How long can it go on? Donald Trump appears to be a president in total meltdown, and he still has two and a half years left.
When the lights go out at the White House and Americans tuck themselves into bed, Trump springs to life. It is during these hours, between midnight and dawn, that the nation’s 47th president is in his element, acting as the undisputed king of the night. While others sleep, the world’s most powerful man sits alone with his smartphone, firing off an endless stream of digital missiles.
His cantankerous late-night tirades are unprecedented in history. Where past presidents issued carefully worded press releases through professional chiefs of staff, Trump uses the hours of darkness to air his deepest frustrations, feuds, and conspiracy theories in real time.
How extreme can such a night get? Trump’s absolute record was set in December 2025. Over the course of a chaotic Monday evening and night, he fired off an incredible 160 posts on Truth Social in less than five hours. Between seven in the evening and midnight, the messages flooded out at a pace that shocked both political commentators and health experts. In the final hour before midnight alone, he shared more than 100 posts. That amounts to an average of nearly two posts per minute.
mandag 8. juni 2026
Taiwan racing to arm itself as US reliability wanes
With the US increasingly distracted by the Iran war and China becoming more assertive, Taiwan is reshaping its defenses for a more uncertain era.
This month, Reuters reported that Taiwan is executing a major strategic defense shift by dramatically expanding its anti-ship missile arsenal to more than 1,800 weapons by early 2029 to counter the mounting threat of a Chinese blockade or invasion. This massive stockpiling initiative relies heavily on acquiring 400 advanced US-made Harpoon cruise missiles, with full delivery scheduled between 2026 and March 2029, alongside the mass production of roughly 1,000 domestic Hsiung Feng II and III missiles.
This month, Reuters reported that Taiwan is executing a major strategic defense shift by dramatically expanding its anti-ship missile arsenal to more than 1,800 weapons by early 2029 to counter the mounting threat of a Chinese blockade or invasion. This massive stockpiling initiative relies heavily on acquiring 400 advanced US-made Harpoon cruise missiles, with full delivery scheduled between 2026 and March 2029, alongside the mass production of roughly 1,000 domestic Hsiung Feng II and III missiles.
Two nations, two exams, one AI reckoning
This week, while families gathered outside examination halls across China, some in red qipao for luck, 12.9 million students sat for the gaokao, the world’s largest annual standardized test. On the other side of the Pacific, American higher education is moving in the opposite direction. Roughly 90% of ranked four-year US colleges no longer require the SAT or ACT.
Two of the world’s largest education systems are heading in opposite directions on the same question: how do you fairly measure a young mind? Increasingly, artificial intelligence is rewriting the answer.
China has doubled down on the single high-stakes exam. The gaokao remains, in the words of one researcher, a pillar of educational equity and social stability, even as Beijing reframes it from pure exam-based selection toward broader evaluation.
Two of the world’s largest education systems are heading in opposite directions on the same question: how do you fairly measure a young mind? Increasingly, artificial intelligence is rewriting the answer.
China has doubled down on the single high-stakes exam. The gaokao remains, in the words of one researcher, a pillar of educational equity and social stability, even as Beijing reframes it from pure exam-based selection toward broader evaluation.
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting North Korea now?
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday is significant for one reason. It’s not that they are meeting: The two men met in Beijing just a year ago when China held a huge military parade to mark 80 years since Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces, bringing an end to the second world war.What’s surprising is that Xi has travelled at all.
The Chinese leader has not visited Pyongyang since 2019, having steadily cut down his travel in recent years, and world leaders like United States President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin generally come to him these days.
“We need to remember that Xi Jinping has not really travelled abroad that much,” William Yang, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Northeast Asia, told Al Jazeera. “The growing trend is foreign leaders heading to Beijing to meet with him.
“For Xi Jinping to be the one who decides to travel to Pyongyang, it shows the level of significance that China attaches to this trip.”
The Chinese leader has not visited Pyongyang since 2019, having steadily cut down his travel in recent years, and world leaders like United States President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin generally come to him these days.
“We need to remember that Xi Jinping has not really travelled abroad that much,” William Yang, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Northeast Asia, told Al Jazeera. “The growing trend is foreign leaders heading to Beijing to meet with him.
“For Xi Jinping to be the one who decides to travel to Pyongyang, it shows the level of significance that China attaches to this trip.”
China’s Xi to visit North Korea for first time in seven years as Beijing tests its influence over Kim
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang is set to start on Monday, as Beijing tests its influence over a neighbor pulled increasingly into Russia’s orbit.
The two-day trip will be Xi’s first to North Korea in nearly seven years and he is expected to hold talks with leader Kim Jong Un. In a commentary published in North Korea’s state newspaper ahead of his arrival, Xi pledged “unwavering” friendship and vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple areas, including the military.
“North Korea has more leverage vis-a-vis China compared to June 2019, when Xi last visited Pyongyang,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow at the Stimson Center’s Korea Program, citing deepened military ties with Moscow, advances in its nuclear program, and an improved economy in recent years.
The two-day trip will be Xi’s first to North Korea in nearly seven years and he is expected to hold talks with leader Kim Jong Un. In a commentary published in North Korea’s state newspaper ahead of his arrival, Xi pledged “unwavering” friendship and vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple areas, including the military.
“North Korea has more leverage vis-a-vis China compared to June 2019, when Xi last visited Pyongyang,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow at the Stimson Center’s Korea Program, citing deepened military ties with Moscow, advances in its nuclear program, and an improved economy in recent years.
Foreign investors have dumped billions of dollars of Korean stocks this year despite record rally. Here’s why
Foreign investors have dumped billions of dollars’ worth of South Korean stocks this year, even as the Kospi has emerged as one of the world’s standout performers thus far, with record year-to-date gains.
On Monday, overseas investors had unloaded a net 1.24 trillion won (about $801 million) worth of Kospi-listed shares as of 11am Singapore “Foreign investors continued to sell the Kospi market, driven by outflows for Kospi Tech and Auto,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a June 5 note. The Kospi was down more than 8% at the open. Yet many investors and strategists say foreign selling has less to do with deteriorating fundamentals and more to do with the market’s own success.
On Monday, overseas investors had unloaded a net 1.24 trillion won (about $801 million) worth of Kospi-listed shares as of 11am Singapore “Foreign investors continued to sell the Kospi market, driven by outflows for Kospi Tech and Auto,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a June 5 note. The Kospi was down more than 8% at the open. Yet many investors and strategists say foreign selling has less to do with deteriorating fundamentals and more to do with the market’s own success.
China Targets Trump’s Top Ally in Pacific
Beijing's restrictions on the export of several critical minerals to Japan are part of efforts to pressure the U.S. ally to reverse what China describes as a path toward "remilitarization," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.
In January, China's commerce ministry moved to tighten controls on exports of items with potential military applications to Japan, barring any party anywhere from transferring such "dual-use" goods for Japanese military end users or military purposes. Beijing cited remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi linking Japan's security to that of Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
China tightened the restrictions twice more in February. While Beijing has not published a comprehensive list of affected items, they include rare earth elements and other critical minerals essential to the manufacture of advanced technologies.
In January, China's commerce ministry moved to tighten controls on exports of items with potential military applications to Japan, barring any party anywhere from transferring such "dual-use" goods for Japanese military end users or military purposes. Beijing cited remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi linking Japan's security to that of Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
China tightened the restrictions twice more in February. While Beijing has not published a comprehensive list of affected items, they include rare earth elements and other critical minerals essential to the manufacture of advanced technologies.
China’s Kids are Getting an Edge With AI
“The new way of learning can make the learning speed like 10 times faster than before,” said Derek Haoyang Li, one of China’s leading AI educationalists and one of the founders of the Squirrel Ai platform.
A cumulative total of more than 43 million students in China and worldwide have enrolled on Squirrel Ai, which is designed to use adaptive learning to teach students exactly what they need at their own pace and to progress much further and faster than they otherwise might.T
A cumulative total of more than 43 million students in China and worldwide have enrolled on Squirrel Ai, which is designed to use adaptive learning to teach students exactly what they need at their own pace and to progress much further and faster than they otherwise might.T
he rapid growth of the company, which also now has its sights set on the United States, underlines how artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role in Chinese education, with a heavy push from a government that is keen not only to get children to use AI to improve their performance, but also to master the technology behind it.
lørdag 6. juni 2026
Torbjørn Færøvik: Donald Trump - The Unrivaled King of the Night
How long can it go on? Donald Trump appears to be a president in total meltdown, and he still has two and a half years left.
When the lights go out at the White House and Americans tuck themselves into bed, Trump springs to life. It is during these hours, between midnight and dawn, that the nation's 47th president is in his element, acting as the undisputed king of the night. While others sleep, the world's most powerful man sits alone with his smartphone, firing off an endless stream of digital missiles.
His cantankerous late-night tirades are unprecedented in history. Where past presidents issued carefully worded press releases through professional chiefs of staff, Trump uses the hours of darkness to air his deepest frustrations, feuds, and conspiracy theories in real time.
How extreme can such a night get? Trump’s absolute record was set in December 2025. Over the course of a chaotic Monday evening and night, he fired off an incredible 160 posts on Truth Social in less than five hours. Between seven in the evening and midnight, the messages flooded out at a pace that shocked both political commentators and health experts. In the final hour before midnight alone, he shared more than 100 posts. That amounts to an average of nearly two posts per minute.
When the lights go out at the White House and Americans tuck themselves into bed, Trump springs to life. It is during these hours, between midnight and dawn, that the nation's 47th president is in his element, acting as the undisputed king of the night. While others sleep, the world's most powerful man sits alone with his smartphone, firing off an endless stream of digital missiles.
His cantankerous late-night tirades are unprecedented in history. Where past presidents issued carefully worded press releases through professional chiefs of staff, Trump uses the hours of darkness to air his deepest frustrations, feuds, and conspiracy theories in real time.
How extreme can such a night get? Trump’s absolute record was set in December 2025. Over the course of a chaotic Monday evening and night, he fired off an incredible 160 posts on Truth Social in less than five hours. Between seven in the evening and midnight, the messages flooded out at a pace that shocked both political commentators and health experts. In the final hour before midnight alone, he shared more than 100 posts. That amounts to an average of nearly two posts per minute.
Torbjørn Færøvik: Donald Trump - nattens ubestridte konge
Hvor lenge kan det fortsette? Donald Trump fremstår som en president i total oppløsning, og ennå har han to og et halvt år igjen.
Når lysene slukkes i Det hvite hus og amerikanerne kryper til køys, våkner Trump til dåd. Det er i disse timene, mellom midnatt og daggry, at landets 47. president er i sitt ess og opptrer som nattens ubestridte konge. Mens andre sover, sitter verdens mektigste mann alene med sin smarttelefon og fyrer av en uendelig strøm av digitale missiler.
Hans krakilske nattlige tirader savner sidestykke i historien. Der tidligere presidenter sendte ut nøye formulerte pressemeldinger via profesjonelle stabssjefer, bruker Trump nattetimene til å lufte sine dypeste frustrasjoner, feider og konspirasjonsteorier i sanntid.
Hvor ekstrem kan en slik natt bli? Trumps absolutte rekord ble satt i desember 2025. I løpet av en kaotisk mandag kveld og natt fyrte han av utrolige 160 innlegg på Truth Social på under fem timer. Mellom klokken sju om kvelden og midnatt flommet meldingene ut i et tempo som rystet både politiske kommentatorer og helseeksperter. Bare i den siste timen før midnatt delte han mer enne 100 innlegg. Det tilsvarer et gjennomsnitt på nesten to innlegg i minuttet.
Trump keeps the door open to a call with Taiwan’s president even though China has warned against it
President Donald Trump on Friday indicated that he may still speak with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te — even after China has publicly urged him not to directly engage with the leader of the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Trump first raised the idea last month on his way back from meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing, saying that he intended to speak directly with Lai as he weighs whether to go ahead with a $14 billion arms sale for Taipei that Congress approved earlier this year.
The U.S. president on Friday suggested that a call with the Taiwanese leader is still in play. “I’ll always talk to him,” Trump told reporters when asked if he still intended on calling Lai.
The U.S. president on Friday suggested that a call with the Taiwanese leader is still in play. “I’ll always talk to him,” Trump told reporters when asked if he still intended on calling Lai.
China can build humanoids at scale. The hard part is finding enough buyers
Chinese-made humanoid robots are making waves with their ability to do backflips, direct traffic, and even make coffee as the companies developing them seek ways to expand and dominate the market. Robot makers in China say they have thousands of orders from both the government and private businesses for humanoids that can do such things as sort parcels at postal centers, as the country finds ways to cope with an aging population and rising labor costs. However, some experts believe demand for humanoids lags the capacity to build them.
China and the United States dominate research for what Morgan Stanley estimates is a $5 trillion humanoid robots market.
China and the United States dominate research for what Morgan Stanley estimates is a $5 trillion humanoid robots market.
How the Laos cave survivors found the courage to rescue themselves
Hungry and weak, the Laos cave survivors huddled together in damp darkness for 11 days, clinging to hope as a wall of water blocked their way out.
When they noticed the water finally start to recede, they somehow found the strength to attempt a daring escape, completely unaided –– shocking the rescue team above ground when they appeared at the cave entrance on Saturday.
Their courage was born from fear, one of the survivors told CNN in an exclusive interview. Through narrow, treacherous tunnels, some waterlogged and cold enough for wetsuits, others so tight oxygen was scarce, the men navigated 260 meters (approximately 850 feet), from the chamber they’d been trapped in to the cave’s mouth, a distance equivalent to the height of a 78-story building.
When they noticed the water finally start to recede, they somehow found the strength to attempt a daring escape, completely unaided –– shocking the rescue team above ground when they appeared at the cave entrance on Saturday.
Their courage was born from fear, one of the survivors told CNN in an exclusive interview. Through narrow, treacherous tunnels, some waterlogged and cold enough for wetsuits, others so tight oxygen was scarce, the men navigated 260 meters (approximately 850 feet), from the chamber they’d been trapped in to the cave’s mouth, a distance equivalent to the height of a 78-story building.
Kim Jong Un inspects new nuclear plant, plans ‘exponential’ weapons production ramp-up
Kim Jong Un inspected a new plant that makes weapons-grade nuclear material on Wednesday and said Pyongyang plans to “beef up our state’s nuclear forces at an exponential rate,” according to a report from state-run media.
The North Korean leader said that his country has more than doubled itscapacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material in the past five years and that the new plant will help strengthen its nuclear war deterrent, according to the report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim instituted the push for more nuclear weapons under a five-year plan that was implemented after denuclearization talks with the United States, including three meetings with US President Donald Trump during his first term, ended in failure.
The North Korean leader said that his country has more than doubled itscapacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material in the past five years and that the new plant will help strengthen its nuclear war deterrent, according to the report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim instituted the push for more nuclear weapons under a five-year plan that was implemented after denuclearization talks with the United States, including three meetings with US President Donald Trump during his first term, ended in failure.
China’s Xi Jinping to make rare trip to North Korea next week
Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week for a rare visit just weeks after the Chinese leader hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin for separate, nearly back-to-back visits.
Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a two-day state visit starting from next Monday, state media Xinhua announced on Friday. North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency also confirmed the trip. The visit will be Xi’s first to North Korea since 2019, and the latest overture from Beijing to warm a historical but often complicated relationship with its neighbor. It will also be Xi’s first overseas trip this year.
Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a two-day state visit starting from next Monday, state media Xinhua announced on Friday. North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency also confirmed the trip. The visit will be Xi’s first to North Korea since 2019, and the latest overture from Beijing to warm a historical but often complicated relationship with its neighbor. It will also be Xi’s first overseas trip this year.
India’s youth are fuming. A Boston University graduate wants to fix that
India’s youth have had enough. After years of exam scandals, persistently high unemployment, and opportunities slipping further out of reach, simmering frustration is boiling into open anger online and on the streets – and a demand for accountability that many say they can no longer ignore.
For one Indian graduate of Boston University, watching from afar is not enough.
Abhijeet Dipke, the 30-year-old founder of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party that has gone viral across India, arrived in New Delhi Saturday morning, determined to turn his generation’s wrath into action. He says he plans to lead a protest to the Jantar Mantar monument this weekend demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
For one Indian graduate of Boston University, watching from afar is not enough.
Abhijeet Dipke, the 30-year-old founder of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party that has gone viral across India, arrived in New Delhi Saturday morning, determined to turn his generation’s wrath into action. He says he plans to lead a protest to the Jantar Mantar monument this weekend demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Every world leader who has visited China in 2026 in one chart
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is the latest senior official in a steady stream of world leaders visiting China this year.
During her three-day trip this week, Cooper is expected to meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing before travelling to the southern tech hub of Shenzhen for a programme focused on science and technology. According to an Al Jazeera tally, Cooper is the 26th foreign leader or senior official to visit China this year. The list includes presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, crown princes and foreign ministers from 23 countries.
During her three-day trip this week, Cooper is expected to meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing before travelling to the southern tech hub of Shenzhen for a programme focused on science and technology. According to an Al Jazeera tally, Cooper is the 26th foreign leader or senior official to visit China this year. The list includes presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, crown princes and foreign ministers from 23 countries.
onsdag 3. juni 2026
Taiwan's Lai: Status quo is key to secure tech supply chains
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te opened the COMPUTEX technology trade fair in Taipei on Tuesday, saying that maintaining the political status quo is the most responsible approach the island can take to secure global supply chains.
As the home for the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, Taiwan is a key equipment supplier for companies including Nvidia and Apple.
But its political status is a constant source of friction, given that China asserts the island should be part of its territory. For decades an uneasy stalemate has endured whereby Beijing does not give up its claims to Taiwan, or allow others to recognize the island nation diplomatically, but also does not act on its threats of trying to seize the territory.
As the home for the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, Taiwan is a key equipment supplier for companies including Nvidia and Apple.
But its political status is a constant source of friction, given that China asserts the island should be part of its territory. For decades an uneasy stalemate has endured whereby Beijing does not give up its claims to Taiwan, or allow others to recognize the island nation diplomatically, but also does not act on its threats of trying to seize the territory.
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