ByteDance-US Venture, EU Ukraine Loan and Actor AI Rejection

ByteDance signs a deal for a TikTok U.S. joint venture, The second Russia–Africa Partnership Ministerial Conference kicks off in Egypt, The EU agrees on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, While the EU delays a Mercosur trade deal signing amid farmer protests, Australia launches a gun buyback after the Bondi Beach attack, Pharma companies agree to cut U.S. drug prices in a Trump administration deal, The suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and MIT professor murder is found dead, Trump Media merges with TAE in $6 billion fusion energy deal, Facebook tests limiting external links for non-verified accounts and U.K. actors vote overwhelmingly against digital scanning to train AI. Sources: Verity.News

Trump delivers a prime-time address to the nation, Brazil's Lula vows to veto a bill reducing sentences for coup convicts, Putin says that the Oreshnik missile will enter Russia's arsenals by the year's end, The U.S. announces an $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan, Dan Bongino resigns as deputy director of the FBI, A French doctor is jailed for life for poisoning 30 patients, Australia enacts new antisemitism reforms after the Bondi Beach terror attack, The U.S. House passes a GOP-backed health bill, England’s resident doctors begin a five-day strike amid record flu hospitalizations, and Jared Isaacman is confir med as NASA’s youngest-ever chief. Sources: Verity.News  

President Trump orders a total blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela, India’s Narendra Modi makes his first-ever visit to Ethiopia, a man is charged with 59 offenses in the Bondi Beach terror attack, a Slovakian court suspends a law abolishing a whistleblower office, linguists in Canada urge Mark Carney to drop British spellings, the son of  Rob Reiner is charged in the stabbing deaths of his parents, President Trump moves to dismantle a major U.S. weather and climate research center, Australia overturns a ban on a Charlie Kirk shooting video, Senator Bernie Sanders calls for a pause on AI data centers and the Marshall Islands lau nches the world's first blockchain Universal Basic Income (UBI). Sources: Verity.News

The U.K. launches a probe into foreign interference in its politics, Trump says a Russia-Ukraine peace deal is closer than it's ever been, The White House designates fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, A former British Marine is sentenced to over 21 years for driving his car into a Liverpool parade, 11 are killed and up to 20 are abducted in an attack on a Christian Church in Nigeria, Trump sues the BBC for $10 billion over its documentary featuring edited footage of his Jan. 6 speech, Musk's net worth surpasses $600B, making him the wealthiest individual in history, Trump’s chief of staff  is featured in a controversial Vanity Fair article, A study predicts that around 3,000 glaciers will vanish yearly by the 2040s, and thousands of dinosaur footprints are found on an Italian mountain. Sources: Verity.News

NATO’s chief warns that Russia could attack the alliance in 5 years, Russia’s Putin meets with Turkey’s Erdoğan and Iran’s Pezeshkian, Canada's Liberals are one seat shy of a majority after another Conservative defects to their ranks, Over 400 civilians are killed during fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nobel Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi is arrested in Iran, House Democrats release two more sets of photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, Alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson makes his first In-person court appearance, Trump signs an executive order to block state AI regulations, Disney and OpenAI strike a $1 billion deal for AI character videos, and Europol warns of AI-powered crime and 'bot bashing,'. Sources:  Verity.News

Australia mulls tougher gun control after a Bondi Beach terror attack, The Brown University shooting victims are named as the search for the gunman continues, Zelenskyy says Ukraine is prepared to give up NATO aspirations in exchange for security guarantees, Jimmy Lai is found guilty in his Hong Kong sedition trial, José Antonio Kast wins the presidential runoff in Chile, A drone strike kills six U.N. peacekeepers in Sudan, Trump vows retaliation after IS kills three Americans in Syria, Movie director Rob Reiner and his wife are found dead in an apparent homicide, A lawsuit seeks to halt Trump’s White House ballroom project, and Nvidia-backed PolyAI raises $86 million for an AI voice agent platform. Sources:  Verity.News

Bulgaria's government resigns amid mass protests, Thailand’s Prime Minister dissolves parliament, Former Bolivian President Luis Arce is detained in a corruption investigation, Ghana deports three Israelis in a retaliatory move, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faces calls to resign at a House hearing, The U.S. House passes a $900 billion defense bill, Pentagon war games suggest that U.S. could lose a Taiwan war, The Supreme Court hears an Alabama death row IQ threshold case, Time names the “Architects of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year, and researchers discover the earliest evidence of human fire-making in the U.K.  

President Trump announces the seizure of a large oil tanker off of Venezuela, Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia hold their third trilateral talks, while a China-Russia bomber patrol prompts a Japan and South Korea response, M23 makes advances in the DRC conflict, the EU approves a major migration overhaul,  a judge blocks Trump's California National Guard deployment, a House Democrat files articles of impeachment against RFK Jr., a student is killed and another is injured after a shooting at Kentucky State University, a Canada-U.S. dispute over Machias Seal Island escalates over a U.S. tour company, and Berlin approves police powers to install home surveillance technologies. Sources: Verity.News

Trump describes European nations as 'weak' and 'decaying,' Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he’s ready for elections, Israel’s Netanyahu says that the Gaza ceasefire is expected to reach its second phase, Trump allows the export of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, Australia enacts the world’s first social media ban for users under 16, Researchers link social media to attention problems in children, Trump announces a $12 billion tariff relief package for farmers, A U.K. nurse wins a harassment claim in a transgender changing room row, A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Japan, and a novel gene therapy shows promise in treating an aggressive form of blood cancer. Sources: Verity.News

Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodia after deadly clashes, The Supreme Court weighs Trump's power to fire an FTC official, ECOWAS deploys forces after a foiled coup attempt in Benin, China's trade surplus tops $1 trillion, The U.S. deports over 50 Iranians in a second flight under a new deal, Nigeria frees 100 abducted schoolchildren, Syria marks the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad government, Over 100 UK MPs demand binding AI regulations amid government delays, Paramount launches a $108 billion bid for Warner Bros. amid a Netflix deal, A report finds that disability registrations are surging at elite US universities, and Iran arrests two marathon organizers over unveiled women runners. Sources:  Verity.News