A lawyer from the U.S. State Department appeared before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week and defended Israel’s right to starve Palestinians trapped inside Gaza and said Tel Aviv is “not legally obligated” to allow humanitarian agencies—like the UN agency for Palestine (UNRWA)—to operate inside the enclave.
ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW
After the U.S. equity markets rebounded from Donald Trump’s April 2 Liberation Day tariff slump, we forecast a pause and then more downward pressure on the market front.
UKRAINE: ANOTHER DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
According to the statement from the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday afternoon, the newly created U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund recognizes the "significant financial and material support."
CHINA’S PRESIDENT URGES PUSH ON AI AND TOUTS “THE GLOBAL SOUTH”
During a 29 April visit to the city of Shanghai, Chinese president Xi Jinping called for continuing work to establish the country as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and emphasized China’s place as a leader of what he called the “Global South.”
AN AI IMAGINES ‘HUMAN ASPIRATIONS’ IN THE AGE OF AI ASCENDANCE, PART TWO
The following is part two of a conversation with xAI’s Grok3 generative AI chatbot begun with “AN AI IMAGINES ‘HUMAN ASPIRATIONS’ IN THE AGE OF AI ASCENDANCE, PART ONE” (29 Apr 2025).
NO LONGER HIDING IT: ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL ‘CONQUER GAZA,’ NOT LEAVE EVEN IF IT MEANS WRITING OFF HOSTAGES
Israel called up tens of thousands of reservists on Monday after its security cabinet threw its support behind plans to ‘conquer’ Gaza – with one top official stating that IDF troops will not leave even if it means sacrificing the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity.
WHO-BACKED STUDY FINDS ‘HIGH CERTAINTY’ OF LINK BETWEEN CELLPHONE RADIATION AND CANCER IN ANIMALS
A review published last month in Environmental International and backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that evidence backs the theory that radiation from cell phones can cause cancers in animals—including gliomas in the brain and tumors in the heart.
Global Economy
SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFFS, THE UPS AND DOWNS, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE
Faced with the loss of U.S. trade as Donald Trump’s tariff war began to take hold, China’s factory output shrank in April by the most in the past 15 months, the Financial Times reported.
SPOTLIGHT: TROUBLES CONTINUE FOR THE LUXURY INDUSTRY
Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder reported revenues 10 percent lower in its fiscal third quarter than a year earlier, falling to $3.55 billion.
TOP TREND 2024, A GOLDEN YEAR FOR GOLD: CHINESE INVESTORS SHELTER IN GOLD FUNDS AMID ECONOMIC CHAOS
Chinese investors poured the equivalent of $7.4 billion into gold-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in April, a record pace as trade with the U.S. began to collapse under Donald Trump’s trade war and the country’s domestic economy continues to face an uncertain future.
The Israel War
YEMEN DEATH TOLL
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will end his punishment campaign against Yemeni civilians who have stood up to defend Gazans who are being massacred by Israel after he said the group “capitulated” and will stop its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
IRAN UNVEILS NEWEST BALLISTIC MISSILE, CRITICIZES TRUMP FOR CONFLICTING MESSAGES
The Iranian military on Sunday unveiled its newest ballistic missile called the Qassem Basir, just as nuclear talks with the U.S. hit some unexpected snags after new sanctions from Washington, along with new threats about a military confrontation.
ISRAEL INTENSIFIES ITS EFFORT TO TURN THE WEST BANK INTO GAZA
The IDF has intensified its military assault in the West Bank—killing over 900 Palestinians since the Hamas attack in October 2023—which has been called by critics an effort to turn the West Bank into Gaza.
Trends in AI
BY 2030, AI WILL NEED MORE ELECTRICITY THAN JAPAN, IEA SAYS
When Chinese startup DeepSeek revealed its top-line AI was trained using far less money, and less electricity, than Western companies had used for theirs, some analysts and utility companies were briefly able to hope that AI will need less power in the future than projected.
AI DAMAGES TRUST IN ONLINE CONTENT EVEN MORE
On average, people think 59 percent of what they see on the Internet is factually inaccurate, outright false, or created by AI, according to a new survey of 2,000 U.S. adults by Talker Research.
GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTS IN AI MUSIC VENTURE
Goldman Sachs has bought a piece of Splice, a British audio library of riffs, vocal hooks, and other musical sounds that composers can rent to assemble pieces of music for as little as $13 per use.
Hi-Tech Science
CHINA ADVANCES SAFER NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY THE U.S. ABANDONED IN THE 1950s
Chinese scientists have refueled a nuclear reactor without shutting it down, the first time the feat has been achieved.
EXPERIMENT SHOWS A WAY TO GROW NEW HUMAN TEETH IN A LAB
Sharks and crocodiles are lucky—they can grow a new tooth any time they lose one.
STARVING BEES SURVIVE ON HUMAN-MADE POLLEN SUBSTITUTE
As if bees didn’t have enough trouble already. The critters we count on to pollinate our fruits and other crops have been beset by lethal parasites, pesticide poisoning, and the persistent collapse of their colonies.
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