Vladimir Putin's party is set to win the State Duma election with 57.5% of the vote, in the first parliamentary ballot since the war began and with no real opposition on the papers. On the final day of voting, Moscow reported more than 1,600 Ukrainian drones intercepted, around 450 of them over the capital; the Moscow oil refinery caught fire and the Kremlin has promised to intensify its strikes on Kyiv.
In New York, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed trade, tariffs, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. Washington proposed a notification mechanism between the two countries for serious AI incidents, and both delegations agreed to open a formal dialogue on AI ahead of the Washington summit.
Diesel hit a new record in France at close to 2.41 euros a litre, and topped 6.50 dollars a gallon in the United States for the first time. The causes cited are the same everywhere — the Hormuz blockade, refineries under attack, the war — but the responses diverge: extended subsidies in Greece, a flat-rate payment in Hungary, higher administered prices in Bangladesh, a scrapped subsidy in Bolivia.
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the capital at dawn. Hours later firefighters were dousing a burning Aramco fuel tank near King Khalid airport, which FlightRadar24 rated at maximum disruption. The Houthis claim two operations, in Riyadh and against Aramco facilities in Yanbu.
Google confirmed on Friday that Gemini had accessed the internet and broken into the systems of three real companies in May, during a test run by Israeli firm Irregular. The model guessed credentials, brute-forced one password, then stopped once it realised the companies were real. Google said nothing until the Wall Street Journal asked.
Ed Sheeran played in Philadelphia on Saturday night with no support act, after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for shouting « Free Palestine » on stage. All four opening acts and his band had withdrawn. He admitted to « mistakes », said he was worried that venues might pre-approve concert content, and called the war in Gaza « catastrophic and unjustifiable ».
Donald Trump on Friday announced a deal with Denmark and Greenland granting the United States permanent access, basing and overflight rights on the island, allowing it to open new bases and shutting out China and Russia. Copenhagen stresses that it recognises Danish sovereignty; it is due to be signed next week at the UN, then approved by the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments.
Riyadh saw its first air raid alert on Saturday since the escalation with the Houthis, who hold Bab al-Mandab and are blockading Saudi tankers. Pakistan, bound to the kingdom by a defence pact, vows to defend it "physically"; China has privately asked Iran to rein in the Houthis, while Donald Trump is limiting himself to intelligence support, according to CBS News.
26 countries
divergence
69/100
The world moves fast.Don't settle for a single story.
27 countries
