📌 Iran Nuclear Talks, China Will Fight

The US has held “direct talks” with Iran and a "very big meeting" involving "very high-level" officials will take place Saturday.

The surprise announcement from President Donald Trump follows his repeated warnings that Iran must sign a new nuclear deal or face military strikes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would take place in Oman and confirmed they would be “high-level." While Trump insisted the talks would be "direct," Araghchi claimed they would be" indirect." In diplomatic terms, that means mediators pass messages between the sides.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ruled out direct talks with the US so long as Trump kept his "maximum pressure" policy in place. "It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court," Araghchi said.

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not say who had handled the outreach to Iran up to now or which officials would take part in Saturday's talks. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is likely to play a role.

Netanyahu said he believes the chances of a US-Iran nuclear deal are extremely low, but intended to present what "a good deal should look like" during Monday's meeting with Trump, a senior Israeli official said. "Netanyahu wants the Libya model. Full dismantling to the Iranian nuclear program.”

China will “fight to the end” and take countermeasures against the US to safeguard its interests.

The Commerce Ministry said the US‘s imposition of “so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’” on China is “completely groundless and is a typical unilateral bullying practice” after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has taken retaliatory tariffs and the ministry hinted in its latest statement that more may be coming.

“The countermeasures China has taken are aimed at safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and development interests, and maintaining the normal international trade order. They are completely legitimate,” the ministry said. Trump’s threat Monday of additional tariffs on China raised fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could intensify a financially destructive trade war. Stock markets from Tokyo to New York have become more unstable as the tariff war worsens.

If Trump implements his new tariffs on Chinese products, US tariffs on Chinese goods would reach a combined 104%. The new taxes would be on top of the 20% tariffs announced as punishment for fentanyl trafficking and his separate 34% tariffs announced last week.

Civil and criminal laws have been enacted in New Jersey to penalize creators and sharers of “deepfakes.”

The new law makes producing and sharing deceptive AI-generated media or “deepfakes” a third-degree crime if used for an unlawful purpose such as harassing or extorting someone. The crime carries fines of up to $30,000 or a maximum of five years in prison.

Mani, a Westfield High School student who was a target of sexually explicit deepfakes shared by peers, helped inspire the legislation. She was recently named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in AI.

Mani said the boy responsible for the deepfakes featuring her likeness was given a one-day suspension. School officials said they could not do much more as there were no AI laws. A draft law landed on the governor’s desk in January and after revision, the Senate passed it unanimously and in the Assembly by 64-13.

New Jersey is joining a growing number of states seeking to regulate deepfakes, particularly in areas of online harassment and election security. At least 20 states enacted laws last year to regulate political deepfakes.

A Dallas-based biotech company claims to have resurrected a prehistoric Ice Age wolf species.

A press release issued by Colossal Biosciences reported: “For the first time in human history, Colossal successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction. Colossal's innovations … made it possible to accomplish … the revival of a species from its longstanding population of zero.”

With thick pelts not seen in modern wolves, the white-furred pups may well pass for a distinct new type of wolf, but in the words of American astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

Right now, details of the non-peer-reviewed research are very limited. All the public has to go on are images and quotes provided by Colossal.

Jeremy Austin, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, said all Colossal has done is create a genetically engineered gray wolf that resembles its perception of a dire wolf. Canids are morphologically similar, making it hard to verify from fossils the exact appearance of an extinct member of the family.

Colossal hasn't claimed an intention to make a genetically precise dire wolf. But even if they are trying to create a wolf that looks and behaves like they think a dire wolf would, Austin says that would still probably require tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of critical genetic changes.

A newly uncovered ancient Egyptian tomb is shedding light on royalty that once ruled the region over 3,600 years ago.

Archaeologists discovered the massive limestone burial chamber, which has multiple rooms and a decorated entryway, in Abydos, Egypt. But the lavish tomb’s intended occupant remains a mystery. Graverobbers had damaged the hieroglyphic text painted on bricks at the entryway, leaving the name unreadable.

The impressive tomb had no skeletal remains for possible identification. But the archaeologists said it is likely the resting place of a king who ruled Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, 1640–1540 BC, as part of the Abydos Dynasty, one of the least understood dynasties of ancient Egypt.

Archaeologists found the tomb nearly 23 feet underground at the site of an ancient necropolis, or “city of the dead.” In historical records, Abydos was referred to as a sacred city that was the final resting place of Osiris — the god of the underworld — and the preferred resting place for the first pharaohs.

The necropolis developed over centuries as more dynasties built tombs and buried their kings within the royal cemetery. Over a decade ago, the archaeologists came across the first tomb within this necropolis that confirmed the existence of the Abydos Dynasty.

The archaeologists will investigate over 100,000 square feet more of the desert terrain to uncover additional tombs. They will use ground penetrating radar and magnetometry that creates maps of underground structures with magnetic signatures.

The US is revoking the visas of all South Sudanese passport-holders and will stop any more of its citizens entering the country.

The Department of State said South Sudan was “taking advantage of the United States” by failing to comply with US efforts to return people to the East African country, adding that the measures would come into effect immediately.

Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, said the dispute related to one alleged South Sudanese national and claimed efforts to engage diplomatically with the South Sudanese government had been rebuffed.

“All visa appointments are canceled, no new visas will be issued, no existing visas will be effective, and hence NO ONE from South Sudan will be entering the United States on a visa until this matter is resolved,” he said in a social media post.

South Sudan nationals in the US were granted “temporary protected status” by the Obama administration in 2011 because the country was unsafe owing to fighting after it declared independence from Sudan. The designation was extended by the Biden administration in September but expires next month.

Trump has been pushing to end TPS designations for a handful of countries, including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, potentially affecting half a million people. A judge last month paused plans to end the legal protections for Venezuelans.

A man in China has sued a gaming company for depression after being virtually slapped more than 4,800 times with in-game items.

Mainland media outlet Xin Huanghe reported that the man, using the pseudonym Qiaoben, has been a fan of Three Kingdoms Kill Online for 15 years and holds its highest rank.

After each victory, Qiaoben’s opponents would throw items like eggs and straw sandals at his avatar, triggering effects like virtual facial slaps. Based on the games played, he estimated he was hit with such items more than 4,800 times over the past six months.

Qiaoben said such actions are a way for opponents to vent their frustration after losing. In a recent game, he endured a virtual slapping that lasted over 90 seconds. Qiaoben said that, because all the players could see the slaps, his dignity was insulted.

“Every time I am hit with eggs, I feel my self-esteem is harmed and I get depressed,” he said. After several unaddressed complaints to customer service, he filed a lawsuit against the company seeking compensation. The amount remains undisclosed.

One online observer said: “Qiaoben is somewhat pitiful, yet also a bit funny. It is time for him to quit this game.”Another gamer said: “I was hunted by other players for a month in another game. Every time I logged on, I was attacked and ‘killed,’ which caused me significant trauma.”