Tory

• Portugal and Spain have submitted a joint proposal to the European Commission to develop a massive AI gigafactory infrastructure network. • The project involves a total investment of €12 billion (approximately $13.7 billion), with funding to be split equally between the two nations. • Portugal's portion of the network will be centered in Sines, with additional facilities planned for Lisbon and Abrantes.

The Men Who Saved the World, the Pulitzer winner’s lost manuscript found in Yale archives, appears in Strand magazineA never-before-published short story by Edith Wharton, the first female Pulitzer prize winner, who encapsulated the so-called gilded age of US society in bestselling novels including The Age of Innocence, received a first public airing on Friday.The Men Who Saved the World, discovered in the author’s archives at Yale University, appears in the Strand, a quarterly magazine that has previously turned up lost or previously unknown works by literary luminaries such as Raymond Chandler, Graham Greene and Tennessee Williams. Continue reading...

• Europe is seeking increased regulatory control over global AI services, sparking a debate on technology protectionism between the EU and the United States. • The U.S. has cautioned Europe against these restrictive measures, citing historical failures like Brazil’s "market reserve policy" from the 1970s. • Brazil's previous "Brazil-first" approach attempted to shield domestic industry from foreign competition but ultimately hindered technological growth and innovation.

• An analysis by The Athletic identifies five teams—Spain, France, Argentina, Germany, and the Netherlands—as the most likely winners of the 2026 World Cup based on historical trends. • Spain and France are currently the top betting favorites, while Argentina enters as the defending champion and Germany is noted for its ability to win across different eras. • The Netherlands is highlighted as a strong contender despite never winning a title, having previously lost finals in 1974, 1978, and 2010.

Pulp Fiction director writes in Sight and Sound that ‘since the pandemic … it seems almost impossible for a new movie to come out that I don’t pick to death’Quentin Tarantino has criticised contemporary Hollywood, calling it “a flavourless sausage factory”.Writing in Sight and Sound magazine, Tarantino said that “since the pandemic … it seems almost impossible for a new movie to come out that I don’t pick to death”. He added: “Flaws, implausibilities, audience pandering, miscast performers or just plain stupid shit usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of the flavourless sausage factory that used to call itself Hollywood.” Continue reading...

• The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is poised for a landslide victory in South Korea's local elections, marking a crushing defeat for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). • In a tight contest, PPP candidate Yu Eui-dong holds a slim lead of less than 5 percentage points over Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party and Kim Yong-nam of the DP. • This outcome signifies a major shift in political momentum, potentially strengthening the ruling party's legislative and administrative grip on local governance.

• The European Audiovisual Observatory held a panel at the Marché du Film to analyze how public funding and fiscal incentives are evolving amid declining cinema admissions and SVoD growth. • Key regional updates include Italy introducing stricter transparency rules for tax credits, Spain seeing a 33.6% drop in foreign film investment in 2024, and the UK launching a £380 million Creative Industries Sector Plan. • These shifts highlight the critical role of state aid in maintaining the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector against global market pressures.

• The European Audiovisual Observatory released a study on May 29, 2026, analyzing the impact of tax credits, cash rebates, and tax shelters on audiovisual production. • The report maps the legal frameworks governing these incentives, including the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and EU state aid law under Article 107(1) of the TFEU. • This research is critical as fiscal incentives have become primary drivers in determining where and how films and series are financed and filmed globally.