The sale of De Beers, Anglo American’s legendary diamond division, could be finalized in the coming weeks. This was announced by the company’s CEO, Al Cook, who noted that the process of finding a buyer has reached its most advanced stage in the past two years.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup could be one of the biggest drivers of growth for the textile recycling market. Already, about 75% of the national team uniforms prepared for the tournament are made entirely or partially from recycled polyester produced from textile waste.
The British company Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected as the preferred supplier for a project to build three small modular reactors (SMRs) in Sweden. The project could be one of the biggest steps toward reviving the country’s nuclear energy sector in recent decades.
The 2026 World Cup final will take place on July 19. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Liverpool have already used a supercomputer and machine learning to predict the most likely outcome of the tournament.
Japan is considering amending its imperial family laws to readmit members of former collateral branches of the dynasty into the Imperial House and address the issue of the dwindling number of heirs to the throne.
For several months, the rotunda of the Paris Stock Exchange was transformed into a giant cloud of fog. Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya presented her famous fog sculpture “Cloud No. 07156” in the rotunda, which became the centerpiece of the Clair-obscur exhibition, dedicated to the exploration of light, shadow, and the perception of space. The installation will be open to visitors until September 14.
On September 1, 2026, new regulations will take effect in Russia that will radically change the rules of the game in the jewelry market: the term “diamond” will be officially reserved for natural stones only. Laboratory-grown alternatives will receive a separate and more technical designation—“cut synthetic diamond”—according to a government decree published on June 1.
AI is increasingly being integrated into office work and promises to speed up processes, but new statistics paint a less clear-cut picture: some of the time saved is actually “eaten up” by the AI itself.
Taiwan has launched a special online portal for Chinese citizens, through which they can anonymously provide intelligence to Taiwanese intelligence agencies. The new resource is aimed at people who are disillusioned with the political and socioeconomic situation in China and who want to bring about change in the country.
French scientists have developed a technology that can identify forged paintings based on microscopic characteristics of brushstrokes. During testing, the method successfully distinguished a known forgery from authentic works by Vincent van Gogh, demonstrating the potential of this new tool for authenticating works of art.
Starting in January 2027, Brussels will completely phase out electric scooter rentals, continuing the Europe-wide trend toward stricter regulations on micromobility. The decision was made amid a growing number of accidents, complaints about haphazard parking, and concerns about the criminal use of these services.
The global alcohol market is entering a phase of structural change: in the world’s largest countries, people are increasingly cutting back on alcohol consumption, and producers are having to seek new growth opportunities outside traditional markets.
A Dutch court sentenced three men to 47 months in prison for stealing ancient Romanian gold artifacts from the Drenthe Museum in Assen. The theft of the national relics sparked a sharp reaction in Bucharest and led to the resignation of the director of Romania’s National Museum of History.
British Defense Secretary John Healey has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Keira Starmer, citing insufficient defense funding amid growing international threats as the reason for his decision.
Hugo Boss did not give a clear answer to the takeover bid from the British Frasers Group, opting for a cautious stance rather than a direct rejection or acceptance.
Pinterest and Amazon Web Services have announced a significant expansion of their long-standing technology partnership, with a focus on accelerating the development of artificial intelligence and scaling cloud infrastructure.
Even without hosting the tournament, Portugal stands to gain nearly one billion euros in economic benefits from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to a study by the Portuguese Institute of Marketing (IPAM), the tournament’s total contribution to the country’s economy is estimated to range from €378 million to €945 million—and will depend directly on the national team’s performance.
The European labor market appears unified only on paper. In practice, the workweek varies so widely across the continent’s countries that the difference between the extremes is nearly equivalent to a full workday.
The chaotic rollout of the new European Entry/Exit System (EES) risks being prolonged: Frontex acknowledges that it could take up to two years for the system to fully stabilize. In the meantime, passengers at the Schengen area’s external borders continue to face long lines, varying procedures, and glitches in the collection of biometric data.
Asics, a Japanese manufacturer of athletic apparel and footwear, will spin off its premium brand, Onitsuka Tiger, into a separate entity, with the aim of streamlining decision-making and strengthening the brand’s position in the global market.
