Unveils

• The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the Dubai Future Foundation, has unveiled a list of the top 10 emerging technologies expected to shape the year 2026. • The announcement was made during a dedicated panel session at the 2025 World Economic Forum annual meeting held in Davos, Switzerland. • This initiative highlights critical technological advancements to help global leaders and policymakers anticipate shifts in industry and governance.

New craft, called VC-25B Bridge, had provoked protest since $400m jet wildly exceeds limit on unsolicited giftsDonald Trump unveiled the new, temporary Air Force One at a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday, a day after White House officials bid farewell to one of two Boeing 747s used to transport presidents for more than 30 years.The new jet, designated VC-25B and decked out in a punchy red, white, dark blue and gold livery, was gifted to Trump by the Gulf emirate of Qatar, provoking howls of political protest since the $400m jet wildly exceeds the limit on unsolicited gifts of $50 in value in a single calendar year from the same source. Continue reading...

• On June 16, 2026, the G7 unveiled a new global roadmap designed to transition developing nations away from aid dependency. • The strategy emphasizes a significant push for private investment to foster sustainable economic growth and self-sufficiency. • This shift matters as it represents a fundamental change in international development policy, moving from traditional grants to market-driven capital.

• Astrobotic has unveiled the Griffin-1 lunar lander, designed to support NASA's Moon Base mission. • The lander is engineered to transport one of the heaviest payloads ever delivered to the lunar surface, including an Astrolab rover. • This mission is critical for advancing lunar exploration and establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon.

• The Karlovy Vary Film Festival has announced the selected Central European projects for its Central Stage showcase and the Book-to-Screen program. • Featured projects include Tomáš Hodan’s “The Stones Are Rolling to Prague,” focusing on the 1990 Rolling Stones concert, and Tomáš Pavlíček’s comedy “A Few Branches Off,” which explores Czech cottage culture. • The selection highlights regional talent and cinematic adaptations, including work from filmmakers previously recognized at the Berlinale, Cannes, and Tallinn Black Nights.

• FOX Sports has announced its digital coverage roster for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, featuring the award-winning show "FIFA WORLD CUP NOW." • The lineup includes a distinguished group of analysts and personalities, such as Peter Crouch, Kasper Schmeichel, Bob Bradley, Alex Scott, and Walker Zimmerman. • The digital show will provide comprehensive coverage of every match, streaming live pregame, halftime, and postgame analysis.

• The European Union is introducing new regulations for cloud computing, AI, and semiconductors to decrease its strategic dependence on foreign technology providers, primarily US tech giants. • This initiative follows a massive surge in data center investments, which are projected to reach a record $61 billion in 2025, though development remains heavily skewed toward the US. • To counter this imbalance, the EU plans to combine increased funding for data center construction with stricter sovereignty requirements to accelerate infrastructure growth within the bloc.

• The European Union has launched a technological sovereignty package aimed at accelerating independence in AI, semiconductors, and cloud infrastructure. • The strategy focuses on expanding European alternatives for cybersecurity tools, internet technologies, and semiconductor software to reduce reliance on foreign providers. • Key initiatives include funding for open-source start-ups, investments in digital skills, and the implementation of new procurement guidance to increase public sector adoption of EU-developed solutions.

• The European Union has introduced a comprehensive tech sovereignty plan designed to strengthen domestic supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. • The initiative aims to reduce the EU's strategic reliance on technology imports and infrastructure from the United States and Asia. • This move matters as it seeks to protect European digital autonomy and ensure economic security amidst global geopolitical tensions and supply chain vulnerabilities.

• The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) has unveiled its 2026 competition titles for the Crystal Globe and Proxima categories. • The selection features 24 world premieres from filmmakers spanning five continents, including works from Mexico, Japan, Croatia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. • This lineup reinforces the festival's commitment to showcasing new cinematic voices and promoting unconventional storytelling approaches.

• SoftBank has announced a massive investment plan of €75 billion ($87 billion) to develop AI infrastructure in France. • The initiative aims to build 5 GW of AI data center capacity, representing Japan's largest artificial intelligence investment to date. • This move signals a strategic shift in the tech industry, moving focus from software and algorithm development toward the physical hardware and power capacity required for AI.

• The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival will take place from June 12-21, featuring a main competition lineup for the Golden Goblet Awards. • Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai has been appointed to lead the main competition jury for this edition of the event. • In a historic first for the festival, all 12 titles selected for the main competition section will be debuting as world premieres.

• The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival has announced the official selection for its prestigious Golden Goblet competition. • The lineup features a diverse array of international titles, including "Hunter’s Moon" (India-Germany), "9 Temples to Heaven" (Thailand), and "No Good in Sight: A Story" (Kazakhstan). • The competition highlights several world premieres, such as "The Blind Girl and an Elephant" from Bangladesh-Germany and "About the Mother" from Turkey, alongside four Chinese entries.

• Nvidia has unveiled a new PC "superchip" designed to challenge the market dominance of Apple and Intel in the personal computing sector. • The semiconductor is specifically paired with Microsoft Windows to enable computers to run advanced AI applications locally on the device. • This move signals a strategic shift for Nvidia to integrate its AI hardware directly into consumer PCs, potentially disrupting the traditional CPU landscape.

• Nexus Luxembourg 2026 announced a speaker lineup of **150+ leaders** across AI, tech, finance, and governance. • The event is scheduled for **June 10-11** at **LuxExpo The Box**. • While not a product launch or funding event, the lineup shows continued global momentum around AI policy and enterprise technology gatherings.

• Warner Bros. Discovery has announced its most extensive Roland-Garros coverage to date, broadcasting approximately 900 matches across HBO Max, TNT Sports, and Eurosport. • Live coverage of the main draw begins on Sunday, May 24, featuring 215 hours of linear programming in the UK, Ireland, and Europe, alongside live qualifiers on HBO Max. • To increase accessibility, selected matches will be aired on local free-to-air channels in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Turkey.

• Forbes China released its "2026 AI TOP 50" list on May 17, highlighting the companies driving a global productivity revolution through artificial intelligence. • Minto Technology was recognized for its WorkBrain large model and product matrix, which currently serves over 6,000 enterprise and government clients across Australia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. • Deepexi Technology, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025, was featured for integrating its enterprise LLM with the FastAGI platform to create an "AI-grade enterprise operating system."

The Kusuma Neolithic Hall, based on Durrington 68 site, will allow visitors to ‘step back in time’ into the lives of those who built the stone circleIt may have been a place for ceremony or a barn for pack animals. It could have been a place for weary labourers to rest their heads. Or perhaps there was no building at all.English Heritage has unveiled a 7-metre-high reconstruction of what a 4,500-year-old Neolithic hall may have looked like at Stonehenge, offering visitors a glimpse into the lives of the prehistoric builders who raised the world’s most famous stone circle. Continue reading...

• Google announced a new family of AI advances led by Gemini 3.5, which it said is rolling out first through Gemini 3.5 Flash to billions of users. • The company said Flash is its strongest agentic and coding model yet and that it is now the default model in the Gemini app and Google Search AI mode. • Google also introduced Gemini Omni for video generation from text, images, video, and audio, plus Gemini Spark, a cloud-based agent that can organize notes, emails, and chats.

• On May 7, 2026, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced the formation of a national AI supercomputing grid, integrating 16 existing data centers into a unified platform with total processing capacity of more than 40 exaFLOPS. • The grid, funded with ₩12 trillion (about $9 billion), will provide subsidized compute access to domestic startups, universities, and automakers, with particular emphasis on training Korean‑language LLMs and autonomous‑driving models. • Seoul positions the grid as a counterweight to China’s state‑backed AI clusters and U.S. hyperscalers, while also tightening export controls on high‑end GPUs integrated into the network.

• On May 7, 2026, NEC Corporation unveiled its first quantum‑inspired AI accelerator chip, the “Q‑Neuron B1,” designed for edge‑computing devices such as industrial robots, drones, and smart‑city sensors. • The chip reportedly delivers a 3.2x improvement in inference latency over prior NEC ASICs while consuming 38% less power, enabling real‑time video analytics at up to 7680×4320 resolution on low‑bandwidth edge nodes. • NEC aims to ship the first commercial batches to Japanese manufacturers and municipal networks by Q3 2026, with plans to license the architecture to South Korean and Taiwanese partners.

• Kazakhstan launched a comprehensive national AI strategy aimed at building a competitive technology ecosystem and digital infrastructure for regional leadership. • The plan focuses on Central Asia dominance through AI research hubs, talent development, and partnerships with global tech firms. • This initiative matters as it positions Kazakhstan as an emerging AI powerhouse bridging Europe and Asia amid global tech rivalries.

• Anthropic announced Claude Mythos, a new AI model able to detect zero-day vulnerabilities in code that developers have not identified. • The company deemed Mythos too dangerous for public release, sparking debates on its potential to cause 'bugmageddon' or internet collapse. • Through Project Glasswing, Anthropic shares Mythos Preview with 48 organizations including big tech firms and banks to patch critical flaws preemptively.

• Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on May 6, 2026, that 'no one can make us surrender' to US pressure during talks with Iraq's Prime Minister. • He urged Washington to remove military threats from the Middle East, reinforcing Iran's resolve amid ongoing conflict. • The IRGC introduced a new 'Hormuz security plan' to block weapons and supplies to US bases in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating strategic tensions.

Proposal from Ron DeSantis would net Republicans up to four additional US House seats ahead of midterm electionsRon DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, on Monday unveiled his proposal for redistricting his state’s congressional maps, a move he hopes will net his party up to four additional House seats in November’s midterm elections.The long-awaited reveal, which will be debated during a special session of Florida’s legislature called by DeSantis beginning Tuesday, is the latest, and possibly final, act of a nationwide “gerrymandering” battle for control of Congress sparked by Donald Trump that looks increasingly to be moving back in Republicans’ favor. Continue reading...

• OpenAI announced a new AI model specifically engineered to enhance the performance and capabilities of other AI systems. • The development positions OpenAI as a leader in meta-AI tools that optimize existing models for better efficiency and functionality. • This breakthrough could accelerate AI advancement cycles, enabling faster iterations and broader applications across industries.

Federal health minister Mark Butler announces major changes and says scheme is costing ‘too much and is growing too fast’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt least 160,000 people are expected to be removed from the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 2030, as the Albanese government looks to claw back savings by changing who can access the scheme.The health minister, Mark Butler, also announced on Wednesday the $50bn scheme’s growth rate will be brought down to just 2% every year until 2030 in an effort to curb annual plan inflation and produce billions in savings before the 12 May federal budget. Continue reading...

• Anthropic launched Claude Mythos Preview on April 7, 2026, an advanced AI model designed for defensive cybersecurity that uncovered thousands of major vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser. • Through Project Glasswing, access granted to tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, and over 40 organizations maintaining critical software infrastructure. • Rising concerns from experts and governments about misuse risks to economies, public safety, and national security; US software stocks tumbled on April 9 amid fears of AI disruption to traditional security firms.