Historic Beijing Parade, IDF Advances Into Gaza, Swede Staples

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Venezuelan daily El Periodiquito dedicates its front page Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the country conducted a military strike against an alleged drug boat tied to the cartel Tren de Aragua. The strike killed 11 people and took place in the “southern Caribbean” against “a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The escalation amid a U.S. military build-up in the Caribbean comes after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned he was ready to “declare a republic in arms” if attacked by U.S. forces.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• China showcases new weapons at huge military parade, with Xi flanked by Putin and Kim. China’s President Xi Jinping has unveiled laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles and giant underwater drones at a massive military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate the end of World War II. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un joined Xi at the start, marking the first time the trio stood together publicly. U.S. President Donald Trump, who wasn’t at the parade, accused China, Russia and North Korea of conspiring against the U.S.

• Zelensky to push allies for more pressure on Russia after sweeping airstrikes on Ukraine. Ukraine President Volydymyr Zelensky said he will discuss “the need for strong pressure measures with our partners” as he meets allies in Denmark and France on Wednesday. This comes after Russia launched more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, damaging energy and transport infrastructure and injuring four railway workers.

• Israel’s military pushes further into Gaza City. The Israeli military moved deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday, entering the Sheikh Radwan area, one of the urban center’s largest and most crowded neighbourhoods. At least 24 Palestinians, some of them children, were killed by the military across the enclave, local health officials reported, while residents said Israeli soldiers destroyed homes and tent encampments that had housed Palestinians displaced by the war.

• Afghan troops airdropped to rescue survivors as quake death toll passes 1,400. Emergency workers are struggling to reach remote villages devastated by the magnitude-6.0 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night, as the country ramps up efforts to deliver food, shelter and medical supplies by airdropping commandos in the mountainous areas on Wednesday. Taliban officials said the death toll had soared to more than 1,400, making the earthquake one of the deadliest in decades to hit the impoverished country.

• Thailand ruling party moves to dissolve parliament amid PM leadership bid. Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has submitted a petition to dissolve parliament on Wednesday amid a scramble for power in the country since last week’s sacking of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra by a court. The move comes after the largest opposition party, the People’s Party, backed a rival candidate to form the next government.

• Vogue names Chloe Malle to succeed Anna Wintour. American Vogue announced Chloe Malle will follow Anna Wintour as its new head of editorial content on Tuesday, ending weeks of fashion-world speculation. Daughter of American actress Candice Bergen and French filmmaker Louis Malle, the 39-year-old has spent more than a decade at Vogue, most recently as editor of Vogue.com and co-host of the podcast “The Run-Through.”

• News Quiz! The Swedish government has unveiled a cultural heritage list of 100 works, brands and practices deemed to define Sweden, but which has been criticized for being too narrow and exclusionist. Which Swedish icons aren’t included?

A. ABBA songs
B. Traditional saunas
C. IKEA furniture
D. The Nobel Prizes
[Answer below]

📣 VERBATIM

“It is about a product that actively coached a teenager to suicide.”

— Jay Edelson, a lawyer representing a California couple who filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of responsibility in the suicide of their 16-year-old son, reacted to the U.S. tech company’s announcement that it would be introducing parental controls for its AI-powered ChatGPT chatbot. Under the new features, parents will be able to link their ChatGPT accounts with those of their children and to receive notifications when their teen shows signs of distress. The lawyer dismissed the move as an attempt to “shift the debate” as controversy grows over how artificial intelligence is affecting young people’s mental health. For more on the topic, we offer this piece, AI On The Couch: A Freudian Swipe At Our Digital Doppelgänger. 

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

👥 French prisons are implementing fatherhood programs to help inmates maintain family ties and better support their children after release, aiming to reduce recidivism, though effectiveness varies depending on individual circumstances and family dynamics.
— LE FIGARO

🔥 Farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, facing unexploded landmines left by armed forces, are resorting to burning their fields to try to detonate them, a dangerous practice that destroys crops, harms the environment, and complicates future demining efforts.
— GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL

💰 Money, beyond its practical role as a medium of exchange, carries deep psychological significance, shaping emotions, self-worth, relationships — and behaviors based on personal history, upbringing, and cultural beliefs.
— CLARÍN