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Hard Numbers: Taiwan’s last “comfort woman,” social media warning for teens, Austria scolds Hungary, editing WhatsApp
The Statue of Peace symbolizing Korean Comfort Women by Japanese military during the Second World War.
Reuters
2,000: An anti-sex trafficking group says that the last known Taiwanese “comfort woman” has died, though they declined to share the woman’s details. From 1932-1945, around 2,000 Taiwanese were taken as “comfort women” – sex slaves – by the Japanese military, out of a total of 200,000, most of whom were Korean. These women were forced to service Japanese brothels.
40: In a new report released Tuesday, the US surgeon general, the nation’s top doctor, sounded the alarm about the negative impact of social media on adolescent mental health. While the ill effects of apps like Instagram and Facebook on young people are well established, the report revealed that 40% of 8-12-year-olds use these apps even though the minimum age for use of most sites is 13.
13: Austria summoned the Hungarian envoy this week for a telling-off after PM Viktor Orban agreed to release foreign people smugglers from prison on the condition that they leave the country ASAP. Human traffickers, Hungarian nationals and foreigners, make up around 13% of those incarcerated in Hungary. Orban says this is needed to relieve pressure on the prison system, but Vienna fears that many of the criminals will come its way.
2 billion: WhatsApp, owned by Meta, will soon allow users to edit their messages, following competing apps like Telegram and Signal that already allow users to do so. That’ll be welcome news for many of WhatsApp’s 2 billion users worldwide who likely want the option to revise a stream-of-consciousness text.
For over two weeks now, Iranians have been pouring into the streets in the largest demonstrations the country has seen since the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising, and possibly since the 2009 Green Movement.
In this “ask ian,” Ian Bremmer responds to the US investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and why it matters far beyond interest rates.
Walmart is investing $350 billion in US manufacturing. Over two-thirds of the products Walmart buys are made, grown, or assembled in America, like healthy dried fruit from The Ugly Co. The sustainable fruit is sourced directly from fourth-generation farmers in Farmersville, California, and delivered to your neighborhood Walmart shelves. Discover how Walmart's investment is supporting communities and fueling jobs across the nation.
In this special edition of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith sits down with Juan Lavista Ferres, Chief Data Scientist and Director of the AI for Good Lab, to unpack the most striking insights from Microsoft’s newly released AI Diffusion Report. Their conversation explores the growing reach of generative AI, the accelerating pace of technological progress, and what this moment means for societies and economies around the world. The discussion examines how generative AI is spreading globally, and why the speed of diffusion will determine who benefits most. Together, they highlight countries leading the charge, including the UAE, Singapore, and South Korea, and explore the rise of models such as China’s DeepSeek across parts of Africa, offering a clear-eyed look at how AI adoption is reshaping global power, opportunity, and impact. Subscribe and find new episodes of Tools and Weapons wherever you listen to podcasts.