NABATIEH (ANP) - Door een Israëlische droneaanval in het zuiden van Libanon zijn twee mannen omgekomen, meldt het Libanese staatspersbureau NNA. Volgens het persbureau vond de aanval plaats in de buurt van een ziekenhuis in de plaats Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Eerder werd aangekondigd dat vertegenwoordigers van Israël en Libanon elkaar volgende week zouden treffen in Rome om verder te praten over een vredesdeal. Woensdag zei een Libanese bron echter dat dit alleen zou gebeuren onder de voorwaarde dat Israël zich terugtrekt uit twee gebieden in het zuiden van Libanon, zoals eerder afgesproken in een voorlopig akkoord.
ANKARA (ANP/AFP/RTR) - De coalitie van Oekraïne-bondgenoten die maandag weer bijeenkomt in Parijs, laat zien dat Europa ook los van de Verenigde Staten kan optreden. Dat zei de Franse president Emmanuel Macron na afloop van de NAVO-top in Ankara. Daar spraken de leiders van de NAVO-landen uit dat Europa taken van de VS gaat overnemen. Frankrijk en andere landen noemen de coalities Oekraïne en bijvoorbeeld de Straat van Hormuz al langer als vehikels voor een zelfstandiger Europa.
Aan de nieuwe top van de zogenoemde 'coalitie van bereidwillige landen' neemt maandag ook premier Rob Jetten deel, zegt zijn woordvoerder. Volgens Macron bespreken de ruim dertig deelnemende landen onder meer hoe ze de spookvloot kunnen aanpakken waarmee Rusland sancties omzeilt en Oekraïne meer kunnen steunen. Ook het aanjagen van de wapenindustrie zou op de agenda staan.
Frankrijk, dat samen met het Verenigd Koninkrijk de coalitie aanvoert, wil volgens Macron ook gezamenlijke militaire oefeningen gaan organiseren.
AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Het Amsterdamse techbedrijf Mews schrapt ongeveer 15 procent van de banen, wat neerkomt op zo'n 170 medewerkers. De leverancier van software voor hotels wil meer inzetten op kunstmatige intelligentie (AI) en verwacht daarom met minder medewerkers verder te kunnen gaan.
In een toelichting op de reorganisatie stelt topman Matthijs Welle dat de hotelbranche in de toekomst waarschijnlijk vooral met AI-systemen gaat werken en Mews die wil leveren. Het bedrijf moet daarvoor ook zelf volledig ingespeeld zijn op kunstmatige intelligentie, schrijft hij op LinkedIn.
Het in 2012 opgerichte Mews groeit op dit moment hard en was begin dit jaar bij een nieuwe financieringsronde van 300 miljoen dollar 2,5 miljard dollar waard. Het bedrijf wilde volgens Welle niet wachten met ingrijpen totdat "het landschap om ons heen, en het bedrijf dat we daarvoor hebben opgebouwd, onomkeerbaar is veranderd".
Het is niet direct bekend hoeveel ontslagen vallen in Nederland. Een woordvoerder zegt dat de reorganisatie alle teams en landen raakt.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: An Australian beach community was confused -- and later delighted -- by the discovery of six metallic-looking spheres that washed ashore last week. The mystery, and the ensuing attention, prompted a bunch of alien jokes from local residents and businesses. But Australia's space agency put the speculation to rest on Monday, saying that the spheres appeared to be rocket debris that had recently re-entered the atmosphere from orbit.
The objects were found on Forrest Beach in the northeastern state of Queensland over the weekend, the state's fire department said. Residents described them as being about twice the size of a basketball. "The recovered objects appear to be pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle," the Australian Space Agency said in a statement, adding that they were "consistent with debris from a foreign rocket body." The agency said that it had identified the likely source of the objects, without providing further details, and was working with international authorities to confirm the vehicle from which the debris originated.
The objects were found on Forrest Beach in the northeastern state of Queensland over the weekend, the state's fire department said. Residents described them as being about twice the size of a basketball. "The recovered objects appear to be pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle," the Australian Space Agency said in a statement, adding that they were "consistent with debris from a foreign rocket body." The agency said that it had identified the likely source of the objects, without providing further details, and was working with international authorities to confirm the vehicle from which the debris originated.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
‘Perhaps it’s all a fever dream,’ suggests parody candidate, expected to be Reform leader’s only challenger for seat
Count Binface had been looking forward to a relaxing journey back to his home planet of Sigma IX when Nigel Farage dropped a political bombshell on Tuesday.
Instead, Britain’s hottest new political property said he was left with no choice but to perform a swift intergalactic handbrake turn when news broke that Farage had resigned as MP for Clacton, triggering the possibility of a byelection in the English coastal constituency he has represented since 2024.
Continue reading...Mohamed al-Wahidi died when a missile struck his taxi shortly before Egypt played Argentina in their last 16 match
A Palestinian aid worker who had organised screenings of World Cup matches in Gaza was killed by an Israeli missile strike just before the game between Egypt and Argentina on Tuesday evening.
Two brothers aged eight and 10 and another man who was in the street near the site of the attack were also killed.
Continue reading...The far-right leader has reached for the Trumpian playbook in plotting a possible path to the Élysée. The consequences are alarmingly unpredictable
Back in 2013, when a Socialist minister was accused (and eventually convicted) of tax fraud, the righteous fury of Marine Le Pen knew no bounds. Any politician found guilty of financial misconduct, she fulminated, should be ineligible for office for the rest of their lives. That was very much then. Although a court of appeal on Tuesday upheld her own conviction for embezzling European parliament funds, Ms Le Pen announced the same day that she would be the candidate for her far-right National Rally party (RN) in next year’s presidential race.
Confounding speculation that she was preparing to hand the baton on to Jordan Bardella, her young protege, Ms Le Pen has thereby made the biggest gamble of her political career. The court’s ruling enabled her to make a fourth bid for the Élysée by reducing an eligibility ban to a length of time already served. But it also insisted that she wear an electronic monitoring tag, restricting the hours in which she could campaign. That sanction has been circumvented by her appeal to France’s highest court, the cour de cassation – which may or may not be heard before the presidential election’s first round in April.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Plans for a mega-resort, backed by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, have spurred broader questions about who politics is serving
For more than a month, thousands have taken to the streets of Tirana to protest against their government, in the biggest outbreak of unrest in Albania since the collapse of communism more than three decades ago. What began with environmental concerns about protecting a nature reserve and the more than 2,500 species it hosts has become the flamingo revolution, questioning the very direction of the country.
Albanians are angered that multibillion dollar luxury developments backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump threaten one of the last wild areas on the Adriatic – Zvërnec, its lagoon and the nearby island of Sazan – and are furious at the lack of transparency surrounding the projects. The government says that deals are not finalised. But videos of bulldozers on beaches triggered the mass protests.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Manhattan judge’s order frees funds from Trump’s 2023 sexual abuse and defamation verdict after supreme court appeal failed
A Manhattan federal court judge has ordered the release of the more than $5m Donald Trump owes E Jean Carroll following her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him.Less than an hour after the judge issued his order, Trump filed paperwork indicating he is appealing the decision.
Trump had deposited this $5m million jury award, plus 11% interest, into a court-controlled account about six weeks after Carroll’s win. Judge Lewis Kaplan’s order directs the disbursement of these court controlled funds, which now total some $5.8m due to interest accrual.
Continue reading...
De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump kwam – weer – met klachten over de Europese bondgenoten. Die boden op verschillende manieren weerwoord. „Binnenskamers is het een heel constructief gesprek.”
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Mannen de GC hier. Morgen de wedstrijd tussen Frankrijk en Marokko. We zullen ons voor deze ene keer bezighouden met de fans van Marokko. Eerst even de verwachtingen rond de wedstrijd. Bij een overwinning van Frankrijk verwachten we rellen in Den Haag, Amsterdam en Utrecht. Bij een overwinning van Marokko verwachten we rellen in Den Haag, Amsterdam en Utrecht. Dan nog even inhoudelijk over ons optreden bij de scenario's. Bij rellen na een overwinning van Frankrijk gaan we niet handhaven. En bij rellen na een overwinning van Marokko gaan we ook niet handhaven. Als we worden bespuugd of bekogeld met stenen en eieren lopen we weg. Als verkeersregels overtreed worden kijken we de andere kant op. Als er vuurwerk wordt afgestoken steken we een duim op. Als iemand een liedje wil zingen, zingen we gezellig mee. En als iemand met ons onverhoopt wil iftarren: dek de tafel! De koffie staat in Wagen 1, een schone onderbroek aantrekken kan in Wagen 3. En nogmaals mannen: niet ingrijpen. Geen oorlog. Niet handhaven. Geen oorlog. We doen lekker niks. En dan laten we het Ibrahim Afellay en Abdelkader Benali allemaal wel weer duiden op tv. Iemand nog vragen? Nee?
Broadcom has accused Allstate Insurance of dodging a software license audit that the insurer claims only happened after it decided to stop using VMware and CA software. Those two Broadcom business units – CA and VMware – have brought copyright infringement lawsuits against Allstate. The CA suit, filed in May 2025, alleges that the insurer breached contracts after the sale of its Employer Voluntary Benefits business to an outfit called StanCorp. The VMware suit, filed in December 2025, alleges that Allstate didn’t comply with contract terms that required it to participate in license audits. Software license audits are not unusual. Vendors routinely include the right to conduct audits in their contracts, and those rights can extend beyond the term of a license so that software companies can be paid for all use of code under a time-limited contract. Some vendors, however, are known to audit more often and more vigorously than others, or to use audits to gain leverage during license renewal negotiations. Allstate claims Broadcom’s decision to audit it was not entirely reasonable. “This case is about VMware’s decision to initiate a haphazard ‘audit’ of Allstate, once it was aware that Allstate did not intend to renew its contracts with VMware or its sister company, CA,” the company stated in a June 12 filing. That accusation came after months of conflict. An Allstate filing in the CA matter claims that Broadcom launched four audits, covering “Tanzu,” “VMWare,” “Agile Operations” and “Mainframe.” Broadcom advised of its intent to audit around April 2025. Broadcom alleges Allstate didn’t co-operate with the audits. “Throughout August and September 2025, VMware sent weekly follow‑ups. Allstate continued to stonewall and withheld the requested materials,” according to VMware’s claim. Allstate says it simply didn’t have the resources to respond to four simultaneous probes. One of the tools Broadcom uses during software audits is a set of scripts that detect software installations. Allstate acknowledges it received the scripts and other audit material. Then on September 12, Broadcom alleges, Allstate dropped a bombshell: It had “removed VMware from all devices.” On October 1, the insurance giant apparently told the virtualization pioneer “all VMWare instances have been terminated and removed” – at least from an environment governed by an enterprise license agreement. After terminating its VMware estate, Allstate said Broadcom’s audit scripts wouldn’t work. The insurer nevertheless completed an audit questionnaire, but Broadcom said the info in that document was “woefully incomplete.” Both cases continue and, on June 12, Allstate filed a document that offered its view of the matter – and includes the allegation that Broadcom only ordered its audits once it realized Allstate was binning VMware and CA software. Allstate also accuses Broadcom of making “vague, competing, and contradictory demands of Allstate, often in direct violation of its contractual agreements.” Broadcom and Allstate tried alternative dispute resolution in both matters but have not found common ground. Courts have proposed the two matters adopt the same timeline, which will see Dispositive Motions – an attempt to resolve a case before a full trial – take place no later than May 17, 2027. The Register has asked Allstate why it decided to stop using Broadcom software and if it has replaced it. We’ve not heard back at the time of writing. However we understand that the relationship between Allstate and Broadcom has not been good for quite some time, and that the insurer decided to move away from both VMware and CA at around the time Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware closed. VMware points to major clients such as the London Stock Exchange and Nationwide Bank as evidence big corporate entities trust it with their private clouds, and therefore the heart of the IT estate that powers their business and enables innovation. And this week, AWS also showed confidence in VMware by adding support for version 9.x of its Cloud Foundation suite. However, The Reg has also learned of several big users quitting VMware - including T-Mobile, Tesco, and Western Union - sometimes under acrimonious circumstances. ®
The End of Reading Is Here. “The decline of reading will bring about changes of the same magnitude. It will affect our innermost thoughts, our society’s politics and culture, and how we tell the history of our civilization.”
Meta has filed a patent for a system that records your voice and surroundings all day, then uses an AI to analyse your mood. The patent’s stated, theoretical goal is for Meta, a company that makes billions of dollars targeting ads at its users based on their data, is to sell users a wearable that tailors workouts for them based on whether they’re happy or sad.
Patentlyze first noticed the patent which was published on July 2 after Meta filed it back in December of 2025. The filing described an “apparatus” that surveilled a user and their surroundings constantly to craft a better workout. “The audible communications may be associated with contextual factors such as time of day, location, user activity, or digital interaction,” the patent said. “The audible communications may be transcribed, and an emotional-state machine learning model may interpret verbal and nonverbal cues to determine emotional indicators.”
According to the filing, Meta needs to know when a user laughs or sighs, where they are physically, and what objects they’re surrounded by. It would even like to know when you’ve taken your meds. “The AI assistant may listen to a user(s) at predefined times to hear various types of communication, such as sighs, laughter, and/or the tone(s) of a voice(s),” the patent said. “The AI assistant may use these inputs to quantify the user's emotional state or generate other insights about the user [...] in another example, the AI assistant may take multiple inputs in in addition to audio inputs (e.g., of a user's voice) to provide a summary of emotional trends based on various inputs (e.g., a happier emotional state associated with a particular time of day or at a time when medication is taken, etc.).”
The more data it has, the patent explains, the better it could understand a user’s moods. “The system increases the precision and reliability of emotional inference by aligning multimodal sensor inputs on synchronized timelines, which creates a novel data structure that supports richer emotional analysis,” it said. “These combined features deliver a technical improvement in automated audio interpretation, enabling continuous emotional monitoring on everyday devices.”
The emotional-analyzing AI would need far more than just a user’s words to determine moods over time. A longer description of the hypothetical training data for the AI included “attributes of thousands of objects” such as a user’s books, personal messages, and newspapers. “In some examples, audible communications may include speech (e.g., voice data), sighs, laughter, or other nonverbal sounds associated with an expression(s), an emotion(s), or ideas. In some examples, the audible communications may include the tone(s) of a voice of a user while making the communication(s),” it said.
All this data, Meta says, would be in service of tailoring better workouts. Humans, the patent explained, are simply not as good as a machine for this. “Personal trainers cannot provide the level of precision in guidance, such as correcting a pose and/or body movement,” it said. “These challenges create a need for a practical approach that uses a single device to observe movement, recommend routines, and provide corrective guidance.”
AI lives and dies by its training data. Many of the leading LLMs have already scanned the entire internet and are still hungry for more. Meta’s patented system would give it unprecedented access to the movements, moods, and interactions of its users. Giving the user workout suggestions in return seems a paltry compensation.
A wearable device that records every sound you make and transcribes it for an LLM while monitoring your exact location is a privacy nightmare. It’s also a fear that underpins many people’s concerns about big tech.
A wearable that records your every word and divines your emotions would also, necessarily, record your interactions with other people. Meta has pioneered non-consensual public recording with its smartglasses so it’s not shocking to see it file a patent that suggests it’ll move further into that space.
The last time Meta explicitly pursued user’s emotional data, it horrified people. In 2012, the company then called Facebook conducted a study into “emotional contagion” using Facebook’s newsfeed. Meta altered the feeds of 700,000 users to see if it could make them happy or sad just by tweaking what they saw online. Meta found that it could, in fact, alter people’s moods if it wanted. It did this without informing users they’d been part of an experiment.
Now it’s patented a device that will record your laughter and play it back to you. All in service of crafting the perfect workout routine. “An implementation may show that the user laughs more often on certain days, shows improved mood after life events, or expresses more positive emotion during morning routines. The device may also provide citations to specific audio moments that support the emotional interpretation,” it said.
Meta wants to tell you how you feel and it’ll use your own voice to do it.
Meta did not immediately respond to 404 Media’s request for comment.