Ukraine joining the European Union
On November 8th the European Commission in Brussels unveiled its annual assessment of how countries who aspire to become European Union members are getting on with the reforms needed to do so. Eight are actively vying to join as well as Ukraine, including Georgia, Moldova and six countries in the western Balkans that have sought
Omegle is shutting down after 14 years
Social media platforms are facing increased scrutiny from regulators around the world. This week, in the UK Ofcom issued its first guidance for tech platforms to comply with the Online Safety Act and the communications regulator singled out online grooming. Popular live video chat website Omegle is shutting down after 14 years following user claims
Hollywood actors to end a four month strike
US actors are expected to resume work after their union agreed a tentative deal with Hollywood studios to end a four-month strike. The shutdown – combined with a separate writers’ strike – paralysed the entertainment industry and disrupted numerous major films and TV shows. Actors have been calling for better pay and safeguards on the
Apple: Steve Wozniak in hospital
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is in hospital in Mexico, better known in the tech world as Woz, Mr Wozniak is a Silicon Valley veteran who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976 and invented the first Apple computer. Apple went on to become the most valuable company in the world. The computing pioneer signed a
Germany to deploy Eurofighter jets to Romania
The German Air Force has supported NATO’s air policing mission in Romania in the past. The alliance reinforced its military presence along the eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Germany will deploy four Eurofighter jets to Romania to support NATO’s air policing mission from the end of November. The jets will be
Hezbollah plot in Brazil
Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim organisation which exerts significant political influence in Lebanon and controls the country’s most powerful armed force. It was established in the early 1980s and like Hamas in the Gaza Strip is considered a terrorist organisation by the UK, the US, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and other nations. An alleged plot
Epic Games takes Google to court
In 2020, Fortnite was pulled from Google Play and the App Store, for using its own payments system. The firm accused Google of acting as a monopoly – charging 30% commission on in-app purchases on Google Play store. Epic Games accused Google of turning its back on its “Don’t be Evil” motto, which the company
The Grok AI chatbot
Generative AI tools like Grok have been widely criticised for including basic errors while sounding highly convincing in their style of writing. Elon Musk has launched an AI chatbot called Grok on his social media site X, formerly Twitter, Mr Musk boasted that Grok “loves sarcasm” and would answer questions with “a little humour”. However,
The fall of WeWork
For years its cash-torching ways went unchallenged, thanks to the reality-distorting powers of its flamboyant founder, Adam Neumann, who succeeded in convincing investors, most notably SoftBank, that it was not an office-rental business but a zippy tech firm on a mission to “elevate the world’s consciousness”. t the height of the silliness in early 2019,
Missile race in the Middle East
Missiles have been part of war in the region for over 50 years. The Soviet Scud, a workhorse of the rocket world, was first fired in the final stages of the Yom Kippur war of 1973 against Israel. Huge numbers of Scuds were fired by Iran and Iraq in the so-called war of the cities