Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Na de rellen in Loosdrecht besloot actiegroepencoalitie De Straat Op dat het tijd was voor een tegengeluid: een hart onder de riem voor asielzoekers en azc-medewerkers. In Utrecht klonk vooral een positieve boodschap: ‘wij zijn met meer’.

Dankzij een 2-0 overwinning op FC Groningen plaatst Ajax zich voor de finale van de play-offs om Conference Leaguevoetbal. Ajax speelde overtuigend en oogde fris, maar moet zondag wel winnen van FC Utrecht om het seizoen te redden.

Eerder op de dag kondigde Amsterdam aan dat het een groep mensen gaat opvangen. Het is de tweede dag op rij dat de opvang in Ter Apel overvol zit.

Een dag na publicatie van het filmpje waarop ze door een Israëlische minister vernederd werden, heeft het land de 422 ontvoerde Flotilla-activisten donderdag op het vliegtuig gezet. NRC sprak twee van hen. „Dit is nog niks vergeleken bij de manier waarop ze Palestijnen behandelen.”

Google’s AI-powered transformation of its search engine will give the mega company a more captive audience than ever before - and what better way to turn those eyeballs into cash than by serving up new forms of AI-powered ads? Announcements out of the Chocolate Factory’s I/O AI fest continued Wednesday with the premiere of what the company called “a new generation of ads” tailor-made “for the AI era of Search” that it decided you definitely need earlier this week. As we mentioned in our earlier I/O coverage, Google announced what Search VP Elizabeth Reid called the “biggest upgrade in over 25 years” to Google Search. Those changes center on pushing Gemini 3.5 Flash deeper into Search and AI Mode, giving the engine the ability to “anticipate your intent” and surface more detailed AI-generated responses. That doesn’t mean AI Mode is being made the default, mind you. Google told The Register that standard search engine result pages are still going to be the default for anyone doing a typical Google search, though AI responses will be served alongside results, we’re told. Any web search that returns an AI Overview, on the other hand, will include an option to follow up with the Overview in AI Mode, and AI Mode with rich content input can be selected from the Search box as well. It’s here that Google’s beefing up its AI, letting it do the searching for you and surface whatever it’s been programmed to prioritize in a manner designed to keep you from clicking away, enabling Google to hand you more profit-generating content … er, helpful results. Those results will include “more helpful ads,” which will come in two varieties: Conversational Discovery ads, and Highlighted Answers. Regarding the Conversational Discovery ads, Gemini’s responses to specific questions will build ads “tailored to that search, highlighting specific relevant features.” Google cites the example of someone searching for a way to make their house smell fresher. Results for such a search could recommend deodorizing your house using, say, a $1 box of baking soda mixed with water or a simple 1:1 vinegar/water mix - or it could tell you how much you need a $20 reed diffuser, electric wax melter, or some other expensive product Google’s getting paid to flog. Highlighted Answers, on the other hand, means “highly relevant, high-quality ads are eligible to appear” on lists of recommendations delivered by AI Mode. What meets that threshold wasn’t mentioned, but Google told us that it’s using similar standards to its existing ad filtering, and the same auction mechanics to get the ads in front of eyeballs. Brands approved for Highlighted Answers will have their recommendations inserted into the end of AI Mode results, Google explained. The feature is currently in testing, with Google telling us it wants its placement to feel natural and add value to users' searches. Of course, just because the standard Google Search mode isn’t going away, contrary to the panic that Google’s announcements triggered this week, that doesn’t mean Google isn’t stuffing more AI ads into those results, too. AI-powered shopping ads that use Gemini to “pull up your most relevant products and instantly write a custom explainer highlighting why your product may be the right choice” are coming to Google’s standard search results pages in the coming months, as is the ability to “put a smart brand agent right inside your ad.” Those ads, for example, could be a chat window that provides answers on the content of a website, Google explained, “turning a practical interaction into a valuable lead.” Google said that it’s also expanding its Direct Offers program that allows retailers to offer user-tailored discounts and offers on products purchased via Gemini, giving brands more ways to motivate consumers to buy whatever they’re flogging without customers ever leaving Google’s ecosystem. Businesses that want to use these new AI advertising features will be encouraged to build campaigns around Google’s AI Max and Performance Max ad tools, naturally ensuring the Chocolate Factory keeps collecting its cut as it pushes advertisers deeper into the AI era of Search. Google assured us that people actually do want this, and that they really are gravitating toward AI experiences delivered through Google, even though they’re not always optional. The Chocolate Factory further told us that, despite ads featuring prominently across its various AI tools, ads never impact organic results. They’re just buried behind an ever-growing wall of AI schlock one has to weed through to find actual search results, and now even more ads. ®

Artists iterating on a seemingly mundane object is one of our favorite exhibition concepts. Vintage envelopes, coasters, and matchboxes are just a fraction of the items galleries have offered as unique canvases for small works, and now, we can add nighlights to that list.

On view through June 26, DUDD LITE is a collaboration between the design collective Dudd Haus and the gallery The Future Perfect. Curated through an open call that garnered nearly 400 submissions, the playful exhibition presents more than 130 artist-designed nightlights made from stained glass, wood, sea shells, ceramic, cotton, and more. The small works hover between sculpture and functional object, each reflecting a distinctive sensibility and approach to a household staple. See all designs on The Future Perfect website.

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 130+ Artists Illuminate the Vast Creative Possibilities of the Nightlight appeared first on Colossal.

Zombie Nation

Spotify is launching "Reserved," a new feature that will set aside concert tickets for Premium subscribers it identifies as an artist's most dedicated fans based on streams, shares, and other activity. "Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose," Spotify wrote in a post on Thursday. "You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, the experience is stressful, unpredictable, and disconnected from what should matter most: whether real fans actually get tickets. We think there's a better way." From the Hollywood Reporter: Spotify said that starting in the U.S. this summer, select artists will be able to use Reserved to set aside tickets for fans on the platform. The platform has partnered with Live Nation on the program as part of a multiyear agreement. The platform will use streams, shares and other types of activity to "identify an artist's most dedicated fans and hold two tour tickets for them."

Fans selected through Reserved will get up to two tickets, and they'll have a day-long window to make a ticket purchase if selected. Spotify didn't give any details on what artists will work with the streaming service for the new feature, or how many tickets artists would set aside with Reserved, though the service acknowledged "there will be significantly more superfans than there are seats available on a tour, so not every fan will receive an offer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

WASHINGTON (ANP) - De Verenigde Staten sturen 5000 Amerikaanse militairen naar Polen, schrijft de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump op zijn Truth Social. Eerder meldden meerdere media dat het aantal Amerikaanse militairen flink zou dalen in Polen en Duitsland.

TER APEL (ANP) - De asielzoekers die donderdagnacht niet terechtkunnen in het opvangcentrum in het Groningse Ter Apel, worden overgebracht naar het nabijgelegen Gieten. Dat meldt een woordvoerder van het Rode Kruis.

Tientallen mensen verblijven even na 22.00 uur nog op het grasveld naast de ingang. Het Rode Kruis houdt rekening met honderd mensen die elders moeten slapen. In Gieten, onderdeel van de gemeente Aa en Hunze, is plek voor honderd mensen.

NUUK (ANP/BLOOMBERG) - De opening van een nieuw Amerikaans consulaat in de Groenlandse hoofdstad Nuuk heeft geleid tot protesten. Inwoners zijn bezorgd over de plannen van de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump voor het eiland. Honderden mensen verzamelden zich met anti-Amerikaanse spandoeken en posters.

Op de posters stond onder andere 'nee is nee' en 'Groenland behoort aan de Groenlanders'. "We willen geen Amerikanen zijn", riep Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, die de demonstratie organiseerde. "We eisen respect, soevereiniteit en het recht om te bestaan zonder bedreigingen."

Het nieuwe consulaat is bedoeld om de VS en Groenland "dichter bij elkaar te brengen", zei de aanwezige Amerikaanse ambassadeur in Denemarken, Kenneth Howery. Groenland maakt deel uit van het koninkrijk Denemarken.

De spanningen tussen de landen zijn aanzienlijk opgelopen sinds president Trump meermaals aangaf Groenland te willen hebben "om veiligheidsredenen". Na een gesprek met NAVO-baas Mark Rutte veranderde hij van toon, maar er werd wel meer Amerikaanse invloed afgesproken.

Williams have announced several new appointments at the team, including former McLaren Chief Operating Officer Piers Thynne.

Esteban Ocon has clarified that there is no rift between himself and the Haas Formula 1 team after rumours emerged online about turmoil between the Frenchman and American outfit following the Miami Grand Prix.

Exit through the gift shop, James Knudsen (because)

Never quit, Hiro Wakabayashi.

Water World, created by Seán Doran from imagery captured by a NASA/NOAA weather satellite, is a gorgeous, swirling, painterly portrait of the Earth’s dynamic atmosphere. Doran calls it “a meditative slow gaze at Earth’s atmosphere, revealing the hidden depths of activity in the water-filled skies of planet Earth”. It’s 4K, so put it on the biggest screen you can find and just sit back and watch.

Tags: clouds · Earth · meditative · mesmerizing · Sean Doran · video · weather