Een nieuw Chinees AI-model presteert boven verwachting en is straks gratis te downloaden. Ondanks de strenge Amerikaanse exportbeperkingen op chips heeft Silicon Valley steeds meer te vrezen van de Chinese concurrentie.

Nergens in Europa zijn snelle analyses zo hachelijk als in Oekraïne. Zo ook afgelopen week, nadat president Zelensky minister Fedorov van Defensie had ontslagen en opperbevelhebber Syrsky leek te handhaven.

NEW YORK (ANP) - De beurzen in New York zijn woensdag gemengd begonnen. Beleggers deden het rustig aan na het sterke herstel in de chipsector een dag eerder. De afgelopen tijd stonden de tech- en chipbedrijven flink onder druk door zorgen over de hoge investeringen in kunstmatige intelligentie (AI). Op de beursvloeren wordt dan ook met spanning uitgekeken naar de resultaten van Google-eigenaar Alphabet, IBM, Tesla en Texas Instruments, die na de slotbel op Wall Street naar buiten komen.

Beleggers zijn benieuwd of de resultaten van deze techbedrijven de zorgen over de hoge koerswaarderingen in de sector kunnen wegnemen of juist verder aanjagen. Daarnaast werd de stemming gedrukt door een sterke stijging van de olieprijzen door het aanhoudende geweld in het Midden-Oosten.

De Dow-Jonesindex noteerde kort na opening van de markt 0,2 procent hoger op 52.310 punten. De brede S&P 500-index zakte 0,1 procent tot 7598 punten en techgraadmeter Nasdaq daalde 0,5 procent tot 25.721 punten.

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After the eye-watering excess of the Geopolitics World Cup, we can return to the modest, measured land of the domestic game. While our attention has been elsewhere, Manchester City have splashed £116m on Elliot Anderson. Chelsea, not to be outshone, have splurged £117m on Morgan Rogers. Even Tottenham have parted with £230m to revamp their mildly traumatised squad. Manchester United, who went down to Wrexham in their first pre-season friendly in Helsinki, have kept things modest, buying Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for the same £85m Spurs have thrown in the direction of relegation’s West Ham for Mateus Fernandes.

I was pleased with a lot of things that I saw in the game. We could do better. We could have taken more responsibility to have the ball instead of just watching and reacting … efficiency is very important at this level. When you don’t kill, you get killed” – new Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken chooses to focus on the positives after the, erm, 4-0 tonking by Sturm Graz in the first leg of their Bigger Cup qualifier.

How’s your World Cup hangover? I must have been bored because I couldn’t help but notice that Tuesday was a rough day for British, Irish and British Overseas Territory club teams in Bigger Cup. Not only were Hearts, Larne, Shamrock Rovers and Lincoln Red Imps all beaten in their second qualifying round first legs, they didn’t manage a single goal among them! Rovers’ Cape Verdean Pico Lopes went from taking Argentina to extra time in Miami just a few weeks ago, to getting blanked by Ararat in Armenia. Larne were were given no home comforts on the coast of Northern Ireland by Red Star Belgrade, who brought on Marko Arnautovic, the Austria veteran who retired from his national side after exiting the GWC at the hands of Spain. Football just rolls on and on” – Peter Oh.

Here we go again, another new face in the top job, you know the drill by now. Smiles, handshakes and social media soundbites. Claims of ‘understanding why people have been frustrated’, promises of ‘change’ and ‘progress’. Speculation about who’s being brought in to play a key role, and who’s out of favour. Sooner or later, the realisation there is no time or trust to make the difficult long-term changes everyone knows are necessary. Media pressure, infighting, the ‘need to act before it’s too late’. Out the door to be replaced by the next great hope, mainly distinguishable by having a different accent. All of which to say, good luck to Alessio Dionisi at Watford this season. Now to see what’s going on in UK politics …” – David Craddock.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Daniel Siad faced allegations of rape and trafficking in France and appeared in more than 1,000 documents in Epstein files

A modelling scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home near Paris, French officials have said.

Daniel Siad, 69, was under investigation by the prosecutors specialising in human trafficking in France, accused of rape and other charges. His name appeared in more than 1,000 documents in the US Department of Justice Epstein files that were declassified earlier this year.

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Global supply disrupted by US-Iran aggression in strait of Hormuz and Houthi threats in Bab el-Mandeb

The price of oil has breached the $95 a barrel mark for the first time in six weeks as the escalating Middle East conflict threatens further disruption to global supplies.

The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Wednesday as renewed US-Iran aggression over the strait of Hormuz was compounded by Houthi threats to target vessels carrying Saudi oil through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

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US secretary of state says international community should ‘join forces’ against authoritarian Ortega regime

Nicaragua’s congress, controlled by the country’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has announced a “work plan” to implement the authoritarian leader’s order that the country should no longer hold elections.

The UN and the US strongly condemned Sunday’s announcement by Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 and, after a controversial constitutional change last year, now governs alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-president”.

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How do we distinguish between the artificial and the real? And perhaps more importantly, why should we? Genesis Belanger makes the tension and anxiety that arise from these questions tangible as she lures viewers into an unsettling world.

Known for her ceramic works depicting an uncanny vision of domestic life, Belanger often teases out the dynamic relationships between discomfort, consumption, and capitalism. New pieces like “Dreams of the Luddite” nod to our collective malaise over the ubiquity of technology, portraying a nostalgic world just out of reach. “Care-taken” captures a similarly contemporary dilemma, as it presents a bathroom cabinet with medicines of mixed proportions and the recommended apple-a-day left to rot on the shelf.

While much of Belanger’s work draws from the home, a new project ventures outdoors. In City Hall Park in Manhattan, a collection of large-scale works brings the artist’s social critiques into the commons. Commissioned by Public Art Fund, Heads or Tails features a trio of scenes that reflect on this moment of change and whether its outcome is really determined by chance.

A flock of pastel-hued concrete birds plays in a fountain, while potted plants on dollies appear to be dropped in the park mid-move. This strange intersection of the real and the artificial transforms seemingly mundane and innocuous objects into unsettling visages.

Two cast-bronze figures also flank the fountain and reinterpret the image of Lady Justice, an allegorical persona who carries scales and wears a blindfold as a signal of her impartiality in judicial matters. Belanger’s iterations instead feature one figure holding up a mirror with a sculptural visage peering back at her, while the other presents her hands at different heights. “I’m interested in creating work that reflects the contradictions we navigate every day, where life can be both exhilarating and devastating at the same time,” Belanger says in a statement. “These experiences are not in opposition, but instead they coexist. My work seeks to reflect a nuanced picture of our present.”

If you’re in New York, stop by Perrotin to see Belanger’s work in the group exhibition Touch Grass through the end of the month. Heads or Tails will be on view through November 15. Explore more of the artist’s work on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article The Era of Contradiction Materializes in Genesis Belanger’s Uncanny Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.

Na het oppleuren van burgemeester Marian Witte een nieuwe politieke aardverschuiving in het centrum van het universum, de gemeente Geertruidenberg. Daar zit net aan een maand het nieuwe college van B&W, met op de portefeuille Leefbaarheid en Powerport (niet te verwarren met Powerpoint, hoewel ze daar in de gemeente Geertruidenberg ook zeer getraind in zijn) powerhouse Ferdi van Dongen van Gemeentebelangen. Het was nog even spannend of Ferdi zijn beloften aan het volk wel mocht waarmaken als wethouder, want onder meer de Geertruidenbergse fracties Morgen! en Keerpunt74 stemden TEGEN zijn benoeming want in het verleden kwam hij "soms fel uit de hoek richting ambtenaren" (of bestuurders, zie: Ferdi van Dongen op LinkedIn). Oei oei oei, een beetje opschudding in het Geertruidenbergse gemeenteapparaat, dat moeten we natuurlijk niet willen. Toegegeven, Ferdi wil dat bij nader inzien ook niet. Die kapt ermee, na 34 schitterend dagen. In een brief aan de gemeenteraad laat hij weten met "veel enthousiasme begonnen" te zijn en dat hij zich "vanaf de eerste dag met volledige toewijding" heeft ingezet voor Geertruidenberg. Dat is maar goed ook want als hij daar een dag later mee was begonnen zich had hij zich maar 33 dagen volledig toegewijd ingezet en dat zou heel jammer zijn. Van Dongen moet helaas concluderen dat het ambt "minder goed aansluit bij zijn kracht, werkplezier en professionele ambities dan hij vooraf had verwacht". Oftewel, wethouderschap van de gemeente Geertruidenberg is gewoon best wel een kudtbaan. Wie wil dat nou? Wij niet. Ferdi bij nader inzien ook niet. Heeft nu zes maanden recht op wachtgeld, trouwens. Lekker Fer.