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  • Inside Mark Zuckerberg\’s $110 M Estate: The Real Price of Luxury Living

    Zuckerberg’s Backyard Kingdom: A Living Statue, a Dance‑Pool, and a “Bat‑cave”

    For the past 14 years, Meta’s chief has been turning his Palo Alto block into a personal playground. According to a New York Times exposé, he’s bought 11 properties for a whopping $110 million, transforming Crescent Park into a miniature fiefdom.

    The Property Haiku

    • Four distinct homes – a main palace, two guest villas, and a home that secretly babysits a private school.
    • Mansicured lawns that make Iron Man’s garage look like a public park.
    • A pickleball court that’s seen more swings than a high‑school gym.
    • A pool with a movable hydro‑floor – one moment you’re swimming, the next you’re impromptu–dancing.
    • The crown jewel: a seven‑foot bronze statue of his wife, Priscilla Chan, draped in silver robes that sweep like a superhero cape.

    Beneath The Surface

    Below the manicured grounds lies a 7,000‑square‑foot underground paradox dubbed “the billionaire bat‑cave” by neighbors. It’s a clandestine labyrinth where the city’s zoning violations – like a private school for 14 kids – quietly run, and city officials apparently hide behind their desks.

    Neighborhood Drama

    For those who once called the block their haven, the construction boom has been a real life saga:

    • Continuous construction noise that could double as a new pop‑song
    • Blocked driveways that feel like a dystopian parking garage
    • Surveillance cameras that forever scan the streets, turning everyday pedestrians into live‑stream contestants

    “I’ve never felt at home in a neighborhood before,” says resident Michael Kieschnick. “We’re no longer just residents; we’re a living exhibit.”

    Corporate Reconciliation…sort of

    To soften the tension, Zuckerberg’s team has tossed out a few peace offerings: a steady stream of wine, doughnuts, and noise‑canceling headphones. Whether the gestures truly soothe the community remains to be seen, but it sure softens the brag‑mode aesthetic.

  • Forget capitals like Madrid and Tbilisi: These European second cities are hidden gems

    Forget capitals like Madrid and Tbilisi: These European second cities are hidden gems

    With European capitals seeing surging visitor numbers, these overlooked second cities can be affordable, culture-rich destinations.

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    As more European capital cities struggle with overtourism, second-city destinations are taking the spotlight. 
    New research by luggage storage company Radical Storage characterises these destinations as the second-most populated city in a European country. 

    In 10 of the 44 European countries analysed, the second-largest city was a better tourist destination than the capital city. 
    The study compared the tourist experience in each European country’s capital city with its second-largest city, taking into account shopping, accommodation, food, culture, accessibility and local attractions and ranking them on a scale of 0 to 10. 
    But which are the top second cities and why exactly should you choose them? Find out below. 

    Novi Sad, Serbia

    Serbia as a whole is a relatively overlooked European destination. Its second city, Novi Sad, however, came out on top of the ranking and it has a string of impressive credentials. It was crowned the European Youth Capital of 2019 by the European Union and became a UNESCO Creative City in 2023. 
    Smaller and more walkable than the capital, Belgrade, it has a vibrant cultural scene and is very popular with students and young people, especially because of the annual EXIT music festival. 

    Stumble upon laneway bars in the charming old town, or enjoy colourful art, soaking in the laid-back atmosphere of the city. 
    Explore the Petrovaradin Fortress, which dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, with a network of tunnels and an iconic clock tower, or relax on the 700-metre-long beach alongside the Danube. 

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    In the old town, called Stari Grad, you’ll find the Name of Mary Church, a Gothic Revival church and the neo-Renaissance City Hall. 

    With a score of 5.87 in the Radical Storage study, Novi Sad has 102 attractions rated over 4 stars, with the average entry fee for top attractions being €1.7. It also has 251 eateries with a rating of over 4 stars.  
    According to Radical Storage’s study, a main meal per person in Novi Sad costs only around €8.4, compared to the average main meal prices in other cities analysed in the study, at €13.6. 
    The average price per night at a mid-range hotel is €33.5, with the top 30 hotels having a review of 4.5 on average. Novi Sad also has 19 shopping destinations. 

    Barcelona, Spain

    Barcelona took second place, with a score of 5.75, according to the study, due to its relaxed Mediterranean vibe, beaches, unique architecture and outstanding air and rail connections. 
    Although the city is not as much of a hidden gem as the others in the study, already suffering from overtourism, it still offers a different experience than Madrid, with a more international feel. 
    Enjoy UNESCO World Heritage Sites designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, such as the Casa Vicens, the Crypt of La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. Learn about tapas culture and enjoy local specialities such as the bomba or salted cod, or let loose at one of the city’s many music festivals, such as the Primavera Sound. 
    With a distinct regional identity, Barcelona also allows visitors to take part in unique Catalan festivals and traditions, such as the La Mercè festival and Sant Jordi’s Day, when books and roses are exchanged.  
    The city ranked 1st for cultural and local attractions in the Radical Storage study, while taking fourth place for restaurant ranking and 37th place for accommodation ranking. It was in second place for shopping, but in top place for accessibility. 

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    Gyumri, Armenia

    Armenia’s second city, Gyumri, is a charming cultural hub and took third place in the ranking, with a score of 5.72. With a higher focus on arts and crafts than Yerevan, it also offers visitors a chance to see many historical monuments. 
    Most of the city also features rare black tufa architecture, made from a type of volcanic rock. 
    Visit the Sev Berd, or Black Fortress, an abandoned Russian imperial fortress built in the early 1800s, very close to the Turkish border. Follow up with a 19th-century Russian church, the Church of Saint Arsenius, for its unique design featuring two domes. 
    A little outside Gyumri lies the Jrapi Caravanserai, a 10th to 11th century roadside inn, featuring a three-arched design and stone-tiled floor. 
    Head over to the old town, where you can explore winding cobblestone streets. With a number of affordable and quirky cafes, you can tuck into local delicacies such as harissa, a wheat and meat stew and panrkhash, a cheese and bread dish. 
    Gyumri has relatively fewer attractions and eateries than other European cities, with 34 attractions with a four-star and above rating, and 52 eateries ranked four stars and above. However, the quality of these establishments keeps tourists coming back. Average entrance fees for top attractions are also very cheap, averaging €1.7. 
    The city ranks 20th for cultural and local attractions, according to Radical Storage, coming in at 10th place for restaurant rankings. However, it takes top spot for accommodations and is in fourth place for shopping, with 33rd place for accessibility. 
    A hotel room in Gyumri will set you back about €25.4, according to Radical Storage, which is much less than the study’s average of €87.6. 

    Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Cluj-Napoca, the historic capital of Transylvania, is the fourth-best second city, according to the ranking, with a score of 5.59. Renowned for a higher quality of life than Bucharest, it has less pollution and better healthcare, while also being safer. 
    With a more community-oriented and smaller-city feel, Cluj-Napoca is popular with visitors looking to escape the crowds during peak travel times. 
    Soak in the natural beauty of the Cetatuia Park or Botanical Garden, or hike to the nearby Apunseni Mountains, for the Turda Gorge, and explore the twisted trees in the Hoia-Baciu Forest. Head over to St. Michael’s Church for a bit of culture, or to the Steampunk Transylvania Museum for a unique blend of retro and futurism charm.

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    The city has 155 attractions rated four stars and above, with 261 four-starred and above eateries. Its entrance fees for top attractions are also quite low at  €6.8. 
    The city is 12th for culture and local attractions, according to Radical Storage, and 15th for restaurants. It comes in 10th place for accommodation and in 12th for shopping, along with 10th place for accessibility. 
    A main meal for one person costs around €9.7 at a mid-range restaurant in Cluj-Napoca, which is relatively cheap compared to most European capital cities. 

    Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Banja Luka took fifth place in the ranking, with a score of 5.51, offering a vast range of outdoor and wellness activities such as kayaking, rafting, hiking and thermal springs. It also has a much slower pace of life than the capital, Sarajevo, while still offering a great cafe and nightlife scene. 
    Explore a variety of iconic historic monuments such as the Ferhadija Mosque, the Kastel Fortress and the Christ the Saviour Orthodox Cathedral. 
    Hike to the Banj Hill for stunning views of the Vrbas River and the city, or relax in green spaces like Mladen Stojanović Park and Borik Park. Wellness travellers can also rejuvenate in the hot springs in the village of Srpske Toplice. 
    Dig into Banjalučki ćevapi, small grilled minced meat sausages and paprika, stuffed peppers served with meat and rice. 
    Banja Luka has 38 attractions rated four stars and above. With 69.2% of its eateries, or 74 restaurants, rated as above four stars, the city takes third place for restaurant ranking in the Radical Storage study. 
    An average meal costs approximately €7.6, with an average hotel room being about €31.2, a little below the study average of €113.
    It is 20th for culture and local attractions, as well as 2nd for accommodation and 33rd for shopping. For accessibility, Banja Luka is in 36th place. 

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    Kutaisi, Georgia

    Kutaisi is often chosen over Tbilisi for its walkability, rich history and easy access to natural attractions. The city, which earned sixth place in the ranking with a score of 5.48, is also a gateway to exploring western Georgia’s caves, canyons and mountains. 
    Visit the Gelati Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Bagrati Cathedral, or explore the Prometheus Cave. Soak in the view from the White Bridge and take a ride on the Soviet-era Kutaisi Cable Car.. Head over to the Green Bazaar for local treats like crunchy meat rolls and kebab-stuffed bread. 
    Learn about the region’s local military history at the Kutaisi National Museum of Military Glory, or go to the David Kakabadze Fine Art Gallery for some art. 
    Don’t forget to sample chkmeruli, a chicken dish in milk and garlic sauce and khinkalis, traditional Georgian dumplings filled with meat and spices. 
    The price of a night in a hotel, a meal and a ticket to an attraction, comes up to an average of approximately €36.2, in comparison to Tbilisi’s  €54.4.

    Kaunas, Lithuania

    Kaunas, also crowned the European Capital of Culture 2022, offers a blend of traditional Lithuanian culture and cutting-edge technology. It came seventh in the ranking of Europe’s best second cities, with a score of 5.47. 
    Explore the Old Town’s Renaissance, medieval and baroque buildings. Visit iconic landmarks such as the 14th century Kaunas Castle, a prime example of defensive Lithuanian architecture and the Gothic House of Perkūnas, dating back to the 15th century. 
    Head over to the Rumsiskes Open-Air museum for a taste of rural Lithuanian life, with traditional crafts, as well as the M.K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, the world’s only museum dedicated to the famous Lithuanian composer and artist. 
    For a more offbeat experience, choose the Devil’s Museum, which showcases Lithuanian mythology and folklore, or the Sugihara House, for a quirkier representation of inter-war history. 
    Sample traditional delicacies such as cepelinai, potato dumplings stuffed with meat, and šaltibarščiai, a cold beetroot soup. 

  • Unlocking Success: The Power of Expert Advice

    Unlocking Success: The Power of Expert Advice

    It’s often a challenge working in the insurance industry, because we essentially provide a product that customers don’t actually want to use. No-one wants their pet to become sick, or their house to suffer a flood or burglary, or their business to experience a cyber-attack.

    But it’s the potentially devastating physical impact these events can have, along with their financial implications, which mean we turn to insurance to provide protection against the many risks that life presents.
    Whilst there are many, many different types and size of business in the UK, most will have the ability to purchase similar types of commercial insurance cover, for example Material Damage, Business Interruption, Employers and Public Liability and so on. But their route to those products may differ.
    For many years the insurance market could only be accessed via brokers, then insurance providers looked to remove the ‘middleman’ by offering their products directly to the customer/insured. When Direct Line launched in 1985, it became the country’s first direct car insurance provider (although it has since expanded into other product lines).
    The reason why the Direct Line model was successful, and then copied by many others, was that the car insurance selection and purchase process is reasonably straightforward. The insurer will ask the insured plenty of questions to gather the information they need to provide a quotation, but the quotation has limited moving parts – in the main it’s the level of cover (comprehensive, third party etc), the size of the policy excess, and sometimes additional bolt-on covers are offered such as Legal Expenses. Usually, it’s fairly easy to distinguish between the various elements and decide which combination is best suited to your requirements.
    When purchasing car insurance, note how it’s you the customer that’s deciding on the options and making the selection rather than the insurer recommending one for you.
    When first searching for suitable business insurance, it would be logical to again look to approach insurers direct. But think about how much more complicated your business is than your car.
    Some insurers will provide quotations on a ‘statement of fact’ basis. This means the insurer will provide you with a quotation on the assumption that you comply with a statement of what your business profile does or does not have. For example, it may advise that you agree to have an alarm in place, or that all goods are kept inside locked premises, or that you don’t have any exports to North America.
    Whilst this makes it easier to obtain the insurance you require, the challenge when it comes to trying to make a claim is of course that “the devil is in the detail”. If you misinterpret one of the statements or fail to notify the insurer that you have broken one of the statements (for example by starting exports to North America), then this could result in the claim being declined. Furthermore, if you are proven to have non-disclosed recklessly, then the entire insurance policy could be cancelled, and the premium retained by the insurer.
    Engaging an insurance broker can therefore really add value. The broker will assist you by presenting your risk to insurers and ensuring that every salient point is disclosed, either via creating a detailed presentation for insurers to quote against, or by carefully reviewing the statement of fact with you to ensure you are able to remain fully compliant.
    A good broker will also keep in touch with you throughout the year. For example, if you’ve mentioned to your broker that you plan to start North American exports in the second half of the policy year, you should expect them to contact you before the mid-year point to check whether this has started and to assess if your insurance cover needs to be adapted.
    In these economically challenging times, businesses might perhaps view an insurance broker as an unnecessary cost, and instead try and research insurance options themselves and hopefully remember to inform their insurer every time something changes within the business.
    However, there’s another key aspect of the service an insurance broker provides…..advice. Although I’ve worked in insurance for nearly 20 years, like many, my first encounter with insurance was for my first car, a rather old but much-loved Nissan Micra. I chose third party only cover with a direct insurer for my first motor policy, which was appropriate at the time given the insurance cost more than the car. But if I had continued to renew that insurance policy each year, remembering to advise the insurer each time I changed cars, the insurer would continue to provide third party only cover which would be completely inappropriate for my current leased 2023-registered and much higher value family car.
    Legally, the insurer is not able to offer me advice about the most appropriate cover for my needs. However, if I was using an insurance broker, they would have advised me that my personal vehicle risk had increased dramatically, and I should therefore consider moving to fully comprehensive cover.
    This is of course an overly simplistic example, but the same principle could very easily be applied to business insurance, where it might continue to be renewed every year on the same basis without considering the increased or different risks the business may face. A good insurance broker will advise the operators of a business about all the pertinent and developing risks facing that business.
    My final point to highlight the positive impact a broker can have on an insurance placement, is what happens when you call upon the insurer to pay a claim. In a direct arrangement, if an insurer declines a claim, then it’s essentially you against the insurer, which doesn’t really feel like a fair fight. But by bringing an experienced broker into the arrangement, you add an insurance professional to your team, which very much evens up the odds in my opinion.

  • Honor's slim Magic V5 foldable is fun to use, minus the huge camera bump

    Honor's slim Magic V5 foldable is fun to use, minus the huge camera bump

    There is a spec war going on among companies to claim the crown of thinnest foldable. Phone manufacturers are playing with fractions of millimeters to boast about their phone’s thickness.
Honor is winning this race on a theoretical basis with its 8.8 mm (when folded) thick Magic V5 foldable. I’m saying theoretical because there is a huge, camera-bump-sized caveat to this.A photo showing Honor Magic V5 half unfolded with TechCrunch's site open.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    The device’s thin frame looks and feels great as long as you hold it with your fingers wrapped around the bottom half of the phone. If your fingers brush against the massive bump, you might feel uncomfortable holding the phone. This adjustment took me a few days to get used to.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    When you lay the phone on a table, it creates a slant (like in the photo above). This is fine when the phone is folded, but when you unfold the phone, it creates a wobble, and it is not pleasant.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    In the unfolded state, the frame is just 4.1 mm thick, 1 mm less than the Oppo’s Find N5, but 0.5 mm more than Huawei’s triple-folding phone.The Phone’s thickness compared to the Pixel 10 Pro. Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    Apart from that, the phone is a solid piece of hardware.

    It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is a top-tier processor. The front display is a 6.43-inch screen with 2376 x 1060 resolution, and the main (unfolded) display is a 7.95-inch screen with 2172 x 2352 pixels. The company said it’s using a carbon fiber reinforced inner panel for better fall protection. Plus, Honor has applied an antiscratch material to the display. So far, I haven’t seen notable scratches on either screen.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    The screen is very bright with a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. I enjoyed reading articles, PDFs, and long emails on the unfolded screen. Playing The New York Times’ puzzles on the unfolded screen was one of my favorite things to do on the device.

    Both displays support LTPO, which means the refresh rate can dynamically switch to any value from 1Hz to 120Hz, and that makes navigation and scrolling a breeze. Most apps adjusted well to both the cover and main screen, though I noticed that the resolution became distorted when I tried playing “Diablo Immortal” on the unfolded screen, so I had to stick to the front screen for gaming.

    The build of the device is sturdy, and it has IP58 and IP59 ratings for dust and water resistance. The folding hinge, which uses the second-gen Honor Super Steel mechanism, felt solid during my weeklong use of the Magic V5.

    The foldable has a massive 5,820 mAh silicone carbon battery. With this capacity, you can get through a full day of usage with a bit of gaming easily. The device supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, but you need to buy Honor’s proprietary chargers to support that. Honor does include its 66W charger in the box. The company claims that you can charge the device from 0% to 50% in just 16 minutes with the wired charger and reach 100% charge in 43 minutes. Even if the phone doesn’t hit those theoretical limits, you can quickly add enough power to last you a few hours.

    Camera and AI

    The Honor Magic V5’s camera casing hosts three sensors: a 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.6 aperture, a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The phone also has two 20-megapixel selfie cameras — one for each of the inner and outer screens.

    The phone takes good photos in all conditions, capturing details well with generally good color accuracy. However, I felt that in some conditions, the phone’s computational algorithm boosted reds. The Magic V5’s camera has a pretty good super macro mode that lets you take close-up photos of certain objects, like flowers, while retaining details.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    Since all companies have access to AI image models, many are introducing super-zoom modes to capture a base photo and using generative AI to enhance the details. Honor’s 100x zoom tech is good enough to capture text at a distance and use AI to clear it up. However, when I tried to capture different objects, the AI-processed version looked very much AI generated. This wasn’t the case with the Pixel 10 Pro’s 100x Zoom.Honor 100x ZoomImage Credits:Ivan MehtaPixel 100x ZoomImage Credits:Ivan Mehta

    Like most China-made phones, this device also has a ton of AI-powered “beauty” features that let you smooth your skin, adjust your nose size and face size, brighten the picture, and more. You can easily turn these features off with a toggle.

    Honor has included a bunch of AI editing tools with the phone. There is an AI eraser that lets you draw on objects to remove them. The tool also has additional options, including removing passersby and removing reflections. The first option doesn’t always work well. Check out this photo I took at Wimbledon. While it removed some people in the background, it also removed the torso of one of the tennis players.Image Credits: Ivan MehtaImage Credits:Ivan MehtaImage Credits: Ivan Mehta (edited by AI)Image Credits:Ivan Mehta

    The phone has an AI cutout tool, which allows you to select an object from a photo and move it within the frame. When you move the object, the device uses generative AI to fill in the gap.

    This feature is also not perfect and at times leaves artifacts like shadows around the original position of the object, clearly indicating that you moved something in the photo. There are other tools like AI upscaling and AI outpainting as well.Image Credits:Ivan Mehta (Edited by Honor AI)

    The phone also includes an image-to-video function in the device’s photo app, which allows for three generations per 30 days. It creates videos using Google’s Veo 2 model, but the output is not great and often feels uncanny compared to the original image.

    Software and availability

    Honor uses its MagicOS 9, based on Android 15 on this device. It is not cluttered, but I found pre-installing Honor apps for smart home devices, and the myHonor app (which is a community app), to be unnecessary. There is also an Honor Health app, which connects to smart health devices from Honor (if you have any), and includes has some pre-loaded exercise content.

    MagicOS handles media exchange with both Android and Apple devices well. The company offers a Workstation app for macOS, which makes it easy to send photos, videos, and documents to your Mac.

    The company also released a neat new on-device call translation feature, which lets you download a translation model directly to the phone and process the data locally. At the moment, it supports six languages, including Chinese, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. I tested this feature with a French-speaking friend, and the results were very good. Unlike the Pixel’s translation feature, which retains your voice, you get to choose between a male and a female voice.

    Honor is releasing the Magic V5 in Europe, APAC, and the Middle East. In the U.K./Europe, the Magic V5 will start at £1,699.99/€1,999 for the 512GB version. This gives consumers an option to try a foldable at a price £200/€1,999 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. While this might not challenge Samsung’s top spot in the foldable market, it might help Honor’s market share amid growing interest in foldables.

  • Brussels Airports Grounded as Nationwide Strikes Target Pension Reform Plan

    Brussels Airports Grounded as Nationwide Strikes Target Pension Reform Plan

    Metro Mayhem: Brussels Fly‑Skilled Protesters

    Imagine the scene at Brussels’ main X‑tra busy airports: a traffic jam of spirited crowds, hundreds of flights called off, and the city’s streets humming with a chorus of dissent.

    What Happened?

    • Flights cancelled: Over 500 departures from Zaventem and Charleroi were called off – pilots were left with empty runways.
    • Protest vibes: This fourth time the year, the population decided to stage the fifth general strike, turning the city into a living protest rally.
    • Why: A bitter backlash against the federal government’s plans to trim pensions and revamp retirement schemes.

    Where the Chaos Unfolded

    Protesters marched from all corners, turning the usually pristine airport zones into bustling arenas of voices and chill.

    Cheering It Up!

    Even with the flights on hold, wages and comfort numbers in the air had to hold. The strike’s emotional roller‑coaster reminded everyone that governments can keep replaying a pension trom-bone as long as they wish.

    Belgium Strikes Leave Airports in Chaos

    When the union workers took the streets and the sky, Brussels and Charleroi airports were left scrambling like a hamster on a wheel.

    Brussels Airport Gets Hit Hard

    • All departure flights from Brussels Airport (Zaventem) were called off.
    • Just 103 inbound flights landed while the original plan was to have 261 arrivals.
    • Security and staff joined the strike, forcing the airport to shut down.

    Charleroi Airport Grounds All Flights

    • The low‑cost hub held onto 100% of its flights on Wednesday.
    • Ventilation? No. Staff? Gone.
    • Airlines will either rebook or refund travelers scheduled for June 25.

    Passenger Reactions

    “I have to wake up at six, come here, wait, and I have no idea what’s happening. It’s my first time with this kind of situation and I’m honestly a little shocked,” said one frustrated traveler.

    Brussels Airport Ready for a Traffic Jam

    Expect 90,000 passengers per day over the next few days as airlines scramble to fill the gaps.

    “Tomorrow will be a lot busier than we thought. With an extra 12,000 passengers and then 2,000 more on Friday, it’s going to be a wild ride,” says spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli. “And with the holiday traffic, timing is everything.”

    Why the Strikes? Pension Reform

    Workers and trade unions protest against a new pension plan that would scrap a special scheme and raise the retirement age of civil servants to 66. The change was set to bring public pensions in line with the private sector but has sparked anger.

    “Halfway through our careers, we’re told to reform our pension and end up with less money. And we’re probably going to buy tanks instead of saving for retirement,” grumbled a protester from the Christian union.

    Political Backdrop

    • Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever became prime minister in February.
    • The reforms aim to curb ballooning costs tied to rising life expectancy.
    • Belgium’s federal budget deficit is straining against EU budget rules.
    • The country is also pledging to ramp up defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, aligning with NATO’s new targets.

    With the nation on edge, the airports are the front line in a tug‑of‑war that’s left travellers on their toes.