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CNN  —  In the southern Philippine city of Davao, a spirited mayoral election campaign is in full swing, with candidates and their supporters out canvassing for votes. But one of the leading contenders is conspicuously absent from the stump. Instead he’s 7,000 miles away, languishing in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is awaiting trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity, over a brutal war on drug dealers that killed possibly thousands of people, including many innocents and bystanders, with barely any kind of due process. None of this…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two months ago, following high-level talks between Ukrainian and American delegations in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the United States proposed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly announced on that same day that Ukraine was ready to accept the proposal, provided Russia did the same.The Russian leader balked, saying a temporary break in hostilities would only benefit Ukraine and its Western allies by letting them replenish their arsenals. Since then, Russia has continued its military campaign, maintaining attacks along the roughly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) front line and targeting civilian infrastructure.…

New York CNN  —  Almost anyone who has used the internet has probably experienced that alarming moment when a window pops up claiming your device has a virus, encouraging you to click for tech support or download security software. It’s a common online scam, and one that Google is aiming to fight more aggressively using artificial intelligence. Google says it’s now using a version of its Gemini AI model that runs on users’ devices to detect and warn users of these so-called “tech support” scams. It’s just one of a number of ways Google is using advancements in AI to…

“China’s piano boom has gone quietly bust,” critic Norman Lebrecht wrote last month. “New piano sales in China are thought to be down to half of the peak 400,000 and the resale value has plummeted. An upright piano bought at 50,000 RMB fetches less than one-tenth of the purchase price in online sales sites.”New piano sales fell from a pre-Covid peak of 400,000 in 2019 to 200,000 in 2022. China’s imports of pianos—mainly high-end instruments for conservatory and professional use–fell from a 2021 peak of US$272 million to $197 million in 2023.The Chinese still buy ten times as many pianos…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” with Russia for at least 30 days starting on Monday, Ukrainian FM Andrii Sybiha said Saturday. His remarks came as the leaders of four major European countries visited Kyiv, amid a push for Moscow to agree to a truce and launch peace talks on ending the nearly three-year war. They followed what Sybiha said was a “constructive” phone call between them, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Saturday also marked the last day of a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russia…

CNN  —  Calling all lobster lovers and crustacean connoisseurs! You may think Maine’s most famous residents are best enjoyed with a side of melted butter, but Sebastian Crissey would like to change your mind. This week, he opened the Maine Lobster Museum, a ticketed virtual experience where visitors from anywhere in the world with an internet connection can feast their eyes on seven digital exhibits on everything from lobster history and biology to culture and memes. You might be wondering: why would anyone want to open a museum dedicated only to lobsters? But these shellfish are endlessly fascinating. Did you…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Eating about a dozen servings of ultraprocessed food each day could more than double your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. A single serving in the study was 8 ounces of diet or sugar-sweetened soda, a single hot dog, one slice of packaged cake, a mere tablespoon of ketchup or 1 ounce of potato chips — a typical small bag of chips is 1.5 ounces. “Our research shows that eating too much processed food, like sugary sodas and packaged snacks, might be speeding up early signs of Parkinson’s disease,” said senior study…

By the numbers, India’s military would be seen as superior to Pakistan’s in any conventional conflict. The Indian defense budget is more than nine times Pakistan’s, according to this year’s edition of “The Military Balance,” an assessment of armed forces by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. That budget supports an active-duty Indian force of almost 1.5 million personnel, compared to 660,000 for Pakistan. On the ground, India’s 1.2 million-strong army has 3,750 main battle tanks and more than 10,000 artillery pieces, while Pakistan’s tank force is only two-thirds of India’s and Islamabad has fewer than half of the artillery…

President Donald Trump’s last-minute push to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans is running into a buzz saw of opposition in the Republican Party, where such proposals have long been anathema. As congressional Republicans assemble a massive tax-and-spending-cut package to deliver on Trump’s domestic policy agenda, the White House has been kicking around the idea of allowing the tax rate on top earners to go up as a way to pay for other priorities on taxes, immigration and the military without cutting programs like Medicaid that millions of Americans rely on. But the proposal received swift pushback from Republicans behind the scenes…

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was released after spending several hours in custody following his arrest at a new federal immigration detention center he has been protesting against.Baraka was accused of trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the Delaney Hall facility and was finally released around 8 p.m. Friday. Stepping out of an SUV with flashing emergency lights, he told waiting supporters: “The reality is this: I didn’t do anything wrong.” The mayor said he could not speak about his case, citing a promise he made to lawyers and the judge. But he voiced full-throated support for everyone living in his…