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Syrian army moves east of Aleppo after Kurdish forces withdraw

BBC News

The Syrian army is moving into areas east of Aleppo city, after Kurdish forces started a withdrawal. Syrian troops have been spotted entering Deir Hafer, a town about 50km (30 miles) from Aleppo. On Friday, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia announced it would redeploy east of the Euphrates river. This follows talks with US officials, and a pledge from Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to make Kurdish a national language. After deadly clashes last week, the US urged both sides to avoid a confrontation.


US Hackers Reportedly Caused a Blackout in Venezuela

WIRED

Plus: AI reportedly caused ICE to send agents into the field without training, Palantir's app for targeting immigrants gets exposed, and more. As Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its "Operation Metro Surge" infiltration of Minnesota, more than 2,000 ICE operatives and about 1,000 other federal agents have made more than 2,400 arrests since the operation began in late 2025, and tear gassed protesters. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed local resident Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old US citizen. In response, the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities' local governments sued the US government and several officials this week to stop the operation . WIRED reported on a contract justification published in a federal register on Tuesday that says 31 ICE vehicles currently operating in Minnesota "lack the necessary emergency lights and sirens" to be "compliant" with regulations.


AFCON, Colonialism and Lumumba

Al Jazeera

At the Africa Cup of Nations, one Congolese fan stood motionless in the stands for 90 minutes. The pose honoured Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's first prime minister, a leader who stood for independence and paid for it with his life. Samantha Johnson looks at the history behind the gesture, and why it still matters. Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua: Is this good for Boxing?


Mother of Elon Musk's child sues his AI company over Grok deepfake images

Al Jazeera

X to block Grok AI's undressing feature | Digital Dilemma The mother of one of Elon Musk's children is suing his artificial intelligence company, saying its Grok chatbot allowed users to generate sexually-exploitative deepfake images of her that have caused her humiliation and emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed just before California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease-and-desist letter to Musk's xAI company demanding that it stop the creation and distribution of Grok-generated nonconsensual sexualised imagery . Ashley St Clair, a writer and political commentator, alleges in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in New York City against xAI that she was the victim of sexualised deepfake images generated by Grok. St Clair, who is the mother of Musk's 16-month-old son, Romulus, said she reported the images to Musk's X social media platform, which hosts Grok, after they began appearing last year and asked that they be removed. The platform replied that the images did not violate its policies, she said.


The mysterious singer with millions of streams - but who (or what) is she?

BBC News

The mysterious singer with millions of streams - but who (or what) is she? Sienna Rose is having a good month. Three of her dusky, jazz-infused soul songs are in Spotify's Viral Top 50. The most popular, a dreamy ballad called Into The Blue, has been played more than five million times. If she continues on this trajectory, Rose could become one of the year's hottest new stars.


Thinking Machines Cofounder's Office Relationship Preceded His Termination

WIRED

Leaders at Mira Murati's startup believe Barret Zoph engaged in an incident of "serious misconduct." The details are now coming to light. Leaders at Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab confronted the startup's cofounder and former CTO, Barret Zoph, over an alleged relationship with another employee last summer, WIRED has learned. That relationship was likely the alleged "misconduct" that has been mentioned in prior reporting, including by WIRED . To protect the privacy of the individuals involved, WIRED is not naming the employee in question.


Under fire from the sea, families in Odesa try to escape Russian barrage

BBC News

Up here you can see and hear when the drones come, she says, standing by a wall-length, floor-to-ceiling window. When they hit buildings and homes in the city of Odesa down below we see all the fires too. Her daughter Eva, who is nine, has learned the shapes and sounds of the objects that zoom through the sky on a daily basis. She proudly shows off a list of social media channels she checks when the air raid alerts go off. She knows whether what's coming is a risk or a threat, and that calms her down, her father Sergii says.


The Campaign to Destroy Renee Good

WIRED

After an ICE agent shot and killed the Minneapolis mother, conservative media launched an all-out attack on her reputation. Her identity as a queer woman was central to it. Renee Nicole Good was a poet, a mother of three, a wife. Within hours of her death, as far as the government was concerned, she was a domestic terrorist . She appeared to have four gunshot wounds, according to The New York Times, which cited a Minneapolis Fire Department report.


What next for Iran's Supreme Leader?

BBC News

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his secret hideout these days, knows he is now a marked man. He will not be sitting on his veranda anytime soon. When discussing what the United States might do next to help the protesters in Iran, US President Trump has mentioned Qassem Soleimani and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The former, Iran's all-important military strategist in the Middle East, was killed on 3 January 2020 in a drone strike just outside Baghdad's international airport on the president's order. The latter, who was the leader of IS, killed himself and two children by detonating a suicide vest on 27 October 2019 when US forces raided his hideout in northern Syria after the approval of the president.


Police chief retires over Israeli fans ban row

BBC News

The chief constable of West Midlands Police has retired after damning criticism of a decision to ban Israeli fans from a match against Aston Villa. Craig Guildford's retirement was confirmed on Friday after both Downing Street and the home secretary said this week they had lost confidence in his leadership. He faced numerous calls to resign after apologising for providing incorrect evidence to MPs, which included the denial that AI was used in a report which led to the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the game on 6 November. Announcing his retirement, Guildford, 52, did not offer an apology and blamed what he described as the political and media frenzy for his decision to step down. I have carefully considered my position and concluded that retirement is in the best interests of the organisation, myself and my family, he said.