Published on 23/01/2026 – 15:00 GMT+1•Updated
30/01/2026 – 17:16 GMT+1

MiCa can seat 8 people and reach up to 25 km/h. It’s been designed to operate autonomously for up to 20 hours per day.

“When the vehicle understands what’s around it, then it’s able to see where the road is, where objects are possibly moving, where the pedestrian crossing is, where the intersection is, and based on that and the next bus stop it’s going to, it’s able to plan a path for its route,” explains Kristjan Vilipõld, Product Manager, at AuVe Tech OÜ.

The company behind the prototypes was founded in 2018 in cooperation with Tallinn University of Technology. Its self-driving vehicles have so far operated in 17 countries, including several in Europe as well as in Japan, the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both in demo activities and in closed testing urban circuits.

The company, co-funded by the EU, claims it offers a full-scope service that involves autonomous vehicles, their integration into various environments and fleet management. Managers here describe their product as “the world’s most compact and flexible autonomous shuttle, able to suit existing infrastructure.”

“Not only in Europe but globally, there are too many cars in traffic, and we need to find ways to get more people to use public transportation,” says Taavi Rõivas, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at AuVe Tech OÜ. “In this we see that the biggest bottleneck is not necessarily the quality or price of public transportation, but the fact that public transportation doesn’t take you to your doorstep. We provide this last mile.”

MiCa has just been significantly upgraded. Based on machine learning and real-life data analysis, its new capabilities include AI-based dynamic reaction to objects, overtaking vehicle detection or side detection.

The vehicles are fully manufactured in Estonia, one of Europe’s digital hubs. One shuttle can be completed in one week. Managers say their decision not to outsource the production aims to ensure quality, control all the processes and manage manufacturing risks.

“Half of the vehicle is electronics, sensorics and computers. The main challenge is to incorporate the mechanical, electronic and also the software sides,” says Kristian Pints, Production manager at AuVe Tech OÜ.

Investment in Research and Development is paramount as both technology and social expectations are constantly evolving, managers say. Thriving in other markets, the self-driving sector faces huge challenges right now in Europe, they conclude.

Paris‑based sales company Charades (“Urchin”) has boarded “Bloodsuckers,” a family thriller that marks the sophomore feature of Elin Grönblom (“Ella and Friends”).

Currently in post-production, the film is being showcased today at Göteborg Film Festival’s Works in Progress and will be officially launched by Charades at the EFM where a promo reel will be presented to buyers.

“Bloodsuckers” is produced by Mylla Films, an ambitious genre film and TV label launched by Patrik Andersson, whose credits include Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” and Jakob Abrahamsson, who previously worked at NonStop Entertainment.

The story follows Johanna (38), who heads off on a well-deserved vacation with her family. “A visit to the deep Scandinavian forest leaves her drawn to a mesmerizing dark bog, where relentless mosquitoes seem to awaken something within her. As their bites take hold, her self-preserving instincts emerge, transforming her into a mother driven to extremes to finally find some peace and quiet,” reads the synopsis.

Grönblom is a promising Scandinavian filmmaker who graduated with a MFA in Filmmaking from The New York Film Academy and made her debut feature, “Ella and Friends,” after having directed several acclaimed short films, including “My Dad’s an Alien!” and “Goldfish Love.”

Andersson and Abrahamsson, who are producing via their four-year old vehicle Mylla Films, said, “We are thrilled to be in the hands of Charades and to see the film launched onto the international market with the strongest possible partner for a feature like this, their love for bold, director-driven cinema makes it the perfect home for the film.”

“‘Bloodsuckers’ stands out through its singular blend of psychological thriller, dark humour and an unsettling portrait of family life, exquisitely crafted and executed by Elin Grönblom and Johanna Sonck it’s coming along both deeply Scandinavian and strikingly universal. It’s a film that will hit close to home – wherever home is – and we’re thrilled to be presenting it to the international market at EFM”

Charades’ co-founder Carole Baraton said, “We wanted to be a part of as soon as we heard its pitch, the film blends everything we love in Scandi cinema — (very) dark-humour, sharp social critique and close character study — and refreshingly takes on the sacro-saint institution of the family.” “We can not wait to bring Elin’s radical yet playful voice to audiences,” Baraton added.

Mylla films’ development pipeline includes Michael Marcimain’s “Devastation (“Förhärjelsen”), and Måns Mårlind’s “Before They Were Gods” with Nick Cave and Joakim Thåström.

The project is backed by Film i Väst, Sveriges Television, Good Hand Production and Nonstop Winning Formula, with the support from the Swedish Film Institute (commissioner Hanna Sohlberg), Finnish Film Foundation, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Svenska Kulturfonden and Amos Andersons Fond; in association with YLE, Cinemanse, Nonstop Entertainment, MAEQ Studios and Peter Harrysson Media Invest. “Bloodsuckers” was produced as part of an initiative from the Swedish Film Institute and Sveriges Television called Moving Sweden.

President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a national emergency via an executive order over Cuba, accusing the communist regime of aligning with hostile foreign powers and terrorist groups while moving to punish countries that supply the island nation with oil.

Thursday’s executive order states that the policies and actions of the Cuban government constitute “an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

To address that threat, Trump ordered the creation of a tariff mechanism that allows the U.S. to impose additional duties on imports from foreign countries that “directly or indirectly sell or otherwise provide any oil to Cuba,” according to the order.

The White House said the move marks a significant escalation in U.S. pressure on the Cuban government, aimed at protecting American national security and foreign policy interests.

MADURO’S CAPTURE IS ‘BEGINNING OF THE END’ FOR CUBA’S REGIME, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIR SAYS

In the order, Trump said Cuba aligns itself with and provides support for “numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States,” naming Russia, China, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.

The administration said Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility, which the order states attempts to steal sensitive U.S. national security information. The order also says Cuba continues to deepen intelligence and defense cooperation with China.

According to the order, Cuba “welcomes transnational terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas.”

Trump also cited the Cuban government’s human rights record, accusing the regime of persecuting and torturing political opponents, denying free speech and press freedoms, and retaliating against families of political prisoners who protest peacefully.

“The United States has zero tolerance for the depredations of the communist Cuban regime,” Trump said in the order, adding that the administration will act to hold the regime accountable while supporting the Cuban people’s aspirations for a free and democratic society.

CUBA’S SHADOW IN VENEZUELA: HAVANA’S INTELLIGENCE AND MILITARY TIES EXPOSED AFTER MADURO RAID

Under the order, the Commerce Department will determine whether a foreign country is supplying oil to Cuba, either directly or through intermediaries. The State Department, working with Treasury, Homeland Security, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative, will decide whether and how steep the new tariffs should be if so.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is tasked with monitoring the national emergency and reporting to Congress, while the Commerce Department will continue tracking which countries are supplying oil to Cuba.

In a fact sheet, the White House said the order is designed to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy from the Cuban regime’s “malign actions and policies,” and described the move as part of Trump’s broader effort to confront regimes that threaten American interests.

The administration said the action builds on Trump’s first-term Cuba policy, which reversed Obama-era engagement and reinstated tougher measures against the communist government.

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The executive order is set to take effect Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment.