The New York Times: What Are Companies Getting for All That A.I. Spending?
The New York Times reports on a new field of economics — “tokenomics” — that studies what companies are actually paying for AI use and what they’re getting for it. There’s still no standard way to compare cost and value, so some firms are inventing their own metrics: cybersecurity company Elisity, for instance, calculates a “bionic head count” by dividing AI spending by the average employee salary, though economists warn it could turn out to be a risky investment with no return.
Meduza: Does Wildberries really help supply the Russian army?
Meduza investigated what Russian volunteers actually order for the army through Wildberries, the country’s largest online marketplace, whose warehouses have been under continuous Ukrainian drone attack since July 18 — Kyiv claims they store sanctioned drone and navigation components. Combing through hundreds of “urgent collection” posts in pro-war Russian Telegram channels, the outlet found orders ranging from medical supplies and tourniquets to body armor, drone parts, and even body bags for the dead — though the total sum found (about 18.6 million rubles) is small against the overall scale of wartime fundraising. Comparable volumes of the same goods are bought through Ozon, which Ukraine has not attacked.
The New York Times: Ceuta Migration Crisis Exposes Despair Among Morocco’s Young People
While Morocco’s King Mohammed VI used his anniversary address to talk up national growth and stability, tens of thousands of his citizens were, in those same days, trying to force their way into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — Spain reports 72 deaths, Morocco 11. The New York Times traces the despair behind the crisis: economists say the government’s big infrastructure projects are built to impress visiting tourists rather than to create lasting jobs, and youth unemployment runs nearly three times the national average.
LSM.lv: Re:Check: Does one NGO council meeting cost €18,000? How the PM stirred up outrage over NGO funding
Latvia’s Re:Check fact-checked Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’ claim that the State Chancellery pays NGOs €18,000 “just for sitting” at each Memorandum Council meeting — the figure actually comes from the State Chancellery’s €200,000-a-year grant to the NGO “Civic Alliance – Latvia,” which runs the entire NGO-government cooperation mechanism (council meetings are just one part of that work); the €18,000 is simply that budget divided by 11 planned meetings, not a per-meeting fee. The programme also notes that the PM’s own example of proper NGO conduct, the Employers’ Confederation, which he said works “independent of state funding,” itself receives €730,000 from the EU and the state budget for a separate advocacy project.
Radio Prague International: Train or tram? Czechia’s first hybrid hits the test track
Radio Prague International reports on Czechia’s first “train-tram” being tested — a converted Brno tram called Lenka, now running on rail tracks and powered by onboard batteries. If trials succeed, the vehicle could eventually let passengers travel straight into a city centre without changing trains, though current Czech law doesn’t yet allow it, and passenger service is at least two years away.
PBS NewsHour: Nauru, the world’s 3rd-smallest country, changes its name to Naoero
The Pacific island nation of Nauru — the world’s third-smallest by population — is changing its international name to the Republic of Naoero, reverting to its traditional local-language name; its people will now be called dei-Naoero rather than Nauruans. President David Adeang said the change honors the country’s heritage and identity — a nation more threatened by rising seas than almost any other, following former colonies like Eswatini and Turkey in dropping a colonial-era name.
Meduza: Record heat has lowered the Danube to its lowest level in 30 years
Record heat across Europe has dropped the Danube to its lowest level in 30 years — in Serbia, the wrecks of several German warships sunk in 1944 have resurfaced, while low water in Bulgaria let scientists uncover mammoth bones. An estimated 200 sunken vessels lie on the riverbed in total, hampering shipping and costing Serbia money every year; an EU project to clear the wrecks is due to finish by 2028.
ABC News Australia: Ex-NRL player alleges gambling staff offered drugs as he lost thousands
Former rugby league player Luke Bateman told a Senate inquiry that gambling company staff, cultivating him as a high-spending client, offered to arrange illicit drugs for him while he was losing tens of thousands of dollars a month. He testified that he once used drugs alongside company management, including the CEO, at an event the gambling firm hosted; his testimony feeds into a debate over the government’s proposed restrictions on gambling advertising.
Al Jazeera: The battle for the Maasai Mara: Can Kenya’s most iconic ecosystem be saved?
Al Jazeera reports that the future of Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara reserve is increasingly being decided in court, as conservation groups challenge the construction of new luxury camps, including a Ritz-Carlton lodge, arguing it was built in a protected ecological zone without a valid environmental assessment. The wildebeest population migrating between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara has fallen from over 100,000 to under 30,000 in five years, and conservationists warn unchecked tourism development could destroy the very thing the industry depends on.
Le Monde: Meloni, who benefited from European solidarity in Lampedusa in 2023, seeks to isolate Spain
Le Monde reports that Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who received European solidarity herself during the 2023 Lampedusa crisis, is now using footage from the Ceuta migrant crisis to politically isolate Spain — reinstating checks on air and sea links with Spain and, together with 20 other countries, demanding an emergency meeting of interior ministers, even though none of the migrants who reached Ceuta actually set foot on the European mainland. The article argues the real goal is isolating Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez ahead of Italy’s 2027 election, where Meloni herself faces a challenge from the right by former general Roberto Vannacci.
LRT.lt: ‘I’m racist and I did it on purpose’: Lithuanian volunteer sabotages athlete’s performance
The Lithuanian Powerlifting Federation has imposed a lifetime ban on volunteer spotter Ernestas Kusinas after he admitted on social media to deliberately ruining Belgian lifter Sonita Muluh’s world-record attempt because he is racist, using a number associated with neo-Nazi symbolism in his comments. The incident came to light after American powerlifter Joe Sullivan shared footage of it; Lithuanian police are now assessing whether Kusinas’s statements amount to incitement to hatred.
NPR: With U.S. doors shutting, Cubans turn to Brazil for asylum
With the Trump administration having closed most legal migration paths to the US, Cubans are increasingly seeking asylum in Brazil instead — more than 41,000 applied last year, a record. Many fly to visa-free Guyana and cross into Brazil through the Amazon, a reversal of the route migrants used until recently to head north.
TechCrunch: Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip
TechCrunch reports that OpenAI’s first influencer brand trip — a luxury retreat in upstate New York with farm-to-table dinners and beekeeping classes — has drawn a wave of backlash, landing just as the company pursues a $500 billion data-center deal and holds a $200 million Department of Defense contract. Several attendees faced comments about the environmental impact of AI data centers, and some deleted their videos about the trip.
Meduza: Company closures in Russia have tripled in 2026
Since the start of 2026, 12,000-15,000 Russian companies have been closing every month for economic reasons — three times the rate of previous years, according to Sber’s research center. New company registrations are falling at the same time, which analysts attribute to VAT rising from 20 to 22 percent and a lowered threshold for small-business tax relief.
Meduza: Zaluzhny: Ukraine will never join NATO
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and now its ambassador to the UK, said he doubts Ukraine will ever join NATO, arguing the alliance still operates on World War II-era doctrine while Ukraine’s military has long outgrown it. He predicts Ukraine will instead join a still-forming European military-political security bloc, and said he regrets that Ukraine isn’t working toward joining the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
Tom Scott tours the hidden suspended monorail “RAT” (Rapid Access Train) that runs beneath the road deck of the Prince of Wales Bridge, letting maintenance crews reach the middle of the crossing over the Severn Estuary — a fact almost none of the tens of thousands of daily drivers know. Partway through filming, the RAT repeatedly breaks down, forcing the crew to walk through the bridge’s hollow interior to the cable-stay pylon — an unplanned detour that ends up showing the bridge’s inner structure that visitors never normally see.