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Officials say that 12 people were killed in an attack on a holiday camp in the Russian-held part Ukraine
Five children were among the 12 people killed in an overnight drone attack on a holiday camp located in a Russian-held area of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, local authorities in Russia said. They accused Ukraine of attacking civilians on purpose. Kyiv didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Both Russia and Ukraine deny that they are targeting civilians during the war which was launched by Russia's full scale invasion in February 2022. Yevgeny Baltsky, the Russian appointed governor, said that 19 people were injured in the attack at Kyrylivka resort, which is located near Melitopol on the coast of Sea of Azov. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria?Zakharova, said that Ukrainian drones were responsible for the attack against "sleeping" people at the camp. She condemned "inhuman crimes" and also mentioned an attack that took place on a factory on Thursday in Russia's Kirov Region, which resulted in the death of six people. The video of the holiday camp posted online showed shattered building, burnt-out cars and a heap of rubble near a swimming pool. Balitsky reported that crews of the Emergencies Ministry in Russia retrieved two survivors including a child and another body from rubble. He said that the rescue operation was complete. He said that the enemy knew who they were targeting. Balitsky claimed that authorities in Kyiv "ignore any morality" and were "deliberately destroying civilians -- both adults and children". The Russian state news agency RIA reported that the Investigative 'Committee' of Russia opened a terrorism?case in response to the attack. Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Writing by Ron Popeski, Paul Simao and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Kevin Liffey.
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Tens of thousands of people fleeing French wildfires are filled with disappointment and fear
Mohammed Laabar and his family fled their home in southwest France when wildfires raged on Friday. They grabbed their son, aged three, and a survival kit that they had prepared beforehand. The winds changed within hours and carried smoke and fumes originating from the fires to Bordeaux. Laabar is a 35-year old truck driver from the town of Salaunes. The apocalyptic images that have come to define France’s scorching summer 2026 gave him a sobering look at the future. He said at a temporary evacuation centre in Bordeaux where hundreds of people spent the night Friday. The authorities have evacuated over 197,000 people in southwestern France after fires destroyed the Atlantic Coast peninsula of Cap Ferret. This is a popular tourist destination during the peak of summer. French President Emmanuel Macron has enlisted military support to help exhausted firefighters battle a tapestry of?fires throughout the country. This follows a record-breaking summer heatwave which resulted in almost 6,000 extra deaths. As people waited in the Bordeaux evacuation centre on Friday, they were filled with disbelief and disappointment, while also feeling fearful for the future. Bernadette, 71, was sitting with her husband and her two grandchildren when she worried about her home in Lege-Cap-Ferret. She evacuated it in the middle night of Wednesday, with "very little notice". She said, "I didn't take anything with me, just my two children". "I forgot a lot of things. My eye medication, everything." Her house is located in an area that firefighters have battled to save buildings and houses from flames. Bernadette - who declined to reveal her name - said that she had moved twice more as the fires grew and barely slept. "I was in Lege, then Andernos and finally Bordeaux. "And now, there's a fire here as well," she said referring to the smoke that could be seen and refelted in Bordeaux. "I'm gonna scream." "ASHES FALLING EVERYWHERE!" The Cap Ferret Fire moved inland Saturday, reaching a region about 30 km (19miles) from Bordeaux. The French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that the situation had calmed down on Saturday, although the winds are expected to increase again in the afternoon. Henri Sauter, 37, from Germany was forced to leave Cap Ferret after his extended family consisting of nine adults and five children as well as a dog. He said, "There were ashes floating in our drinks while we were eating dinner. It was a strange feeling." He said that the 'family' hit heavy traffic on Friday after they abandoned their rental when they received a message telling them to leave. He said that they could see flames as they exited the peninsula along 'the only road into and out of it. Fires are becoming bigger and more frequent. Three consecutive heatwaves in Europe this season have helped to scorch more ground than they did last year. Many people who were sheltering in the evacuation centre feared that the wildfire danger was worsening. Jean-Pierre, retired computer engineer, aged 68, of Andernos, said that he had lived in the area for the majority of his life. However, this was the first evacuation he has ever experienced. He said that he had experienced fires when he was a child, but they were rare. In the last eight to nine years, fires have become more frequent. Multiple blazes are often burning at once. "It is catastrophic," he declared. (Reporting and editing by Gabriel Stargardter, Louise Heavens, and Manuel Ausloos)
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Wildfires in Bordeaux force evacuation of suburbs
Wildfires in the area around Bordeaux, southwest France, showed no sign of stopping. Sophie Brocas, the head of the local administration for La Nouvelle-Aquitaine et de la Gironde which includes the Bordeaux region, has said that the areas of Le Haillan and?Eysines are being cleared. Bordeaux is known for its vineyards, and the city of Bordeaux is a major 'transport hub' for tourists who are visiting the nearby resorts along the Atlantic coast. Sebastien Lecornu, Prime Minister of France, said that more than 141,000 people have been evacuated so far from the Gironde and Landes region near Bordeaux where wildfires erupted this week. The region was advised not to be driven in. Lecornu posted on X Saturday that "the fires that have hit our country are at a level never before seen." To?help, the army has been called in. Smoke from wildfires was seen and felt in the Haute-Vienne area north of Bordeaux. Local authorities asked people to close their doors and windows. Climate Monitor data shows that temperatures in the Aquitaine region have averaged 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) so far this month. This is 7.3C (13.1F), compared to the norm for July 1961-1990. Reporting by Camille Raynaud and Stephane Mahe; editing by Susan Fenton, Kevin Liffey and Elizabeth Howcroft
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Wildfires in Bordeaux force evacuation of suburbs
The French authorities evacuated a large number of people from the suburbs around 'Bordeaux' on Saturday, as wildfires remained active in those areas. Sophie Brocas, the head of the local administration for La Nouvelle-Aquitaine et de la Gironde, which includes the Bordeaux region, stated on X, that the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines, and Merignac are being cleared out. Sebastien Lecornu, the French Prime Minister, said that so far more than 141,000 residents have been?evacuated? from the Gironde?and Landes?regions?which are?close to Bordeaux and where the fires first broke out?this week. Lecornu, writing on X Saturday, said: "The fires that are ravaging our country have reached a?level never before seen." French troops have also been called in to assist. Climate Monitor data shows that temperatures in the Aquitaine region have been on average 32.2 degrees Celsius this month. This is 13.1 degrees Fahrenheit (7.3 degrees Celsius) higher than normal for July between 1961 and 1990. Reporting by Camille Raynaud and Stephane Mahe; editing by Susan Fenton
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Trump refuses to proceed with nuclear agreement unless Saudis sign Abraham Accords
On Friday, President Donald 'Trump said he wouldn't go ahead with a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia unless?Saudi Arabia agreed?to a re-normalization of relations with Israel in accordance with the Abraham Accords. The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that Energy Sec. Chris Wright and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, his Saudi counterpart, had signed an accord on the development of commercial nuclear reactors in oil rich Saudi Arabia. It said that Congress would review it. Since his first term, Trump has worked on a deal to build a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia. Joe Biden, the former president of the United States, also wanted a deal to be tied to accords that would normalize Saudi Arabia-Israel relations. Saudi Arabia, however, has not signed the accords because it is seeking an irreversible route to a Palestinian State before recognizing Israel. Trump added a condition to the agreement on Thursday. He said in a social media post that Saudi Arabia had to sign the accords. Trump made this point Friday at the Oval Office. Trump told reporters that they must be Abraham Accords members to get the deal. Trump claimed he did not discuss the Abraham Accords with Wright prior to the Cabinet member signing the deal. Trump stated that "but it was always understood and Chris knew and Saudi Arabia knew." Saudi Arabia hasn't responded to any requests for comment on the additional conditions to?the deal. Trump was confident it would all come together eventually. Trump stated that at some point, they would join together and "do their civil nuclear, to repeat it," they will do. Westinghouse, owned by Canadian companies Cameco & Brookfield Asset Management, is a beneficiary of a deal between the U.S. & Saudi Arabia. (Reporting and editing by David Ljunggren, Alistair Bell and Timothy Gardner)
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Gold edged up as Brent eased, Mideast developments on the agenda ahead of Fed meeting
Brent crude oil fell from over $100 per barrel on Friday, while investors assessed the Middle East conflict to determine its impact on inflation in advance of next week's U.S. rate decision. Gold spot was up by 0.1% to $4,052.78 an ounce at 4:10 pm EDT (2010 GMT) after a 2% drop in the previous session. Prices are up 0.9% this week, thanks to dip-buying early in the week. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery settled 0.5% higher at $4,070.80. "Gold and Silver are carving out bases around $3,950 each and $55, separately, despite the relentlessly rising yields. Gold feels ready to move higher. While a stop-loss below $3,950 can't be excluded, a sharp war escalated, a?Fed on hold next weekend would help, said Tai Wong. Brent crude oil?fell more than 4% after rising by over 7% in the previous session to reach above $100 for the first since May. This was after Iran-aligned Houthis claimed they had struck two Saudi oil tanks in the Red Sea. Bullion is down about 23% in the last few months since the U.S. war against Iran began late February. This has been a result of expectations that inflation due to war could keep interest rates high for longer. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but higher interest rates can be detrimental to the metal. Investors are now awaiting the outcome of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting next week. It is widely?expected that it will?keep rates unchanged. According to the CME?FedWatch Tool, traders are pricing in an approximately 82% chance that a U.S. interest rate increase will occur in September. The recent strength in bullion seems to be largely driven by dip-buying, and short covering. The sharp decline in gold prices from the record highs of earlier this year has been followed by a recovery. Silver spot rose by 0.8% per ounce to $58.11, platinum dropped 0.8% at $1,587.17 and palladium fell by 1.4% to $1.239.20.
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Report: Guardiola rejects Soccer-Pirlo for Italy's job
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), reported La Repubblica on Friday, has reached an agreement with Andrea Pirlo, a former Italy midfielder. Pirlo will become the coach of the national team on a four year deal. Pirlo is widely regarded as the greatest Italian midfielder in history. He won the 2006 World Cup and had a distinguished career at Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus. The 47-year-old currently manages Dubai United in the UAE First Division League. Pirlo managed Juventus in the 2020-21 season. He led the Turin club's Coppa italia and Italian Super Cup victories. ? The FIGC has been contacted for comment. GUARDIOLA TURNS DOWN JOB A source familiar with the?discussions on?Friday said that the reported agreement was reached hours after former Manchester City manager?Pep guardiola rejected a proposal to become Italy's head coach. The 55-year old Spaniard had talks about becoming Italy's coach. FIGC President Giovanni Malago suggested that financial flexibility could have been shown to a candidate with his stature. Italy has been looking for a new manager since Gennaro Gattiso quit in April, after failing to qualify for the third consecutive World Cup finals. The FIGC has also spoken to Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti. Guardiola, who left City last season, had a successful decade as manager. He won six Premier League titles including four consecutively, three FA Cups, five League Cups, and the Champions League. Guardiola won three LaLiga titles, two Champions League titles, and two Champions League titles at Barcelona before he arrived at City. He also added three Bundesliga titles during his time at Bayern Munich. The Italian football system is in crisis. A new national team coach has been appointed to help rebuild the youth development and talent pipeline systems that have deteriorated in this country, where football is still a national obsession. Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare from Bengaluru, and Elvira pollina from Milan. Editing by Toby Davis & Ed Osmond.
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Investors watch MidEast developments before Fed meeting as Brent falls over 4%.
Brent crude fell on Friday as it retreated from above $100 per barrel. Meanwhile, investors analyzed the Middle East conflict to determine its implications for inflation in advance of next week's U.S. rate decision. By 11:50 am EDT (1550 GMT), spot gold had risen 0.6% to $4,073.23 an ounce after falling 2% the previous session. Prices are up 1.4% so far this week, thanks to dip-buying early in the week. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.6% to $4,075.90. "Gold and Silver are carving out bases around $3,950 each and $55 respectively, despite the relentlessly rising yields. Gold feels ready to move higher. While a stop-loss below $3,950 can't be excluded, a sharp war escalated, a?Fed on hold next weekend would help, said Tai Wong. Brent crude oil fell by?over 4 percent after it rose over 7 percent to reach $100 for the first session since May. This was after Iran-aligned Houthis claimed they had hit two Saudi oil tanks in the Red Sea. Bullion is down about 23% in the last few months since the U.S. war against Iran began late February. This has been a result of expectations that inflation due to war could keep interest rates high for longer. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but higher interest rates can be detrimental to the metal. Investors are now awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting result next week. It is?largely anticipated that it will?keep rates unchanged. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders are pricing in an 80% probability of a U.S. interest rate hike in September. Recent strength in bullion seems to be driven by dip-buying and short covering. The sharp decline from the record highs of earlier this year has been followed by a recovery. Silver spot rose by 1.9%, to 58.77 dollars per ounce. Platinum fell by 0.5%, to 1,592.89 dollars, while palladium gained 0.2%, to $1259.42.
AI is revolutionizing the most prolific film industry in the world
Welcome to the new look movie set. The cacophony created by cameras, clapperboards, and shouted instructions has been replaced with the quiet hum from a coding room.
Collective Artists Network is a leading talent agency that represents Bollywood's A-listers. It has been facilitating the careers of superstars for many years. It's now engineering digital ones. The Bengaluru facility uses artificial intelligence to create content that is based on Hindu mythology, a genre popular in India. In a movie based on a religious text called "Ramayana," there is a scene where the god Hanuman is seen flying with a mountain in his arms. The show "Mahabharat" is based on another ancient epic. It features a scene depicting princess Gandhari who blindfolded her eyes when she married a blind king.
India is the country that produces most movies, and its stars like Shah Rukh Khan or?Amitabh?Bachchan have cult followings. Many?industry participants say that changing audience habits and the growth of streaming are impacting production budgets. Ormax Media, a consulting firm, says that moviegoers will drop to 832 millions in 2025 compared to 1.03 billion people in 2019. Box-office sales last year?hit an all-time high of $1.4 billion, but revenue has been choppy and dependent on a few hits and more expensive tickets since the pandemic. To view this story on.com go to
India's studios are deploying AI on a massive scale, releasing films in multiple languages and even recutting the endings of old titles in order to increase sales. They are also reshaping filmmaking economics by reducing production timelines and utilizing AI to improve efficiency.
Rahul Regulapati is the head of Collective's AI Studio, Galleri5. How about production time? He said, "down to a quarter."
Hollywood has taken a different approach, with union contracts and concerns about job loss limiting studios' adoption of AI. Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia are making early bets in India by partnering local filmmakers. At least one major production company is reviewing its entire catalog for AI rereleases. In previous reporting, we have explored the ways in which Indian filmmakers harness AI and India's divergence from Hollywood. The first report to detail the extent of India's film industries?reorganization around AI, and the economics that are driving this shift. This story includes interviews with 25 people, including directors and studio heads. American and British studios are experimenting with AI filmmaking. They will produce the first full-length AI animation features in 2024, and an AI powered immersive version of 'The Wizard of Oz' last year.
Dominic Lees said that India's film-makers' ambitions are at a?different level. He is a researcher in AI and film at the University of Reading, Britain. He said that if India can meet the demands, it will become a leader in AI filmmaking. India's pivot towards AI is a reflection of its embracement of technology in general. India bet last year that embracing AI would create enough opportunities to offset any short-term disruption. According to an analysis by EY, AI could increase revenue for Indian media and entertainment companies by 10% while reducing costs by 15% in the medium term.
Vikram malhotra, the founder of Abundantia Entertainment told reporters that Abundantia Entertainment is building their AI capability from scratch. The Bollywood production house recently announced an investment of $11 million in a studio for AI.
NEW ENDINGS FOR OLD DRAMAS
India's Eros Media World released "Raanjhanaa" with an AI-altered version last year. The film replaced the tragic ending in which the protagonist dies with a happier conclusion where the lover smiles through tears when he opens his eyes.
Rewrites drew criticism. Dhanush, Dhanush is the name of the actor who plays the main role. He said on X, that the AI remake "stripped away the film's very soul." It also set a "deeply worrying precedent for artists and art."
The re-released "Raanjhanaa", however, still attracted audiences. PVR Inox India's biggest cinema chain reported that 35% of tickets for the Tamil-language version were sold in August, the month when the film was released. This was 12 percentage points more than the average for 2025.
Eros has gone further. Pradeep Dwivedi is the group CEO and he said that Eros was reviewing its 3,000 titles catalog to "identify candidates for AI-assisted adaption." Last year, Eros' Indian unit Eros International warned about "competition by digital platforms," as its annual consolidated revenue from operations dropped 44%.
Dwivedi explained that the AI rewrites are both a revenue-generating opportunity and a strategy for creative renewal. Hollywood would have to deal with such changes. A deal with the U.S. actors union SAGAFTRA prohibits studios from digitally altering an actor's performance, or creating a digital copy without informed consent. The Directors Guild of America contract prohibits studios from relying on AI to make creative decisions without consulting directors and forbids AI from performing the work of their members.
Indian studios are experimenting aggressively with AI in Hindu mythology tales. This is big business for a country that has millions of devotees. Collective plans eight AI-generated titles focusing on deities like Hanuman and Krishna.
JioStar is a joint venture media company between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Media and Walt Disney. It airs an AI-generated version of the Hindu epic “Mahabharat” – the first episode series that emerged from Collective’s cinematic AI laboratory.
JioStar said that the AI version of the story about a dynastic battle between princes, which was released in October on the streaming platform by JioStar, has attracted 26.5 million viewers since its release. A previous TV adaptation attracted 200 million viewers from 1988 to 1990. However, the show has been met with a mixed reception by audiences. IMDb gives "Mahabharat", a 1.4-star rating. Some reviewers cite lip-syncing issues, while others say that some scenes are low-quality and lack authenticity because of unnatural styling.
Alok Jain is a senior executive with JioStar. He stated that the response has been "a mixture of appreciation and healthy discussion, which is normal for any ambitious creative step." JioStar also plans to make original stories using AI.
Some film industry figures have expressed concern about the use of AI. Jonathan Taplin, a writer and producer from the United States who has worked for Hollywood studios, says that the use of AI to create feature films is an "affront to all of cinema's history."
He said, "It'll fill your screens and cinemas with formula slop."
AI DUBBING
The acceptance of AI may be easier to achieve through dubbing.
India has 22 official languages, and there are hundreds of dialects. Dubbing is essential to make a movie a blockbuster in India. AI is now beginning to solve the problem of mismatched lip movements, a complaint that audiences have had for years.
Subhabrata Debnath, the co-founder of NeuralGarage in Bengaluru, a startup that offers dubbing services to top studios such as Yash Raj Films and other major studios, demonstrated a clip showing an AI-generated English character. Subhabrata Debnath then added a German audio track and the character spoke fluent German within minutes.
Debnath explained that the technology preserved "the performance, the identity and the speaking styles of the person", while modifying the face to look natural.
Last year, NeuralGarage AI technology was used to translate Yashraj's Hindi film "War 2" from the Hindi language into Telugu of south India. The production house did not respond to any questions.
The Red Carpet meets the RED MAJORS
Tech giants around the world are also interested in getting a piece. Google partnered in August with Bollywood director Shakun Bhatra to produce a 5-part cinematic'series' using Veo 3 video generation and Flow AI to experiment with AI powered filmmaking. Mira Lane is Google's Vice President of Technology and Society. She said that AI can also help independent artists create complex sequences which "might be otherwise out of reach because of budget or logistical limitations."
Microsoft has been working on a collaboration with Collective, and it said that Microsoft would be providing AI computing power in order to "shape" the next wave of global story-telling through such collaborations.
Collective uses a hybrid approach of digital animation and physical recording to bypass the limitations of text prompts. The actors wear motion-capture suits equipped with sensors to capture body movements in 3D, while their smartphones record facial expressions. This data is then fed into the AI pipeline to allow for more nuanced control of the AI generated characters.
The ripples go beyond the studio. Festivals dedicated to AI-generated shorts have proliferated around the world, including in Los Angeles, Cannes and Barcelona. India's first event took place at Mumbai's Royal Opera House in November, when young storytellers and a robot walked down the red carpet.
In February, Nvidia was on stage in New Delhi with the second edition of India’s AI Film Festival. Pradeep Gupta told the audience that Nvidia is working on reducing computing costs to allow anyone "to create something substantial" without spending a lot of cash.
Anurag Kashyap is a Bollywood Director who expressed concern about the use of AI and its growth in India. He reluctantly acknowledged the economic benefits of studios deploying the technology.
In India, cinema doesn't revolve around art. "It's just business. Studios will use it to create mythologicals," Kashyap stated of AI. "Our audience loves it."
(source: Reuters)