Ai Weiwei says he wishes he could return to China

12.08.2026, DPA

Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has said he misses his home country and would like to return to China.

Ai told German public broadcaster ARD in an interview on Tuesday that he wished he had already returned to China and that he had gone far too long without the opportunity to speak his native language.

The artist also spoke about the difficulties of expressing himself in a foreign language, saying he could convey only a small part of what he was thinking when speaking in a language other than his own.

Ai said he missed China despite having been treated badly there.

The artist has lived in Europe since 2015, spending many years in Germany and more recently living in countries including the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Ai has said he left China because he was politically persecuted there. He is known as a critic of the Chinese Communist Party and the government in Beijing.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Stolen Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse paintings recovered in Italy

14.08.2026, DPA

Photo: Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patri/Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale/dpa

Three paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse stolen from a museum in Italy have been recovered after several months, the Carabinieri police force said on Friday.

Carabinieri officers secured the valuable works during searches following extensive investigations, according to a statement. They initially gave no further details on the suspected thieves or their whereabouts.

The works are Renoir's "The Fish," Cézanne's "Cup and plate with cherries" and Matisse's "Odalisque on the Terrace." Their total value is estimated at €9 million ($10.4 million).

The artworks were stolen in late March from the Fondazione Magnani-Rocca museum near Parma. The perpetrators broke in during the night and stole the paintings within just a few minutes. 

After the alarm was triggered, they fled through the museum's gardens. A museum spokesman said at the time it was a planned, structured and organized break-in.

The theft was used to spread disinformation. A fake BBC report reportedly spread via a Kremlin-linked network claimed the stolen Cézanne painting was hanging in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and had come from the mafia.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Swedish lawmakers cut age of criminal responsibility to 14 ahead of general election

Copyright AP Photo

By Gavin Blackburn

Published on 13/08/2026 - EURONEWS

The Scandinavian country has been rocked by gang battles for more than a decade, particularly for control of the drug market.

The Swedish parliament voted to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 on Thursday as the right-wing government heads toward a national election, vowing to clamp down on crime.

The government had wanted to lower the age at which children could be sent to prison to 13, but it had to withdraw the proposal in June because it could not secure a majority in parliament.

Some 281 lawmakers voted in favour of lowering the age to 14, including the opposition Social Democrats, with 66 voting against.

The Scandinavian country has been rocked by gang battles for more than a decade, particularly for control of the drug market.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks as he arrives for the NATO summit in Ankara, 8 July, 2026 AP Photo

The minority conservative government, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, survives with the backing of the far-right Sweden Democrats party.

It had made the battle against crime a centrepiece of its policy platform after taking office in 2022.

A government-appointed commissioner had recommended lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

The government decided to propose 13, but most of the 126 groups consulted on the proposal, including the police and prison service, opposed such a low age.

Parliament also voted to cut the reduction in prison terms for young people. Youths aged under 18 can now be jailed for up to 18 years.

Police on the street in central Uppsala, 29 April, 2025 AP Photo

The law will come into force on 10 September, three days before the country holds a general election.

A Demoskop poll for the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper put the centre-left opposition ahead of the right-wing parties but with the gap narrowing.

The poll said the governing parties and far right would get 47% of the vote and the opposition parties 51%.

 

18-year-olds spend more and more time online, especially on social media

Copyright Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

By Ana Filipa Palma & Euronews

Published on 14/08/2026 - 

Internet use was the focus of a study by the Institute for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (ICAD) carried out among young people on National Defence Day 2025.

A study by Portugal's Institute for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (ICAD) has found that 18-year-olds are spending more time on the internet, especially on social media.

The findings are based on a survey of young people taking part in the 2025 National Defence Day.

Most young people (60%) use the internet for an average of four or more hours a day, with intensive use (five hours or more) on the rise compared with previous years.

"In itself, this indicator is not necessarily a sign of problems, but rather of a life lived both physically and virtually, often intertwined, with new ways of behaving, acting and being," the study concludes.

Social networks are the platforms most used by young people, who prefer to access them via their mobile phone. But most of those surveyed, almost 45%, say they spend around two to three hours on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. Thirteen percent of young people said they spend around six or more hours on social media.

Besides social media, online searches - for reading or studying - gaming (including betting) and watching films, videos and tutorials are other reasons contributing to the increase in the time young people spend on the internet.

It was also striking that in 2025, 99% of young respondents said they had started using the internet before the age of 16 and 39% said they started before the age of 10.

This is a particularly important figure, as this proportion has been increasing, showing that the internet is entering people's lives at an ever earlier age. The study stresses that this rise is slightly more marked among young women than among young men.

Young women seem to spend more time on social media or searching online, while young men appear to spend more time gaming.

In the case of online gambling, the level of use among young people also seems striking: 17% of 18-year-olds (30% of young men and 5% of young women) place bets online.

Problems linked to internet use

Excessive internet use is associated with a range of problems, especially among adolescents. ICAD's study therefore set out to find out whether its sample had already experienced any of these, such as poor performance at school or work; health problems requiring medical care; behavioural problems at home; financial difficulties; incidents of violence or disorderly conduct; unprotected sex; and episodes of emotional distress.

Overall, 35% of young people said they had experienced at least one of these seven problems in the 12 months prior to the survey.

The most frequently mentioned problem (20%) was emotional distress (lack of motivation, sadness, dissatisfaction, loneliness, anxiety), followed by poorer performance at school or work (17%).

Relate

This study ties in with one of the big issues being debated in EU policymaking on young people's and children's use of social media.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report published at the start of last year identified the dominance of the digital world in young people's lives as one of the main drivers of loneliness worldwide.

Excessive screen time has been linked to lower levels of physical activity and poorer sleep, as well as anxiety, depression, stress and social isolation.

The United Kingdom's plans to ban teenagers from accessing social media have reignited a debate that is playing out across Europe. Countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Greece and Denmark are discussing measures to restrict minors' access, amid concerns ranging from cyberbullying and the addictive design of platforms to tragedies such as suicide and self-harm.

France's Constitutional Council strikes down child social media ban

14.08.2026, DPA

Photo: Alicia Windzio/dpa

France's Constitutional Council on Friday struck down the government's effort to ban under-15s from using social media, dealing a significant blow to President Emmanuel Macron.

The council - the highest constitutional authority in the country - said the bill constitutes a disproportionate interference with freedom of expression and communication. 

The bill passed in the French parliament in July with a large majority and represented one of Macron's final legislative accomplishments before his second term ends next year. The ban was due to take effect in September.

But the council ruled that the regulation was too broad and could also cover services where risks to minors have not been proven. 

Furthermore, the law does not sufficiently protect users' privacy in relation to necessary age verification checks, the body said.

Macron nevertheless intends to press ahead with the legislation. He has tasked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with drafting a legally sound revised version. 

The reform is to be implemented by spring 2027 if possible, taking into account the Constitutional Council's decision and European law, according to a statement from the Élysée Palace.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Israeli settlers seize Palestinian water source in occupied West Bank to create recreational pool


Israeli settlers have taken control of a freshwater spring that Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank have relied on for generations, diverting its water to create a pool at an archaeological site advertised as a tourist attraction and leaving crops to wither. It is estimated that Israeli settlers have now seized control of 95 percent of the northern Jordan Valley's springs, pushing Palestinian communities off their land.


Issued on: 14/08/2026
By: FRANCE 24

A drone view shows Israelis visiting an ancient water reservoir in the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. © Ilan Rosenberg, Reuters


On a searing summer day, Israeli settlers splashed in a West Bank pool created ​by siphoning off water that had irrigated Palestinian crops, one of many seizures of water resources across the occupied territory.

The spring served as a lifeline for the nearby village of Fasayil in the fertile Jordan Valley, where Palestinians have relied on it for generations for food, employment and to supplement irregular Israeli supplies to their domestic taps.

“Our water supply remains cut off to this day, depriving us of the water we depend on for our homes, our livelihoods, ​and our agricultural land,” said Saad ‌Nemer, who farms the land.

Saad Nemer, a Palestinian landowner who says that Israeli settlers diverted water from his land making it impossible to plant crops, visits his arid farm in Fasayil, a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. © Mohamad Torokman, Reuters

Israeli settlers seized his irrigation pipeline in June, channeling the water to an ancient pool in an archaeological site. Soon after, settlers advertised it as ⁠an Israeli tourist attraction and Israel’s far-right finance minister pledged financial support.

“They are now in the process of developing a recreational park around the pool,” Nemer said.
Settlers stop Palestinian villagers approaching

The seizure of the spring at Fasayil is part of a pattern that Palestinians say is designed to make their lives in the West Bank ‌untenable. Israeli settlers have attacked at least 160 water and sanitation sites across the Palestinian territory this year, United Nations data shows.

Nemer’s greenhouses and fields would normally be full ⁠of eggplant, zucchini and watermelons, but without water he has not been able to plant in the scorched land.

“The settlers cutting off our water has caused us losses and has meant that many families will lose their work and their livelihoods,” he said.

Nemer said that an employee had been beaten up by settlers and he himself had faced threats for attempting to approach the spring as far ​back as two years ago.

Yishai Shreiber, 21, an Israeli settler who had come to swim in the pool near Fasayil on an August afternoon, said Palestinians would not now ‌dare approach.

“Now that they see this entire mass of people, all these large groups of Jews coming here to bathe, they are afraid to come here,” said Shreiber.

Israelis visit an ancient water reservoir in the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. © Ronen Zvulun, Reuters

Shreiber said the West Bank belonged to the Jewish people, and that if Palestinians don’t want to accept Jewish authority, they should leave.

Nemer showed Reuters a 2025 land ownership document from COGAT, the Israeli military agency which enforces civilian policy in the occupied territories. He also presented a map drawn for the pre-occupation 1957 registration of his ‌title deeds showing that his land included both the spring and the pool.

COGAT and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not respond to requests for comment.
'Water war' is part of Israeli West Bank takeover, Palestinians say

Israel’s far-right coalition government has overseen massive settlement construction that Smotrich says is aimed at burying the idea of a Palestinian ​state, which has been recognised by more than 150 of 193 UN member states as encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The United Nations and most governments consider the settlements to be illegal under international law related to military occupation. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war, but argues the territory is disputed rather than occupied.

Water flows from a hose in the Palestinian village Fasayil, where residents say that Israeli settlers diverted water from its natural spring causing crops to die. © Mohamad Torokman, Reuters

Palestinians have experienced a sharp rise in settler violence, and Palestinian field researcher ​Fares Foqahaa estimated that settlers had now seized control of 95 percent of the springs in the northern Jordan Valley, displacing communities

In another West Bank village, Qusra, settlers still besieging three homes on Thursday had also cut off their water and ​electricity.

Adel Yassin, an official with the Palestinian Authority’s water authority, said that settlers target water resources as part of a systematic campaign to force Palestinians off ​their land.

“I see this as a water war. It is the silent bullet that kills Palestinians without a sound,” he said, referring to the process of making their livelihoods unsustainable.

Israeli archaeologist says settlers are damaging the site

In early June, Eliav Libi, a settler leader targeted with sanctions by Canada and other countries, posted a video ​showing the pool beginning to fill with water.

He and other settlers say the pool belonged to the biblical-era Jewish king Herod. Alon Arad, an archaeologist with the Israeli rights group Emek Shaveh, said the pool’s provenance is unclear.

“We see in many cases the use of archaeology ... to create this feeling that the West Bank is exclusively Jewish,” Arad said, adding that the settlers were damaging an archaeological site by filling it with water.

A drone view of Israelis visiting an ancient water reservoir in the Jordan Valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. © Ilan Rosenberg, Reuters

Outside the pool, a billboard advertised a 3 million shekel ($1 million) investment from Smotrich, an architect of settler expansion, who said in a Telegram post the money was for the restoration and development of “Herod’s Pools”.

The pool and the nearby spring were packed with Israeli families swimming and wading in ⁠the water. No Palestinians were present.

One of the few natural springs still available to Palestinians is near the city of Nablus at Wadi al-Badhan. In July, families sat at plastic tables placed in shallow streams picnicking with their feet in the running water.

The springs are located close ⁠to Nablus’s urban centre and had until this ​year rarely faced incursions from settlers.

Palestinian children play in a natural spring in Wadi al-Badhan, near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. © Ammar Awad, Reuters

Hundreds of settlers descended into the springs earlier this summer, sitting at the plastic tables and walking through the pools, five Palestinians said.

Nizam Fares, the owner of a natural spring park in al-Badhan, said people could no longer enjoy visiting the area.

“People have become scared and jumpy. They come and ask if the settlers are coming or not,” he said.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

Israeli troops fail to oust settlers blockading Palestinian homes in the West Bank


The Israeli military failed to evict settlers blockading Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday in a ⁠rare confrontation between settlers and the military. The settlers have been blocking essential supplies from entering the Palestinian village of Qusra since the weekend.


Issued on 13/08/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is soaring. © Zain Jaafar, AFP


The Israeli military failed in an attempt on Wednesday to remove occupied West Bank settlers who for days have blockaded Palestinian homes, an eyewitness and an AFP photographer reported.

The siege began on Sunday, when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent near houses in the Palestinian village of Qusra, just south of Nablus, blocking essential supplies from entering.

'She was haemorrhaging': In the West Bank, the checkpoint ordeal for pregnant women

"We have received no food and no medicine," Qusai Abu Rida, a Palestinian trapped inside one of the houses, told AFP by telephone, adding that he had only managed to secure electricity thanks to solar panels.

The Israeli military condemned the settlers' actions and declared the area a "closed military zone", before on Wednesday morning removing the tent where the settlers had been staying.

Security forces "are working to evacuate the civilians who were staying there", the military said in a statement.

By mid-afternoon, an AFP photographer at the scene said the military had left and the tent had been removed, but that the settlers were still at the site.

Abu Rida confirmed the situation remained unchanged, with the settlers still in possession of chairs and blankets.

West Bank: Settler violence hits 'all-time high'

Cover image: © France 24
01:26

"The army has withdrawn, and so far we are still besieged, with the settlers at our doorstep," he told AFP.

Violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the West Bank has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, but recent months have seen a surge in attacks.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law, among some 3 million Palestinians.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had received several reports of settlers entering and taking control of Palestinian homes and land in the area.

"This is illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable activity that harms the residents of the areas and disrupts their daily lives," it said.

It also said that disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel who had been filmed at the site days earlier.

According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,097 Palestinians, including both militants and civilians, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israeli figures show at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

US ambassador to Israel slams settler siege of West Bank Palestinians as ‘terror’


US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday denounced a siege by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank village of Qusra as a "horrific act of terror". Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor who in the past has embraced Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, said the Israeli army intervened on Wednesday after a US request, but the soldiers failed to remove the settlers.


Issued on: 13/08/2026 
By:  FRANCE 24
Video by:  Noga TARNOPOLSKY

Cover image: Israeli settlers gather in front of Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the West Bank, August 12, 2026. © Zain Jaafar, AFP
05:05

The US ambassador to Israel, a staunch supporter of West Bank settlements, on Thursday denounced as "terror" a siege by settlers against Palestinians that drew an unsuccessful intervention by the army.

Settlers near Nablus since Sunday have blockaded Palestinian homes, including one owned by a US citizen, with residents saying they have been cut off from food and other supplies.

"Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting," Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador in Jerusalem, wrote on X in response to criticism of the US response.

"No excuse for such thuggish behaviour," he wrote.

Huckabee said Israel had intervened at the request of the United States, its crucial ally.

The remarks are especially striking from Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor who in the past has embraced Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, and rejected the idea of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli military on Wednesday sent in forces who took away a tent, but witnesses said settlers defiantly remained at the site with blankets.

READ MOREIsraeli troops fail to remove settlers besieging Palestinian homes in West Bank village

The army announced later Wednesday that it would send a new battalion to try to impose order.

Violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased dramatically since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

Cover image: © France 24
02:30

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians in the territory.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Palestinians still trapped as Israeli settlers besiege West Bank homes

14.08.2026, DPA

Photo: Salman Mohsen Alkhatib/JNA via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Radical Israeli settlers continued to besiege Palestinian homes in the northern West Bank village of Qusra on Friday, despite the presence of Israeli soldiers, village head Abdul Asim al-Wadi told dpa.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, some 15 Palestinians, including two children aged 4 and 10, remain trapped inside their homes.

Israeli soldiers were deployed to the village on Thursday "to protect the residents and maintain security," the military said. The settlers have been besieging the Palestinian homes since Sunday.

Israeli media reported that the settlers returned to the area on Friday morning.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment, confirming only that soldiers had been deployed in the area since Thursday to maintain security.  

The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that the soldiers intended to persuade the settlers to leave the area.

Al-Wadi and several media outlets said Israeli and international activists arrived in the area with food and drink for the Palestinians but were prevented by Israeli security forces from reaching the besieged homes. 

Asked about the reports, the military said all Israeli citizens were prohibited from entering Qusra. It also released a video showing a Palestinian resident collecting some of the supplies left in the area.

On Thursday, Palestinian sources said Israeli soldiers had forced the residents to evacuate. The military later issued a statement saying the Palestinian residents should remain in their homes. 

Citing residents, Israeli and Palestinian media reported that the soldiers had meanwhile damaged the houses and taken money from people living there. When asked about the allegations, the Israeli army said it was looking into the matter.

• Times of Israel report
• WAFA report
• Haaretz report

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

US sailors report dire conditions as replacement carrier heads to Middle East


Issued on: 14/08/2026 - 
FRANCE24


Reports of declining mental health and supply issues have been flagged by US sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln deployed to the Middle East, with some attempting to throw themselves into the sea. The ship has so far spent a record 260 uninterrupted days at sea as it supports the war in Iran, and is expected to be replaced by the Pacific-based USS George Washington en route to the area.

Video by: Monte FRANCIS

Zuckerberg envisions 'superintelligence' for everyone in AI manifesto


Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday laid out his vision for a future where everyone has a powerful personal AI agent, arguing that open-source technology can prevent control of advanced artificial intelligence from becoming concentrated among a handful of companies, governments or institutions.


Issued on: 11/08/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, 2026. © Alex Brandon, AP


Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision Monday of what he said artificial intelligence can do for the world, imagining a future where everyone has their own, all-knowing AI agent that strives to improve all aspects of their lives.

Zuckerberg detailed his ambitions for the technology in a 6,500-word essay published online where he also outlined why he favours open-source AI technology, in which developers make key components accessible for anyone to examine, modify and build upon.

In a document derided by critics as fantastical, Zuckerberg said his company is working towards an era where everyone will have the tools to create new businesses, receive PhD-level tutoring and receive personalised lifestyle tips. His 8-year-old daughter, he wrote, can already code her ideas and quickly produce videos.

"Everyone will soon have invention superpowers," Zuckerberg wrote.

Zuckerberg warned of risks if control of advanced AI is concentrated with a select few companies, institutions or governments. On Monday, Meta also announced the release of a new open-source AI model, Muse Glimmer, which can run on a personal computer, and Zuckerberg said the company would also provide a way for developers to access a more powerful AI model, Muse Spark 1.2.

Cover image: The Debate © France24
01:16

Meta makes AI models, like several other tech companies, and uses them to power platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. The Menlo Park, California, company also makes them available to developers who can create their own apps and features.

Critics said Zuckerberg was not reckoning fully with the risks inherent in AI's rapid development.

Noting recent incidents where AI models, including Meta's own, hacked other companies on at least three separate occasions, Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the AI safety non-profit Future of Life Institute, asked "what on Earth makes Meta think they – or anyone – could control something exponentially smarter, faster, and more capable?"

"Meta's chosen path is ultimately one of human replacement and disempowerment, but there is an alternate, pro-human path – one that brings about individual flourishing and scientific breakthroughs with controllable AI tools. What's urgently needed now is for governments to facilitate a pause on advanced AI development and steer us onto the pro-human path – before it's too late," Aguirre said.

In his essay, Zuckerberg outlined why he thought open source is a better path for fair development of AI. He warned that if control of AI "superintelligence" is too concentrated, it will lead to less favourable outcomes for everyone else. The key, he wrote, is finding a balance that ensures advanced AI is "broadly distributed" to empower billions of people equitably.

Cover image: The Debate © France24
01:00

Meta has long been a proponent of open-sourcing its AI models, but has struggled to keep up with rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google that have not taken the same approach.

Zuckerberg made what could be a veiled reference to Meta's rivals without naming specific companies.

"Most other labs are focused on building AI for companies, governments, or other institutions, so if those labs lead, then the balance of power will favour larger institutions over individuals," he wrote.

Zuckerberg also included policy recommendations for keeping the US ahead of rivals, including China. The United States and its allies need to speed up building energy capacity and infrastructure to stay competitive, he said.

Zuckerberg called for authorities to reconsider their position on "distillation", which involves training a less capable model on the outputs of a stronger one. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on Chinese AI companies using distillation to extract technical features from US AI models. Anthropic earlier this year accused China's DeepSeek of using distillation.

Cover image: © France 24
01:40

"Some have tried to frame distillation as harmful, but I think it is important to protect the principle that you can learn from anything you can observe," Zuckerberg said. "This is how the world works, and the US will not be able to lead if we restrict ourselves on this front."

Matt Lane, senior policy counsel at the non-profit digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, called Zuckerberg "annoyingly out of touch on his best day", but said the CEO is right about the importance of open-source AI.

Shared access to open-source AI systems is important for protection in a world where AI can be used to hack into electronic systems, like voting systems and benefits infrastructure, he said.

But he said only Meta will benefit if everyone were to use Meta-designed AI systems, even if they are fully open-source. "Open-source AI needs to be supported beyond these corporate interests. We, unlike Zuckerberg, hope for as much competition as possible," he said.

Why Artificial Intelligence Is More Than Just Hype – Analysis



August 14, 2026
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Key Takeaways

Unlike earlier cycles of exaggerated expectations followed by disappointment, current AI systems are already commercially deployable and delivering measurable productivity gains across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, customer service and other sectors.

Macroeconomic estimates project significant long-term impact, including higher global GDP growth, cumulative contributions measured in the trillions of dollars, and rapid commercial expansion evidenced by strong revenue growth at major AI firms and national industries.
Gains will be uneven and depend on infrastructure, skills and policy readiness; countries such as Saudi Arabia are actively positioning AI as a tool for economic diversification under national strategies, reinforcing the case for treating AI as a durable growth engine rather than temporary hype.

One recurring question that policymakers, business leaders and investors face whenever a powerful new technology emerges is whether it will deliver sustained increases in productivity and output or if enthusiasm will fade once practical limits become clear. Today, artificial intelligence sits at the center of this debate.

Despite earlier cycles of optimism only leading to disappointment, the technology has advanced rapidly in recent years. The latest developments and concrete evidence indicate that AI is going to become a major driver of long-term economic growth, with its impact likely to accelerate in the years ahead.

Technological revolutions have historically generated both exaggerated hopes and underestimations of their lasting effects. For example, the early commercial internet produced a speculative bubble that collapsed around the turn of the millennium, yet the underlying infrastructure later supported durable gains in commerce, communication and productivity.


Other similar patterns exist, such as those relating to the diffusion of electricity and the internal combustion engine. AI has followed a comparable path. Periods of heightened expectation in earlier decades gave way to “AI winters,” when capabilities lagged behind promises.

But the present phase differs because foundational advances have already produced systems that are commercially deployable, rather than being confined to research laboratories.

Secondly, evidence of the industry’s transformation is widespread, covering fields such as manufacturing, logistics and supply-chain operations, while healthcare applications include machine-learning assistance in medical imaging analysis and accelerated drug discovery and clinical trial design.

Another aspect is AI’s customer service applications, which provide clear micro-level results. For example, in a carefully studied rollout at a Fortune 500 firm, access to a generative AI conversational assistant raised the number of issues resolved per hour by about 15 percent on average among more than 5,000 agents, with the largest gains accruing to less experienced workers.


Research looking at European firms found that AI adoption raises labor productivity by about 4 percent in the short run, driven primarily by capital deepening rather than immediate job displacement, while complementary investments in software, data and workforce training increase the benefits.

Macroeconomic assessments and reports reinforce these findings. For instance, the International Monetary Fund has estimated that AI could raise average annual global gross domestic product growth by 0.5 percentage points between 2025 and 2030. World Trade Organization analysis projects that, by 2040, global GDP could be up to 13 percent higher and the value of trade nearly 40 percent higher, relative to a baseline without AI-driven advances. These effects arise from lower trade costs and stronger productivity growth in sectors integrated into international commerce.

In addition, longer-horizon estimates associated with PwC place AI’s cumulative contribution to the global economy by 2030 in the vicinity of $15 trillion, reflecting both productivity improvements and demand-side effects from better products and personalized services.

But it is vital to note that gains are likely to be uneven. Advanced economies with strong digital infrastructure, skills and institutional readiness will have larger near-term benefits.

Further evidence of progress is corporate performance, which provides tangible illustrations of commercialization at scale. For example, Nvidia, the leading supplier of AI accelerators, reported record revenue of $215.9 billion for the fiscal year ending in January, a 65 percent increase from the prior year. This growth reflects intense demand for training and inference infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s AI business has reached an annualized revenue run rate of $37 billion and OpenAI generated more than $20 billion in revenue in 2025.


In China, the AI industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan ($176 billion) in 2025, growing about 40 percent year-on-year, with more than 6,000 AI companies and expanding applications in manufacturing and services.

These figures demonstrate that AI is already generating substantial commercial value and is not confined to experimental research.

The Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular, illustrates how determined national strategies can convert AI into a tool of economic diversification and growth. PwC estimates that AI could contribute about $320 billion to the Middle East economy by 2030. Saudi Arabia is projected to capture the largest absolute share — about $135 billion or some 12 percent of GDP — while the UAE is expected to see a relative impact approaching 14 percent of GDP.

Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, overseen by the Saudi Data and AI Authority, the Kingdom aims to rank among the top 15 AI nations by 2030. The Public Investment Fund has established Humain as a dedicated AI vehicle, pursuing large-scale data center capacity, Arabic-language foundation models and partnerships with leading technology firms including Nvidia and AMD.

In conclusion, I believe the evidence clearly shows that AI has progressed from a speculative narrative and is now operating systems that are already enhancing productivity, reshaping industries and generating commercial returns that are measured in the tens and hundreds of billions of dollars. Institutional forecasts of contributions to global GDP and the rapid growth of national AI industries in places as diverse as China and Saudi Arabia are also real and expanding. Therefore, for policymakers, business leaders and investors, the evidence clearly supports treating AI as a durable engine of economic expansion rather than a temporary field filled with irrational enthusiasm and hope

This article was published at Arab News

About Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh
View all posts by Dr. Majid Rafizadeh →

China's lead in orbital data centres risks leaving Europe behind

Copyright Zelch Csaba/Pexels

By Indrabati Lahiri

Published on 13/08/2026 - EURONEWS

China is racing ahead on orbital data centres while Europe still debates the concept, a new policy brief warns, and the gap is starting to widen.

China's push into orbital data centres risks leaving Europe behind, according to a new policy brief from the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).

Orbital data centres are increasingly seen as key strategic assets for processing the vast amounts of data generated by AI and satellite systems.

The brief, titled "Constellating Compute: China's Domestic Policy Towards Orbital Data Centre Leadership," warns that if the technological gap widens significantly, Europe risks having to compute its own space data through third-party actors and losing access to orbital information.

European efforts are under way but remain limited in scale.

The EU-funded research project ASCEND, backed under Horizon Europe since 2023, found that orbital data centres could strengthen European digital sovereignty.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has also worked with UK firm Open Cosmos on the Φ-sat-2 satellite, which carries AI capabilities for Earth observation.

French start-up ALATYR has also announced plans to manufacture robotically assembled orbital data centres. Even so, compared with developments in China and the US, the gap in Europe is starting to widen.

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Why is China ahead in the orbital data centre race?

China has treated space-based computing as a national strategic priority, giving rise to a wave of state-backed initiatives and policies to support the goal.

Central to this effort is the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which first formalised orbital data centres in a new strategy, alongside the Beijing Municipal Government and the Zhongguancun Science Park.

China has combined top-down policy drafting, private and state-owned industry adaptation, municipal and provincial government incentives, and support for non-state actors and working groups, according to the brief.

High-profile prototype constellations have driven early implementation. The Three-Body Constellation, launched by start-up ADAspace in May 2025, marked the first operational example of space-based computing.

In a joint laboratory with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ADAspace has since used the constellation's in-orbit computing power to control a robot on the ground, one of several technical trials the company has run since the satellites reached orbit.

Other companies have followed. Beijing Orbital Twilight Technology Co., Ltd. (Orbital Chenguang) announced an undisclosed equity round alongside €7.4bn worth of debt financing in April 2026.

Nayuta Space unveiled its ALAYA supercompute constellation, planned to deploy 12,500 computing satellites. Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan Space Technology Co. unveiled its Xingshu Plan at the World AI Conference in July 2026, envisioned to grow to 1,000 satellites.

China Mobile, Zhejiang Lab, Bailing Aerospace, Zhongke Tiansuan Technology and Interstellar Glory Space-Based Computing Technology (iSpace) have also announced their own constellations.

Beijing's municipal government has moved to incubate the sector further, issuing a call for orbital data centre project proposals in June 2026 alongside the Zhongguancun Science Park, and launching a space computing innovation centre bringing together rival companies including GalaxySpace and Landspace under a company-plus-alliance model.

According to state broadcaster CGTN, the centre's priority areas include space-based computing chip design, high-performance computing payloads and integrated space-ground cloud computing technologies.

CASC has also outlined a five-year plan for the sector, agreed with the Chinese Society of Astronautics in January 2026 under the guidance of state bodies including the China National Space Administration.

According to CGTN's reporting on the plan, it includes building gigawatt-level space digital infrastructure combining cloud, edge and terminal technologies, though the underlying policy documents do not appear to have been formally published, and Euronews could not independently verify the claims.

The brief recommends that the EU establish coordinated political guidance, investment support and a regulatory framework for orbital data centre development, that a flagship initiative be included in the Horizon Europe Moonshot Projects under the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, and that European space actors convene working groups with international counterparts on standards and data sovereignty.