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Having lived in central Paris for six years, I have learned a lot about the ups and downs of being a Parisian. I would go back in a heartbeat. But I also empathize with international visitors who arrive with a romantic vision of perfection, only to face a severe shock, known as "Paris syndrome," when reality doesn't match their expectations. Don't let this discourage you from visiting. Just make sure you know what to expect before you go. Where are the Parisians? At the end of July, many Parisians leave for their summer homes, forcing bakeries to close and restaurants to display signs reading "Fermé" (closed). However, this summer is different. With 11 million visitors expected for the 2024 Summer Olympics, many businesses and restaurants will remain open until August 11, before taking a ...

U.S. stock futures edged higher Sunday night, offering a reprieve from last week’s tech-led selloff. The S&P 500 suffered its steepest weekly decline since April as investors shifted from mega-cap growth stocks to more rate-sensitive sectors. Futures tied to the broader market index rose 0.2%, while those tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 added 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. Market attention remains divided between economic indicators and political developments. Traders are increasingly confident in the Federal Reserve’s path to interest rate cuts, with a 93% chance of a reduction in September. This outlook has fueled a shift away from tech giants toward sectors such as small caps and industrials, which should benefit from lower borrowing costs. Meanwhile, President J...

Capgemini, a leader in technology services, predicts that by 2025, AI-powered agents will collaborate to perform tasks within a multi-agent AI framework. Pascal Brier, Capgemini's chief innovation officer, revealed in an interview with CNBC that the company is already working with companies that are exploring these agent-based technologies. He noted that applications involving more autonomous agents are expected to emerge in the coming year. Capgemini describes AI agents as systems designed to operate independently, plan strategically, pursue high-level goals, and manage complex workflows with minimal human intervention. Essentially, these agents perform tasks on behalf of users. Brier stressed that the United States is at the forefront of developing this technology, while Europe is behin...

A widespread outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update has raised concerns about the potential consequences of rapidly deploying the software. The incident, which disrupted operations at numerous companies and government agencies around the world, underscores the critical importance of rigorous testing and quality assurance processes. Experts believe the problematic code likely slipped past the company’s quality assurance checks, highlighting a gap in its update procedures. The frequency of software updates, driven by the constant threat landscape, may have contributed to the oversight. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the potential risks associated with implementing software updates without adequate testing. While regular updates are essential to maintaining system ...

A large crowd is seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 19, 2024, due to a global cyber outage triggered by issues with Microsoft and CrowdStrike. Airlines around the world faced significant disruption on Friday, as a major cyber outage caused widespread flight delays and cancellations. The outage was caused by a major technology upgrade from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which led to a cascade of issues affecting Microsoft systems, leaving numerous organizations scrambling to restore critical applications and services. Airports around the world have been displaying the infamous “blue screen of death” on flight update and check-in screens, indicating serious system errors. Social media has been flooded with images of disrupted services, including handwritten boarding...