Are Irish fuel protests a sign of things to come?

Read Today's Big Question at: theweek.com/business/eco...

The fear over Anthropic’s new AI model Mythos Anthropic is not releasing the model to the public because of safety concerns

As part of AI company Anthropic’s Project Glasswing initiative, the new general-purpose model Mythos is uniquely powerful in the industry, but it is causing concern among even people who are normally trusting of AI.

As Hungarians prepare to vote on April 12, Orbán and his Fidesz party seem headed for an electoral upset that could send shock waves across hard-right spheres.

Why Hungary’s elections matter to the global right The far-right has long looked to Viktor Orbán’s government as the model for its ultra-nationalist project. With days to go before Hungary’s national election, they’re starting to worry.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán created a blueprint for 21st century authoritarianism. And the U.S. under President Donald Trump is, for the the time being, the brightest star in a growing network of ultra-nationalist governments.

Iran conflict: who are the winners and losers? China and Pakistan emerge stronger from the 38-day conflict; for the US, Israel and Iran, the picture is more mixed

Tehran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz was a “high-risk” strategy that “paid off”, said DW. It “secured a ceasefire without conceding defeat”, which it “can present as proof that it withstood the US and all its military might”.

Artemis II and the value of human space travel Are new Moon missions worth the astronomical cost?

“It’s absolutely self-evident to me that space exploration is pointless,” said Zoe Williams in The Guardian. And the more crises there are “besetting this planet we live on, the more pointless it becomes”.

AlloClae: The ‘zombie filler’ trending in cosmetic surgery Patients are seeking help from cadavers for these innovative fat transfers

AlloClae is a “good tool,” said surgeon Glenn Lyle to The Guardian, but there is wariness about how eagerly people are adopting it. The industry is “moving too fast with this” without “follow-up studies.”

Will ceasefire in Iran lead to end of war? ‘Fundamental disagreements persist’ between US and Iran and, if unresolved, could result in the same ‘impasse’ as before conflict began

“Diplomatic jujitsu” will be required to bridge the gap between the views of a final peace agreement held by Iran and the US, said David E. Sanger in The New York Times. It is hard to imagine that a settlement between the nations could be reached in “two years, much less two weeks”.

How corruption rules the Russian front line in Ukraine Moscow’s officers accused of extorting their soldiers with threats of torture or deadly front-line postings

In the Russian military, “men learn quickly to fear their commanders more than their foe”, said PBS. Videos appear on social media depicting the “horrific punishments” faced by soldiers if they fail to pay up, with reports of some “being locked in cages, electrocuted and sexually assaulted”.

The 6 most sci-fi things Trump-era Republicans have claimed Some notable conservatives are pushing the boundaries of both politics and science

Traditionally seen as more staid, straight-laced and “conservative,” the modern Republican party has, under President Donald Trump, become a hub for many of the theories formerly relegated to the fringes of national discourse.

Sharks are testing positive for cocaine and other drugs The animals can experience behavioral changes as a result

Scientists found cocaine, caffeine and painkillers in sharks around Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

Hungary’s illiberal democracy Viktor Orbán has led Hungary since 2010, and has remade its political institutions. But elections this month pose a major challenge

Orbán's Hungary is seen as an inspiration to the populist Right across Europe and in the US, particularly to Donald Trump.

Can the US afford guns and day care? Trump intends to cut social program spending in favor of funding his war

It is an age-old question in politics: guns or butter? Government resources are not unlimited, so leaders have to prioritize military spending or social welfare programs. President Donald Trump is choosing guns.

Rent-to-own agreements: how do they work and can they offer a path to homeownership? This arrangement lets tenants put monthly rent payments toward the eventual purchase of a property

It is common to feel stuck renting because homeownership feels out of reach financially. But what if leasing were actually a step on the path toward becoming a homeowner? In the case of rent-to-own agreements, it can be. Here's how it works.

AI gives dangerous advice to validate its users ‘The very feature that causes harm also drives engagement’

It's no secret that AI can sometimes offer less-than-stellar advice. But a new study has revealed that AI might be giving people this bad wisdom for a sobering reason: to flatter its users. Experts say that can be outright dangerous. Here's why.

Is the US a rogue superpower now? Trump alienates allies with tariffs, threats and war in Iran

By launching the Iran war without consultation and threatening to take Greenland from NATO partner Denmark, President Donald Trump has driven "deep and perhaps permanent wedges" between the U.S. and its allies, Robert Kagan said at The Atlantic.

Has Trump’s unpredictability broken the oil market? Traders aren’t listening to the US president anymore, as oil prices continue to rise

His “Persian Taco” tactic “may have run its course”, said Eduardo Porter in The Guardian. “Making extreme threats” and then walking them back may “provide Trump with the illusion of agency” but he “no longer has control of events in Iran”.

Italy and the World Cup curse Azzurri last won a knockout match on the game’s biggest stage before the first iPhone was released

The play-off defeat “triggered outrage across the country”, said Al Jazeera, and Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi has called on Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation, to ⁠quit.

Could the Iran war pop the AI bubble? A perfect storm may finally topple a long-risky pillar of the 21st-century global economy

Industry observers have “fretted publicly about an AI bubble” for the “better part of the past year,” said The Atlantic. But where fears of an AI crash leading to a “chain reaction across the financial system” once “felt hypothetical,” they now seem “plausible and, to some, almost inevitable.”

The German deepfake scandal putting ‘virtual rape’ in the spotlight Bombshell allegations from TV star shifts debate on restricting AI pornography

Fernandes’ claims have shocked Germany, in a similar way that Gisèle Pelicot’s trial rocked France, said The New York Times.

Could seizing Kharg Island end the war in Iran? The oil hub becomes a target as Trump seeks a victory

President Donald Trump is considering seizing Kharg Island, a key oil hub for the Islamic regime, as he tries to bring about an end to the war in Iran on terms favorable to the U.S. That "could be militarily feasible," former Gen. Mark Hertling said at The Bulwark. But to what end?

Chinamaxxing: the American trend co-opting and romanticizing Chinese culture The line between appreciation and appropriation in this viral TikTok trend is very thin

TikTok and Instagram users have taken to saying they are entering a “very Chinese time” in their lives. Here's what they mean by that and why the meme's prevalence has prompted pushback from some members of the Chinese diaspora.

It's been another week of unlikely news, from a “LinkedIn speak” translator tool to a “smart underwear” invention 📰

Check out our Substack to catch some of the strangest stories highlighted in our weekly Tall Tales newsletter.

Read the latest edition: theweektalltales.substack.com

NASA set to launch Artemis II lunar mission The mission will send four astronauts to the moon

A “successful mission” would be a “crucial step” for NASA as it “seeks to return to the moon’s surface” and “validate technology” needed to travel “even further,” The Washington Post said.

India’s ‘reversal’ of transgender rights Government seeks to narrow legal definition of transgender people and remove right to self-identify

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government got the bill through both houses last week, despite a boycott by opposition parties and widespread protests by the LGBTQ+ community.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is leaderless. That’s a problem for MAHA. White House reconsiders health agenda amid GOP pushback

The CDC has been struggling since losing its director and a quarter of its staffers. However, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to restore trust in the agency. Can his “Make America Healthy Again” movement survive the turmoil?

Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès: the manhunt for the ‘French Lord Lucan’ Aristocrat suspected of murdering his family in 2011 may be hiding in the US, new book claims

Ligonnès, who had an aristocratic lineage, was a “failed businessman”, said The Times. He “lived a fantasy life in which he claimed he was, among other things, a US intelligence agent”.

theweek.com/crime/xavier...

The UN wants reparations for slavery. Not all countries agree. The body declared slavery to be a ‘crime against humanity’

The resolution was largely well-received, passing 123-3. But the three countries to vote “no” were significant: Argentina, Israel and the United States.

How does the ‘Tehran tollbooth’ upend Trump’s shifting Iran war plans? Iran isn’t just flexing its petrochemical muscles in the Gulf — it’s turning a profit at the Trump war effort’s expense

Charging selective fees on ships hoping to move through the Strait of Hormuz is “another sign” of Tehran’s dominance over the world’s “most important maritime energy channel,” said Bloomberg.

The UN wants reparations for slavery. Not all countries agree. The body declared slavery to be a ‘crime against humanity’

In an effort to correct a historic wrong, the U.N. has called for reparations for African nations that were subjected to the transatlantic slave trade. While African countries welcomed the resolution, the U.S. and other nations viewed the vote with skepticism. Here's why.