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Lawrence Hill rail station to become step free with new lift
Avalon/Getty ImagesThe stairs seen on the left are currently the only way of accessing platform two An inner-city rail station is to become entirely step free for the first time in 162 years after plans for a lift were approved.
Bristol City Council has given the go-ahead for the work for platform two at Lawrence Hill Station, which will be funded by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca).
Platform one already has step-free access through the neighbouring Lidl car park, but West of England Mayor Helen Godwin said the station – which first opened in 1863 – has not been fully accessible “for too many years”.
Representatives from Bristol City Council, Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) have all welcomed the announcement.
Currently platform two at Lawrence Hill is only accessible via a staircase, which Ms Godwin says has excluded many disabled and older people from train travel.
“We want all of our stations to be fully accessible, so it’s great that our plans have now been approved to install a new lift to make Lawrence Hill step-free,” she said.
It comes as part of a wider £400 million rail upgrade across the West Country, with five new stations set to be built in the coming years at Charfield, Henbury, North Filton, Pill and Portishead.
‘Better rail travel’
Two others have already opened since 2023 – Portway Park and Ride and Ashley Down.
Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer said: “Moving forward with a new station lift at Lawrence Hill is part of our wider plan for extending and improving access to rail travel across our region.”
Marcus Jones, western route director at Network Rail, said: “Today’s announcement brings us another step closer to bringing better rail travel for the people of Bristol and the west of England.”
Weca is currently running a survey until 20 October asking people to record their experiences of using stations across the area.
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Microsoft rolls out AI upgrades to Windows 11
Microsoft has unveiled a suite of AI-driven upgrades for Windows 11, including voice-activation on Windows 11 PCs and “more experimental AI.”
Microsoft’s Copilot assistant updates are aimed at simplifying user…
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The correlation between smoking and preoperative deep venous thrombosis after hip fracture in geriatric patients: a propensity score-matched study | Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research
Chen YP, Kuo YJ, Hung SW, Wen TW, Chien PC, Chiang MH, Maffulli N, Lin CY. Loss of skeletal muscle mass can be predicted by sarcopenia and reflects poor functional recovery at one year after surgery for geriatric hip fractures. Injury….
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Ty Dolla $ign returns with ‘Tycoon,’ his first solo album in five years
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — “It’s ‘Tycoon’ season,’” a beaming Ty Dolla $ign, declares.
It is indeed. The inventive R&B singer has just released his fifth studio album, his first full-length solo release in five years. He chose…
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Meta adds parental controls for AI-teen interactions
Meta is adding parental controls for kids’ interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots — including the ability to turn off one-on-one chats with AI characters altogether — beginning early next year.
But parents won’t be able to turn off Meta’s AI assistant, which Meta says will “will remain available to offer helpful information and educational opportunities, with default, age-appropriate protections in place to help keep teens safe.”
Parents who don’t want to turn off all chats with all AI characters will also be able to block specific chatbots. And Meta said Friday that parents will be able to get “insights” about what their kids are chatting about with AI characters — although they won’t get access to the full chats.
The changes come as the social media giant faces ongoing criticism over harms to children from its platforms. AI chatbots are also drawing scrutiny over their interactions with children that lawsuits claim have driven some to suicide.
Even so, more than 70% of teens have used AI companions and half use them regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for using screens and digital media sensibly.
On Tuesday, Meta announced that teen accounts on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won’t be able to change their settings without a parent’s permission. This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie — no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts.
Meta said the PG-13 restrictions will also apply to AI chats.
Children’s online advocacy groups, however, were skeptical.
“From my perspective, these announcements are about two things. They’re about forestalling legislation that Meta doesn’t want to see, and they’re about reassuring parents who are understandably concerned about what’s happening on Instagram,” said Josh Golin, the executive director of the nonprofit Fairplay, after Meta’s announcement Tuesday.
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First Look: The H&M Glenn Martens collection
H&M is proud to reveal for the first time the hotly anticipated H&M Glenn Martens collection.
The Belgium fashion designer is defining the landscape of contemporary fashion, and this new collaboration offers a broad range of customers the chance…
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Ahlstrom Unifies Global Operations with SAP S/4HANA Cloud
In 2023, Ahlstrom launched a major strategic business transformation project aimed at renewing and harmonizing the operations of its 36 plants worldwide. The solution chosen was SAP S/4HANA Cloud, which enables Ahlstrom to streamline its processes, improve flexibility, and move toward a data-driven and AI-enabled future.
Ahlstrom is a large international manufacturer of specialty materials, with 36 plants around the world and about 7,000 employees. The company’s strategy is to be a global leader in its field.
The business transformation project, called Stella, is the largest single investment in company history. Its purpose is to transfer operations, except HR and product development, to the new SAP S/4HANA Cloud environment. The old group business system dated back to the 1990s and no longer met the needs of global manufacturing. Ahlstrom also uses SAP Ariba for its procurement, which had already been implemented.
“SAP S/4HANA Cloud was clearly the best solution for us, especially for production management and planning,” shared Ahlstrom CIO Kristiina Lammila, who is responsible for the project. “With it, we can harmonize our operations and bring all our plants under the same system.”
Unifying systems and data
One of the main challenges of the project was integrating different systems and unifying fragmented data. With modernization, processes can be streamlined, daily work made easier, and time freed up for more strategically important tasks.
“We have managed to make significant progress with SAP S/4HANA Cloud standard solution,” Lammila said. “We use private cloud, which also allows for fairly flexible modifications. One plant is already live, and next year seven more plants will join. The goal is to complete the entire transformation within five years.”
According to Lammila, the system enables flexible transfer of production from one plant to another and global optimization of the supply chain.
Benefits for both employees and customers
Modern cloud ERP systems benefit all stakeholders. Streamlined production processes reduce waste and improve quality. Harmonized purchasing brings savings and the most visible change for Ahlstrom’s customers is smoother supply chains and better availability of products. The use of AI and analytics is expanding. Especially in sales support, AI solutions built on SAP Sales Cloud data are already in use at Ahlstrom.
“We can integrate even more closely with our customers, as many of them also use SAP,” Lammila explained. “This facilitates and streamlines the flow of information between companies.”
From the employee’s perspective, SAP S/4HANA Cloud makes teamwork easier. For example, order and inventory balances can be checked conveniently based on real-time data. Lammila also pointed out that the updated system supports employer branding, as job seekers expect to have appropriate and up-to-date tools at their disposal.
Strong change leadership is key to success
Lammila advises companies planning similar projects to approach transformations as comprehensive initiatives that must engage all employees, including management, not just the IT department.
“Strong management commitment and a shared vision of where we are going and how to get there are needed. The project must be led as a deep transformation, and the end result must not be compromised due to haste. Poorly executed work is difficult to fix later,” she concluded.
Ellen Vig Nelausen is an integrated communications expert for SAP Regional Communications.
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CYBER TYRE AWARDED AS THE MOST INNOVATIVE TYRE TECHNOLOGY AT THE AUTOTECH BREAKTHROUGH AWARDS 2025
Awarded as “V2X Innovation of the Year”, Pirelli Cyber Tyre is the world’s first system that collects data from tyres and processes them to optimise the vehicle’s control electronics.
Pirelli’s technology has been recognised as decisive for the development of future smart and connected mobility.
Milan, 17 October 2025 – Pirelli Cyber Tyre has won the title of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Innovation of the Year at the AutoTech Breakthrough Awards 2025, an international prize awarded by the Tech Breakthrough intelligence platform, which identifies the most innovative players and services in the automotive technology sector. Cyber Tyre is the world’s first intelligent system capable of collecting data directly from the tyre, processing them through Pirelli proprietary software and algorithms, and communicating them in real time to the vehicle’s electronics, enabling improved driving dynamics, safety, and integration with digital infrastructures.
“Cyber Tyre is a key technology for the future of smart mobility, which includes autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and the digitalisation of infrastructures. By integrating intelligence directly into the tyre, Pirelli Cyber Tyre makes transport systems safer, as well as sustainable and data-driven”, writes AutoTech Breakthrough, explaining the reasons for the award.“This recognition highlights the value of Cyber Tyre, which gives the tyre a new role in the revolution currently taking place in mobility. In Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), the availability of precise real-time data is essential: our technology enables, for the first time, the transmission of detailed information to the vehicle’s electronics regarding the tyre’s status and road surface conditions, improving safety, performance, and efficiency. The system has already been adopted on high-end vehicles, with the goal of extending its application to an increasingly wider audience and to different functionalities towards other systems thanks to V2X connectivity”, said Piero Misani, CTO of Pirelli.
Pirelli Cyber™ Tyre: how it works and main applications
Thanks to sensors positioned inside the tread, Cyber™ Tyre measures parameters such as pressure, temperature, tread wear, and load. These data, processed by Pirelli algorithms, are transmitted to a control unit that optimises the vehicle’s electronic systems, such as ESP, ABS, and traction control, significantly improving safety and driving experience. Thanks to collaboration with Bosch Engineering, the system is fully integrated into the vehicle’s electronic architecture.
In addition to in-car functionalities, Cyber™ Tyre enables V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) and V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) communication, contributing to the development of smart roads and smart cities, where the collected data help in urban mobility planning and maintenance.
The various V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) connectivity capabilities can enable warning functions for vehicles and drivers about real-time road conditions, interact with traffic lights and road signs, optimise public transport and fleet management, offering essential support for the development of autonomous driving.Cyber Tyre technology is already on the market and has been adopted on several high-end models and is under development for various premium and prestige vehicle platforms. Recently, Aston Martin and Pirelli announced an agreement for the integration of the system into the British luxury brand’s future models.
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Macron’s Political Truce Carries a €2.2 Billion Price Tag – Bloomberg.com
- Macron’s Political Truce Carries a €2.2 Billion Price Tag Bloomberg.com
- French PM survives two no-confidence votes dawn.com
- EUR/USD: Markets price in renewed political stability in France – Scotiabank FXStreet
- France is on the brink as…
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