally, more-or-less autonomously.” Sources compromised In 2024, the year of the most recent IPCO annual report, it was found that these authorizations to all law enforcement agencies affected lawyers 219 times and journalists on 157 occasions. This came with a caveat: “Most [CD] applications relating to sensitive professionals were submitted because the individual had been a victim of a crime.” While CD does not contain message content itself, there remains a risk that contacts such as a journalist’s sources could be disclosed. Also in the report is the revelation that in 2024, 106 warrant applications were issued to specifically identify journalists’ sources, and under these separate powers, the request could also include the communications content itself. There’s no requirement to inform sensitive professionals they have been targeted in this way, and while ordinary law enforcement agencies need to seek a judge’s approval, intelligence and security spies are exempt from this. Tim Dawson, freelance organizer at the National Union of Journalists - who also convenes the International Federation of Journalists’ working group on surveillance - said: “UK legislation lays down clear guardrails for law enforcement agencies obtaining communications data, and includes protections specifically for journalists.” But he continued: “The NUJ does not consider these are sufficiently robust. More disturbingly, however, it is clear that they are sometimes ignored – just look at the cases around the attempted prosecution of Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney.” These two journalists were unlawfully spied on by the Met and Police Service Northern Ireland to identify the source of allegedly stolen police documents used in a documentary about paramilitary killings during the Troubles. The police had claimed that information revealed in the film had breached the Official Secrets Act. McCaffrey and Birney used judicial review [PDF] to challenge the police action and the court ruled that the searches were unlawful. 'The digital border is expanding through policing' In 2025, the number of requests sent by the Met to MVNO LycaMobile increased by almost 500 percent year-on-year, rising from 15,702 to 93,527. This drastic spike was totally absent for other British network providers such as Vodafone, O2, Three, and Lebara. Considering LycaMobile’s focus on cheap overseas calling, and the likelihood of foreign nationals using its service, concerns have been raised that this data could be used for a crackdown on immigration. Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of Migrants’ Rights Network, a charity that researches the digital hostile environment, said: “A 500 percent surge in data requests from the Metropolitan Police to a network used largely by migrants and racialized people makes clear that the digital border is expanding through policing.” This checks out, considering the Home Office recently said immigration enforcement officers can now, under the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Act 2025, rifle through the mouths of undocumented migrants to search for hidden SIM-cards — as part of new powers granted to seize phones and gather digital intelligence. The new powers came into force last year in December, despite legal reviews finding procedural unfairness of such searches. In 2022, a High Court ruling found the Home Office’s controversial seizure and retention of over 2,000 migrants’ mobile phones was unlawful. “Migrants and racialized people are singled out for surveillance that would never be tolerated elsewhere,” according to Qureshi. “They are treated as acceptable subjects for intrusive monitoring, from phone records to delivery routes. This marks part of a wider trend of pre-emptive criminalization of migrants and racialized people and is an enormous infringement of our right to privacy.” While a Met spokesperson denied any indication that the increase was specifically related to immigration crime, they offered a pretty milquetoast example that an increase in requests to a specific mobile operator could have been due to its increased popularity. If this were the case, Lycamobile would have needed to have grown its users from an estimated 2 million to 10 million for the surge to be consistent. LycaMobile did not respond to The Register’s queries. Additionally, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) – a part of the Met – started a procurement process for software for a Communication Exploitation Data Tool last year. Some of the requirements listed on the procurement notice were to process data from Uber rides and deliveries to be used for “intelligence analysis.” At the time of publication, it read: It’s understood the requirements for the project have now changed. When asked for further details, including if a supplier has been found, a CTP spokesperson told The Register: “We previously confirmed a routine tender process to procure software, however further details on systems and their use will not be made publicly available.” This is not surprising given the operational secrecy around national security tech; or, in this case, takeaway delivery surveillance. Dr Keenan explained: “It’s what the government wants the police to be doing: bringing in these capacities to synthesize multiple different data points to use them effectively and to have these powerful surveillance technologies.” The Met Police requested data from ride and food delivery services Uber, Bolt, JustEat, Deliveroo, and Dominos Pizza a sum total of 768 times in 2025. Hundreds of delivery drivers were arrested last year in a spate of immigration enforcement operations, not long after gig economy firms pledged to use facial recognition checks and fraud detection tech to clamp down on illegal working. In response to all of the findings and questions posed by El Reg, a Met spokesperson said: “Every year the Met makes thousands of requests for communications data from a wide range of companies and telephone providers. The information provided helps our officers gather intelligence, solve crimes and find missing people.” ®

Partner Content ZTE recently released its Sustainability Report 2025, highlighting the company's latest achievements in deepening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. This marks the 18th consecutive year that ZTE has voluntarily disclosed its annual sustainability performance to the public. The report demonstrates that in the past year, ZTE fully embraced artificial intelligence, achieving milestone progress in advancing scientific carbon reduction, accelerating global digital inclusion and industry transformation through intelligent technologies, and strengthening governance resilience. These efforts profoundly embody ZTE's responsibility and mission as a "Driver of Digital Economy". Xu Ziyang, Executive Director and CEO of ZTE, states in the report: "In the face of profound changes in the global digital economy, ZTE has unveiled its new vision, 'To lead in connectivity and intelligent computing', with greater strategic foresight and a stronger sense of responsibility. Driven by our 'Connectivity + Computing' strategy, we remain committed to our original aspiration of empowering high-quality and sustainable economic development through technology, and work with our partners to build an intelligent future that is more efficient, green, and inclusive." Strengthening Innovation and Reshaping Digital Momentum with AI ZTE continues to advance its "Connectivity + Computing" strategy, fully embracing AI under the guiding principle of "All in AI, AI for All". In 2025, the company sustained disciplined R&D investment, recording annual expenses of RMB 22.76 billion, approximately 17% of total revenue. Efforts focused on key areas such as connectivity (6G, optical communications, and IP networks), computing power, energy technology, smart terminals (such as AI-powered devices), operating systems, databases, and chips, underpinned by a core commitment to frontier technology exploration and collaborative innovation. According to the report, as of December 31, 2025, ZTE has filed approximately 95,000 global patent applications, with over 50,000 patents granted globally. In the chip sector, the company holds around 5,900 patent applications and over 3,700 granted patents. In the field of AI, it has nearly 5,500 patent applications, with nearly half of them granted. Throughout the year, the company declared and secured over 100 technology projects. Within R&D, AI tools have been widely applied, with a usage penetration rate of 79.78% among developers. The AI code generation rate reached 31.45%, and the improvement in R&D efficiency has begun to manifest. ZTE's innovation was further recognized with 11 gold awards, 3 silver awards, and 39 excellence awards from the China Patent Awards, and 31 honors from the Guangdong Patent Awards. Leading Science-Based Carbon Reduction, Paving the "Digital Green Path" ZTE has deeply integrated climate action with its development strategy, advancing the "Digital Green Path" across four key dimensions: green corporate operations, green supply chain, green digital infrastructure, and green industry empowerment, ensuring the achievement of science-based targets. For Scope 1 & 2 (operational emissions), in 2025, the company exceeded the Phase I target outlined in its 2024 Zero-Carbon Strategy White Paper. Through management measures for energy saving and technologies such as AI-based dynamic scaling and remote control, the company achieved a 46% reduction in carbon emissions compared with the base year of 2021. For Scope 3 (upstream and downstream emissions), ZTE achieved an 8.55% reduction in physical emissions intensity during the use and maintenance phase of telecom products, with a year-on-year reduction of 3.05% in absolute emissions across the full lifecycle of terminal products. For three consecutive years, ZTE has been recognized on the CDP Climate A list for its excellence in environmental governance. In terms of green operations, ZTE has established a systematic decarbonization pathway spanning energy mix optimization, refined technical energy-saving solutions, management-driven electricity saving, dual-carbon digitalization, as well as capability building and awareness enhancement. In 2025, the company completed new photovoltaic projects in Xi'an and Changsha, increasing the proportion of photovoltaic power generation with an annual generation of 39.22 million kWh. Furthermore, ZTE actively participated in green electricity trading and obtained 33,700 green electricity certificates (a total of 33.69 million kWh of electricity) throughout the year.Regarding the green supply chain, ZTE has comprehensively integrated low-carbon requirements into its SPIRE 2.0 supply chain strategy, collaborating with partners to build a technology-driven, end-to-end eco-friendly value chain that drives sustainable development across the entire industry ecosystem.In 2025, with its Xi'an Base and Changsha Base newly awarded the "National Green Factory" certification, the company now operates three national-level green factories and one provincial-level green factory. Over the past year, ZTE accelerated supply chain decarbonization by conducting dual-carbon training for 97 suppliers and performing dual-carbon audits on 158 suppliers. Furthermore, it provided guidance for 152 key suppliers (covering 50.82% of procurement spend) on completing carbon accounting and drove 83 key suppliers to participate in CDP assessments and make public disclosures.For green digital infrastructure, ZTE adopts self-developed low-power chips, advanced cooling technologies such as liquid cooling, PV applications at sites, and full lifecycle carbon footprint management to provide green digital infrastructure for the industry. By the end of 2025, the company had completed carbon footprint assessments for 240 products, achieving full coverage of all product categories.For green industry empowerment, ZTE leverages ICT technologies (such as 5G, cloud, AI, and the Digital Nebula platform) to provide digital transformation solutions for various industries, helping them achieve energy saving, carbon reduction, and quality and efficiency enhancement. A prime example is ZTE's collaboration with Benxi Tool Co., Ltd. on its smart factory initiative. Leveraging the 5G-enabled industrial Internet solution, the project successfully reduced the cumulative number of frontline operators across process steps by 20% while boosting the annual output by 1.5 times. Furthermore, the project shortened the lead time for raw material procurement by 40%, slashed the downtime due to material shortages by 50%, and cut the delivery time by 20%. These improvements significantly enhanced the overall competitiveness of this metal tool manufacturer. Advancing Tech for Good, Building an Inclusive and Equitable Society ZTE remains committed to a people-centric philosophy, striving to ensure equal communication rights and digital opportunities for communities worldwide. Providing network services to one-third of the global population, ZTE extends sustainable infrastructure and technological empowerment to every corner of the globe. From the remote heights of Baqen, Xizang, where ZTE deployed an FTTR-B all-optical network solution at the People's Hospital of the county (situated at an altitude of over 4,500 meters) to bridge the telemedicine divide, to Africa, where the company's "Signal Reach" program built 152 rural network sites in Ethiopia to bring reliable connectivity to over one million people, ZTE continues to bridge the digital divide and foster an inclusive, equitable, and intelligent digital world. ZTE regards talent as its most valuable asset, committed to building a learning organization and continuously fostering an employee empowerment ecosystem in the AI era. In 2025, the company maintained 100% employee training coverage and regularly carried out Employee Assistance Program (EAP) initiatives. In addition, ZTE successfully passed the re-assessment for the ISO 45001 system for all domestic operations and production sites, as well as for operations in 30 overseas countries. In public welfare, ZTE further strengthened its volunteer service system in 2025, with the number of employee volunteers surpassing 20,000 and more than 600 global community programs carried out during the year. Guided by its vision of "Goodwill, Everywhere", ZTE implemented tailored projects in over 40 countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Spain, South Africa, and Ethiopia, focusing on educational support, medical assistance, low-carbon environmental protection, and rural revitalization. These efforts benefited more than one million people globally, underscoring ZTE's commitment to building a more inclusive and sustainable society. Strengthening Compliance Foundations, Enhancing Governance Resilience ZTE continuously builds and improves its three-tier sustainability governance system of "Strategy—Decision-Making—Execution", proactively addressing emerging risks to ensure steady implementation of its strategic goals. In 2025, the company sustained its ISO 22301:2019 Business Continuity Management System certification, covering five manufacturing bases and major R&D centers, while also guiding major suppliers to establish BCM management systems. ZTE also sustained ISO 37001 certification for anti-bribery management systems, covering its subsidiaries and branches in 38 key countries. In addition, the company officially launched its "Cross-Border Data Compliance Service Platform for Enterprises Going Global", a one-stop solution designed to help companies tackle complex global compliance challenges. ZTE regards data compliance governance as an important part of the company's overall compliance governance framework. In 2025, the company sustained ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management System) and ISO/IEC 27701 (Privacy Information Management System) certification. Alongside releasing its updated ZTE Privacy Protection White Paper, ZTE secured EU's ePrivacyseal Global certification for five of its key fixed network and multimedia products, reinforcing its world-class data protection standards. As a member of the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), and a key participant and one of the first Champions of the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), ZTE's ESG efforts continue to receive worldwide recognition. In 2025, the company was rated by Sustainalytics as "Low ESG Risk" for the fourth consecutive year, included in the 2025 Fortune China ESG Impact List for the fourth year, honored with "Excellence in Practice Award" from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) for the sixth consecutive year, and once again included in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2025. ZTE was also selected for the 2025 China's Top 100 Overseas Brands Index released by People's Daily Overseas Online and Global Yearly Brand Research Institute, and was selected as a model case in the 2025 China Corporate ESG Blue Book, and was recognized by Phoenix TV as an "ESG Communication Influence Pioneer". Looking forward, ZTE will continue to leverage its strengths in the R&D innovation and commercialization of fundamental technology, actively supporting the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company remains committed to creating long-term value for stakeholders and driving society toward a future that is more efficient, greener, smarter, and more inclusive. Download ZTE Sustainability Report 2025 here. Visit ZTE's sustainability website for more updates on their commitment to sustainability. Contributed by ZTE.

2025 was een economisch stabiel jaar. Ondanks toenemende economische onzekerheid in de wereld groeide de Nederlandse economie met 1,8%. Ook de overheidsfinanciën bleven met een begrotingstekort van 1,6% en een staatsschuld van 44,4% van het bruto binnenlands product (bbp) stabiel en binnen de grenzen van de Europese begrotingsregels. Dit meldt het Financieel Jaarverslag Rijk over 2025.

Het Rijk heeft in 2025 verdere stappen gezet naar een efficiëntere en effectievere overheid. Dat blijkt uit de Jaarrapportage Bedrijfsvoering Rijk 2025 die staatssecretaris van Koninkrijksrelaties en Slagvaardige Overheid Eric van der Burg naar de Tweede Kamer heeft gestuurd. De rapportage laat zien hoe het Rijk werkt aan een slimmere, compactere en beter functionerende overheid – met aandacht voor onder meer de thema’s personeel, digitalisering, inkoop en integriteit.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide, January 1972

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Ook Rabobank en ABN AMRO sluiten zich aan bij een groep Europese banken voor de lancering van een zogeheten euro-stablecoin. Met deze cryptomunt willen de banken een Europees alternatief bieden voor de door de Verenigde Staten gedomineerde stablecoinmarkt.

Vorig jaar werd bekend dat een groep banken, waaronder ING, het nieuwe bedrijf Qivalis had opgericht. In totaal nemen nu 37 financiële instellingen deel aan dit bankenconsortium.

Een stablecoin is een digitale munt die is gekoppeld aan een vaste waarde, in dit geval de euro. Doordat een stablecoin is gekoppeld aan de waarde van een valuta zoals de euro, is de koers van de munt stabiel, namelijk 1 euro. Er bestaan al stablecoins die gekoppeld zijn aan de euro, maar die zijn minder populair dan de stablecoins gelinkt aan de dollar. De euro-stablecoin, die gebruikmaakt van blockchaintechnologie, moet volgens Qivalis een "vertrouwde Europese betaalstandaard" worden.

Blaasjes en wondjes met honingkleurige korstjes rond de mond. Het klinkt niet bepaald aantrekkelijk, maar dit is het kenmerkende beeld van krentenbaard, of impetigo. Hoewel de aandoening vaak in het gezicht verschijnt, kan het ook andere delen van het lichaam treffen. Dermatoloog Marjolein Leenarts vertelt in het AD wat je moet weten over deze veelvoorkomende huidaandoening.

Hoe ontstaat krentenbaard?

De boosdoener achter krentenbaard is een bacterie die via een wondje de huid binnendringt. “Meestal is een stafylokok-bacterie de oorzaak, een bacterie die al op onze huid voor kan komen”, legt Leenarts uit. Krentenbaard begint vaak onschuldig, met een paar rode plekjes of bultjes. “In die beginfase kan het nog een beetje op gewone puistjes lijken. Daarna, als er ook meer plekken komen, niet meer: de wondjes worden blaasjes en barsten open. Ze krijgen honingkleurige korstjes.”

Hoewel de aandoening vaak rond de mond opduikt – vandaar de naam – kan het overal op het lichaam voorkomen. “Soms zijn het vrij grote gebieden op de huid met grote blaren, maar het kan ook op een arm of een been voorkomen met maar een paar kleine plekjes.”

Besmettelijk

Krentenbaard komt vooral voor bij jonge kinderen, simpelweg omdat hun immuunsysteem nog in de kinderschoenen staat. Volwassenen kunnen het ook krijgen, al gebeurt dat minder vaak. Hoe vaak het precies voorkomt, is lastig te zeggen. “In veel gevallen zijn de klachten zo mild dat mensen zich niet melden bij een huisarts en we er dus ook niet van weten”, aldus Leenarts.

Ja, krentenbaard is besmettelijk. Maar dat betekent niet dat je het gegarandeerd krijgt als je in aanraking komt met iemand die het heeft. “De een is er vatbaarder voor dan de ander. Hoe dat komt weten we niet precies. Het komt voor dat binnen gezinnen sommige leden het wel krijgen en anderen nergens last van hebben. Je kunt meerdere keren in je leven krentenbaard krijgen, maar het kan ook een eenmalig iets zijn.”

Gaat meestal vanzelf over

Goed nieuws: krentenbaard is meestal niet ernstig. Ook ziet het er vaak erger uit dan het is. “In de meeste gevallen is het niet pijnlijk en veroorzaakt het geen jeuk”, legt de dermatoloog uit. Vaak verdwijnt de aandoening vanzelf binnen twee tot drie weken.

Wie toch naar de huisarts gaat, krijgt meestal een antibioticumcrème voorgeschreven. “Als dat niet voldoende werkt of als het om zoveel plekken gaat dat alles insmeren niet praktisch is, dan kan er ook een antibioticakuur in tabletvorm worden voorgeschreven.”

Hardnekkig

Hoewel krentenbaard doorgaans onschuldig is, kan het in zeldzame gevallen uit de hand lopen. “Als dermatoloog zie ik weleens een ernstigere vorm met heel uitgebreide blaarvorming, maar dat is zeldzaam. Soms zie je dat krentenbaard voorkomt samen met een andere huidaandoening: iemand heeft bijvoorbeeld eczeem en krabt het open en vanuit de wondjes ontstaat krentenbaard. In zo'n geval is het zaak zowel de krentenbaard als het eczeem te behandelen.”

Valt krentenbaard te voorkomen?

Voorkomen is lastig, vooral bij jonge kinderen. “Dat is bijna niet mogelijk, zeker niet bij jonge kinderen omdat zij vaak dicht bij elkaar in de buurt zijn, bijvoorbeeld als ze spelen.” Een goede hygiëne werkt nog het beste. “Regelmatig de handen goed wassen is altijd verstandig tegen infecties, en maak eventuele wondjes goed schoon”, besluit Leenarts.

Bron: AD

Het is al jaren mis, het is de afgelopen tijd weer mis en het kon dus nog misser dan het al mis was: afgelopen nacht zaten er 2.316 asielzoekers in het aanmeldcentrum in Ter Apel, velen van hen slapend op de stoelen, en in gangpaden op de grond, waardoor het COA is overgegaan tot een soort asieltriage bij de ingang. Alleen de meest kwetsbaren worden nog toegelaten, de rest moet omkeren buiten wachten. Quoteje van het COA: 'Bij zulke aantallen kunnen we niet meer instaan voor de veiligheid en leefbaarheid van onze bewoners en medewerkers'. De wekelijkse instroom ligt weer rond de 1000 nieuwkomers. Mondjesmaat vertrekken er groepjes naar (nood)opvangen in den lande, maar in bestaande opvanglocaties zitten momenteel 19.000 statushouders en omdat het van nieuwe opvanglocaties openen in den lande nogal onrustig wordt gaat het allemaal als dikke stront door een trechter en wordt Ter Apel een grote berg keiharde schijt. Als we zo'n selectieproces op kwetsbaarheid nou eens een paar kilometer verderop konden houden...