Daily Brief for May 21, 2026: Putin, Xi signal unity but fail to reach deal on pipeline sought by Russia; In seemingly ungovernable Britain, prime...

Putin, Xi signal unity but fail to reach deal on pipeline sought by Russia

The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline could carry 50 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to China.

In seemingly ungovernable Britain, prime ministers keep failing and falling

Keir Starmer, Britain's first Labour prime minister in 14 years, is fighting for his political life as mainstream parties crumble in favor of more extreme voices.

Pentagon says U.S. will cut thousands of troops from Europe

Poland was set to receive forces whose deployment was abruptly halted last week.

Admiral accuses lawmaker of ‘inappropriate’ remark at Iran war hearing

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, appeared frustrated with questions from House Democrats who pressed him on a range of issues about the conflict.

As Putin visits China, distrust simmers beneath an anti-U.S. alliance

Back-to-back visits to Beijing by the American and Russian presidents are highlighting how China's Xi Jinping is the world leader to be reckoned with and courted.

US lifts sanctions on Francesca Albanese, UN expert on Palestinian rights

Albanese is among several people sanctioned by the US for advocacy against Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

Iran says diplomacy ‘far wiser’ than war, surrender to US an ‘illusion’

Israeli attacks have killed 3,073 people across Lebanon since March, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

US police officers sue Trump over $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund

Officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges say the fund will likely be used to 'reward' rioters who attacked the US Capitol.

US condemns Israel’s Ben-Gvir while sanctioning Gaza flotilla organisers

Mike Huckabee says Ben-Gvir 'betrayed dignity' in video taunting flotilla activists, day after US sanctioned organisers.

US lawyers say man on death row could be executed with expired lethal drugs

Execution method has long raised questions about cruel and unusual punishment and botched executions.

Senate panel hears testimony on online sports betting, prediction markets

Senate lawmakers grilled sports betting industry officials during a hearing focused on recent cheating scandals, companies' marketing tactics and regulatory battles.

Advice for 2026 commencement speakers: Don't bring up AI

Commencement speakers who bring up the sweeping changes that artificial intelligence is driving are facing boos from the Class of 2026.

Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO plans reveal blockbuster spending on rockets and AI

The company is on track to pull off the largest IPO in history — making CEO Elon Musk even wealthier.

Supreme Court voting rights ruling could play a big role at the local level

The Supreme Court's recent ruling threatens the power of racial-minority voters in Voting Rights Act cases about not just Congress, but also at least 17 state and local governments, NPR finds.

How to help children cope after shootings like the San Diego mosque killings

Children closest to an incident of gun violence have the most risk of lasting psychological effects. Here's what all parents should know about how to buffer trauma.

Xi, Putin agree to further extend treaty

Cooperation documents signed on economy, education, science and tech.

Beijing, Moscow set for higher level of cooperation

Premier Li Qiang called on China and Russia to achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes during his meeting on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.

US household debt hits an all-time high

Shift in Japan's military policy raises concern

Although many of Japan's recent military initiatives have been framed as keeping pace with developments in defense equipment and technology, they, in fact, reveal a growing offensive orientation in the country's security strategy, which points to a significant shift in Japan's defense policy that could undermine regional peace and stability, experts said.

Serbian president to visit China to deepen relations

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic will pay his first state visit to China starting Sunday, a five-day trip expected to deliver more tangible outcomes in building a community with a shared future for the new era between the two countries.

PM busy handing out candies in Italy amid economic storm at home, says Congress

Congress criticizes PM Modi for prioritizing foreign visits over India's economic issues, highlighting rising inflation and unemployment.

Modi, Shah are traitors who are attacking the Constitution, says Rahul at Rae Bareli meet

Rahul Gandhi labels Modi and Shah as traitors at Rae Bareli meet, condemning their attack on the Constitution and marginalized reservations.

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘traitor’ remark on PM Modi reflects his ‘anarchic mindset’: BJP chief

BJP chief Nitin Nabin criticizes Rahul Gandhi's "traitor" remark on Modi, calling it an anarchic mindset and politically damaging.

Left is the only ideological alternative to the BJP, says D. Raja

CPI's D. Raja asserts the Left is the sole ideological alternative to BJP, announcing a nationwide campaign for revitalization.

Supreme Court inclined to grant bail to 2020 Delhi riots accused Tasleem Ahmed and Abdul Khalid Saifi

Supreme Court shows inclination to grant bail to 2020 Delhi riots accused, adjourning the hearing for further consideration.

US Republican senator says Trump ballroom funding removed from spending bill

U.S. Republican Senator John Kennedy on Wednesday said there was insufficient support in ​the Senate to spend $1 billion on a planned White House ‌ballroom and related security measures, and that the proposal would not be included in a $72 billion immigration enforcement bill.

How Trump's revenge tour against Republicans could cost the party in November

Sixteen months into his second presidency, Donald Trump may be as unpopular as he's ever been among the American electorate – but his grip on his core base of MAGA voters remains unshaken.

US removes UN expert Francesca Albanese from sanctions list

The United States has removed Francesca Albanese, a U.N. expert on the Palestinian ​territories, from its list of sanctioned individuals, according to the ‌U.S. Treasury Department website.

Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an ​internal memo on Wednesday that he does not expect ‌more company-wide layoffs this year, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters.

Ubisoft flags more losses after record hit

French videogame publisher Ubisoft warned on Wednesday of another year of losses and lower sales after a record annual operating loss, deepening pressure on the company as it restructures.

An OpenAI model has disproved a central conjecture in discrete geometry

An OpenAI model solved the 80-year-old unit distance problem, disproving a major conjecture in discrete geometry and marking a milestone in AI-driven mathematics.

GitHub confirms breach of 3,800 repos via malicious VSCode extension

GitHub has confirmed that roughly 3,800 internal repositories were breached after one of its employees installed a malicious VS Code extension.

Show HN: I reverse engineered Apple's video wallpapers

A video wallpaper engine for macOS Tahoe. Contribute to kageroumado/phosphene development by creating an account on GitHub.

DOS Zone

Ultimate collection of free dos games to play online in browser. No registration needed, no advertisment, just play!

What is Demand Coop and why tech workers should join one

A co-op is an economic system built on the simple idea that coordinating the economic activity of individuals can allow them to access benefits normally reserved for large economi...

Colorado Amended SB051 (Age Verification Bill) to Exclude Open Source Projects

legiscan.com: Colorado Amended SB051 (Age Verification Bill) to Exclude Open Source Projects.

The Letter S, by Donald Knuth (1980) [pdf]

gwern.net: The Letter S, by Donald Knuth (1980) [pdf].

Flipper One Tech Specs

Flipper One Documentation

Haskell Foundation 2026 Update

The Haskell Foundation has been at the center of a flurry of changes, all of which I’d like to share with the community today. First, José, our executive director for the past few years, has decided to step away from his role in June 2026. José has been the longest-serving executive director at the Haskell Foundation, spending his time interacting with and supporting the community in many ways, often away from public view. Through personal sacrifices, José has allowed the Haskell Foundation to ...

Qwen3.7-Max: The Agent Frontier

Qwen Studio offers comprehensive functionality spanning chatbot, image and video understanding, image generation, document processing, web search integration, tool utilization, and artifacts.

Type Switch 3.0 for macOS

Instant language switching for multilingual Mac users

Skilled

Dashboard to find agent skills you no longer need

Owlish

Reduce support volume with AI agents trained on your docs

Glia

Local-first AI memory bridge between browser chats and IDEs

GhostSnap

Multiple screenshots - Single paste - Auto compressed for AI