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Ukrainian president says he is ready for the next trilateral peace talks.

Gunmen ambushed and killed security personnel in Nigeria’s Plateau state.

President Donald Trump has stumbled into a geopolitical trap that previous administrations deliberately avoided, according to analysis by political show host David Pakman comparing Trump's approach to Iran with policies pursued by the Obama and Biden administrations.Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that both the Obama and Biden administrations spent years resisting pressure from Israeli leadership to launch preemptive military strikes against Iran. Obama refused repeated calls for action, instead pursuing diplomacy that produced the Iran nuclear agreement. Biden similarly rejected pressure for escalation after the October 7 attacks, reportedly coming within thirty minutes of authorizing a preemptive strike before deciding against it.Trump took a different path, with his administration launching military action against Iran—the exact scenario his predecessors had worked strategically to avoid.The danger lies in an asymmetric cost dynamic. Iran can wage conflict far more cheaply than the United States, deploying $20,000 drones while the U.S. responds with $4 million Patriot interceptors. This imbalance allows weaker adversaries to drain resources from stronger ones over time, Pakman noted.Experts warn that Trump may have succumbed to the same pattern that characterized his first term—believing flattering foreign leaders who promised dramatic breakthroughs, as happened with Putin and Kim Jong Un. The administration now faces a painful choice: commit to prolonged costly conflict or execute a politically humiliating exit.Read more here.

President Donald J. Trump spurred a variety of alarmed reactions on Saturday after he asked other countries to help the U.S. with the Iran war amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz."The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way," Trump wrote, before shifting to call for international cooperation. He urged countries reliant on oil transit through the strait to "take care of that passage," promising substantial U.S. assistance and coordination to ensure "everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well." Trump framed the effort as a long-overdue "team" approach that would foster "Harmony, Security, and Everlasting Peace!"The post drew immediate online backlash, with critics highlighting what they saw as a glaring contradiction: claiming total Iranian defeat while seeking help to secure the vital waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil flows.Professor Phillips P. O'Brien, a noted historian and strategist, described the message as "a work of art" worthy of preservation. He pointed out the irony: if Iran's military capability is "100% destroyed," why plead with frequently insulted allies to intervene in the Gulf?Online reactions spread rapidly. PatriotTakes, which monitors right-wing extremism, quipped that Trump was "sending out invitations to WWIII."MS NOW's Chris Hayes called it an "instant classic."Detractors mocked the pivot as evidence of overreach in the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, where recent airstrikes—including on Kharg Island's military targets—have disrupted shipping but not fully neutralized threats like mines or asymmetric attacks. Supporters, however, viewed it as pragmatic leadership, emphasizing U.S. dominance and the need for shared burden in global security.The statement also underscores broader challenges in Trump's foreign policy approach: bold claims of triumph paired with appeals for multilateral support in a region where unilateral action has proven costly. As oil prices surge and tanker traffic remains vulnerable, the post highlights the delicate balance between projecting strength and acknowledging real-world limitations in securing critical chokepoints.

The move, which lowers fees to 25%, is a breakthrough for Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxApple announced late on Thursday it would lower the commission fees collected in its App Store in mainland China. The move follows pressure from regulators in the tech company’s second-largest market, as well as global scrutiny of its payment requirements.Fees for in-app purchases and paid transactions will be lowered to 25% from 30% starting on Sunday, Apple said in a statement on its blog for developers. Continue reading...

Djidji Ayôkwé was handed to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this monthA sacred artefact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Côte d’Ivoire in one of the most significant cultural restitutions to a former French colony in years.The Djidji Ayôkwé, a talking drum confiscated in 1916 by French administrators, landed at 8.45am on Friday at the airport in Port Bouët on the outskirts of the economic capital, Abidjan. It was handed over to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum. Continue reading...

In China, one social media trend hangs on the idea that a life in the US is always one step from disaster, while another in the US has gen Z revelling in Chinese lifestyle hacksAcross two online worlds that are normally splintered, over the last few months there has been a mirroring of sorts. On TikTok and Instagram, young people are diving into the joys of Chinese culture – from drinking hot water to playing mahjong – all under the banner of “Chinamaxxing”. On the Chinese internet, however, the US is losing its decades-long grip on soft power, and is instead being replaced by a darker trend: the kill line.The kill line is a dangerous place to be. In gaming, the term refers to the point at which a player’s strength is so depleted that one more blow could lead to total wipeout. In China, the term refers to the risks that come with daily life in the US. Continue reading...

Two deportees sent to Eswatini were from Somalia, one was from Sudan and another was from TanzaniaThe government of Eswatini announced on Thursday it received four more “third country” deportees from the United States, as part of the Trump administration’s multimillion-dollar deal with the small African nation.Now a total of 19 deportees from the US have been sent to Eswatini even as they hail from other countries, amid the Trump administration’s continued anti-immigrant crackdown and changes to immigration policy. Continue reading...