All posts tagged: projects

EU commits €1.07bn to new defence projects under EDF

EU commits €1.07bn to new defence projects under EDF

Published by skeptic

The European Commission has approved a major new round of funding for European defence projects, allocating €1.07bn to 57 initiatives under the European Defence Fund (EDF). The investment follows the evaluation of the 2025 EDF calls and is intended to reinforce the EU’s long-term defence strategy while accelerating technological development across the bloc. This latest tranche of funding aligns with the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 and supports four flagship programmes: the European Drone Defence Initiative, Eastern Flank Watch, the European Air Shield, and the European Space Shield. Together, these efforts form the backbone of the EU’s push to strengthen its strategic autonomy and defence capabilities. Record interest signals growing momentum The 2025 EDF calls drew unprecedented interest, with 410 proposals submitted – an increase of 37% compared to the previous year. This surge highlights growing engagement across Europe’s defence and research sectors, as well as rising demand for collaborative defence projects. Of the €1.07bn total, €675m has been earmarked for 32 capability development projects, while €332m will fund 25 research initiatives. These investments reflect a …

EIC Pathfinder Challenges awards €118m to 30 research projects

EIC Pathfinder Challenges awards €118m to 30 research projects

Published by skeptic

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 30 early-stage research projects for funding under its Pathfinder Challenges programme. EIC is committing approximately €118m to ambitious, high-potential scientific work in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics and sustainable materials. EIT Pathfinder Challenges targets breakthrough concepts at low technology readiness levels, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and long-term impact. The latest cohort was chosen from 647 eligible submissions, with each project receiving an average grant of just under €4m. The role of Pathfinder funding The EIC Pathfinder Challenges scheme is designed to support exploratory science at early development stages – typically before proof of concept. It prioritises unconventional ideas with the potential to underpin future technologies, particularly those requiring cross-disciplinary expertise. Projects can access supplementary funding for testing innovation potential or collaborating within thematic portfolios managed by the EIC. Funding focus: Four strategic technology areas The funding call concentrated on four domains aligned with EU innovation priorities: Climate-resilient biotech and plant systems Projects in this track aim to strengthen agricultural resilience and develop plant-based manufacturing methods. The focus …

A Complete List of Meghan and Harry’s Creative Projects, From Documentaries to Unrealized Podcasts

A Complete List of Meghan and Harry’s Creative Projects, From Documentaries to Unrealized Podcasts

Published by Sam Flores

In recent years, Meghan and Harry have admitted that they didn’t have a solid plan for how they would rebuild their careers after leaving the service of the crown in early 2020, just months before they signed their Netflix deal. Either way, it was clear that Hollywood was interested in giving them a shot, and their company Archewell Productions was born. They also signed an exclusive podcasting deal with Spotify, but that ended in 2023 after just 13 episodes had aired. It took a few years before they released any projects, but their first show on the streamer, Harry & Meghan, broke a documentary-debut record on the platform when it premiered in December 2022. Telling the story of their private meeting, royal wedding, and high-profile exit from the UK, the docuseries made headline news for weeks and provoked much upset among Harry’s extended family. Harry & Meghan and With Love, Meghan represent Archewell Productions’ biggest splashes in Hollywood by far, but the company has also had its hands in an array of other documentaries, the …

North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making

North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making

Published by skeptic

A North Korean cyberattack that last Monday briefly hijacked one of the most widely used open source projects on the web took weeks to carry out as part of a long-running campaign to target the code’s top developers. The hijacking of the Axios project on March 31 was in part successful because it relied on well-resourced hackers building rapport and trust with their intended target over a long period of time to increase their odds of a successful eventual compromise. This kind of hack highlights the security challenges that developers of popular open source projects can face, at a time when government hackers and cybercriminals alike are targeting widely used projects for their ability to access, in some cases, millions of devices worldwide. Jason Saayman, who maintains the popular Axios project that developers use to connect their apps to the internet, provided a post-mortem with a timeline of the hack. He shared that the hackers began their targeting campaign around two weeks before eventually gaining control of his computer to push out malicious code. By …

How I set up Claude Code in iTerm2 to launch all my AI coding projects in one click

How I set up Claude Code in iTerm2 to launch all my AI coding projects in one click

Published by skeptic

David Gewirtz/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways One-click iTerm2 setup launches Claude projects, creating a coding hub. Profiles auto-load context and memory files on startup. Color-coded tabs eliminate project confusion instantly. Sure, vibe coding is a powerful tool that can save time compared to hand-cutting code line by line. But anyone who has built anything with vibe coding can tell you this: there’s still a lot of work involved. For the past few months, I’ve been using Claude Code to build two apps that will eventually be delivered for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. One has reached the testing stage, while another is still very much in early-stage development. At first, I did what everyone does when they start using Claude Code. I used a terminal window. But my Claude Code work actually involves working in three contexts, one for each of the two apps I’m building and one that’s one level up and can look at both apps. Also: I built two apps with just my voice and a …

OpenAI executive shuffle includes new role for COO Brad Lightcap to lead ‘special projects’

OpenAI executive shuffle includes new role for COO Brad Lightcap to lead ‘special projects’

Published by skeptic

A handful of OpenAI executives are transitioning into new roles, according to a report from Bloomberg. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the personnel changes to TechCrunch. CEO of AGI development Fidji Simo announced in a memo that Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s COO, has a new job leading “special projects,” which will involve “complex deals and investments across the company.” He will report directly to CEO Sam Altman. Denise Dresser, the former Slack CEO who recently joined OpenAI as Chief Revenue Officer, will take over some of Lightcap’s COO duties in the interim. NEW: OpenAI’s Fidji Simo announced exec changes to staff today: she is taking medical leave for several weeks, COO Brad Lightcap is transitioning to a new role, and CMO Kate Rouch is stepping down to focus on her cancer recovery. More here: https://t.co/EfAqZI7jN3 pic.twitter.com/KmWoXUG0Iu — Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) April 3, 2026 Simo also had news of her own to share: She will be taking medical leave for the next several weeks to navigate a neuroimmune condition. “I have done everything possible to avoid it, but …

Do-It-Yourself Projects Can Save Money and Build Confidence, or Do the Opposite

Do-It-Yourself Projects Can Save Money and Build Confidence, or Do the Opposite

Published by Sam Flores

When something in the house stops working or needs to be replaced, the first impulse of many people is to call a contractor or comparison shop online. Others have the mindset, skills, resources or time to handle it themselves. Do-it-yourselfers often are regarded as determined and self-sufficient, but the jobs they take on don’t fit into a single category. DIY projects include growing food in a backyard garden, repurposing old furniture, creating wedding decor and home maintenance or improvement projects, like upgrading light fixtures or retiling bathrooms. They also serve a range of needs, whether creative, budgetary, social or educational. Homeowners can take on these projects themselves, buy materials or handle parts of the project before hiring professionals. Most do-it-yourself enthusiasts did not start off knowing how to paint, woodwork, tile or handle electrical or plumbing work with any proficiency but saw an outdated bathroom, a worn-out dining set or broken appliance as an opportunity for hands-on learning. Completing tasks on their own can save money but also provide a sense of accomplishment and a …

UKRI funds innovative health projects from cancer treatment to arthritis

UKRI funds innovative health projects from cancer treatment to arthritis

Published by skeptic

New cancer treatment and better ways to manage arthritis are among 30 new health research projects funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Professor Alison Park, UKRI cross-disciplinary working champion and Deputy Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council, said: “Many of our most pressing problems can only be addressed by researchers working across different disciplines – clinicians working with engineers and technologists, for example. “Through interdisciplinary research like this, we can develop ground-breaking health treatments more quickly and effectively than research that occurs only within the boundaries of a single discipline.” Bringing together various expertise from scientific sectors All the projects are interdisciplinary, spanning multiple research disciplines. This ensures new approaches and methods are developed that would not be possible from established, single-discipline thinking. They are also applicant-led, meaning that the research ideas come directly from the research community, identifying a problem to solve. Health-related projects span cancer treatment to musculoskeletal conditions ‘Snailbots’ for advanced bowel cancer treatment Tiny robots, inspired by the movement of snails, could help deliver drugs more precisely …

US signs nearly billion deal with France’s TotalEnergies to end offshore wind projects

US signs nearly $1 billion deal with France’s TotalEnergies to end offshore wind projects

Published by Sam Flores

US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made the announcement at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston, an event where he appeared alongside TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne to sign the agreement. “We’re partnering with TotalEnergies to unleash nearly $1 billion that was tied up in a lease deposit that was directed towards the prior administration’s subsidies that were pushing expensive weather-dependent offshore wind,” said Burgum. Pouyanne welcomed the deal, saying it redirected TotalEnergies’s $928 million investment in two wind farm leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts into US natural gas projects, in particular the Rio Grande LNG plant. Read moreWith its wind farms, Danish island of Samsø shows path forward during energy crisis French giant TotalEnergies had four gigawatts (GW) of offshore projects under development, including 3 GW for the New York Bight project and 1 GW in North Carolina. But at the end of 2024, Pouyanne announced that they were “put on hold” due to the unlikelihood of obtaining federal licenses from the Trump administration. Under former president Joe Biden, the United States …

Trump administration spends 0 million on California water projects

Trump administration spends $540 million on California water projects

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will spend $540 million on water infrastructure projects in California, much of it to repair aging and sinking canals in the Central Valley. The largest share, $235 million, will be used to rehabilitate the Delta-Mendota Canal, which carries water to farmlands. An additional $200 million will help continue repairs on the Friant-Kern Canal, another major conduit for water in the valley. Sinking ground due to heavy groundwater pumping has damaged segments of the Friant-Kern Canal and reduced its capacity. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the announcement that the investments, together with nearly $350 million for water projects in other western states, “strengthen our nation’s water security, modernize aging infrastructure and support the farmers, communities and industries that depend on reliable water supplies.” California water agencies praised the announcement, saying the funding will improve the water system. The Interior Department said it also will spend $40 million to begin a plan to raise the height of Shasta Dam — a proposal that growers and water agencies have …