Europe
Hard Numbers: NK missile test, aid for Puerto Rico, China's concrete collapse, Chechen leader’s children, Poland's WWII-linked demand
A TV monitor announces the news of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
Reuters
5: Early Tuesday, North Korea reportedly launched a single intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, where residents in Hokkaido and Aomori were urged to seek shelter. The missile — Pyongyang’s most provocative test since January, and its first test over Japan in five years — is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean.
60 million: US President Joe Biden pledged $60 million in aid for Puerto Rico on Monday during his visit to the US island territory to survey recent hurricane damage. Large parts of the island remain without power two weeks after Hurricane Fiona made landfall.
20: China’s cement production is suffering its biggest decline in more than 20 years, as worries about a financial crisis in the country’s sprawling real estate sector undermine demand. The drop-off in Chinese output caused global cement production to fall nearly 10% in the first half of this year.
3: Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a staunch ally of his boss Vladimir Putin, says he is ready to send his three underage sons — ages 14, 15, and 16 — to Ukraine to fight for Russia. Although Moscow is party to a UN treaty against child soldiers, Kadyrov said sending his kids into battle is just part of being a good dad.
1.3 trillion: Ahead of a visit to Warsaw by the German foreign minister, Poland has demanded almost $1.3 trillion in reparations and damages related to World War II. Germany, for its part, says all financial claims related to the war are now settled.In this episode of ask ian, Ian Bremmer explains why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enters his latest White House meeting with President Trump in a stronger position than he did just a few months ago.
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US consumers have spent nearly $74 billion more on gasoline and diesel since the war in Iran began in February
Last week, Microsoft joined more than 100 companies to publish an open letter on the importance of open-weight AI models in expanding access to AI and giving organizations greater control over the technology they use. The paper draws parallels to the open-source software movement, positioning open-weight models as an important foundation for a broad and competitive AI ecosystem while emphasizing the need for responsible safeguards. Read the letter here.