Putin Praises Trump for Working to Thaw U.S.-Russia Tensions

“The first contacts with the new American administration give us some hope,” the Russian president said in televised comments on Thursday.

Source: New York Times

TikTok seeks a deal and China brings a chip ‘shock’

The inside story on the Asia tech trends that matter, from Nikkei Asia and the Financial Times

Source: Financial Times

Apple will let parents share their kids’ ages to limit app access

Apple announced in a whitepaper that it plans to introduce a bunch of new child safety features, including letting parents share their kids’ age ranges with apps, refreshing the App …

Source: The Verge

Al-Assad Becomes a Punchline in Syria’s Comedy Scene

Comics had already been trying to foster stand-up in Syria before Bashar al-Assad’s fall. Now, they are telling jokes in a liberated country, while warily eyeing the new government.

Source: New York Times

Trump says new tariffs will cut U.S. drug deaths but fatal overdoses were already plummeting

President Trump cited outdated drug overdose data to justify tariffs against Canada, China, and Mexico. He also offered no evidence Canada is fueling the U.S. drug crisis.

Source: NPR

Deadly blasts hit M23 rebel rally in captured DRC city of Bukavu

Deaths and injuries reported after explosions at rally attended by thousands in city captured by rebel group

Several people have been killed and dozens more injured after blasts at a …

Source: The Guardian

Help is coming in the AI copyright wars

Artificial intelligence companies must decide how to pay for the human-generated content they need

Source: Financial Times

Trump administration ends funding for UN program fighting HIV/Aids

Peter Marocco sends letter to UNAids terminating US involvement in serious blow to live-saving health service

• US politics live – latest updates

The Trump administration has terminated its funding of …

Source: The Guardian

Boris Spassky, Chess Champion Who Lost ‘Match of the Century,’ Dies at 88

When Mr. Spassky, a Russian, played Bobby Fischer, an American, in Iceland at the height of the Cold War, the media attention reduced them to pawns in a wider drama.

Source: New York Times

DOGE’s Chaos Reaches Antarctica

Daily life at US-run Antarctic stations has already been disrupted. Scientists worry that the long-term impacts could upend not only important research but the continent’s delicate geopolitics.

Source: Wired

The Fed’s favorite tool to track inflation unlikely to offer ammo for reducing U.S. interest rates

The latest look at U.S. inflation is unlikely to ease the worries on Wall Street, but it probably won’t add to the jitters.

Source: MarketWatch

Sudan facing ‘the abyss’ unless war ends as mass starvation looms, UN warns

Rights chief Turk warns of ‘explosion into chaos’ unless action is taken to end war as famine strikes deeper.

Source: Al Jazeera