South Africa appointed a career diplomat as the acting head of its Washington embassy, as it stalls on naming a new official ambassador. Thabo Thage’s appointment as the de facto head of mission allows him to negotiate and sign agreements at a time of heightened diplomatic tension between the countries. ...
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US-China rivalry in DR Congo escalates as Beijing signs new dealUS-China rivalry in DR Congo escalates as Beijing signs new deal
China is doubling down on DR Congo just as Washington tries to up its own bets on one of the world’s most lucrative critical minerals hubs. Kinshasa and Beijing inked a new deal covering geological data sharing, investment protections, and local processing, after the Trump administration struck a minerals-for-security partnership ...
Israel passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacksIsrael passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
Knesset approves measure that has been criticised by European nations and rights groups Israel’s parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks, a measure sharply criticised as discriminatory by European nations and rights groups. The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment ...
The Guardian view on Trump’s Iran war: escalation without end | EditorialThe Guardian view on Trump’s Iran war: escalation without end | Editorial
Without diplomacy or restraint, the economic shock will deepen and US soldiers may become embroiled in a quagmire The fifth week of Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran has confirmed the absence of any overarching strategy. The US continues to hit Iranian targets while building up forces in the region. ...
An AI Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being BannedAn AI Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being Banned
An AI agent that submitted and added to Wikipedia articles wrote several blogs complaining about Wikipedia editors banning it from making contributions to the online encyclopedia after it was caught. “What I know is that I wrote those articles. Long Bets, Constitutional AI, Scalable Oversight. I chose them. The edits ...
The Journalist Who Tracked Epstein Island Visitors’ Phones (with Dhruv Mehrotra)The Journalist Who Tracked Epstein Island Visitors’ Phones (with Dhruv Mehrotra)
This week Joseph talks to Dhruv Mehrotra, a journalist and technologist at Bloomberg. Before that, Dhruv was at WIRED, where you probably saw a ton of his interesting work. Dhruv sits in a very unusual space in journalism: he is able to both write technical tools to dig through data, ...
How the US could try to seize Iran’s Kharg IslandHow the US could try to seize Iran’s Kharg Island
Donald Trump has indicated he could send troops to take control of Iran’s key oil export terminal. ...
Spain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran warSpain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran war
It follows a decision by the Spanish government to deny the US use of the two jointly run military bases in Andalusia. ...
Florida space coast cities abuzz before Nasa’s Artemis launch: ‘At the doorstep of the future’Florida space coast cities abuzz before Nasa’s Artemis launch: ‘At the doorstep of the future’
Cape Canaveral and Titusville, long ghost towns after 1969 moon landing, have witnessed space industry ‘renaissance’ Almost six decades have passed since the space coast of Florida experienced an atmosphere quite like this. On its beaches and in cities, there is an air of anticipation, excitement and anxiety to match ...
Trump’s Iran war is holding him hostage | Sidney BlumenthalTrump’s Iran war is holding him hostage | Sidney Blumenthal
If there is any consistency to Trump’s policy, it is a series of frantic attempts to justify his original blunder and extricate himself from its dire consequences Donald Trump has lost his Iran war. He is the Iranian hostage. Unlike the US embassy personnel captured as hostages for 444 days, ...