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Dune is not just a popular novel series, but the foundation from which much of modern science fiction has been inspired by. Fans of the novel waited for years to see a faithful adaptation that honored the spirit of what Frank Herbert created, and Denis Villeneuve delivered all that and more with his two blockbuster films; they weren’t just praised by fans but were genuine cultural events that received Best Picture nominations at the Academy Awards, a rarity for sci-fi cinema. It goes without saying that Dune: Part Three is one of the most anticipated films of 2026, but there is only so much of the Dune universe that can be explored through the story of Paul Atreides . Paul’s rise to power and messianic status is what breaks the political hierarchy in the series, shaking up an infrastructure that had been strictly regimented for generations. There is so much to explore within the Dune universe that there was more than enough room for a prequel series, and Dune: Prophecy explores the origins of the Bene Gesserit.

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A metal detectorist in Norway dismissed a rare 900-year-old silver coin as a button, before researchers realized it was a one-of-a-kind piece linked to Magnus Barefoot (also known as Magnus Berrføtt), the warrior ruler often called Norway's last Viking king.

The coin, found in a field near Utstein Monastery in southwest Norway, dates to Barefoot's reign from 1093 to 1103. It is the first coin of its type ever discovered on Norwegian soil, according to a December 2025 translated statement from the University of Stavanger Museum of Archaeology.

"It is a fascinating thought that we may be just one large treasure find away from having a completely different view of Magnus Berrføtt's coinage as well, and it underlines the importance of all new discoveries that are made," museum representatives said in the statement.

The button that wasn't

The metal detectorist, Morten Eek, found the object in April 2025. It came from the plow layer in the soil, about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) below the surface.

One side looked bright and silvery, but the other was covered by copper and had a dark spot in the middle, giving it a button-like appearance. Eek took it home and placed it with other buttons, worn modern coins and pieces of scrap metal he had collected.

It was only months later, when Eek showed his treasures to his fellow metal detectorists, that they noticed the silver side looked like a medieval coin. Its design resembled an illustration in the 1865 reference work " Norge's Coins from the Middle Ages," by C.I. Schive .

The detectorists then contacted the University of Stavanger Museum of Archaeology, where researchers took a closer look.

A close up of the other side of the coin looking like a button. (Image credit: H. Hollund, Archaeological Museum, UiS) A coin with a second life

To the experts, the coin seemed strange because someone had altered it after it was minted. A copper plate had been placed over one side, and the coin's outer edge had been folded around it. Two rounded notches on the edge show where a chain or loop may have been attached, suggesting the coin was later worn as jewelry.

Researchers could have removed the copper plate to see what was underneath, but doing so would have damaged the object's fragile state.

The artifact's unique transformation reveals "something about people's relationship to what was initially a coin," museum representatives said in the statement.

An X-ray image of the coin shows a griffin design. (Image credit: Hege Hollund, Archaeological Museum, UiS. ) To investigate the coin's covered side, the team X-rayed it. The scan revealed a griffin , a mythical creature with the body of a lion and features of a bird of prey. The motif has sometimes been interpreted as the lion of St. Mark, a Christian symbol, but the museum noted that the animal on these coins closely resembles a griffin. In medieval Christian art, griffins were used to symbolize Christ's dual nature as both human and divine.

The visible side revealed a "cross-over-cross" motif, with double-lined arms and small semicircles or bowl shapes at the ends. The pairing of the cross and griffin is what makes the coin so rare.

"Two-sided coins with the motif combination of griffin and cross over cross are only known from four copies," the statement said, with one coin from the Sandur hoard , found in the Faroe Islands in 1863, and three others from Denmark's Mørstad hoard , which was found this past spring and contains nearly 5,000 coins.

The rarity of such coins "may tell us something about the extent of Magnus Berrføtt's minting," museum representatives said in the statement.

In total, about 100 coins, spread across 12 discoveries, are known from Magnus Barefoot's reign, according to the museum. That makes every new example valuable for understanding how coins were produced and circulated in Norway in the late Viking Age and early Middle Ages.

Who was Magnus Barefoot?

Magnus Barefoot is sometimes called Magnus Barelegs, thanks to the kilts he wore . He became king in 1093 after the death of his father, Olav Kyrre (also called Olaf III of Norway), whose reign was remembered as a relatively peaceful period. Barefoot followed a different path. Like his grandfather Harald Hardrada , the Norwegian king killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, Barefoot built his reputation through warfare.

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Barefoot spent much of his reign campaigning overseas . He sought to extend Norwegian power across the western sea routes, including the Isle of Man and parts of the Irish Sea. The museum noted that he was associated with the saying that a king was meant "for honor and glory, and not a long life." His death reflected this, as he died at around age 30, in 1103, when he was ambushed and killed during a campaign in Ireland.

The coin points to more than Barefoot's military ambitions. According to the museum, it also reflected one of his domestic reforms. Earlier Norwegian rulers had reduced the silver content of their coins, but Barefoot restored a high silver standard, with coins that were around 90% silver.

Whether the coin was lost at the Utstein Monastery during Barefoot's lifetime is impossible to know. Because it was turned into jewelry at some point, it may have circulated for years, or even generations, after it stopped being used as money.

See how much you know about ancient norsemen with our Viking quiz!

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The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the body overseeing the implementation of United States monetary policy, has announced the creation of five task forces intended to evaluate and improve the Fed's operations. In a press release , Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh named the "external advisers" who will lead each task force, ranging from economics professors to AI investors and corporate executives—executives like Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who will preside over a task force on employment and productivity.

Yes, that Asha Sharma. The Asha Sharma who, just three days ago, announced an Xbox "reset" that will see roughly 3,200 of her employees lose their jobs by the end of the 2027 fiscal year—a reorganization that remaining developers are reportedly convinced will cause irreparable damage to some of the company's most valuable brands.

Sharma will be one of three leaders heading up the Productivity and Jobs task force, which will "assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve's policy judgments." She'll be joined by Stanford economics professor Chalres I. Jones—"currently on leave at Anthropic"—and Marc Andreessen: tech VC, major AI investor, and guy who believes you can improve an LLM's results by simply instructing it to be very, very smart .

"The Federal Reserve's commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor. The US economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now," Warsh said, deploying a sentence that definitely made sense. "Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools, and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution."

Considering Sharma announced that Mojang and King—two of Xbox's most valuable operations—will now report directly to her, I'm impressed that she'll be able to find the time. According to the Fed, we'll be able to follow the task forces' work in updates "posted periodically" on its website .

2026 games : All the upcoming games

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Custom drone achieved a 261-minute flight after months of engineering refinements

Guinness World Records recognizes Cape Town pilot for record-breaking multirotor endurance flight

Software tuning unlocked crucial efficiency gains during the historic flight

A Cape Town YouTuber and drone pilot has secured a new Guinness World Record after keeping a custom-built multirotor drone airborne for 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 39 seconds.

The achievement followed months of redesigns, repeated testing, and engineering refinements that transformed an earlier prototype into an officially recognised endurance aircraft.

Rather than relying on a single breakthrough, the record came through a series of hardware and software improvements that steadily extended flight time beyond previous attempts.

Weight reduction and stronger construction unlocked longer endurance

Luke Bell had already exceeded the previous endurance benchmark with an earlier version that remained airborne for 3 hours, 31 minutes, and 6 seconds, although that attempt was never officially recognised.

Instead of submitting that result, Bell continued refining the aircraft with the goal of securing a larger margin and earning formal recognition from Guinness World Records.

One of the simplest improvements came after viewers suggested replacing two-piece clamp mounts with single-piece C-style clamps, reducing overall weight by approximately 26 grams.

Bell also rebuilt the airframe using continuous 1.88 metre carbon fibre tubes for each rotor arm, removing weak connection points that affected the earlier design.

Additional reinforcement connected the front rotor arms, while a custom mounting system secured the approximately 5 kg high-density SMC battery pack rated at 380 Wh/kg throughout the extended flight.

The drone also received specially designed 3D-printed landing gear incorporating thermoplastic polyurethane joints to absorb landing forces more effectively.

Live software tuning helped extend the record flight

Mechanical improvements alone did not deliver the final result because early test flights revealed vibration severe enough to interfere with the flight controller's inertial measurement units.

Bell replaced the original controller with a Cube Orange Plus system featuring isolated internal IMUs before installing an external antenna connected to a Here4 base unit for real-time kinematic positioning accurate to within 1 centimetre.

Further adjustments focused on the autopilot, where notch filter tuning removed resonant frequencies responsible for instability while reducing unnecessary power consumption during flight.

Bell also monitored live performance through a Wi Fi connection linked to a RadioMaster transmitter, allowing power logs and flight settings to be reviewed while the aircraft remained airborne.

The data showed the drone consumed about 500 W during straight flight, compared with roughly 450 W while turning, prompting a mid-flight route change with more frequent turns.

Flying at approximately 5.5 metres per second, or around 20 km/h, the drone eventually returned after 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 39 seconds before hovering until almost every remaining watt had been consumed.

This feat shows that larger batteries alone may not determine endurance, as careful engineering, software refinement, and efficiency improvements also played important roles.

Via Luke Maximo Bell (YouTube)

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Using the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope, astronomers have discovered a treasure trove of 31 black-hole-powered quasars in the early universe. The most impressive of these new discoveries is the most ancient and distant quasar ever seen, shining with the light of a trillion suns just 670 million years after the Big Bang.

Quasars occur when supermassive black holes with masses millions or even billions of times that of the sun are surrounded by swirling disks of matter called accretion disks. As accretion disks gradually feed these central cosmic titans, the immense gravity of the black holes generates intense friction, causing this matter to glow so brightly that their luminosity can exceed the combined light of every star in their host galaxies.

Despite this, quasars can still be difficult to spot at vast cosmic distances, with their light difficult to distinguish from the light of much more proximate stars. Thus, the hunt for the earliest quasars has been on for decades, with scientists hoping that the discovery of these bodies could help explain how supermassive black holes grew so rapidly so shortly after the Big Bang. Launched in 2023, Euclid has fulfilled its promise in its mission to discover early quasars, with this hitherto unprecedented haul of 31 of these black hole engines.

"These early quasars date back to the Universe's infancy," team leader Daming Yang of Leiden University in the Netherlands said in a statement . "By finding and studying them, we can better understand how these enormous systems formed and grew so quickly — one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics."

Previously, astronomers took around a decade to discover the first ten or so quasars at distances like this, which makes it incredibly impressive that Euclid has managed to detect more than three times that many ancient black hole engines in just a single year of observations.

The tip of the iceberg

Thanks to this new treasure trove of quasars discovered when the 13.8 billion-year-old universe was merely 5% of its current age includes not just the brightest examples of these objects, but also some fainter quasars. That now means scientists can finally study these objects as a population.

"Euclid is a true game-changer," Yang continued. "Before, we could only find a handful of the very brightest ancient quasars, but Euclid lets us search far more efficiently across huge areas of sky to capture much fainter light. It’s a unique tool for quasar hunting."

Of the 31 new quasars, 12 existed when the universe was around 770 million years old, but the two that really stand out are the quasars designated EUCL J172902.75+641018.1 and EUCL J125308.55+705432.3, which are around 13 billion light-years away and existed just 670 million years after the Big Bang. That makes them the most ancient quasars ever documented.

18 of the quasars discovered by the ESA mission Euclid. (Image credit: ESA) "This finding more than doubles the number of quasars we know of that are so ancient," Antonio La Marca , a European Space Agency (ESA) Research Fellow on the Euclid team, said in the statement. "The Euclid team has taken a true 'census' of quasars at the dawn of the Universe for the first time. It's a big step towards understanding these fascinating objects on a more fundamental level."

The quasars date back to a period of the cosmos known as the epoch of reionization , which lasted from around 680 million years after the Big Bang to 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang. During this period, the universe's "dark ages" drew to a close with photons, particles of light, suddenly free to traverse the cosmos. Thus, these 31 quasars offer a unique opportunity to study this vital period in cosmic history.

"Ancient quasars are rare discoveries," ESA Euclid Project Scientist Valeria Pettorino said in the statement. "They're interesting in themselves, but also time machines that enable us to explore the early universe and understand how the first generation of galaxies came to be."

The locations in the sky of the 31 newly discovered quasars (Image credit: ESA) The 31 quasars were discovered as part of the Euclid Wide Survey, which will eventually cover around one-third of the total sky over Earth.

Scientists hope that this survey will shed light on the so-called "dark universe" comprised of two of the most pressing cosmic mysteries: dark energy , the puzzling force driving the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, and the nature of dark matter , the most abundant "stuff" in the cosmos which remains effectively invisible.

"Euclid's capabilities are unrivalled," Pettorino concluded. "The telescope combines a large area, depth, sharp imaging, and unique space-based infrared vision in a way that lets us pick out rare, extremely distant objects far more efficiently than before."

The team's research was published on Monday (July 6) in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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One Nation leader welcomed by far-right figures including Tommy Robinson and Rupert Lowe.

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Qantas is the world’s most punctual major airline, according to the latest data.

Each month OAG compiles global on-time performance for airlines, based on actual gate arrival times. Flights that arrive within 15 minutes of the schedule are considered on-time.

No thanks. That’s not what I want for Australia. Each day I’ll bring you a sneak peak of my visit before putting out a long format video once I’m home.

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Apex Recordhunter drone unofficially set a new air speed record of 434 mph

High-speed demonstrator will help develop next-gen military drones

Company targets further records with interceptor drones soon

Germany’s Quantum Systems Group has broken the world airspeed record for an electric drone, hitting speeds of 699km/h (434mph) during internal testing on June 26, 2026.

Though the company is yet to carry out a formal, independently verified attempt at setting a record under the official measurement rules to be recognized by both Guinness World Records and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the speed far exceeds that of the current record holder – 657.59km/h (409mph).

The latest, unverified record was set in straight and level flight, and would represent a 6.3% increase over the current record. Official testing is expected within the coming weeks, the company said in a press release .

Record-breaker is merely a technology demonstrator

Quantum Systems explained that the Apex Recordhunter drone was developed over the past year, but “serves as a technology demonstrator for next-generation high-speed systems” rather than being a commercially viable product. “Several innovations from the project are expected to support future interceptor drone programs,” the company added.

It is a battery-electric, fixed-wing aircraft developed by the firm’s N3XT advanced development team, benefiting from Porsche-subsidiary-supplied V4Smart battery cells.

Of course, the drone and its successors would not target consumer photographer and hobby markets, instead focusing on high-speed interceptors for modern warfare. Quantum Systems says lessons learned from Apex will directly influence future interceptor platforms for real-world defense scenarios.

“Super proud of the Quantum Systems team, showing our engineering ambition across our Group and reinforcing our commitment to developing world leading technologies,” co-CEO Florian Seibel wrote.

Engineers from Quantum’s Ukrainian WIY Drones division also contributed to the program – a noteworthy inclusion because Russia has increasingly deployed high-speed, jet-powered one-way attack drones. Deploying high-speed drones like the one Quantum Systems has developed could be much cheaper and more accessible than sending off expensive air-defense missiles.

Records continue to be broken as rapid development continues

By mid-July, the company also hopes to have set two other records. The first – the highest speed achieved by an FPV interceptor drone carrying a 500g payload – by its STRILA Interceptor. Second, its SPYS drone, gunning for the highest speed achieved by an anti-aircraft class FPV interceptor drone.

These achievements and potential records reflect an ongoing global race to develop faster military drones, but they also underscore the growing relevance of airborne, remote and autonomous weapons in modern warfare.

That said, other electric drones have technically achieved even higher speeds. Tom’s Hardware recently reported of a New Zealand duo who recorded high speeds of 730km/h (453mph) – that Blackbird drone uses sawtooth carbon fiber prop blades.

Despite lacking official recognition, the duo had previously set a record of 626km/h (388mph) in December 2025 with a separate drone, before quickly being overtaken by another record-holder which achieved a higher 659km/h (408mph). Regardless, an 11.7% increase from December’s first record to today’s unofficial record confirms there’s plenty of scope to continue pushing the boundary.

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Likening Sony's impending deathblow to physical PlayStation games to Apple removing disc drives from its laptops, reputable games analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners argues that the shift to digital "would inevitably happen" on consoles and current conversations around consumer rights are better served targeting digital rights and "what a license should enable."

In a lengthy post on Twitter , Ahmad fields another user's question: "Is the PlayStation disc situation reminding anyone else of Apple deciding to get rid of the headphone jack?"

Ahmad reckons, "It's more like Apple removing the CD Drive from its laptops starting in 2008. There were definitely a high number of complaints at the time , but not a single person is complaining about it today. You couldn't find many people complaining in the early 2010s either."

He lays out some of the data driving Sony's decision to end disc support. Full game sales are "around 80%" digital on PlayStation and "over 90%" digital on Xbox, Ahmad begins.

Heading off one counterpoint regarding digital dominance, he adds, "Yes, these numbers include digital only games, reflecting the current market environment, but they don't include DLC, microtransactions or subscriptions / free games."

He also downplays some Insomniac Games sales figures which have been presented as evidence that physical still represents a healthy chunk of PS5 sales, saying they are "out of date" and only show sell in, rather than sell through, which is inflated "because Sony counts bundles as retail sales, even if it's a digital code with the console."

Ahmad reasons that "the console ecosystem is nearly entirely digital at this point," with many of the most-played games on PS5 skipping discs entirely (and GTA 6 notably joining this camp ), and digital-only PS5s seeing a "current sell through rate" above 50% (even if 70% of PS5s sold do have a disc drive, by his figures).

The simple explanation for Sony's decision here is about what you'd expect: money and control. It and publishers would "prefer to sell all games digitally if they could for the higher margins," Ahmad says, and that includes effectively shutting out the secondhand market to ensure "a closed ecosystem." (As a quick aside, this is also why consumers stand strictly to lose options and versatility in this proposed digital future .)

He echoes a point recently made by Circana's Mat Piscatella: the next console generation is staring down a pricing hurdle which will lead to a smaller install base and/or much slower adoption, meaning platform holders like Sony will focus on increased profitability for the base they do capture. Sony described an increased focus on "monetizing our user base" in a recent report to shareholders, in fact. Shifting to higher-margin digital sales is part of this strategy, Ahmad agrees.

(Image credit: PlayStation / Sucker Punch) Ahmad puts it this way: "Sony knows the PS6 is entering a market where consoles will cost over $1,000 and the average console player will think twice about upgrading on day one. While part of it is cutting costs, it's also a realization that consoles are no longer going to be $199 mass market devices and they will need to focus on hardcore gamers who are willing to spend more than ever." In some ways, this puts the PS6 in a similar position to the PS5 Pro as a much more enthusiast-first product that is not expected to have a whole generation-sized footprint.

In essence, he adds, Sony is paraphrasing notorious former Xbox exec Don Mattrick and saying, "We already have a device that can play discs, and it's called the PS5."

Ahmad criticizes Sony's handling of the no-physical news. He, like others, doubts the company will reverse its decision, but expects it to "end up clarifying certain aspects" that should have been laid out to begin with. "Had they talked about a disc to digital program, or confirmed a disc add-on for the PS6, the backlash wouldn't have been as strong," he says. Xbox is reportedly testing its own method of digitizing physical game collections, as it happens.

Additionally, Ahmad says he does believe that "used physical games helps increase overall affordability," and that Sony "could support physical games for a few more years" if it wanted to, "especially through a limited run style model or at a more expensive price point compared to the digital version."

It's no coincidence that Nintendo is supporting physical games on Switch 2, even if some are just game-key cards, partly by selling digital versions $10 cheaper .

As we face a digital future, Ahmad advocates that, "Regardless of whether we're talking about bringing physical back, or embracing digital, the conversation needs to shift to consumer rights and what a license should enable. Stop Killing Games was one part of it, but gifting, family sharing, refunds, and other aspects are just as important."

These digital features and the discussions around them tend to be a bit more advanced on PC, where games have effectively been digital-only for a while. On general-purpose PCs, games are also more readily archivable and, often, available through multiple stores (which aren't tied to generational blackouts like the PS3 and Vita ), which is partly why digital-only games on PC and console can't be directly equated.

Returning to the Apple analogy, Ahmad concludes, "This time a new laptop will cost $5k and my old one with a disc drive works just fine."

Does anyone actually want new consoles?