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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been able to identify structural vulnerabilities invisible to the naked eye in St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican City, for the first time. The AI technology was used to create a digital twin of the famous Catholic church - which consists of an ultra-precise 3D computer model that simulates an object in the physical world. Image: Pic: Iconem/Microsoft The project, called La Basilica di San Pietro, was developed by Microsoft and the Vatican, in collaboration with Iconem, a French startup specialising in digital preservation.Over a period of three weeks, drones, cameras and lasers were used to take more than 400,000 detailed images to create an exact digital replica of the exterior and interior...

A clampdown has been enforced to curb a social media trend in China - where thousands of students rent bikes late at night to buy soup dumplings.Police in Henan province closed bike lanes connecting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in a bid to reduce the number of students making the 37-mile journey. Pictures showed that the crowd of students - which was called the Night Riding Army by some taking part - had blocked a highway in central China on Friday night.Local outlets estimated that up to 200,000 young people had rented bikes - which cost as little as £1.51 for a month - to travel to Kaifeng for its famous guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling.Liu Lulu, a student at Henan University, told state media outlet China Daily: "People sang together and cheered for each other while climbing uphill togethe...

The Kremlin has denied Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin in a phone call the day after the presidential election.The US president-elect reportedly urged the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of America's sizeable military presence in Europe during the conversation on Thursday, according to The Washington Post and Reuters, citing sources familiar with the call. According to several other sources, the pair went on to discuss the goal of peace on the continent, as well as the prospect of a further call soon to look into the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.Follow live: Putin has no plans to speak to TrumpBut on Monday, the Kremlin denied the reports and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin has no specific plans to speak to Mr Trump at present. "T...

Donald Trump urged Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine in a phone call the day after the presidential election, according to reports.The US president-elect also reminded the Russian president of America's sizeable military presence in Europe during the conversation on Thursday, according to The Washington Post and Reuters, citing sources familiar with the call. According to several other sources, the pair went on to discuss the goal of peace on the continent, as well as the prospect of a further call soon to look into the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.US election latest: Trump 'held phone call with Putin'On Friday, the Kremlin said Mr Putin was ready to discuss Ukraine with Mr Trump - but that did not mean he was willing to alter Moscow's demands - namely that Ukraine...

A tennis analyst has been taken off air after making "deeply regrettable comments" about Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova's appearance.The Czech player, 28, called out Jon Wertheim for what she called "coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance". The analyst made a comment that went to air on the US TV network Tennis Channel about the world number 10's forehead.Krejcikova, who also won a Grand Slam singles title at the 2020 French Open, was taking part in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia this week, where she lost to Zheng Qinwen in the semi-finals on Friday. Image: Krejcikova during the US Open earlier this year. Pic: AP Apparently not aware he was on air, Wertheim, a prominent American tennis jour...