5 & 7: The annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp parliament is typically a humdrum affair. But this year’s edition grabbed headlines after the government set a lower-than-expected (yet easy-to-meet) economic growth target of "around" 5% for 2023 and announced it’ll beef up defense spending by more than 7% amid US fears that Beijing might arm Russia in Ukraine.
3,144: At least 3,144 civil society organizations have fled the country in the past four years, according to a new UN-sponsored report. No wonder, since the report alleges that strongman President Daniel Ortega has overseen systematic, government-orchestrated crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, and arbitrary detention.
20: Iran pledged to restore more than 20 cameras and other monitoring equipment at its nuclear sites and grant inspectors access to a facility where uranium enriched to near weapons-grade level was recently detected. The cameras had been removed last year amid escalating tensions with the West and the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
17,000: A couple in Singapore was fined $17,000 for violating the country’s nudity and obscenity laws after posting risqué content on a Telegram account. Sex remains a taboo subject in the conservative city-state, although though some laws banning certain sexual acts — including homosexuality — have been loosened in recent years.On June 14, the US and Iran announced a deal to end the war. A signing ceremony is set for Friday. The terms include an immediate ceasefire on all fronts. With both sides spinning the deal as a victory, there are plenty of ways for this to go wrong.
In this episode of "ask ian," Ian Bremmer looks at what the rise of Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire reveals about wealth, innovation, and the future of the American Dream.
As AI reshapes the future of work, its impact will depend on the choices we make today. In this new blog, Brad Smith reflects on how graduates are calling for technology that supports human judgment, expands opportunity, and strengthens the role of people in shaping the future. As AI adoption accelerates, the focus must remain on building skills, creating meaningful work, and ensuring its benefits are broadly shared across society. Read the full blog here.
Israeli PM Netanyahu was already struggling in polls ahead of elections later this year, but his situation might get worse after Washington and Tehran agreed to a deal (pending its signing on Friday). Why the issue with ending the war?