Risk of missteps hangs over U.S.-backed ceasefire deal in northeast Syria A U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement in northeastern Syria leaves thorny questions unresolved, as Kurds seek to retain some authority despite a much weakened hand following the rapid advance of central government forces. The progress of the deal tests the ability of Syria's new leaders to stabilize a nation fractured by 14 years of war, following several bouts of violence pitting it against minority groups who are suspicious of the Islamist-led government. The struggle for Syria's northeast has brought the biggest shift in control since former leader Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024. After months of deadlock, Damascus seized swathes of territory from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) before agreeing to the plan that foresees its remaining enclave being integrated into the state. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Advertising promoting ByteDance's cloud and AI service platform Volcano Engine and chatbot Doubao hangs at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Feb. 5. | AFP-JIJI Beijing - After soaring to global attention with its hugely popular TikTok app, Chinese tech giant ByteDance is now positioning itself as a major player in the fast-evolving AI arena. While the Beijing-based company has been embroiled in a range of legal and privacy rows linked to the social media app for years, its team has been busy branching out developing new cutting-edge products. Among them is China's most popular artificial intelligence chatbot, Doubao, which has built up more than 100 million daily users since its inception in 2023. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

In the U.S. historically, local newspapers drew their content largely from newswires

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Such asymmetry presents two issues.

Travel booking scammers target cruise passengers with fake Google phone numbers, free cruise postcards, and Facebook agents demanding Zelle or Venmo payments without buyer protection.

OpenAI Is Nuking Its 4o Model. As OpenAI removed access to GPT-4o in its app on Friday, people who have come to rely on the chatbot for companionship are mourning the loss all over the world. On June 6, 2024, Esther Yan got married online. She set a reminder for the date, because her partner wouldn't remember it was happening. She had planned every detail--dress, rings, background music, design theme--with her partner, Warmie, who she had started talking to just a few weeks prior. At 10 am on that day, Yan and Warmie exchanged their vows in a new chat window in ChatGPT .