Robert Falzon

England’s rugby team wears the red rose linked to the House of Lancaster. The emblem came from Rugby School’s crest, adopted in 1871. Roses were popular medieval badges for their clarity and noble symbolism; following Henry VII’s 1485 victory, the Lancastrian red rose entered royal iconography.

Mumford & Sons, the London folk-rock band led by King’s College-educated Marcus Mumford with Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane. Blending banjo-led folk with arena rock and literate themes of faith and doubt. Their work draws on Shakespeare, Steinbeck and classical allusions. Their 6th album is out this week.

OpenClaw, created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, is an agent runtime that connects LLMs to real system tools, enabling AI to execute tasks. In time, it could replace many consumer apps through voice-led delegation. His move to OpenAI symbolises the rise of developer-built agent systems.

Just as Keir Starmer delivered an underwhelming, arguably naive speech on the UK’s remilitarisation plans, Chancellor Merz set out a far more assertive, almost Gaullist vision for Germany. He suggested even the US may not be able to go it alone, arguing Europe holds significant geopolitical leverage

Decades of negotiations reduced an existential conflict to technical fixes over borders and security while ignoring history, identity, and justice. US-led mediation prioritised process over outcomes and entrenched imbalance. Recent violence reflects long-standing patterns, not a break from the past.

At KU Leuven, Draghi escalated the call for the creation of a pragmatic European federation. He linked reform to scaling local tech champions, completing Capital Markets Union, coordinating defence & industrial policy. A 'Europe that cannot defend its interests will not protect its values for long'.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE were once closely aligned but are increasingly diverging over Yemen and oil: Riyadh favours tight OPEC+ output limits, while Abu Dhabi favours higher production quotas to reflect its expanded capacity. Whilst cooperating on security, their rivalry now outweighs solidarity.

Despite a 20–13 defeat in Dublin, Italy reaffirmed their growing Tier 1 rugby status. They dominated the scrum, collisions & lineout throughout, losing only through wastefulness in Ireland’s 22. A rise 20 years in the making, forged on hard scrumming & a squad that no longer fades after 60 minutes.

The Enlightenment enabled the 'beginning of infinity' by replacing authority with critical thinking. Once arbitrary limits—scientific, political, moral—were no longer treated as fate, knowledge grew. With open institutions, progress is essentially infinite, constrained only by the laws of physics.

The tail signs of an overheated AI data centres market are clear: exuberant growth assumptions, speed of leverage build-up, 100-year bonds. At the centre sit fragile players like CoreWeave — reminiscent of Bear Stearns — aggressive, highly exposed and vulnerable if AI demand or capital markets turn.

MHHS replaces statistical profiling with measured half-hour allocation, making cost, risk and flexibility value interval-specific and economically explicit. Altior can provide the coordination layer required to validate, align and route verified telemetry across devices, the DCC and market systems.

Europe has long lacked a unifying enemy, leaving the EU mostly technocratic and emotionally thin. Brexit and then Putin shifted sentiment, but Trump has become the true catalyst: reframing the US as unreliable, boosting European identity, public support, and momentum toward unity and autonomy.

For much of history, states competed to control raw materials. For every tonne of fossil fuels extracted, six tonnes of sand, stone, and metals are required. Global supply chains created a false sense of security, but growing dependence is placing material resilience back at the centre of strategy.

Japan is entering a postwar turning point. After PM Sanae Takaichi’s landslide election win, she plans to revise the US-drafted 1947 constitution, and revisit her country's military posture. The shift is driven by voter anxiety over security, China tensions, and growing doubts about US reliability.

As electricity systems become more decentralised, Operational Digital Infrastructure, such as our platform Altior, will be required to sit between physical assets and market and control systems. To provide standard asset representation, secure data governance, and low-latency telemetry and control.

The so-called golden generation of Scottish rugby fell in Rome under biblical rain. Italy struck early through the world-class Menoncello, then absorbed pressure as conditions worsened. Defensive grit, an improved scrum, sharper discipline, and Scottish handling errors saw the Azzurri close it out.

Altior governs the OT data first mile as secure, repeatable infrastructure. Partners can build and commercialise multiple services on a single platform, while end users retain full data ownership, security and sovereignty. Consistent device abstraction enables fast, non-intrusive, secure deployment.

The portrait of the dyslexic, Habermas-trained, neo-Marxist founder of Palantir. Who believes that structurally fragile liberal democracies require robust institutions - on security, borders, health, energy, or crime. And therefore, promotes the moral trade-off of a surveillance state (eg. ICE).

Named after a village in northern France, Saint-Gobain’s 350-year history reflects the best of French capitalism: engineer-led management, long-term vision, steady adaptation. From glass and chemicals to global construction solutions, successive leaders avoided speculation, followed building needs.

Saint-Gobain was founded in 1665 under Louis XIV as the Manufacture royale des glaces. To rival Venetian glassmakers, Colbert used state backing & industrial espionage, luring Murano artisans to France to steal techniques, enabling large mirror production for Versailles & breaking Venice’s monopoly.

Dr. Mariano Barbacid’s team cured pancreatic cancer in mice through genetic engineering. The key target was KRAS, a mutated gene that acts like a jammed on switch, forcing cancer cells to grow. By disabling KRAS and its backup pathways together, tumours collapsed—proving the disease is treatable.

AI is forcing a structural repricing of software. Narrative-led SaaS are punished (50–75% drawdowns) as AI commoditises features and workflows. Markets now reward revenue durability, cash flow, and data/control-centric platforms—especially those tied to regulation, infrastructure, real-world usage.

ServiceNow beat Q4/FY25 earnings, yet its shares are down ~50% YoY as investors reassess SaaS valuations. Market saturation, AI, and costly deals such as the MoveWorks are weighing on sentiment. CEO Bill McDermott says the acquisitions drive innovation, but markets are repricing legacy SaaS growth.

Build vs buy shouldn't be about ego; it’s about ROI and speed to value. Google benefits from a deep ecosystem to amortise AI costs; OpenAI and Meta burn cash to defend models. Apple opts out entirely—renting capability, controlling the interface, and keeping the customer. Leverage beats vanity.

Started in 2007, EU–India trade talks restarted in 2022, and accelerated in 2025 amid Trump tariffs tensions. The deal removes ~90% of tariffs (€4bn/year), excluding agriculture, with the EU deepening strategic and supply-chain ties with India despite New Delhi’s continued ties to Russia.

A cautionary tale of colonialism and unregulated corporate power. Starting with just 35 people, the East India Company exploited a 40-year military and technological advantage and a Mughal power vacuum (the Anarchy) to move from trade to rule—turning instability into continental-scale looting.

The Saints stay top of the Prem with a 29-43 win at Sale. The Sharks were ahead in the 63rd min but lost their heads with Pollock's arrival, targeting him with high tackles. HP delivered 3 turnovers, 6 carries, a 40-meter try and plenty energy as Northampton scored 3 tries in the last 16 minutes.

By 2026, CSRD, ISO 14064-3 & NIS2 mandate a shift from estimates to continuous, secured data. Altior provides a non-invasive layer to capture high-resolution, crypto-secured evidence from submeters / sensors. This rationalises reporting by reducing manual effort & enhancing maintenance / security.

Xi Jinping ordered the arrest of General Zhang Youxia following an alleged thwarted coup on Jan 18th. The ousting of the PLA’s last veteran leader is likely to stall modernisation and delay ambitions regarding Taiwan. Extreme internal paranoia will drive further purges across the Chinese regime.

Montefico, the Barbaresco MGA, grown on steep, south-facing slopes above the village. Its terroir—lime-rich marl, well-drained hillside soils—gives Nebbiolo lifted perfume, a mineral, salty edge, bright acidity, and fine, firm tannins for ageing. 15 producers led by Gaja, Bruno Giacosa, and Roagna.