Swedish music and tech company MAIA Universe recently closed a EUR €1 million (USD $1.3m) investment round and welcomed new investors – including superstar Swedish writer-producer Max Martin.
MAIA Universe claims to be “addressing an industry challenge in the synchronisation space by streamlining the licensing process to capture significant revenue and value for songwriters, artists, publishers, and record labels”.
The startup has been backed by VC firm Zenith Ventures. Members of the Jochnick family have also invested alongside Aligned, Wildfire, FWB, HDR Partners, and the founders of SeenThis AB.
Max Martin joined MAIA Universe as an investor through his company MxM.
“MxM fully supports MAIA in their mission to democratise sync and deliver opportunities and value to songwriters and artists of all genres and sizes,” said MxM in a statement.
In parallel to welcoming these investors on board, the company said that it has now licensed catalog sync rights from Sony Music Publishing UK, Sony Music UK, and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.
MAIA Universe said in its official announcement that the deals will help it to “rapidly and significantly increase the number of licensable songs on the platform and continue to grow its licensed music catalog on an ongoing basis”.
“MAIA Universe is transforming the sync industry by addressing the exponential growth in demand for sync licences.”
David Wille, MAIA Universe
Chris Jones, VP Licensing Sony Music Publishing UK, said: “Sony Music Publishing is supporting MAIA Universe by sharing and making available a selection of fantastic songs from our extensive catalogue.
“We are excited by the potential to capture increased sync opportunities in the UK for all of our songwriters.”
“MAIA is a well-designed and thought-through tech solution for the sync community’s pain point”.
Andrew Howell VP of Sync Warner Chappell said: “Warner Chappell Publishing see the potential for MAIA Universe to deliver additional sync revenue and exposure for our songwriters.
“MAIA is a well-designed and thought-through tech solution for the sync community’s pain point”.
“Playground Music supports MAIA Universe in its efforts to simplify the licensing process in our industry.”
Melinda Baikoglu, Playground Music Scandinavia
Melinda Baikoglu, Head of Music Publishing, Playground Music Scandinavia said: “Playground Music supports MAIA Universe in its efforts to simplify the licensing process in our industry.
“This will be a great complement to our own process and also strengthen our ability to offer the best possible service to our brand partners worldwide”.
“We are excited by the potential to capture increased sync opportunities in the UK for all of our songwriters.”
Chris Jones, Sony Music Publishing UK
David Wille, CEO and Co-Founder MAIA Universe, added: MAIA Universe is transforming the sync industry by addressing the exponential growth in demand for sync licences.
“This increase has been driven by a surge in content creation across new and emerging media channels.
“Directors, film makers, advertisers, branded content creators, games studios and TV producers all aspire to find and licence commercially released music quickly and efficiently.Music Business Worldwide
Israeli raids across Gaza have killed at least 75 Palestinians, with rescuers scrambling to find dozens of bodies under the rubble after the bombing of a residential building in Gaza City described by the enclave’s civil defence as a “full-fledged massacre”.
Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basel told Al Jazeera that the military gave “no warning, no alert” before Saturday’s strike on the house in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City that left at least 16 people dead, including women and children.
“This is truly a full-fledged massacre … a building full of civilians,” said Basel, who added that approximately 85 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
“We woke up to the strikes, destruction, yelling, rocks hitting us,” said Hamed Keheel, a displaced Palestinian at the site, noting that the attack had taken place on the second day of the Eid al-Adha festival.
“This is the occupation,” he said. “Instead of waking up to cheer our children and dress them up to enjoy Eid, we wake up to carry women and children’s bodies from under rubble.”
Local resident Hassan Alkhor told Al Jazeera that the building belonged to the Abu Sharia family. “May God hold the Israeli forces and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu accountable,” he said.
The Israeli military said afterwards that it had killed Asaad Abu Sharia, the leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, who it claimed had participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, according to a report in the Times of Israel published Saturday.
Hamas confirmed the killing in a statement shared on Telegram, saying that Abu Sharia’s brother, Ahmed Abu Sharia, had also been assassinated in the attack, which it said was “part of a series of brutal massacres against civilians”.
‘A handful of rice for our starving children’
Also on Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the latest in a series of deadly incidents around the group’s operations that have killed 118 people and left others missing in less than two weeks.
Gaza resident Samir Abu Hadid told the AFP news agency that thousands of people had gathered at the al-Alam roundabout near the aid site.
“As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli [forces] opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,” Abu Hadid said.
One woman told Al Jazeera her husband had been killed in the attack after going to the aid point to get “a handful of rice for our starving children”.
“He said he felt he was walking towards death, I begged him not to leave. He insisted to find anything to feed our children,” she said.
The GHF, a shadowy United States-backed private group engaged by Israel to distribute aid under the protection of its troops and security contractors, began operations in late May, replacing existing networks run by the United Nations and charities that have worked for decades.
Critics say the group does not abide by humanitarian principles of neutrality, claiming that its operations weaponise aid, serving Israel’s stated aims of ethnically cleansing large swaths of Gaza and controlling the entire enclave.
GHF said on Saturday that it was unable to distribute any humanitarian relief because Hamas issued “direct threats” against its operations. “These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,” it said in a statement. Hamas told the Reuters news agency that it had no knowledge of these “alleged threats”.
The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF, has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.
‘Lost future generation’
As Israel continued its attacks amid the looming famine, it emerged that health authorities had recorded more than 300 miscarriages over an 80-day period in the enclave.
Expectant mothers face an increased risk of miscarriage and premature births, with basic medical supplies such as iron supplements and prenatal vitamins impossible to obtain.
Brenda Kelly, a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera that Gaza was “losing a future generation of children”, alluding to a “staggering rise” in stillbirths, miscarriages and pre-term births.
“What we’re seeing now is the direct fallout of Israel’s weaponising of hunger in Gaza – impacting babies’ growth and growth restriction is one of the leading causes of miscarriages and stillbirth,” she said.
Severe malnutrition among pregnant women is compounded by severe stress and psychological trauma, as well as repeated displacement and a lack of safe shelter, she said.
Those babies that do survive face heightened health risks. “We know that famine experienced in-utero has lifelong consequences for children who then go into adulthood with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health disorders,” she said.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Europe’s smaller stocks have raced ahead of their US peers this year as investors bet on an economic resurgence while trying to steer clear of companies most exposed to Donald Trump’s trade war.
Investors have flocked to previously unloved small- and medium-sized companies in Europe, drawn by lower interest rates and the promise of a growth boost from Germany’s historic €1tn stimulus plan.
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street’s rebound from the sharp decline after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs in early April has been fuelled by the country’s “megacap” tech stocks. Smaller equities, which tend to be more tied to the fortunes of the domestic economy, have been left behind.
This has meant that this year’s divergence between European and US equities has been especially pronounced among small- and mid-cap stocks.
Since the beginning of 2025, the MSCI Europe small- and mid-cap index has risen 10.7 per cent, while the same index for the US has fallen 2.6 per cent.
Equivalent indices for larger companies are up 7 per cent in Europe and 1.2 per cent in the US.
“We’ve seen an increased interest, particularly from US investors, in European mid-cap names,” said Aleksander Peterc, head of small- and mid-cap equity research at Bernstein. Clients are “looking for high quality, overlooked stocks, preferably exposed to European infrastructure spending and the German ‘bazooka’”, he added.
Falling borrowing costs have also helped. The European Central Bank has halved interest rates from a peak of 4 per cent in June following the latest cut on Thursday. That contrasts with the US, where Federal Reserve policymakers have moved more slowly and indicated they want to wait and see the impact of Trump’s tariffs on inflation before reducing rates further.
“We used to have US mid-caps [in our portfolio], but . . . US mid-caps work when you have the Fed easing and growth upgrades. We’re seeing none of these in the US,” said George Efstathopoulos, multi asset portfolio manager at Fidelity International.
In Europe, smaller equities have underperformed larger ones by 19 per cent since the start of 2022, but that gap has started to narrow this year.
But a relative return of optimism around growth, along with concerns that the trade war will hurt larger export-focused stocks, have helped to narrow that gap in 2025.
“Post-liberation day we bought the weakness in German mid-caps and Greek equities, which has been a “very strong performing story”, Efstathopoulos said.
“We are playing the domestic revenue generation theme in a world of trade disruption,” he added.
Some analysts also say that smaller European firms have benefited from a renewed enthusiasm for stockpicking strategies, as investors try to pick winners and losers from Trump’s trade onslaught.
“I am speaking to people who would typically only invest passively around the world, and when they’re looking at Europe, they’re specifically looking at active allocations,” said Gerry Fowler, head of European equity strategy at UBS. “They want someone who understands that the prospects of companies in Europe differ quite wildly in the current context of tariffs, currency movements, stimulus plans.”
Fowler added that it was “very hard to make a case for US small-caps”, largely due to fears about the effect of Trump’s policymaking on the US economy.
Six Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded by Israeli gunfire in the latest deadly incident close to an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency says.
People had gathered to collect food supplies on Saturday morning when the shooting started, a spokesman for the agency said. Reports quoting an eyewitness said the Israelis opened fire when people tried to advance towards the site.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at suspects who approached them in a threatening manner.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured trying to get to the distribution centre this week.
The US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which runs the centre says it has paused its operations to deal with overcrowding and improve safety.
But people have gathered nearly every day at a roundabout on the edge of an Israeli military zone, through which they have to pass to reach the aid site.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had told Gazans the area was an active combat zone during nighttime hours.
GHF said it had not been able to distribute food on Saturday because of direct threats from Hamas – something the group has denied.
Whatever the case, the new incident will almost certainly strengthen international criticism of the new distribution model.
The United Nations insists it puts Palestinians in danger and does not provide enough food and medicine to deal with Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said at least 15 people had also been killed by Israeli air strikes on a residential home in Gaza city, with reports that some of the casualties remained trapped in the rubble.
The Israeli army said the strikes had eliminated the head of a Palestinian militant group known as the Mujahideen Brigades.
The Israelis have accused the group of killing and kidnapping some of the victims of the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, including a Thai national named Nattapong Pinta.
His body was recovered in the Rafah area of southern Gaza in a special operation on Friday.
Israel recently began to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month blockade, prioritising distribution through the GHF.
But the foundation has been mired in controversy.
Medics and local health authorities reported more than 60 Palestinians were killed by gunfire over three days shortly after it started operating.
Multiple witnesses blamed Israeli soldiers for the killings.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots on the first two days and shot near Palestinian suspects advancing towards their positions on the third, adding that it is investigating the incidents.
The distribution centre is one of four operated in Gaza by the GHF.
It is part of a new aid system – widely condemned by humanitarian groups – aimed at circumventing the UN which Israel has accused of failing to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies to its fighters.
The UN has denied these allegations, stating that it can account for all the aid it hands out and that the GHF’s system is unworkable and unethical.
It is almost 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 54,677 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the territory’s health ministry.
USA Swimming has confirmed to SwimSwam that Bobby Finke has officially dropped the 400 IM from his schedule for the 2025 World Championships, despite winning the U.S. national title with a lifetime best of 4:07.46 on Thursday.
The Florida Gator’s decision almost certainly stems from a significant scheduling conflict in Singapore. The men’s 1500 freestyle final, where Finke is the world record holder and two-time Olympic champion, is slated for 19:29 on the final night of competition. The 400 IM final is scheduled just 27 minutes later at 19:56, and with the 1500 taking over 14 minutes, he would have only about 10 minutes of rest between races, with just a medal ceremony in between. Rather than attempt the difficult double, he will focus on claiming his first-ever world title in the event.
World Championships Day 8 Schedule:
With Finke dropping out, Carson Foster becomes the top priority selection for the 400 IM, while Rex Maurer moves into the second qualifying spot. Maurer had a breakthrough performance in the final, dropping 3.52 seconds to clock 4:09.65 and rise to 23rd on the all-time performers list. The rising Longhorn junior, who transferred to Texas after spending his freshman year at Stanford, is having a standout meet, with a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:45.13) and a win in the 400 freestyle (3:43.33), setting a new U.S. Open record.
Finke’s decision comes after one of the best swims of his career. He took down Foster in the closing stretch of the 400 IM, splitting 56.19 over the final 100 meters and 27.44 on the last 50. That effort lowered his previous best of 4:09.55 from 2023 by more than two seconds and gave him the national title by nearly half a second.
His time ranks him second in the world this year behind Leon Marchand’s 4:07.11 from May. Finke beat Marchand head-to-head earlier this season at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series. The swim also moved Finke to 10th on the all-time performers list in the event, just ahead of Hungary’s David Verraszto. He is now the sixth-fastest American in history, and his performance stands as the 25th-fastest ever recorded.
Finke has steadily improved his 400 IM time throughout most of his career, with the exception of 2024, when he didn’t swim the event at a taper meet, focusing on the 400 freestyle instead. The three-time Olympic gold medalist’s previous best stood at 4:09.55 before his newly minted performance this week.
Finke’s 400 IM Progression By Year:
2016: 4:21.04 – Junior Pan Pacific Championships
2017: 4:27.00 – Arena Pro Swim Series – Atlanta
2018: 4:15.79 – Phillips 66 Summer National Championships
2019: 4:13.15 – Phillips 66 Summer National Championships
2020: 4:18.08 – Toyota US Open
2021: 4:11.44 – USA Olympic Team Trials – Wave 2
2022: 4:10.57 – Phillips 66 International Team Trials
2023: 4:09.55 – Phillips 66 USA National Championships
Each year, CES showcases cutting-edge technological innovations. While many exhibitors focus on unveiling the largest screens or the most eye-catching gadgets, some prioritize advancements aimed at enhancing agriculture and sustainability. One such innovation is an inflatable aeroponic farm, designed for effortless transport and installation in diverse environments—from arid deserts to urban rooftops.
In this article you will learn:
What is aeroponic cultivation?
Aeroponic cultivation is an advanced agricultural technique that eliminates the need for soil, using air as the primary medium for plant growth. In this system, plant roots are suspended in the air and misted with a nutrient-rich solution, optimizing the absorption of water and nutrients. This method promotes faster plant growth while significantly reducing water and fertilizer usage compared to traditional farming practices.
Variations of aeroponic cultivation include:
Low-pressure aeroponics (LPA): Utilizes spray nozzles to intermittently mist roots with nutrients, offering an affordable solution suitable for short-cycle crops.
High-pressure aeroponics (HPA): Employs high-pressure foggers to generate an ultra-fine mist, enhancing nutrient uptake and accelerating growth, though it requires a higher investment in equipment.
Vertical or closed aeroponics: Incorporates modular, stackable structures to maximize space efficiency in urban settings, increasing productivity per square meter.
Hybrid aeroponics: Combines aeroponics with other methods like hydroponics or aquaponics, adapting to various growing conditions and requirements.
A highly efficient inflatable aeroponic vegetable farm
While aeroponics presents a more complex system than traditional drip irrigation and is not yet widely adopted for large-scale farming, prefabricated solutions are emerging to simplify its implementation. One notable innovation, introduced at CES 2025 by a South Korean company, is an inflatable vegetable farm that integrates multiple advanced technologies and is available in two models.
Dubbed AirFarm, this system features a tarpaulin-like structure that inflates upon deployment, allowing for rapid assembly—reportedly within half a day. The larger model, measuring six meters in length, is designed to fit into a standard shipping container, enabling the transport of up to ten units simultaneously.
Beyond its portability, AirFarm offers remarkable resource efficiency. It reduces water usage by up to 99% compared to traditional agriculture, thanks to a fine mist delivery system that directly targets plant roots. This precision also cuts fertilizer requirements by 60%. Moreover, the enclosed environment eliminates the need for pesticides.
The system is equipped with digital monitoring capabilities, allowing users to oversee and adjust parameters such as temperature, humidity, pH levels, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) via a mobile application.
Cultivating lettuce, potatoes, and carrots in the desert
The system is designed to support a variety of crops, from leafy greens to root vegetables, making it a viable solution for regions facing food insecurity. Potential applications include deployment in refugee camps, disaster-stricken areas, and educational institutions. Field trials have demonstrated success in arid locations like Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, where the system has effectively produced potatoes, lettuce, and carrots.
Looking ahead, the developers aim to enhance the system’s efficiency and scalability. Future iterations are expected to incorporate features that promote a circular economy, such as heat collectors to dehydrate organic waste for reuse.
For more insights into agricultural innovations, including developments in robotics and smart farming, consider subscribing to our newsletter below.
Thousands of people across the globe on Saturday marched in solidarity with the anti-government demonstrations in Iran as violent police crackdowns have continued against people who speak out against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws.
In Berlin, police estimated that about 37,000 people had joined the German demonstration on Saturday afternoon. In Washington, DC, hundreds marched on the National Mall waving Iranian flags, chanting, “Be scared. Be scared. We are one in this.” Several universities in Tehran staged more demonstrations on Sunday.
The outcry was sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died on Sept. 16 while in custody of Iran’s morality police. She was arrested for wearing tight pants and “improperly” wearing her hijab. Her family later spoke out, saying they believed she was tortured and killed.
The feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to have caused irreparable damage as the president told NBC News that he has no desire to repair their relationship and assumes it is over. The comments came after Musk appeared to make attempts at de-escalating a feud that exploded in public on Thursday over Trump’s budget bill.
President Donald Trump is seemingly done with Tesla CEO Elon Musk after they engaged in a feud on Thursday that unfolded publicly and escalated stunningly.
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump was asked if he has any desire to mend his relationship with Musk, and the president replied “no.” And when asked if he thinks his relationship with Musk is over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”
He added that he has “no intention of speaking” to Musk anytime soon, saying “I’m too busy doing other things” and accusing Musk of disrespecting the presidency.
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,” Trump said.
The comments came after Musk, who once embraced the moniker “first buddy” to Trump, appeared to make attempts at de-escalating their feud. On Saturday, he deleted his X posts about Trump’s association with the infamous Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday night, Musk replied to a post from Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman calling for peace between the tech billionaire and Trump, saying “You’re not wrong.”
Also on Thursday, Musk backtracked on a threat to decommission SpaceX Dragon vehicles, which have become workhorse capsules that the Pentagon and NASA rely on to access Earth orbit.
But the damage was already done. Musk had suggested Trump should be impeached, took credit for Trump’s election victory, and said his tariffs would cause a recession later this year. That’s after trashing Trump’s tax and spending bill in the days leading up to their meltdown.
Trump’s signal that Musk is now persona non grata dashes hopes from top Republicans like Vice President JD Vance and House Speakers Mike Johnson who said they hoped the two men would reconcile.
Meanwhile, Trump also warned Musk—who was the top GOP donor last year with nearly $300 million in campaign contributions—against backing Democrats.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News, without elaborating. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”
For his part, Musk asked X users on Thursday if it’s time to form a new political party “that actually represents the 80% in the middle,” drawing support from 80% of respondents.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coco Gauff of the United States wins her second Grand Slam title beating Aryana Sabalenka of Belarus at the French Open.
Coco Gauff has won the French Open for the first time by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
The second-ranked Gauff came out on top of Saturday’s contest that was full of tension and momentum swings to claim her second major trophy after the 2023 US Open, where she also came from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the final.
It was the first number one vs number two final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
After Sabalenka sent a backhand wide on Gauff’s second match point, the 21-year-old American fell onto her back, covering her face with both hands before resting her forehand on the clay. After greeting Sabalenka at the net, she hugged film director Spike Lee and celebrated with her entourage, three years after she lost her first final at Roland-Garros.
Coco Gauff in action during the women’s singles final against Aryna Sabalenka [Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters]
Sabalenka started the deciding set strongly, sticking to her high-risk approach to hold her first service game.
Gauff responded by raising her level, winning a superb rally in the third game that drew loud cheers and applause from the crowd. After an intense exchange of drop shots, Gauff hit a lob that Sabalenka chased down before attempting a shot between her legs — only for Gauff to intercept it at the net and finish with a winner.
Gauff was consistent from the baseline and earned a break point, which she converted when Sabalenka double-faulted, giving her a 2-1 lead. Sabalenka turned towards her box and shouted in frustration, but then regained her composure, breaking back to level the match at 3-3.
She was broken again at love, however, and Gauff then held serve twice to claim the title after a match that lasted 2 hours, 38 minutes.
