Tag • #europe

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‘A fork in the road’: laundry-sorting robot spurs AI hopes and fears at Europe’s biggest tech event

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Humanoid called Digit fuelled boosterism at Web Summit, but also raised concerns about jobs, safety and climate

This year’s Web Summit, in Lisbon, was all about artificial intelligence – and a robot sorting laundry.

Digit, a humanoid built by the US firm Agility Robotics, demonstrated how far AI has come in a few years by responding to voice commands – filtered through Google’s Gemini AI model – to sift through a pile of coloured T-shirts and place them in a basket.

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‘I’m just here for the selfie’: the mirror reflecting Rome’s TikTok visitor boom

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Thousands flock to Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola and other former hidden gems just for photo ops

There are two entrances for visitors to Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola, a prominent 17th-century church in central Rome that has an illustrious baroque facade.

The entrance on the left is for those seeking to soak up its history and artistic treasures, or perhaps light a candle and have a moment of reflection. The one on the right is for those seeking to capture their reflection in what has become known as “the best selfie mirror” in Rome.

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Shrinking GDP forecast adds to German woes after coalition collapse

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

European Commission figures predict German economy, usually the engine of the EU, will contract O.1% this year

Business live – latest updates

Germany’s looming general election will be fought against the backdrop of a stagnating economy, the European Commission has forecast, with GDP expected to have contracted in 2024.

The commission’s quarterly forecast suggested Germany, traditionally the engine of the bloc’s economy, will be its weakest performer in 2025, notching up growth of just 0.7% after shrinking by 0.1% this year.

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French say ‘non’ for longer as data shows increase in age to lose virginity

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Figures also reveal both men and women having less sex – but number of partners over lifetime increasing

The French have a certain reputation when it comes to the vie d’amour . But the latest national study on the country’s sexual behaviour may offer a reason to rethink.

According to findings from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, the age at which French people are having sex for the first time is increasing.

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Valencia’s president admits mistakes in flood response but will not resign

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Carlos Mazón resists calls to step down, saying floods that killed 216 in his area were unprecedented and ‘apocalyptic’

The regional president of Valencia, who is under mounting pressure over his handling of the catastrophic floods that killed 216 people in the area, has conceded mistakes were made but refused to step down, claiming the unprecedented and “apocalyptic” scale of the disaster simply overwhelmed the system.

A total of 224 people lost their lives – all but eight of them in Valencia – when torrential rains and floods hit eastern, central and southern parts of Spain on Tuesday 29 October, drowning people in their homes and cars and sending torrents of water through cities, towns and villages.

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Could Labour build closer EU trade ties and would this increase growth?

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Bank of England governor says Brexit has weighed on UK economy, while Donald Trump will also complicate matters

Business live – latest updates

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, used his Mansion House speech on Thursday to say Brexit had undermined the UK’s economy and to urge the government to improve relations with the EU , for the sake of growth.

Could Labour pull the UK closer to the trading bloc – and would it make much difference to economic growth?

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Pourquoi Bruxelles inflige 798 millions d’euros d’amende à Meta ?

news.movim.eu / JournalDuGeek • 15 November

Les amendes continuent de pleuvoir sur les géants américains du numérique et c'est au tour de Meta d'en faire les frais. La société de Mark Zuckerberg vient d'écoper d'une amende de 797,72 millions de dollars, à cause du rapprochement entre Facebook et Marketplace.

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How the unrest unfolded in Amsterdam – video timeline

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Conflicting reports emerged after violence erupted in Amsterdam around a Uefa football game between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Guardian has analysed footage posted across social media to try to construct a timeline and understand what led to the clashes. For 24 hours tensions rose across the city in what the mayor, Femke Halsema, called a 'toxic cocktail of antisemitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East'

‘Toxic cocktail’ led to Amsterdam violence, mayor says

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‘Who benefits from this?’ Soul-searching after the Amsterdam violence

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 November

Jewish and Muslim communities speak of heightened fears as questions linger about events around football match

Carrying white signs scrawled with messages urging unity, they took turns laying white roses at the statue of Anne Frank, steps away from the home where she, her family and four other people had hidden from Nazi persecution.

Days after Amsterdam was gripped by what officials described as “a toxic cocktail” of hooliganism, antisemitism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel, the handful of imams and rabbis from European organisations had travelled to the city in an attempt to calm tensions.