Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has offered a detailed explanation and a fresh apology after the Instagram account of the No Kings movement was suspended for several hours during nationwide rallies for suspicious behavior driven by AI usage. Leftists including Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who were silent for more than a decade of Meta censoring conservatives suddenly are expressing alarm about censorship.

The post Instagram Suspends ‘No Kings’ Account for Suspicious Activity, Leftists Led by Bernie Sanders Suddenly Care About Censorship appeared first on Breitbart.

Letter from 150 scientists, MPs and activists calls for action to protect lower-income and minority-ethnic communities

The government must hold an inquiry into the unequal impacts of air pollution, 150 scientists, MPs and activists have urged.

Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that across England, lower-income areas have persistently higher levels of air pollution than wealthier areas.

Federal judges meeting in Boston heard tech industry warnings that AI-generated images and video are becoming nearly impossible to verify, as a judiciary committee considers whether courts need new rules for evidence that may be deepfakes instead of the real thing.

The post OpenAI: AI-Generated Deepfakes Will Become Impossible to Verify appeared first on Breitbart.

We went aboard a cruise ship navigating some of the world's most dangerous waters. In the Arctic, drifting icebergs, sea ice, sudden storms and fierce winds make sailing unpredictable. Yet every year, around 100,000 cruise passengers travel to Greenland to explore its remote coastline and experience one of the world's last great wildernesses.

After 20 years of balancing her corporate leadership roles with motherhood, Trisha Daab was ready for a break.

"Life had felt like sprinting a marathon for as long as I could remember," Daab, 47, told Business Insider. "I had no idea how tired I was until I stopped working."

In her year off, she tap danced, volunteered at a food bank, traveled to Disneyland and Alaska, and spent more time with her kids. By the end, she had decided she couldn't go back to her old life.

"My job often demanded that it came first — never-ending to-do lists, urgent emails, travel, and always chasing the next promotion," Daab, who's now a travel writer and substitute teacher, said. "Stepping away helped me realize my priorities had shifted."

Now in their 30s and 40s, many millennial women are skeptical of corporate and instead becoming business owners, content creators, and mothers, prioritizing more flexible work schedules. Instead of striving to get to the top, they're inverting Sheryl Sandberg's mantra of the 2010s — and leaning out.

Sandberg, Meta's former COO, told Business Insider that the corporate exodus is due to women feeling undervalued at work.

"This is not the women who are saying, 'I don't want to do it,'" Sandberg, 57, said. "It's the women saying, 'I don't want to do it because I'm not wanted, I'm not getting the same opportunities and the same support, and I face an unfair burden at home.'"

Even Lean In, the organization founded by Sandberg and named after her 2013 bestselling book, is noticing a recent shift in women's ambitions in the workforce.

According to the organization's 2025 Women in the Workplace report, published in December 2025, which surveyed 9,500 US employees across 124 organizations, women were less likely to say they wanted a promotion compared to men. This was true when filtered to include only millennials, who made up roughly one-third of participants.

When asked why, over 28% of millennial women said "personal obligations" made it hard for them to take on more — compared to 17% of millennial men.

Annie Wright, a licensed psychotherapist who works with Silicon Valley leaders, has also observed more of her millennial female patients shifting their ideas about what constitutes a fulfilling career.

"I'm watching them make more person-centered choices than necessarily career-only-driven choices," she told Business Insider. "I don't think many millennial women are becoming less ambitious. I think they're just becoming less willing to confuse ambition with self-erasure."

The rise and fall of the have-it-all girlboss

Let's, for a moment, remember what is now referred to as the "girlboss era" of the 2010s.

It was a time of She-E-O-led startups, of crushed velvet sofas and the words "I Want It All" aglow in cursive neon lettering. Of earnest enjoyment of "Fight Song" and T-shirts with earnest phrases like "feminist" and "woman up."

Of a future that was female, tinged millennial pink — until a series of public reckonings punctured the fantasy. Leaders of several companies stepped down amid allegations of toxic workplace cultures, exposing the facade of the girlboss promise.

Then came the remote work culture of 2020. Suddenly, many women had time to breathe, whether that meant not rushing to day care pickup, having more time to work out or see friends, or simply not being "on" all the time.

For some, the slowly creeping requirement to return to the office dealt the final blow.

Misty Heggeness, a professor at the University of Kansas specializing in gender economics, described the influx of new RTO policies by some companies as having a "chilling effect."

"That does disproportionately disadvantage women in general," Heggeness told Business Insider, "just because women are more likely to carry an invisible load of work within families."

The working mom paradox

After the birth of her first child, Kendra Rothermel switched from full-time to part-time work as an office manager while her husband remained at his full-time job. "As we grew our family, it made sense for me to have a more flexible schedule," Rothermel, 34, told Business Insider.

When she had her third baby, his clubfoot diagnosis meant frequent orthopedic appointments. Even part-time work wasn't flexible enough, so she eventually started her own venture helping small businesses with operations and marketing.

Rothermel said she was partly inspired by watching other working moms do the same.

A recent analysis of job-market data by Matthew Nestler, a senior economist at KPMG, found that labor force participation between December 2023 and May 2026 decreased among college-educated women with children under 5. Meanwhile, participation increased for women without children and most groups of men, including fathers.

Because millennials are generally having kids later than previous generations did, Heggeness said parents, moms in particular, are more likely to be parenting young children just as their work responsibilities are ramping up.

"If they were going to lean out, now would be the time," she said, whether it's to save on childcare costs or introduce more flexibility.

Add to the list aging parents. The costs of childcare and eldercare, sometimes unaffordable even with the intense work commitments required to afford them, have prompted some women to leave their full-time jobs for more flexible or minimum-wage work.

To Sandberg, it's a sign that companies are not adequately adjusting to meet women where they are, whether that's offering more flexible hours, longer parental or bereavement leave options, or better healthcare coverage.

"We're at a critical moment in time for women, because what a lot of women are seeing is that commitment to them in leadership pulling back," Sandberg said. "Then what's happening to them is their ambition is pulling back. And that's a loss. It's a loss for our economy. It's a loss for our companies. It's a loss for our children."

The allure of going at it alone

Not all women who are leaning out are doing so because they are overworked. Some, like Heigi Jeong, 30, have dreams beyond corporate America.

"While I wouldn't say I loved the work, I liked it," Jeong, who made $173,000 working in product design, told Business Insider. "It was my dream job as an immigrant, and it was sustainable."

Still, Jeong was pulled toward her other ambitions: writing a book and being a content creator. She was also intrigued by the idea of being her own boss.

"When I'm working for myself, I entirely choose the role I will play," Jeong said. "I wanted to experience it myself and have my own take rather than constantly wondering 'What if I quit?'"

Three months after quitting, she enjoys not feeling as rushed as she used to, even if the price is an inconsistent income.

Both Heggeness and Wright have noted a growing interest in entrepreneurship and self-employment among women. A 2024 Census working paper found that the share of women business owners under 45 rose between 2012 and 2020, with the biggest increase among women ages 25 to 34. It also found that newer women-owned employer businesses were disproportionately owned by women under 35.

The creator economy opened another path. More than 200 million people worldwide now identify as content creators, though that broad figure includes far more than full-time influencers. Some Gen Z and millennial consultants are even leaving MBB and Big Four firms to build audiences and businesses online — trading the girlboss crown for a bubble headband.

In a 2023 Vogue article, writer Daisy Jones wrote that the newest iteration of girlboss swaps grind culture with the similarly perfectionistic "soft life" defined by travel and lucrative brand deals. Pantsuits were exchanged for sweatpants; speaking engagements and spread-thin multitasking gave way to self-care and supplement stacks.

"In some ways, the career woman appears to have been replaced by the health-conscious woman," Jones wrote, "the one who prioritizes her vitamin intake, hydration, and sleep cycle over endless meetings and salary increases."

Content creation doesn't come without its own costs. Plenty of influencers report feeling financially insecure or overworked, unable to take a day off without losing money.

Still, if they're going to burn out or worry about their job security, some figure they might as well enjoy their autonomy to create their own schedules.

"For some women, there's been a paradigm shift in values," Wright said. "Promotion or success now looks like more availability, presence, and freedom."

When everyone leans out

Sandberg, who herself stepped down as Meta's COO in 2022 to pursue philanthropy and early-stage investing ventures, said she supports women's career choices, whatever they may be.

"I think being at home with your children is great," she said. "Going back to school, great. Starting a company, great. Going part-time, great. Anything you want to do is great."

Part of the issue, she said, is that without female leaders, there are simply fewer people to advocate for the very policies that make other women more excited to move up in a company, be it egg-freezing coverage, lactation rooms, or more competitive maternity leave options.

It's why she feels companies need to do more work to assess why women are leaning out enough to jump ship entirely. "It's easy to overly characterize the words 'lean in,'" she said. "What I mean by them is very clear: I think women should make decisions based on believing in their own abilities, based on believing that they should and can have the same opportunities as men."

It's just a shame, she continued, if the decision stems from not feeling valued enough in the corporate world.

"I just hope that enough women want those senior leadership roles," she said, "that we get the environment for women that they deserve."

Former ENRC Chief Executive Says Unresolved Financial Obligations Could Raise Questions About Kazakhstan’s International Business Reputation.

Following his interview with EU Today, Felix Jeff Vulis discusses his outstanding financial claims, his relationship with Kazakhstan and why he intends to bring the matter to the attention of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

For more than three decades, Felix Jeff Vulis has maintained close professional ties with Kazakhstan, a country whose transformation into a major international mining and industrial economy he witnessed firsthand.

His relationship with Kazakhstan began in the 1990s, when he helped introduce the country’s economic potential to American investors. In 2001, he joined Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), eventually becoming Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Executive Officer.

Under his leadership and that of his colleagues, ENRC expanded internationally, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007 and entered the FTSE 100, becoming one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent industrial companies.

But the relationship between Vulis and the group that subsequently became Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has taken a different direction.

In a September interview with EU Today, Vulis described his years at ENRC, the challenges of corporate governance and the impact of the British Serious Fraud Office investigation, which ended in 2023 without charges.

He also raised a question that had remained largely outside public discussion: financial and contractual obligations that he believes ERG and related entities have failed to honor.

The first interview concluded with Vulis maintaining that ending a corporate position would not eliminate previously established financial obligations.

Now, in this proposed continuation, Vulis addresses the outstanding claims more directly and explains why he intends to seek the attention of Kazakhstan’s highest political authorities.

The unresolved financial questions

EU Today: In your previous interview, you spoke about financial obligations that you believe remain outstanding. What exactly are you referring to?

Felix Vulis: Throughout my many years with ENRC, I held significant executive responsibilities and worked under various contractual and financial arrangements.

My position is that certain obligations arising from those arrangements have not been fulfilled. These matters include remuneration and other financial entitlements associated with my professional relationship with the group.

I believe the relevant documentation should be reviewed and the legitimate outstanding obligations settled.

EU Today: Are we talking about a substantial amount of money?

Felix Vulis: I would prefer not to discuss specific figures publicly at this stage. There are financial calculations, contractual documents and correspondence that need to be considered.

This is not simply about a number. It is about respecting agreements and commitments.

EU Today: Has ERG been given an opportunity to resolve these matters privately?

Felix Vulis: My preference has always been to resolve outstanding issues through professional discussions rather than public confrontation.

I believe that an agreement remains possible if the relevant parties are prepared to examine the documentation and engage constructively.

But after so many years, I also believe that unresolved obligations cannot simply remain unanswered indefinitely.

Why the president of Kazakhstan?

EU Today: You have indicated that you intend to bring this matter to the attention of Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Why?

Felix Vulis: Because Kazakhstan is not an ordinary country in my professional life.

My relationship with Kazakhstan began long before I joined ENRC. I have spent decades working with its industries, institutions and people.

I have enormous respect for the country and its economic achievements.

At the same time, the Republic of Kazakhstan is an important shareholder in ERG. I believe that shareholders, particularly those representing a sovereign state, have a legitimate interest in ensuring that companies associated with them respect their financial and contractual commitments.

I intend to inform President Tokayev about my situation and explain why I believe these outstanding obligations deserve attention.

EU Today: Are you asking the President to intervene personally in a private financial dispute?

Felix Vulis: I am not asking the President to act as a judge or to assume responsibility for obligations that legally belong to a corporate entity.

I am asking for attention to a matter that I believe deserves a fair and professional review.

Kazakhstan has worked hard to establish itself as a reliable destination for international investment. That reputation depends, among other things, on confidence that legitimate business commitments will be respected.

EU Today: Do you believe the matter could damage Kazakhstan’s international reputation?

Felix Vulis: I sincerely hope it does not.

Under President Tokayev, Kazakhstan has made important efforts to strengthen its international standing, attract foreign investment and build confidence among its economic partners.

I recognize and appreciate those efforts.

However, when a former chief executive of one of the country’s most internationally recognized industrial groups raises unresolved financial claims, questions can arise about corporate governance and the treatment of contractual obligations.

I believe the best way to avoid unnecessary reputational questions is to examine the matter fairly and resolve legitimate claims.

The international dimension

EU Today: You are an American citizen. Could this matter also be raised in the United States or Europe?

Felix Vulis: As an American citizen, I have the right to protect my legitimate financial and contractual interests through the appropriate legal channels.

If a reasonable settlement cannot be reached, I intend to explore every lawful avenue available to me, including bringing the matter to the attention of relevant European institutions in Brussels and appropriate authorities in the United States.

That may include the US Department of State and the US Department of the Treasury, where there is a relevant basis for doing so.

I would much prefer that such steps prove unnecessary.

EU Today: Would you also approach European political institutions?

Felix Vulis: I reserve the right to raise the matter with appropriate European institutions, including the European Council, through lawful procedures and established channels.

My objective would be to explain my position and seek appropriate consideration, not to turn a private commercial matter into an international political confrontation.

EU Today: Some people might interpret these statements as pressure on ERG. How would you respond?

Felix Vulis: I am simply explaining the options that may be available to someone seeking to protect his contractual rights.

I have no interest in harming Kazakhstan or creating unnecessary difficulties for its international partners.

But I also do not believe that a person should be expected to abandon legitimate financial claims simply because the other party is a large and influential corporation.

Kazakhstan beyond ERG

EU Today: Has this experience changed your opinion of Kazakhstan as a place to do business?

Felix Vulis: No. My respect for Kazakhstan remains unchanged.

I still believe it has extraordinary economic potential, particularly in mining, critical minerals, energy, infrastructure and industrial development.

Its strategic position between Europe and Asia creates opportunities that extend far beyond the extraction of natural resources.

The country has the industrial experience, human capital and geographic advantages necessary to attract significant long-term investment.

That is precisely why I believe questions of contractual reliability and corporate governance matter so much.

EU Today: What message would you like President Tokayev to take from your letter?

Felix Vulis: That I remain a friend of Kazakhstan.

I am proud of the work we accomplished there, and I appreciate the efforts of the President to strengthen the country’s international credibility.

I hope the relevant parties will examine my claims seriously and help facilitate a fair resolution within the appropriate corporate and legal framework.

The strongest message Kazakhstan can send to international investors is that legitimate commitments are respected and contractual obligations are fulfilled.

The final question

EU Today: What would you say directly to ERG’s leadership today?

Felix Vulis: I would say that there is still an opportunity to resolve these matters professionally.

We have a long shared history. I spent an important part of my life helping build this company into an internationally recognized industrial group.

I would prefer to conclude our outstanding business through dialogue, mutual respect and fulfillment of legitimate obligations.

But I also intend to protect my rights.

I believe the responsible course is to sit down, review the facts, address the outstanding financial questions and reach a fair conclusion.

EU Today: What would you say to your former employees in Kazakhstan?

Felix Vulis: Thank you.

People sometimes talk about corporations as if corporations build factories.

They don’t.

People build factories.

People operate furnaces. People go underground. People run power stations. Engineers solve problems at three in the morning.

Whatever disagreements exist today cannot erase what those people accomplished.

I remain extremely proud of having worked with them.

EU Today: After years of silence, why should ERG believe that this time is different?

Felix Vulis: Because I am speaking now.

For years I chose discretion.

That was a conscious choice, not an inability to speak.

I continue to believe that a negotiated solution is better for everybody: for me, for ERG, for its shareholders and for everyone associated with our shared history.

But negotiation requires two sides.

EU Today: What exactly do you want?

Felix Vulis: A table.

The appropriate representatives.

The documents.

A serious discussion about everything that remains outstanding.

And then a comprehensive settlement that allows everybody to close this chapter.

EU Today: An apology?

Felix Vulis: No.

A solution.

EU Today: Revenge?

Felix Vulis: Absolutely not.

Revenge is emotional.

This is business.

EU Today: And if ERG refuses?

Felix Vulis: Then I will continue to defend my rights through every lawful mechanism available to me.

And where I am legally entitled to speak about my own experience, I reserve the right to do so.

EU Today: Is that a threat?

Felix Vulis: No.

It is clarity.

There is still an opportunity to resolve this privately and professionally.

I would prefer that.

After more than twenty years of shared history, I think sitting around a table is a much more intelligent ending than spending the next several years sitting opposite each other in courtrooms.

EU Today: If the people running ERG read only one sentence from this interview, what should it be?

Felix Vulis: Call me.

Let’s sit down and finish this properly.

With just over a week to go until Brazil’s closely contested presidential election, the picture remains much the same as it has for months: a dead heat.

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• It's time to play our favorite pastime of the 21st century: Are you smarter than an AI agent?
• Today, I asked Muse to identify everything on Mark Zuckerberg's desk.
• Muse clocked this BI reporter on some things — but this reporter also knows a few useless facts.

Ever wondered on a random Thursday afternoon what the chief executive of Meta might keep on his desk at the HQ?

I'm glad you asked.

Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo of his office desk to announce the release of Muse Spark Open, which lets you run a model with a fairly simple desktop setup. The company calls it "the most capable US open-weight model to date" and has teamed up with Apple to enable it to run on two M5 Ultra Mac Studios.

But never mind that; let's focus on the physical workspace.

Since this Muse is supposed to be so smart, I wanted to see how easily it could identify the objects on Zuckerberg's desk.

Two things immediately popped out to me: the black trinket on the right and the graffiti on the desk. Yeah, sure, there's whatever is on Zuckerberg's screen, which might provide a hint on what the CEO is working on as he steers a nearly $2 trillion company. But we don't want to know that, right?

Here's what the Muse agent caught — and what it needed help identifying.

Looks like Zuckerberg is cooking on his desktop

Obviously, as a tech and business publication, we have to snoop on Zuckerberg's screen to see what he's working on.

At a glance, he appears to be chatting with his Muse agent, Agrippa, named after the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The CEO is telling his agent to build something onto his Mac, which is relevant to today's announcement.

What exactly is he working on? My own Muse helped point out that Agrippa is describing a "Tamagotchi-style" virtual pet after Zuckerberg asked to identify its "official form"— a "chunky cream-and-gold 90s egg, blinking red LED, speaker grille, Feed / Train / Play buttons," Agrippa said.

Agrippa is then asked to "build it on my Mac."

My Muse said that the CEO is essentially asking for a "software simulation of the Agrippa pet." On the right, a terminal displays the agentic AI narrating its work while implementing Zuckerberg's request.

Zuckerberg has the latest and greatest Apple hardware

I'm going to give Muse some points here since it correctly identified the two computers as Mac Studios. I mistakenly referred to them as Mac Minis while entering my request into Muse to review everything in the photo.

I also could've read Zuckerberg's post more carefully. He clearly said what was going on: "Muse Spark Open — weights releasing today — runs great on new Mac Studios thanks to work with @johnternus and Apple."

This is directly relevant to what Meta's press release said: You can run Muse Spark Open on two Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios with 1 TB of unified memory.

The quiet flex here is that the 512 GB memory option for the M5 Ultra isn't publicly available yet. We're not worthy, Zuck.

Earbuds or the Muse Charm?

This looks like the Charm Zuckerberg debuted at Meta Connect in late September. It's supposed to be a keychain-sized wearable that gives people quick access to their Muse agent, so instead of talking to your phone, you can talk to a keychain.

Anyway, Muse thought it was a "wireless earbud charging case" before I nudged it to conclude that it's "very likely the Muse Charm."

Zuck is prepared to party

Yeah, I run a multirillion-dollar company, but I still know how to party! That's what I imagine Zuckerberg thinking to himself when he set up this shot of his desk.

Muse was fairly helpful here, identifying the bottle as Noble Champagne. It couldn't identify the exact vintage, which is fine. The bottle label is pretty simple and not informative.

A quick Google search shows that it's most likely a $230 bottle of Noble Grand Cru Brut. Another flex!

Classic taped-up nerd glasses meet next-gen eyewear

Obviously, Zuckerberg can't be caught without Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which are part of the company's big push for wearables.

These look to be the new "Audio AI" glasses that Meta announced at the Connect event, since there are no visible cameras on the rims. The glasses are meant to be like a hands-free listening device with speakers.

Meanwhile, the glasses in the back have tape on the bridge. Old school!

Hey, Jolly!

By now, we're familiar with this guy: Jolly, the mascot for Meta's Muse AI.

Muse went a bit literal with the identification and simply described what it saw: "The plush is a cream blob with dot eyes, a small smile, and one arm raised."

A few trinkets to spice up the desk

Muse was both helpful and unhelpful here.

It reminded me of the significance of the February 4, 2024 date — the 20th anniversary of Facebook's founding.

The chatbot can't seem to identify the two figurines.

At first, it guessed they were "custom or commissioned caricature figures playing on Zuck internet lore": "The yellow angry one as 'grumpy Zuck' (dark hair, scowl) and the blue blank-eyed robot as a nod to the eternal 'Zuckerberg is a robot' meme." I'll give props to Muse for that, because it made me laugh.

I gave it a hint and said they're two Marvel characters. The bot then said they were Wolverine and Beast. Um, no.

That's Tony Stark and a blue Iron Man, right?

Zuck never forgets the old Facebook

Here's a true test to see how many useless fun facts you might know about Facebook.

Before Meta was Meta and Facebook was settling into its Menlo Park office around 2011, the company hired Korean-American graffiti artist David Choe to spray-paint the new digs. There's a video on YouTube from 12 years ago, in which the artist wanders the grounds and spray-paints the walls.

According to Gawker, Choe was previously commissioned by Facebook, thanks to his relationship with Sean Parker, who helped shape the early days of Facebook Inc.

I thought the style looked familiar. Turns out the desk was, in fact, marked up by Choe, according to the artist's website.

Muse didn't immediately identify the artist, but it did say that one of its guesses was Choe.

I'm smarter than an AI! (Not really.)

Los ochenta fueron una hipérbole. Después de décadas de vivir en el ascetismo de las costumbres y la represión de los deseos del franquismo, toda una generación se dedicó a derribar lo aburrido, lo normativo, lo prohibido, lo de antes. Los jóvenes rompieron con el pasado sin anestesia y sin saber que algunos acabarían rotos en el empeño. Carlos Caballé fue un destacado representante de aquella hornada sensible, inconformista y rebelde que se quedó por el camino. Cada uno había accedido a la rebelión por su propia puerta. La suya fue la necesidad de sedar el sufrimiento que le provocaba crecer en una casa zarandeada a todas horas por la tormenta. Esta historia arranca en una familia catalana, numerosa, burguesa e infeliz, y concluye en una escritora que ha dedicado lo mejor de su vida a escudriñar con afán de entomóloga las vidas de los otros. Así que comienza en Carlos y acaba en Anna, los hermanos Caballé que protagonizan El soñador de refugios (Galaxia Gutenberg), uno de esos libros caleidoscópicos donde se pueden encontrar múltiples paisajes: los vaivenes de un poeta politoxicómano, la memoria de una biógrafa que rehuía su propio pasado y, también, las pinceladas sociológicas de la hipérbole de los ochenta.

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È uno dei più grandi film italiani di sempre e compie sessant’anni. L’8 settembre del 1966 usciva nelle sale italiane La battaglia di Algeri, il film di Gillo Pontecorvo che pochi giorni dopo avrebbe vinto il Leone d’oro alla Mostra del cinema di Venezia. Un trattato politico e cinematografico, in uno stile per certi versi semi-documentaristico, in bianco e nero, quasi tutto girato nella Qasba della città, la zona più antica, fatta di vicoli stretti. La vicenda inizia nel1957, quando i militari francesi del colonnello Mathieu entrano nell’appartamento dove si nasconde il rivoluzionario Ali La Pointe (interpretato da Brahim Haggiag un attore non professionista come quasi tutto il cast), un contadino analfabeta diventato eroe del Fronte di liberazione nazionale algerino (Fln), iniziata nel 1954. Il contesto in cui nacque – la centralità dell’Algeria nella lotta anti coloniale, nell’Italia di Enrico Mattei che supportava l’Fln, e del Pci che, al contrario del partiti socialisti europei, sosteneva i movimenti di liberazione, allora come ora bollati come “terroristi” – lo stile, le musiche, la tensione che pervade tutta la storia, lo rendono tutt’ora uno dei punti più alti, e forse ineguagliati, raggiunti dalla cinematografia italiana. “Un film a suo modo leggendario, con una forza dirompente”, racconta suo figlio Simone, 51 anni, il più giovane dei tre figli di Gillo, di cui cura l’archivio. Venerdì 16 ottobre al Teatro Olimpico di Roma verrà proiettatala la versione restaurata in 4k del film.

Chi era tuo padre Gillo?
Un uomo di grandi passioni, dal tennis alla pesca, che amava la libertà, con un suo modo di fare le cose, molto personale. Ha avuto una vita avventurosa e ricca di incontri. Nell’esilio antifascista a Parigi, tra il ’38 e il ’40, ha fatto amicizia con Giorgio Amendola, Celeste Negarville, Giancarlo Pajetta e molti altri, già amici di suo fratello Bruno, che stava lì dal 1936. Poi la fuga verso il Sud della Francia, con l’arrivo dei tedeschi a Parigi, e a Saint Tropez, dove viveva di pesca subacquea e delle lezioni di tennis che dava. Ma anche l’incontro con Tristan Tzara, uno dei padri del surrealismo e l’amicizia con il compositore René Leibowitz. Gillo ha fatto fatto la Resistenza in Italia, con un ruolo importante nel coordinamento del movimento giovanile unitario a Milano e Torino. Verso la fine della guerra ha avuto il comando della Brigata Sap Giovani Eugenio Curiel, ereditato dopo la morte dell’eroe al quale era intitolata. E poi l’amicizia con Berlinguer. Dopo il rientro a Parigi nel ’47, da delegato per l’Italia alla Federation Mondiale de la Jeunesse Democratique, è diventato amico anche di di Picasso, Sartre ed Eluard. La sua vita è stata una sorta di passaggio attraverso gli eventi, i mondi, le problematiche e le personalità che in fondo avevano connotato quel secolo. Questo ha reso il suo sguardo cinematografico come qualcosa di rivolto all’uomo, alle sue lotte e alla sua storia nel mondo. Uno sguardo obiettivo, ed equilibrato, che però non gli ha mai impedito di arrivare a emozionare il suo pubblico. In ogni cosa che ha fatto, la sua straordinaria personalità gli ha permesso di lasciare il segno: dalla guerra di liberazione al suo cinema fino al suo impegno in ambito di politica culturale.

Perché Gillo ha deciso di girare il film?
Dopo la candidatura all’Oscar per Kapò, tra 1961 e 1962 aveva ricevuto molte proposte, anche dall’America, e aveva vari progetti, ad esempio una sceneggiatura del suo grande amico Franco Solinas, lo sceneggiatore di quasi tutto il suo cinema. Il film aveva come sfondo la guerra d’Algeria e si doveva chiamare Parà. Pur essendo una storia totalmente diversa da La battaglia di Algeri è stato una sorta di prologo. Il protagonista era un ex-paracadutista della guerra d’Indocina che si trovava in Algeria come reporter di guerra. A Parigi lui e Solinas avevano sentito vari paracadutisti, quelle testimonianze sono poi servite per la scrittura della Battaglia di Algeri, in particolare per creare il complesso personaggio del colonnello Mathieu. Due anni dopo, nel 1964, mio padre, che per vari motivi aveva accantonato Parà, venne contattato da Salah Baazì e Saadi yacef, venuti in Italia a nome del governo algerino per cercare un regista che potesse fare un film sull’indipendenza raggiunta dal loro paese. Gli algerini cercavano uno sguardo esterno e con un certo legame con la tradizione neorealista. Proposero quindi questa impresa a Rosi, a Visconti e a mio padre. Gli altri due rifiutarono perché già impegnati, mentre lui, anche per il fatto di essersi già avvicinato al tema, disse di sì. La prima cosa che gli proposero, però, era una sceneggiatura già fatta, che a papà non piaceva: voleva ripartire da zero con Solinas, attingendo agli archivi e alle informazioni che gli algerini potevano fornirgli. Il lavoro fu complesso, fecero tre stesure, una diversa dall’altra, prima di giungere a quella definitiva.

Come è stato girare ad Algeri?
Mi ha sempre raccontato soprattutto del clima di entusiasmo per la libertà che avevano conquistato, questo slancio l’aveva già visto al momento stesso della liberazione nel 1962 quando era stato in Algeria con Solinas per Parà per documentare, ma anche proprio per vivere, i festeggiamenti della guerra vinta dagli algerini. Nel 1965, durante le riprese della Battaglia di Algeri la popolazione algerina era stata molto disponibile: oltre alle centinaia di comparse selezionate, per le scene più imponenti ha potuto anche contare su molte persone che si aggiungevano spontaneamente. Il film è stato co-prodotto dagli algerini e dagli Italiani. Dalla Casbah-film, fondata per l’occasione da Saadi Yacef, che aveva contattato mio padre nel ’64, mentre la produzione italiana era affidata alla Igor film, fondata anch’essa per l’occasione da mio padre e da Antonio Musu. Yacef era stato uno dei capi del Fronte di liberazione nazionale algerino (Fln) e con mio padre parlavano una lingua comune: sapevano bene entrambi cosa fosse una guerra di liberazione perché l’avevano vissuta sulla loro pelle. Gillo trovava interessante anche la sua espressività e infatti gli propose di recitare la parte di se stesso nel film e lui lo fece.

Com’è riuscito un film che sembra quasi un documentario, su un tema difficile, a vincere il Leone d’oro al festival di Venezia?
C’era una grande tensione con la Francia, dove poi il film fu vietato fino al ’71. La delegazione di critici francesi aveva disertato la proiezione, era qualcosa che ancora bruciava sulla carne viva nazionale. Credo però che la giuria presieduta da Giorgio Bassani non potesse ignorare la capacità del film di dominare una materia così attuale e scottante senza per questo rinunciare alla forza dirompente che il film ha.

La Battaglia di Algeri ha influenzato profondamente il cinema, viene studiato ancora nelle scuole di regia.
La quantità di citazioni che ha ricevuto è incredibile. L’ultima è in Una battaglia dopo l’altra, con DiCaprio, ma prima il film era già stato citato da Tarantino in Bastardi senza gloria. Cuarón ne parlava come del film che aveva ispirato lo stile de I figli degli uomini. Sono tanti i tegisti che non hanno fatto mistero di ammirarlo, ad esempio Soderbergh. Negli Anni 70 lo studiavano nei campus universitari. Le nuove ondate di giovani cineasti americani ed europei, da Spielberg a Terrence Malick, a Roland Joffé, lo consideravano un esempio da seguire. In quegli anni era stato anche preso a modello da organizzazioni di lotta anti-sistema, come le Black Panthers, ma la lettura e l’analisi in chiave politica del film si sono estese anche in senso opposto. L’hanno proiettato più volte a West Point, ma anche al Pentagono nel 2003 nel contesto della seconda guerra all’Iraq.

Perché, a distanza di sessant’anni, è impossibile trovare un film simile?
Per la sua maniera di raccontare innovativa, che ti porta a seguire e ad entrare nello sviluppo delle storie dei personaggi principali, intrecciando quest’azione in quella di molti altri personaggi, ma non solo. Ti porta negli avvenimenti usando, insieme ai linguaggi più tradizionali come quello del flashback, ad esempio per Alì la Pointe, anche quello proprio del racconto cronachistico, come la serie di comunicati dell’Fln. Il tutto con incredibile fluidità e realismo. L’altro aspetto è il lavoro intenso sul ritmo, che ti fa sentire il polso di un fenomeno così complesso come una rivoluzione. Una parte fondamentale del film è la forza delle scene delle manifestazioni di massa che portano al finale, scene più volte paragonate alla Corazzata Potemkin, perfino dal Pauline Kael del New Yorker.

Il film ha quasi solo attori non professionisti. Chi è il vero protagonista?
In realtà è un personaggio corale. Si sente che mio padre e il suo sceneggiatore sono per la liberazione del popolo algerino, ma questa dimensione tiene conto anche dell’altra parte, in questo caso dando voce soprattutto al personaggio del Colonnello Mathieu. Gillo e Solinas hanno molto studiato sulla sua figura, cercando delinearlo come un uomo intelligente ed esperto di tattica militare, non un semplice sadico o il classico cattivo ma un uomo che era li per la sua nazione e che doveva fare tutto il possibile per la sua missione: far rimanere la Francia in Algeria. Proprio il fatto di distogliere l’attenzione da una figura stereotipata di antagonista, secondo loro, avrebbe aiutato il pubblico a concentrarsi sul vero mandante della vicenda, che è il colonialismo. Essendo il cinema di mio padre centrato sull’uomo e sulla sua lotta per uscire dalle situazioni che rendono più dura la sua condizione, credo che quest’ultimo atto della decolonizzazione rientri pienamente nei suoi obiettivi.

La lotta dell’Fln già all’epoca venne etichettata come “terrorismo”, ma poi è passata alla storia come uno dei più importanti movimenti di liberazione nazionale, supportato dagli intellettuali più importanti del ‘900 da Fanon a Sartre. Le vicende in Palestina oggi sollevano gli stessi temi, come la violenza, che nel film emerge emerge in tutto il sua ferocia. Qual è la lezione, per così dire politica, che rende questo film attuale?

Risiede in una cosa che mio padre disse in un’intervista a Lietta Tornabuoni: il fatto che il film fosse un atto di accusa contro il colonialismo, la violenza e la guerra e che in tutto ciò il suo personale atteggiamento fosse quello della pietà umana. Il film è un serrato racconto dell’inarrestabilità di certi processi storici, come quello dell’autodeterminazione dei popoli, che lui infatti accostava al processo dei fiumi carsici che, pur nascondendosi più volte, finiscono sempre per arrivare al mare. M voleva anche raccontare quante perdite e quanto dolore da entrambe le parti ci fossero stati in questa vicenda storica. Lo si capisce dalla musica di mestizia e dolore che aveva fatto mettere a Ennio Morricone nelle scene con i morti e i feriti dalle bombe. La musica era la stessa sia dopo le bombe messe dai francesi che dopo quelle messe dagli algerini. Questo riesce a farti alzare lo sguardo per considerare le ragioni e le sofferenze dell’altra parte. E’ chiaro, e lo si intuisce, che gli autori siano per la fine dei 130 anni di dominazione francese in Algerino ma non fa sconti. Alla vigilia della presentazione a Venezia, Saady Yacef aveva mandato un telegramma a papà in cui chiedeva di tagliare l’inquadratura del bambino francese che mangiava il gelato appena prima che scoppiasse la bomba algerina nella caffetteria. Lui non aveva nessuna intenzione di tagliarla, rientrava pienamente nella logica di quello sguardo che ogni tanto riesce ad innalzarsi anche oltre il personale punto di vista degli autori e va in prospettiva. In questo senso è indicativa la scena delle torture: nostro padre non voleva rappresentarle in maniera cruda e violenta, per questo gli ha dato un senso di pietà con una musica struggente che Morricone gli ha scritto, vagamente ispirata allo stile di Bach. Le immagini sono quasi tutte nella penombra, certamente realistiche ma anche filtrate, stilizzate. Una donna che guarda a quanto accade davanti ai suoi occhi, muove le pupille da una parte all’altra, non sa più dove guardare. Un’altra cosa che prende una prospettiva differente, pur rimanendo nel vestito del realismo che pervade tutto il film, è il finale, traslato come un balletto: quello della storia che si ripete.

L'articolo “Mio padre Gillo Pontecorvo: il tennis, Sartre e ‘La battaglia di Algeri’ come destino dell’uomo” proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

La inteligencia artificial parece muy lista, pero no aprende sola. Miles de humanos han guiado su aprendizaje, corrigiendo y ajustando sus respuestas. Un informe publicado este jueves por las plataformas de investigación DiPLab y Reversing.Works da nuevos detalles sobre cómo miles de trabajadores europeos trabajan a ratos sueltos para Outlier, una plataforma de Scale AI. En junio de 2025, Meta pagó 12.400 millones de euros por el 49% de Scale AI y su fundador, Alexandr Wang, pasó a ser director de IA de la compañía de Mark Zuckerberg. Antes de esa adquisición, Outlier ayudaba también a entrenar los modelos de empresas como OpenAI o Google.

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Russia suffered vastly more casualties than Ukraine in September, a senior NATO military official told Bloomberg. Ukraine’s General Staff put the month’s Russian toll only slightly lower.

September’s toll lands on a recruitment system that was already falling short. Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) estimated that Russian losses outran new contracts in June and July, when monthly losses ran lower. In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing military intelligence, warned that Russia is preparing a mass call-up after its parliamentary elections. That vote ended on 20 September.

Where the numbers come from

Russian casualties passed 50,000 in September, up to 28,000 of them killed, the official said. Ukraine’s losses over the same month came to about 5,000, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Russia does not release casualty figures, Bloomberg noted. In late August, Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, put Russia’s July losses at 43,000 killed and wounded. Bloomberg could not confirm his figures.

To push forward, Russia keeps feeding troops into “kill zones,” the official said. These are stretches of ground saturated with armed drones, mines, and artillery fire. Maksym, call sign Rumyn, is a deputy company commander in the 46th Airmobile Brigade’s drone battalion. In April, he said the zone once ran 3–5 km deep and is now several times larger.

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Ukraine suffered 10 times fewer casualties than Russia in Vivaldi counteroffensive, veteran says. Ukraine’s innovations in drone and ground robot tactics are changing frontline warfare

Rising stakes for Moscow

Russia’s defense spending is expected to near $199 billion this year, Bloomberg reported, citing two sources close to the government. That is about 40% above the plan the government set in late 2025.

Russian President Vladimir Putin would struggle to wind down the invasion without a political cost, Martin Jäger said last week. He heads Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).