Marvie Basilan

South Korea has passed its first cryptocurrency bill that will advance the country's bid to protect investors in digital assets. Lawmakers have been discussing crypto-related protections in recent years, including an expansion of a voice phishing regulation that will include crypto schemes.

Gen. Armageddon was absent during a meeting between Russia's military top brass, a new report revealed. Multiple outlets reported last week that Gen. Sergei Surovikin was arrested over suspicions of his supposed links to the Wagner Group.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has resurfaced more than a week after his short-lived mutiny that shook Vladimir Putin and Russia. His exact whereabouts are unknown but Belarus confirmed he has started his exile in the country.

Saudi's ICT Minister Abdullah Alswaha said there was an opportunity "to build an innovation bridge to leap farther into the future with an innovation-based economy."

Extreme weather conditions continue in different parts of the U.S. Intense flooding hit Chicago and New York over the weekend, while the South was in the grip of a dangerous heatwave. Hot conditions are expected to ensue through the middle of the week in parts of the southwest. New York is bracing for more heavy downpours.

AI experts question the U.K.'s ambitious plan to lead the world in global AI safety regulation, saying the rising powers in Asia lack trust in London.

Stripe is cutting jobs again, nearly eight months after it eliminated more than 1,000 roles. The company recently acquired analytics software company Okay and forged a partnership with Google Workspaces.

Pokémon GO maker Niantic is letting 230 workers go as part of its cost-cutting strategy, which also includes the shelving of two games. The company previously cut its staff in June last year and canceled four projects.

Lukashenko on Tuesday boasted that he "suggested Putin should not rush" to "eliminate those involved" in Prigozhin's uprising. He claimed he convinced Putin to not "wipe out" Prigozhin when tensions were at their peak over the Wagner chief's call for a rebellion against the Russian army.

Ex-president Donald Trump is reportedly plotting a Twitter comeback. People close to him say he may have a specific purpose this time.

Plex and Zapier are just two of the software companies affected by the wider tech reckoning that has been gripping the industry since last year. This month alone, three other software companies eliminated hundreds of jobs collectively.

BlockFi creditors have moved to liquidate the defunct crypto lender following an investigative report that they said detailed CEO Zack Prince's perpetration of "a fraud on customers." BlockFi is just one of dozens of companies dragged into the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

Experts believe Wagner Group's chief was tricked into going to Belarus and that he "would still be in danger." Some analysts say Prigozhin may pose a threat again if Wagner mercenaries decided to follow him to Belarus.

Former congresswoman Cheney is unsure if the Republican Party can be saved amid a "tectonic shift" in the country's politics. She says the GOP will crumble if Trump is chosen to challenge Biden in 2024.

Google is slashing its Waze workforce as the search giant merges the app with its own mapping system. The number of tech companies laying off staff this year has now exceeded 800.

Auto giant Ford is cutting more jobs this year as it shifts its focus to the electric vehicle industry. The company laid off thousands of jobs since February after CEO Jim Farley said Ford had too many workers but not enough equipped with the skills necessary to boost its EV business.

Russian President Vladimir Putin may have "dropped" the supposed deal his Belarusian counterpart brokered with Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin over the weekend as the two sides reignited tensions over comments they made Monday. Putin slammed the insurrection's "organizers" while Prigozhin said he doesn't regret the short-lived march to Moscow.

The House has moved to put ChatGPT in fetters that it can loosen or tighten whenever it wants as lawmakers continue to grapple with how AI will be regulated. The new guardrails on generative AI use in Congress follows Sen. Chuck Schumer's call for faster work on regulating the fast-evolving technology.

Trading app Robinhood is eliminating around 150 roles after two earlier layoffs that affected approximately 1,000 employees. The brokerage firm faced regulatory challenges in recent months and a system failure in February cost the company millions.

MrBeast, a YouTuber who is known for attempting various scary activities such as getting buried alive and staying in Antarctica for 50 hours – someone supposedly known to defy fear for entertainment – expressed fear over the thought that he could've been on the imploded Titan submersible.

SoftBank-backed IRL, a social messaging app that claimed it had 20 million users, is shutting down after an investigation found only 5% of its users were real people. The startup's CEO was also the subject of a misconduct probe, which led to his suspension and ultimately, his departure from the position.

Southern United States is experiencing extreme weather conditions, with more than 500,000 customers across five states plunged in the dark and millions under heat advisories in Texas.

Some of the country's biggest retailers have been the target of ransom bomb threats in recent weeks, WSJ reported. Some callers demand money, others want thousands worth of gift cards, while one caller reportedly asked for Bitcoin. Walmart, Target, Meijer, Kroger, Whole Foods and Kohl's have been targeted.

As early as October last year, Meta threatened to pull news availability for Canadian users, and today, it announced that Facebook and Instagram users in Canada will no longer be able to share news content on the platforms ahead of Bill C-18's enforcement. Google has also opposed the bill, but some industry groups have applauded the government's latest move.

Robert "Bobby" F. Kennedy Jr. is gaining popularity among some conservatives, including ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson and TV commentator Joe Rogan.

FTX has been trying to recover funds Sam Bankman-Fried and other ex-FTX executives donated, and this time, it wants to get back $700 million from a former Hilary Clinton aide and his investment firm.

Cheddar News has reportedly cut several jobs Thursday, including numerous producers and two longtime anchors. The news network previously laid off workers in April, which affected its YouTube team.

Following earlier small-scale cuts and a bigger workforce reduction in its freight services arm, Uber is reportedly letting 200 recruiters go in ongoing cost-cutting efforts even as it secures new partnerships. The company previously implemented a "more rigorous approach" in employee performance reviews.

Ripple is very pleased with the in-principle approval it obtained from Singapore's central bank and financial regulator for its digital payment token offerings. The news comes as Ripple fights back against the U.S. SEC in a lawsuit that charges the crypto firm of selling unregistered securities.