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US-led talks offer scant evidence Ukraine peace is near
Two days of US-led diplomacy involving Ukrainian, European and Russian representatives have produced little sign that a peace deal is near. A proposed summit between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin has not gained traction, while Putin appears to face limited pressure to end the war. In Oslo, talks were described as “good and…
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Nvidia woos wary Europeans with more open weights models
Nvidia has released a new set of open weights models at GTC Berlin, aiming to meet European demand for sovereign AI and give organisations more options to build AI systems using their own data. The releases include tools for search and document processing, as well as a compact autonomous driving model. The Nemotron 3.5 embedding…
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French politician calls out Victor Wembanyama for supporting, encouraging French protestors
Nice mayor Ciotti criticised Victor Wembanyama for supporting France’s protest movement, saying public figures who backed the 17 October demonstrations bore responsibility for encouraging unrest. The dispute highlights how a campaign that began with calls to improve school conditions broadened into opposition to government spending cuts and included violent disorder. Wembanyama had said he supported…
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Report: Musk ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, then blamed it on Trump
A Wall Street Journal report says Elon Musk made the final decision to impose a speed cap on a military satellite service used by Ukraine, despite Musk’s earlier claim that the US government controlled such limits. The restriction reportedly disrupted Ukrainian drone operations and caused alarm in Kyiv, while prompting confusion over whether Musk or…
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Britain would be welcomed back to the EU – but there would be strings attached, says bloc’s ‘Mr Brexit’
Michel Barnier says the EU would welcome the UK back, but rejoining would come with conditions and require a clear decision by Britain. He warned that accession would be long and complicated, with no option to choose only parts of EU membership, and said Parliament should debate the country’s intentions. Barnier said the UK left…
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Russia ready to resume talks with Ukraine and US to end war
Vladimir Putin’s top aide, Yuri Ushakov, says Russia is ready in principle to restart talks with Ukraine and the United States on ending the war. The suggestion follows a meeting between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg and could mark a return to negotiations suspended in February. Ushakov said a new round…
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Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine review – turgid tribute to pioneering star
Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine, a 100-minute performance about Josephine Baker and racial discrimination, has made its UK premiere at London’s Barbican Hall. The review finds soprano Julia Bullock compelling, but says the piece is slow-moving and often lacks intimacy. Created by Bullock, composer Tyshawn Sorey, poet Claudia Rankine and director Peter Sellars, the work…
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Jensen Huang’s Vision for Europe Runs on Plug-In Data Centers
Jensen Huang used Nvidia’s Berlin conference to argue that Europe should build and supply AI systems, rather than simply use them. His main announcement was a modular data centre called the DSX Pod, which Nvidia says can be installed quickly, potentially easing Europe’s slow infrastructure development. The preassembled units contain Nvidia’s Vera Rubin computing racks…
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EU probes Booking.com’s safeguards against accommodation fraud and scams
The European Commission has opened an investigation into Booking.com over whether it has done enough to protect users from fake accommodation listings, phishing and payment scams. Regulators suspect the company may have breached the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to assess risks and take steps to prevent fraud; the inquiry does not determine…
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Macron rebukes foreign leaders over false claims about French unrest
Emmanuel Macron has criticised what he called “stupid comments” by foreign leaders about unrest in France, accusing some of repeating false or AI-generated claims for political purposes. His remarks followed Donald Trump’s claim that migrants, jihadists and communists were responsible for the rioting; Macron said he was referring to Trump among others. France has seen…