Zero's Briefs

Italy — Calderone confirms pension fund open at birth — Labour Minister Marina Calderone has confirmed the plan for a pension account opened at birth and funded by an initial state contribution, as a future supplement to the Inps pension. The proposal is under study by the government ahead of the budget law. The minister expressed interest in the proposal by Inps president Gabriele Fava for a third pillar with incentives for newborns, pointing to Germany’s experience with supplementary savings as a reference. (Today.it, Il Sussidiario)

Europe — Commission says it has received Italian assurances on Safe loans — European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said Brussels has had exchanges with Rome on the final amount of Safe defence loans and on the timing of the decision: “Italy remains fully committed to European defence and to this project.” At the end of July the Commission had requested clarifications, after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani indicated 14.9 billion as the maximum amount reserved. The report stems from a single source (Commission briefing carried by ANSA). (ANSA)

World & Geopolitics — Moscow reports meeting between Lavrov and Vatican’s head of diplomacy — According to the agency Ria Novosti, on 25 August 2026 Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov reportedly received in Moscow Paul Richard Gallagher, responsible for relations with States at the Holy See; the account indicates the war in Ukraine and bilateral relations as the topics discussed. Still according to the agency, Lavrov reportedly remarked: “The last time we met here was in November 2021” (transl. from Russian). The information is published as an attributed statement and not as an established fact: it currently stems from a single source, the Russian state agency Ria Novosti, carried by Russian outlets; no independent confirmation is available. (Radio Sputnik — Russian state broadcaster, citing Ria Novosti; EADaily — citing Ria Novosti, Russian state agency)

World & Geopolitics — Tehran authorises transit of some Iraqi oil tankers — The Iranian agency Irna, cited by Reuters, reported that Iran has allowed the passage of some Iraqi oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, following repeated requests from Baghdad. Neither the number of vessels nor the conditions of the authorisation were specified. Irna is an Iranian state agency: the information is reported as an attributed statement. (CNN)

Chronicles — Tornado damages 300 of 500 homes in the village of Pomas — A tornado struck the village of Pomas, in the French department of Aude near Carcassonne, on Monday 24 August at around 5:20 pm. The prefecture’s toll on Tuesday morning stood at 39 injured, two of them in absolute emergency; around 300 of the commune’s 500 homes, which has about a thousand residents, were damaged, with roughly a hundred of uncertain habitability. Seventy-five firefighters were still deployed on Tuesday. Prefect Alain Bucquet spoke of “a trauma for the residents” (transl. from French). (CNews, La Presse)

Number of the day — 7,250 households without power in Languedoc-Roussillon — This is the figure reported by grid operator Enedis at 6:30 am on 25 August after the Aude tornado: 1,600 of the affected households are in the department hit by the storm. Météo-France told the AFP agency that France records a few dozen tornadoes a year, most of them weak. (France 24)

Economy & Markets — Infineon buys Indian company C2i Semiconductors — German group Infineon Technologies announced on 24 August 2026 the acquisition of C2i Semiconductors, a startup based in Bangalore with no manufacturing facilities of its own, specialising in digital power management for AI data centres. Financial terms were not disclosed; closing is expected in the third quarter of 2026 and will lead to the creation of a centre of excellence in India. The report stems from a single source (Infineon statement). (Tech Startups)

Economy & Markets — Dick’s Sporting Goods shares tumble after earnings — Shares of the US sporting goods chain plunged in trading on 25 August after a quarterly report that missed expectations, accompanied by a cut to annual profit forecasts. The move came on a day of broad gains for the indices, with the S&P 500 at 7,677.28 points. (TheStreet)

Health — WHO maintains emergency status for ebola in DR Congo — The World Health Organization has confirmed the public health emergency of international concern for the ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s seventeenth, over the risk of regional spread. Data reported on 24 August 2026 indicate 5,515 confirmed cases and 2,632 deaths; infections are concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu and border areas with Uganda. The International Health Regulations Emergency Committee met for the second time on the outbreak. (Prensa Latina, ECDC)

Sport — Qualifying and mixed doubles under way at the US Open — The last of the season’s four major tournaments has entered its preliminary phase at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York: from 24 August the mixed doubles tournament and qualifying rounds are being played, with 128 men and 128 women competing for sixteen spots per gender in the main draw. Singles begin on 30 August, with finals scheduled for 12 and 13 September. Carlos Alcaraz, the 2025 champion, returns to action after an injury. (Olympics.com, Lawn Tennis Association)

Tech & AI — Xpeng’s robotics division raises over $900 million — The robotics subsidiary of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng has closed a first funding round of more than $900 million. According to the company, the funds will go toward hardware and software research, AI training for physical systems, manufacturing infrastructure development, and international expansion. The deal accompanies the group’s shift from electric vehicles to humanoid robots. (AIToolly, Tech Startups)

Tech & AI — GPT-5.6 arrives on Kiro development platform — On the same day it announced the teen version of ChatGPT, OpenAI made the GPT-5.6 model available on Kiro, a platform dedicated to software development. The information comes from the company’s release notes: no terms of use, pricing, or market availability were specified. (Releasebot)

Film & Entertainment — Two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement to Clooney and Burstyn — The 83rd Venice Film Festival is awarding two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement this year, to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn. The event takes place on the Lido from 2 to 12 September 2026 under director Alberto Barbera, with twenty-one films in competition in world premiere and the international jury chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal. (La Biennale di Venezia, Il Giornale dell’Arte)

Film & Entertainment — La Biennale reopens ticket sales for Venice 83 — A new batch of tickets for the 83rd Venice Film Festival went on sale online starting at 3 pm on 24 August 2026. The Festival opens on 2 September with “Ink” by Danny Boyle and closes on 12 September with “Dio ride” by Giovanni Veronesi, screened out of competition. (La Biennale di Venezia, Lifestyle Made in Italy)

On this day — Italy’s fuel excise duty cut extension expires today — The cut to fuel excise duty, due to expire at midnight on 24 August, was extended by the Italian government until 26 August 2026 — that is, until today. The Ministry of Economy is evaluating a bridge measure, since the extra VAT revenue for August that is meant to fund the mobile excise duty will only be known once end-of-month data are available. (Energia Oltre)