Author: Vidya Saras

Thousands of Georgians are protesting in the capital Tbilisi as a new president allied with the ruling Georgian Dream party was inaugurated.Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former pro-footballer, has been sworn in during a critical political period for the country after the government suspended its application to join the European Union. Georgian Dream won parliamentary elections in October, but the victory was mired in allegations of fraud which have since sparked several street protests.Outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili refused to step down on Sunday, saying she was the “only legitimate president”.Addressing crowds gathered outside, Zourabichvili said she would leave the presidential palace but…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.At least 151 people were killed on Sunday after a South Korean passenger jet crashed and burst into flame on landing, according to local authorities, in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.The Jeju Air flight was returning from Bangkok with 181 people on board when it failed to deploy its landing gear, skidding down the runway before it struck a wall and was engulfed in fire at Muan International Airport in the south of the country.Two crew members were rescued from…

It’s always fun to hear about new grants as they’re awarded, but what happens after the announcement? In this series, we check in on projects that are well underway or already at the finish line. You may have noticed something different—instead of monthly posts, we’ll be highlighting grantees who…

NFT art has become one of the biggest niches of the blockchain industry at large. One individual has been crucial to its rise – and to this day, is still considered to be the #1 NFT artist in the world. That artist is Beeple.Beeple arguably kick-started the NFT boom of 2021 – and ever since, he has continued to create daily art, hold major industry events, and held his head high as the standard-bearer for the NFT industry at large. Thanks to his tireless work, NFTs have rightfully established their place in the art world, causing seismic shifts in how…

In 2025, there will be a course correction in AI and geopolitics, as world leaders increasingly understand that their national interests are best served through the promise of a more positive and cooperative future.The post-ChatGPT years in AI discourse could be characterized as somewhere between a gold rush and a moral panic. In 2023, at the same time as there was record investment in AI, tech experts, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, published an open letter calling for a six-month moratorium on the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, while others compared AI to a “nuclear war”…

There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re shopping for USB flash drives, and we also have some tips for using them.Capacity: To decide on the capacity you need, first check the size of the folders or files you want to copy. Each USB drive in our guide has a stated capacity, but the usable storage will be slightly less than that, because the device’s firmware requires space.Speed: USB standards are advancing all the time, and we recommend USB 3.0 as a minimum, though higher is better. While USB standards have different theoretical maximum speeds, it’s crucial…

Kamala Harris and the Democrat establishment may have blown over a billion dollars to lose the 2024 election, but it’s their Never Trump allies most likely facing oblivion after President Donald Trump’s historic victory.

Agentic AI systems have revolutionized industries by enabling complex workflows through specialized agents working in collaboration. These systems streamline operations, automate decision-making, and enhance overall efficiency across various domains, including market research, healthcare, and enterprise management. However, their optimization remains a persistent challenge, as traditional methods rely heavily on manual adjustments, limiting scalability and adaptability. A critical challenge in optimizing Agentic AI systems is their dependence on manual configurations, which introduce inefficiencies and inconsistencies. These systems must evolve continuously to align with dynamic objectives and address complexities in agent interactions. Current approaches often fail to provide mechanisms for autonomous improvement,…

Earlier in the week, American Airlines was forced to ground flights for up to an hour on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest travel days of the year. American asked US Federal Aviation Administration to issue a “nationwide groundstop” at 6:50 am Eastern Time on Tuesday, preventing any of its aircraft from flying. The advisory was lifted an hour later. Vendor technology issue The airline blamed the problems on a “vendor technology issue” in a message sent from its official X/Twitter account. The issue was in networking equipment managed by DXC Technologies, according to an American Airlines statement cited by…

Between the likes of Challengers, Love Lies Bleeding, and yes, Nosferatu, 2024 has seen no shortage of erotic thrillers, a genre that’s (seemingly) been on its last legs but has been enjoying something of a mini-renaissance as of late. Fresh off a buzzy festival run and a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Halina Reijn’s Babygirl is the latest flick hoping to capture audiences’ fascination with taboo, chronicling a female CEO who embarks on a kink-laden affair with an intern. But while Babygirl’s slick editing and sound design make for a memorable theatrical experience, the film’s vague, half-hearted…