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How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
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CoinDeskBitcoin Is Leaving Exchanges in Batches of $10M or More: Van Straten
Institutional appetite for bitcoin has grown since Donald Trump won the U.S. election back in November.
- TechCrunch
As AI-fueled disinformation explodes, here comes the startup counterattack
With disinformation on the rise, especially given the explosion of AI, companies are just as vulnerable to its effects as individuals. Refute is a London-based startup that detects and responds to disinformation on behalf of these commercial entities. It’s now raised a £2.3 million ($2.9 million) pre-seed round led by U.K. investors Playfair and Episode 1.
- CoinDesk
Haliey Welch’s $HAWK Shows Why We Need Better Standards for Memecoins
The saga of Hawk Tuah’s memecoin testifies to the need for governance and transparency in Web3, Azeem Khan says. It’s up to the industry to provide it.
- The Telegraph
Uyghur fighters in Syria vow to come for China next
A Uyghur militant group that helped to topple Bashar-al Assad has vowed to take the fight to China.
- Cosmo
Blake Lively goes braless in a plunging butter yellow sequin shirt
Blake Lively wore a Sergio Hudson yellow sequin shirt, unbuttoned to reveal she was wearing no bra, with matching yellow trousers to the 2024 Beauty Inc Awards.
- Cinema Online
Grace Wong reveals pregnancy in stunning Santorini announcement
The former TVB actress shares that she and husband will be welcoming a baby after eight years of marriage
- CNN
Why Israel captured Syria’s tallest mountain just hours after Assad fell
Israel wasted no time after Bashar al-Assad’s fall to bomb all the Syrian military assets it wanted to keep out of the rebels’ hands – striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy, and taking out, it claims, 90% of Syria’s known surface-to-air missiles.
- Associated Press
China's Xi is likely to decline Trump's inauguration invitation, seeing it as too risky to attend
Chinese leader Xi Jinping would likely see President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to attend his inauguration as too risky to accept, and the gesture from Trump may have little bearing on the increasingly competitive ties between the two nations as the White House changes hands, experts say. Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump extended an invitation to the Jan. 20 ceremony.
- The Independent
Elizabeth Hurley reveals Hugh Grant’s response when he saw her in ‘that dress’ for the first time
Hurley was an unknown name when she appeared at the 1994 premiere for ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’
- The Observers
Fears mount for Syria’s minorities as video emerges showing rebel fighters executing suspects
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of the Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has become Syria’s new strongman, replacing the Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad. Once a partner of al Qaeda, Jolani now speaks the language of tolerance and openness towards Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities. He has told his fighters to refrain from extrajudicial violence, but videos emerging on social media suggest that not all of his fighters are following his directive, raising concerns among members
- CNN
US serviceman sentenced to 5 years for kidnapping and raping Japanese schoolgirl, officials say
A US serviceman was sentenced to five years in prison for kidnapping and raping an underage girl last year, an official from Naha District Court on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa told CNN Friday.
- The Hill
Gingrich: Xi attending Trump inauguration would be ‘signal to the planet’
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) responded to President-elect Trump’s invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend Inauguration Day in January, saying his acceptance would send a global “signal.” “Look, I think Trump believes in constant offense, constant momentum, keeping things going forward,” Gingrich told Fox New’s Jesse Watters in an interview Wednesday. “I…
- BBC
Bloody siege ends Myanmar army control of western border
Insurgents seized Myanmar's border with Bangladesh in one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war.
- People
Jennifer Lopez Is Trying to Convince Us That Super Low-Rise Jeans Are Back and It’s Working
The 'Unstoppable' star may be reviving a highly-debated denim trend
- The Telegraph
North Korean troops performing well on battlefield, say Russian bloggers
North Korean troops have captured a village from Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, Russian military bloggers have reported.
- Evening Standard
Manchester United beat Arsenal to TWO wonderkids in a week 'as second deal agreed'
Ruben Amorim and United transfer chiefs can celebrate two wins over the Gunners
- Associated Press
Topless women protesting the Ukraine war are detained for vandalizing sculpture near UN building
At least three feminist activists were detained on Friday after vandalizing a monument outside the United Nations complex in Geneva to protest Russia's war against Ukraine and what they see as the U.N.'s failure to stop the conflict. Two topless women with the group FEMEN, which is known for its provocative protests, used a chainsaw to cut into the wooden sculpture known as the “Broken Chair.” The artwork symbolizes the dismemberment caused by land mines and is a call to ban the devastating weapons, which have also been used in the war in Ukraine.
- CNN
Battered corpses show the horrors of life and death under Syria’s Assad
The 35 or so bodies were found in a military hospital in the Syrian capital of Damascus, days after the regime fell. They are believed to be among the last victims of Assad.
- People
Sydney Sweeney Claps Back at Body Critics with Intense Workout Footage for Boxing Biopic
The actress posted videos of her flipping tires, pumping iron and punching bags in response to negative comments
- The Telegraph
Russian missile scientist ‘assassinated by Ukrainian special forces’
A Russian scientist known for developing cruise missiles has been found shot dead in a snowy wooded area near Moscow.