April 26-27
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- Kashmir powder keg
- AI-powered cheating
- Fragile balancing act
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
1. Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. His papacy lasted a little over how many years?
2. Which U.S. official canceled his participation in Ukraine peace talks in London, decreasing hope of progress on a deal with Russia?
3. The European Commission has fined which two U.S. tech companies a total €700 million for breaking rules on fair competition and user choice?
4. Who took part in the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing for the very first time, racing alongside regular competitors?
Humanoid robots / Shaolin monks / Hologram runners / Trained pandas
[Answers at the bottom]
#️⃣ TRENDING
The meteoric revival of cottage cheese popularity thanks to social networks has led to stock-outs at several Australian supermarkets. Once considered a product for older consumers, cottage cheese was recently highlighted on TikTok for its health benefits as a low-fat, high-protein option. Surfing on the growing trend in the U.S., Australian cheese maker Bulla launched a campaign featuring a dairy farmer as its “cottage cheese officer,” resulting in double-digit sales growth.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• AI films now eligible for Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued new rules that allow movies made with the help of artificial intelligence to be in the running to win top awards at the Oscars. The Academy declared that the use of AI or other digital tools would “neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.” The Academy clarified though that it would still consider human involvement when selecting its winners.
• Women in Pompeii exhibit opens. The Pompeii Archaeological Park has opened a new exhibition called “Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii” which brings to light the overlooked history of women in the ancient Roman city through frescoes, inscriptions, everyday objects and funerary monuments. The event, which will run until January 31, 2026, reveals the lives of women across all social classes, from priestesses and businesswomen to slaves and sex workers.
• Actors Guild of Nigeria calls for better regulation following death of actors. The president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria Emeka Rollas called for increased unionization and better workplace regulation to try to prevent future tragedies, after the death of two actors at a house party given by a director in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State. This comes a year after Junior Pope, one of the country’s most influential actors and producers, died alongside three crew members in a boat accident on the River Niger, while travelling to Asaba to shoot a new film.
• “Conclave” viewership soars after Pope Francis’ death. The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday triggered an abrupt uptick of 283% in viewership of Conclave, the 2024 thriller which revolves around the selection of a new pontiff. The film, which was nominated for eight Oscars, is available on assorted streaming platforms worldwide. The news also spurred renewed interest in the 2019 Oscar nominee The Two Popes, starring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, which registered a 417% spike in viewership.
• Central Asia’s first Chocolate Museum opens in Uzbekistan. A new cultural venue dedicated to chocolate has opened its doors in Uzbekistan’s capital city Tashkent, becoming Central Asia’s first-ever Chocolate Museum. The facility takes visitors on a journey through the history of chocolate and features chocolate miniatures of famous architectural landmarks from the country and around the world, along with detailed figures of historical personalities. The creation of the masterpieces took in total 850 kg of chocolate.
🍷 SMILE OF THE WEEK
A man from Cyprus named Dinos Kkantis earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for balancing 468 glasses on his head while dancing in traditional costume. Kkantis said that the performance in front of the crowd in the Apostolos Loukas square in the town of Aradippou was “extremely difficult,” and dedicated the feat of skill to the memory of his brother Zacharias.
🤖 BRIGHT IDEA
After being expelled for using AI to cheat, a former Columbia student created Cluely, a stealth tool designed to help users during coding interviews, exams, and even sales calls. The tool operates through an undetectable translucent browser overlay, and it just raised $5.3 million in funding. While controversial, the startup reflects how AI is reshaping not just education, but the ethics of performance and evaluation.
⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• Canadians are set to vote on Monday, in a high-stakes election amid a trade war with the U.S. The two main contenders are Liberal Mark Carney and Conservative Pierre Poilievre.
• King Frederik X of Denmark will visit Greenland next week to meet the new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and tour strategic locations, amid rising tensions over U.S. interest in the mineral-rich Arctic territory.
• A technical, expert-level nuclear meeting between Iran and the United States is set to open today in Oman, coinciding with the third round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, mediated by the sultanate.
News quiz answers:
1. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, renamed Francis, was elected as the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, a little more than 12 years ago. He became the first Latin American pope and chose his name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the poor.
2. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled his participation in the Ukraine peace talks in London. This decision led to the talks being downgraded to a lower level, with retired General Keith Kellogg representing the U.S. instead.
3. The European Commission recently fined Apple and Meta a total of €700 million for violating the Digital Markets Act. Apple was fined €500 million for restricting app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside its App Store, while Meta faced a €200 million penalty for its “pay-or-consent” advertising model, which limited user choice.
4. Twenty-one humanoid robots, designed by Chinese manufacturers, raced next to thousands of runners completing the 21km (13-mile) Yizhuang half marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. The winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, which crossed the line in two hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. Some robots completed the race, while others struggled from the beginning.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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