When my loved ones are on the move, I can’t rest until I know they’ve got from A to B safely. How I long for the ignorance of the olden days

I’ll call it compassionate surveillance. It’s what I do when I’m worried about a loved one who is on the move. I’m not sure it’s a good thing. Be they travelling by plane, train or automobile, I will keep tabs on them. I can’t help myself. If my daughters – who are highly competent grownups – make a long car journey, by means of some smartphone hocus-pocus I’ll know where they are. I should point out that this is done with consent: they know that I know where they are. In my mum’s case, this is less true, if only because she has long given up trying to make head or tail of location sharing and other such sorcery.

I cross my heart and hope to die when I swear to you that I only do this when they are in transit. Honestly, I never look up where they are on a night out or whatever. That would be weird – or weirder, anyway. But when they get in a car, I get the fear. The catastrophising begins. It’s a big world and their car is small. A million other cars, buses and lorries share the roads on which they are motoring. In this, as in all things, overthinking is calamitous. The more you think about what could go wrong, the more your imagination obliges with a steady stream of ghastly possibilities.

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How often should you clean your cat’s litter box? Plus three other tips for peak cat cleanliness

Throughout history, people have revered cats. Ancient Egyptians worshipped feline deities. In Norse mythology, the Viking goddess Freya rode around in a sled pulled by two cats. And my father regularly takes his cat on walks around town in a little bubble backpack so she can see the sights.

As anyone who has lived with a cat knows, we serve them and not the other way around. This includes the messy and malodorous task of tending their litter box.

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The Weapons director delivers a seat-edge thriller with a standout lead performance from Austin Abrams as an everyman navigating chaos

Typically horror fans react to blatant on-screen stupidity with vocal derision. Don’t go in there! Girl, get out of the house! Guys, ignore that distress signal! But genre aficionados may find themselves falling a little bit in love with Bryan (Austin Abrams), the hapless de facto hero of the new horror film Resident Evil. It’s not that Bryan is traditionally hunky, or even a caricatured version of a square-jawed warrior, like Bruce Campbell in his later Evil Dead outings. But Abrams is in possession of a Campbell-ish charm, even in the face of his character’s repeated blundering, as well as an everyman relatability that makes this wild carnival-ride movie play a little closer to the ground.

Bryan is a courier – a glorified Postmates driver, in his own estimation – who postpones the end of his shift to take one last night-time run, driving an important item from one hospital to another in a snowstorm without the proper tires or four-wheel drive. After all, the distance and urgency means double pay. When he hits a mysterious woman who emerges suddenly on to a slick road, he’s drawn into a hellish outbreak that will look familiar to fans of the Resident Evil video game series (or maybe the previous six-movie Milla Jovovich franchise, which apparently drifted afield from the games’ storylines).

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Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, published when Dillard was 28, skyrocketed her to become one of the most prominent nonfiction writers of her generation

Annie Dillard, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, died aged 81 at her home in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Tuesday.

Maggie Nelson, Dillard’s literary editor, confirmed her death to the New York Times.

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Rachida Dati accused of lobbying for carmaker Renault-Nissan when she was member of European parliament

Rachida Dati, a former French culture minister, has gone on trial in Paris on corruption charges linked to dealings with the Renault-Nissan carmaking group.

Dati, 60, is accused of illegal lobbying when she accepted €900,000 (£770,000) in lawyer’s fees from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan while she was a member of the European parliament. The court will have to decide what the money was for.

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Even as the ‘extremist’ AfD seeks further election gains in Germany, Europe’s leaders can learn from Sweden’s dangerous embrace with far-right ideology

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Europe’s focus turned nervously to Sweden on Sunday, after an explosive election in Germany just a week earlier placed a far-right party, officially classed as “extremist”, on the brink of power in a German state for the first time since the Nazi era. A party with neo-Nazi roots has been pulling the government’s strings in Sweden for the last four years – would the country’s general election put the far right formally in government? Or would enough Swedes opt for a gear change, having seen the Sweden Democrats’ hardline (some would say poisonous) agenda in action?

Votes were still being counted on Wednesday but it was immediately clear that the far-right Sweden Democrats had suffered a setback; their first loss of support among voters since it entered parliament for the first time 16 years ago. The party slipped from being the country’s second biggest party to its third.

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In het debat komt één onderwerp wel erg vaak terug: AI. Dat is vooral een pesterijtje naar premier Jetten, die – zo bleek uit een publicatie van de Volkskrant vorige week…

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - De Amsterdamse AEX-index is woensdag vrijwel onveranderd gesloten. De beurshandel stond vooral in het teken van het rentebesluit van de Amerikaanse centrale bank later op de dag. De olieprijzen gingen omlaag na de flinke prijsstijging van eerder deze week. Shell stond daardoor bij de dalers.

De Federal Reserve verhoogt naar verwachting de rente in de Verenigde Staten met een kwart procentpunt om de hoge inflatie te bestrijden. Het zou de eerste renteverhoging zijn sinds juli 2023 en de eerste rentewijziging onder Fed-voorzitter Kevin Warsh. Met een verhoging zou de Fed wel ingaan tegen de herhaalde oproep van president Donald Trump voor een lage rente.

De AEX eindigde op 1096,14 punten. De MidKap, de graadmeter voor de middelgrote fondsen op het Damrak, won 0,5 procent tot 1089,64 punten. Op de aandelenbeurzen in Frankfurt, Londen en Parijs werden winsten tot 0,6 procent op de koersenborden gezet.

Chipbedrijf ASMI

De olieprijzen daalden meer dan 3 procent. Shell zakte ruim 2 procent. Het Britse BP daalde 2,3 procent in Londen en het Franse TotalEnergies verloor 0,6 procent in Parijs.

Koploper in de Amsterdamse hoofdindex was chipbedrijf ASMI met een plus van 2,9 procent. Branchegenoten Besi en ASML klommen tot 1,4 procent. Ook staalproducent ArcelorMittal stond bij de sterkste stijgers in de AEX met een plus van 2,3 procent.

Heijmans

In de MidKap waren bouwers Heijmans en BAM lijstaanvoerders met winsten tot 3,5 procent. De Griekse fabrikant van nachtkijkers en warmtebeeldsystemen voor de defensiesector Theon sloot de rij met een min van 1,9 procent, gevolgd door uitzender Randstad met een daling van 1,5 procent.

ForFarmers klom 5 procent bij de kleinere bedrijven op Beursplein 5 na een overname. Het veevoerbedrijf koopt via het Poolse dochterbedrijf Tasomix alle aandelen van STW, een veevoerproducent in Oost-Polen. De producent van funderingen voor windmolens op zee Sif leverde 5,7 procent in na een adviesverlaging door beleggingsadviseur Oddo BHF.

De kringloopwinkel is populairder dan ooit: zestien miljoen betalende klanten, ruim 160 miljoen kilo aan spullen en de hoogste winkelomzet ooit. Toch staan de winkels er financieel slechter voor dan een jaar geleden. Subsidies vielen weg, textiel kost geld in plaats van dat het opbrengt, er verdwenen ruim 3.500 arbeidsplaatsen.

De kringloopwinkel is populairder dan ooit: zestien miljoen betalende klanten, ruim 160 miljoen kilo aan spullen en de hoogste winkelomzet ooit. Toch staan de winkels er financieel slechter voor dan een jaar geleden. Subsidies vielen weg, textiel kost geld in plaats van dat het opbrengt, er verdwenen ruim 3.500 arbeidsplaatsen.

Recordomzet, structureel verlies

De bij de branchevereniging aangesloten kringlooporganisaties boekten in 2025 samen 156,3 miljoen euro winkelomzet, tegen 155,5 miljoen een jaar eerder. De gemiddelde klant liet 9,80 euro achter, iets meer dan de 9,28 euro van 2024. Prachtige cijfers, met één probleem: voor het tweede jaar op rij lagen de gemiddelde kosten van een kringlooporganisatie hoger dan de gemiddelde inkomsten.

De belangrijkste boosdoener is het lage-inkomensvoordeel, de loonkostensubsidie die per 1 januari 2025 verdween. Juist kringloopbedrijven maakten daar als inclusieve werkgever veel gebruik van. De gemiddelde vestiging zag haar subsidie kelderen van 60.580 naar 38.184 euro. Daar komen hogere loon-, energie- en huisvestingslasten bovenop, terwijl ook gemeenten op hun budgetten letten.

Jouw oude kleding is nu een kostenpost

Textiel is met 28 procent nog altijd de grootste omzetcategorie in de winkel, maar de inname ervan is van inkomstenbron in kostenpost veranderd. Er wordt zoveel goedkope fast fashion ingeleverd dat sorteren meer tijd kost dan het oplevert, en voor het afvoeren van de restpartij moet worden betaald. Een volle vuilniszak met versleten T-shirts is dus geen gift meer, maar een rekening.

Minder handen achter de balie

Op 31 december 2025 werkten er 14.954 mensen in de sector, ruim 3.500 minder dan een jaar eerder. Vacatures bleven bewust open, tijdelijke contracten werden niet verlengd. Dat raakt de kern van het model: driekwart van alle kringloopmedewerkers, 11.168 mensen, heeft een ondersteuningsvraag door een arbeidsbeperking, een uitkeringsverleden of een leertraject. Minder geld betekent hier heel direct minder werkplekken voor mensen die elders moeilijk aan de slag komen.

Wat je zelf kunt doen

• Lever schoon en heel in. Kapotte, vlekkerige of pluizige kleding kost de winkel geld. Textielbakken van de gemeente zijn voor versleten spul een beter adres.

• Bel vooraf over grote spullen. Meubels zijn 12 procent van de omzet, maar de opslagruimte is beperkt en niet elke vestiging haalt op.

• Koop juist de kleding daar. Kringloopwinkels blijven het populairste fysieke kanaal voor tweedehands mode, en textiel is de categorie waarmee de winkel haar begroting rond krijgt.

• Vraag naar het vrijwilligersrooster. Met 3.743 vrijwilligers in de sector en krimpende budgetten is een vaste ochtend per week concreter hulp dan een zak spullen.

Verwacht de komende maanden strengere innameregels, kortere openingstijden en vestigingen die verhuizen naar goedkoper vastgoed buiten het centrum. Het aanbod is er. Het geld om het te verwerken niet.

Meer weten?

• Monitor Kringloop Nederland 2025 (BKN)
• Kringloopsector heeft genoeg spullen, maar niet genoeg geld en mankracht (NU.nl)
• Onderzoek tweedehands shoppen (Markteffect)

sapphire_rouge has added a photo to the pool:

As an experiment, I took photos I had previously discarded and had three different AI models evaluate them on a scale of 5—from the perspective of an art university professor—then uploaded the one with the highest total score.
Personally, I had rejected this photo because the shop owner's expression wasn't quite right.
Gemini: 4.4, Claude: 4.5, Grok: 4.7
今回は試験的に、過去に没にした写真を3種のAIに「芸術大学の教授目線で5点満点で評価」させ合計点数の高いものをUPしてみました。
自分としては、店主の表情がいまいちなので没にした。
gemini:4.4 claude:4.5 grok:4.7

sapphire_rouge has added a photo to the pool:

As an experiment, I took photos I had previously discarded and had three different AI models rate them on a scale of 1 to 5—adopting the perspective of an art university professor—then uploaded the one with the highest total score.
Personally, I had rejected the photo because the human subject didn't stand out strongly enough against the background.
Gemini: 4.8, Claude: 3.5, Grok: 4.1
今回は試験的に、過去に没にした写真を3種のAIに「芸術大学の教授目線で5点満点で評価」させ合計点数の高いものをUPしてみました。
自分としては、背景に対して人間の印象が弱いので没にした。
gemini:4.8 claude:3.5 grok:4.1

sapphire_rouge has added a photo to the pool:

As an experiment, I took photos I had previously discarded and had three different AI models rate them on a scale of 5—from the perspective of an art university professor—then uploaded the ones with the highest total scores.
Personally, I had rejected them because the composition was lackluster.
Gemini: 4.3, Claude: 3.3, Grok: 4.0
今回は試験的に、過去に没にした写真を3種のAIに「芸術大学の教授目線で5点満点で評価」させ合計点数の高いものをUPしてみました。
自分としては、構図がいまいちなので没にした
gemini:4.3 claude:3.3 grok:4.0

Even with an all-but-guaranteed majority for United Russia, experts say the vote remains an important gauge of public sentiment.

Max Verstappen gaat het helemaal anders doen. Dit seizoen gaan de F1-wagens als Mario Karts en dat hoort niet per se bij de Formule 1 maar juist wel bij karten, en omdat de meeste mensen, vooral in Nederland, Formule 1 kijken wegens Max vs. de rest heeft Red Bull gedacht: gaan we doen. 'Max vs. 100' heet het speciale evenement waarbij karters, die geen karters zijn maar influencers, van over de hele wereld in een kart stappen om Max Verstappen, bekend van kunnen karten, achter zich te houden. Dat is dan ook meteen wat wél enigszins overeenkomt met het huidige F1-seizoen: Verstappen start achteraan. De Nederlandse deelnemende amateurs zijn ESPN-presentatrice Fresia Cousiño Arias, F1-verslaggever Jacky Martens en YouTuber Qucee. Geen idee voor wie wat mogelijk is maar er zijn geen pitstops en het duurt 30 rondjes. Kan iedereen die in Disneysprookjes gelooft Disney+ of de Amerikaanse ESPN heeft zelf gaan zien. Nu LIVE op Silverstone: de race van het jaar.
Update - Daar zit je dan als viervoudig wereldkampioen.
Update - We hopen natuurlijk op een rode vlag per influencer.
Update - START OM 19:00.

Wat Verstappen nodig heeft: vleugels

Social

Paul Ford: Aided by LLMs, people & companies are producing lots of software. But where are the AI-coded killer apps? “[AI is] very good at reproducing things that look and feel like what came before.”

Bij een inspectie van de westelijke Suurhoffbrug (A15) heeft Rijkswaterstaat enkele scheuren gezien. Er worden dan ook meteen maatregelen genomen bij de belangrijke brug richting de Maasvlakte. Vanaf vandaag zal het verkeer over de vluchtstrook worden geleid en blijven de twee reguliere rijstroken dicht.

There’s kids running up a few hundred bucks on in-app purchases, and then there’s the case of nine-year old YouTuber Mighty Mike Plays, who just cost his dad $118,000 – and possibly his job – after running a bunch of Google ad campaigns for his channel on papa's company credit card. The young Roblox and Minecraft YouTuber posted a video Tuesday – or perhaps it's more apt to say his father Dave posted the video to explain why Might Mike Plays might be going dark for a while. In it, nine-year-old Mike explains “I think this might be the end,” before handing the mic to his dad. “My son has been running some high-budget campaigns on YouTube that I was pretty much unaware of,” Dave explained after taking the mic. Dave didn’t figure this out after spotting the charges himself, however. He learned about it after being called into a meeting with his manager and the finance department at his employer, an unnamed “large” company where he works in marketing. Dave was confronted with a spreadsheet with a full breakdown of three weeks of advertising spending from his corporate card that totaled $118K and asked to explain it. “It dawned on me that, oh crap, this is probably something my son did,” Dave said in the video. “The number sitting on the page in front of me had about five more digits than it should have.” A breakdown of the spending named his child’s account, as well as Roblox and Minecraft video titles, making it pretty clear pretty quickly that Mighty Mike had been misusing dad’s corporate card. Whatever excuse Dave made for the mortgage-sized mess apparently didn’t go over too well with his employer, as Dave explained in the video that the matter is being escalated up the corporate ladder and he’s not sure if he’ll keep his job. “This is not just like a haha, funny story, everything worked out fine kinda situation,” Dave said. “There is a real genuine chance I have to end up personally having to pay some or all of this back out of my pocket.” A series of avoidable events As for how a nine-year old could run up six figures of ad spending to boost his video game recordings, Dave admits that’s pretty much entirely his fault. Dave started the channel for Mike a couple of years ago after watching his son spend hours in front of the computer passively ingesting Roblox and Minecraft videos posted by other players. He reasoned that encouraging Mike to record and post his own videos would at least be a bit more interactive. After a few months of doing so, Mike asked his dad for some Robux, the in-game currency used by Roblox players to buy cosmetic items and access to game features. In what would prove to be the first of several dumb moves, Dave put it on his company card. The advertising professional apparently failed to realize that putting those card details into the account made them permanently accessible. Then came the second mistake: Mike said that his subscriber and viewer count wasn’t growing as fast as he wanted it to, so Dave sat him down and helped him set up a Google ad campaign for his videos with a $20 spending limit. “I didn’t think for one second that this was going to be an issue,” Dave admitted. “Huge mistake on my part; turns out he was watching a little more closely than I realized.” After that $20 budget ran out, Mike simply started another campaign. Then another, and another, and presumably a bunch more after that, too. “When a nine-year old gets access to ad account with no limits and a CC that just says ‘approved’ every single time no matter what, he does not think that what he’s doing is wrong,” Dave said, correctly taking the blame for everything that happened. “This nine-year-old kid literally ransacked my company card,” Dave added. There are some good lessons for parents to take away from this: First off, don’t use your company card for personal purchases, which ought to go without saying. It’s perfectly reasonable that this should cost Dave his job, as he was apparently fine with using his company card for small personal purchases and is only feeling the sting of accountability because his kid went wild with company cash. Second, it’s probably safe to assume, after so many in-app purchase horror stories over the years, that any financial information stored on a device accessible to a kid is going to be used inappropriately, and you have no one to blame except yourself when it happens. “I’m not blaming him,” said Dave. “He’s only nine, he didn’t understand fully what a company card meant, or that a large number on the screen represented real money.” Better yet, just keep your kids away from screens. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest exposing kids to screen time – even a bit of it – has a long-term effect on their developing brains. Make ‘em go play outside, and if Minecraft is still on their minds just give ‘em a shovel and tell them to dig until they find some diamonds, or redstone, or something. It’s better for your wallet, the kids get exercise, and on the off chance they find something of value you can turn that into some Robux instead. ®