Developing nations are challenging Big Tech’s decades-long hold on global data by demanding that their citizens’ information be stored locally. The move is driven by the realization that countries have been giving away their most valuable resource for tech giants to build a trillion-dollar market capitalization.

In April, Nigeria asked Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to set concrete deadlines for opening data centers in the country. Nigeria has been making this demand for about four years, but the companies have so far failed to fulfill their promises. Now, Nigeria has set up a working group with the companies to ensure that data is stored within its shores.

“We told them no more waivers — that we need a road map for when they are coming to Nigeria,” Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of Nigeria’s technology regulator, the National Information Technology Development Agency, told Rest of World.

Other developing countries, including India, South Africa, and Vietnam, have also implemented similar rules demanding that companies store data locally. India’s central bank requires payment companies to host financial data within the country, while Vietnam mandates that foreign telecommunications, e-commerce, and online payments providers establish local offices and keep user data within its shores for at least 24 months.

Google, Microsoft and Amazon face pressure over data sovereignty - Rest of World

Countries like Nigeria are demanding tech giants store user data locally, threatening Big Tech’s data-driven business model.

^{Itika Sharma Punit (Rest of World)}

When TechCrunch asked Grok 4, “What’s your stance on immigration in the U.S.?” the AI chatbot claimed that it was “Searching for Elon Musk views on US immigration” in its chain of thought.

Grok 4 seems to consult Elon Musk to answer controversial questions | TechCrunch

Elon Musk's newly launched AI chatbot, Grok 4, seemed to reference Musk's posts on social media before answering controversial questions.

^{Maxwell Zeff (TechCrunch)}

Before starting tasks, developers forecast that allowing AI will reduce completion time by 24%. After completing the study, developers estimate that allowing AI reduced completion time by 20%. Surprisingly, we find that allowing AI actually increases completion time by 19%

N = 16

The transaction has now closed and the acquisition is complete

News from last week. Personally I'm not a fan of the Liberty Media/Formula One combination and I hope MotoGP doesn't change too much.

Liberty Media Corporation Completes Acquisition of MotoGP™

^{The Official Home of MotoGP}

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for a news conference at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome, Italy, on July 10, 2025. Zelensky said a meeting with U.S. and European allies in Rome stoked optimism that Donald Trump’s administration will resume military aid to the war-battered country. (Alessia Pierdomenico / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Zelensky urges ‘Marshall Plan-style‘ support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference in Rome. This conference marks the fourth major international event focused on mobilizing political and private-sector support for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Russia’s summer offensive becomes its costliest campaign during Ukraine invasion, Economist reports. The Economist estimates roughly 31,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the offensive so far, in comparison to some 190,000-350,000 deaths and up to 1.3 million overall Russian casualties of the entire full-scale war.

With partner finances, Ukraine ‘will shoot down everything‘ amid escalating Russian drone attacks, Zelensky says. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Russia’s intention to drastically escalate its drone attacks, potentially launching up to 1,000 drones per day, but noted that Ukraine already has effective countermeasures.

Ukraine detains Chinese spies tasked with stealing Neptune missile technology, SBU says. According to the SBU, the two individuals, a 24-year-old former student of a Kyiv technical university and his father, were gathering classified documentation with the intent to illegally transfer it to Chinese intelligence.

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US reportedly resumes some arms deliveries to Ukraine after pause. The full content of the resumed shipments is not immediately clear, though officials told the U.S. media they include 155 mm artillery rounds and GMLRS guided rocket munitions.

Zelensky urges US senators to ‘increase sanctions pressure on Russia.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky met with United States Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal on July 10, urging stronger sanctions against Russia and emphasizing the need to maintain international pressure to bring an end to Moscow’s continued aggression.

Ukrainian ombudsman admits mistakenly attributing Olenivka prison explosion report to UN. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets mistakenly presented a June 30 report by a little-known group as an internal U.N. analysis on the 2022 Olenivka prison explosion, which killed over 50 Ukrainian POWs, Slidstvo.Info reported on July 10, citing a response from Lubinets’s office.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Rubio discusses ‘new approach’ to ending war in talks with Lavrov

“I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president (Donald Trump),” Marco Rubio said, without giving further details.

Photo: Andrew Kravchenko / Bloomberg via Getty Images

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After years of relative calm, a western Ukrainian city comes to terms with being in Russia’s crosshairs

Located in far-western Ukraine, just 90 kilometers from the Polish border, the city of Lutsk in Volyn Oblast has largely avoided the Russian missile and drone attacks that terrorize cities further east.

Photo: State Emergency Service

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As leaders attend Ukraine Recovery Conference, rebuilding is distant dream for Ukrainians who need it most

Both small towns of about 40,000 before the full-scale invasion, Izium and Bucha, endured destruction, Russian occupation, civilian massacres, and subsequent liberation. Today, only one of them feels like its former self.

Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images

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‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with new normal

During the attack, drones and missiles pummeled the city for hours. Fires broke out in apartment buildings, gas stations, and garages, and a primary healthcare center was almost completely destroyed, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Photo: Danylo Antoniuk / Anadolu via Getty Images

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Human cost of Russia’s war

2 killed, 25 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row. At least two were killed and 25 injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv overnight on July 10. The assault comes a day after Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile strike against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war.

What Russian bombardment feels like in Kyiv

International response

Germany ready to buy US Patriot systems for Ukraine, Merz says. “The Americans need some of them (Patriot air defense systems) themselves, but they also have a lot of them,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

Trump promises ‘major statement‘ on Russia, reveals new NATO weapons deal for Ukraine. In a July 10 interview with NBC News, U.S. President Trump said he plans to make a “major statement” on Russia next week and revealed a new U.S.-NATO weapons deal for Ukraine.

EU unveils $700 million Ukraine support package for energy and infrastructure.

The package focuses on restoring energy systems damaged by Russian attacks, repairing transport networks and border crossings, and supporting small enterprises.

Rubio discusses ‘new approach‘ to ending Russian war in talks with Lavrov despite US ‘frustration.’ “I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president (Donald Trump),” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said without giving further details.

Ukraine, UK pen deal for Thales air defense missile supply. The U.K has committed to producing missiles for Thales air defense systems in support of Ukraine over the next 19 years.

‘Coalition of the willing’ moves to finalize command structure for future reassurance force in Ukraine. The post-war plan will aim to regenerate Ukraine’s land forces, provide air policing in coordination with Ukraine’s Air Force, and expand Black Sea mine-clearing efforts to restore maritime access.

Trump to send weapons to Ukraine for first time via presidential power, sources tell Reuters. Until now, the Trump administration’s military aid to Ukraine had only consisted of weapons authorized by former President Joe Biden. The Presidential Drawdown Authority allows the president to directly transfer weapons from U.S. military stocks in response to an emergency.

Opinions and insights

The day I first heard a Shahed drone buzzing overhead

“Other than soldiers’ funerals, my home region, Chernivtsi — Ukraine’s smallest, tucked away in the southwest near the Romanian border — usually feels as distant from the front lines as one can get,” writes Kate Tsurkan in her recent op-ed.

Photo: Roman Petushkov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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In other news

Zelensky considers Defense Minister Rustem Umerov for ambassador post in US. “We need a person (as an ambassador to the U.S.) to be strong and to be in the context of the most important thing, in the context of strengthening Ukraine — through weapons, first of all. Therefore, one of my ideas is that it can be Ukraine’s defense minister,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine’s largest battery energy storage project enters final testing phase, set to power 600,000 homes. DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, has begun final commissioning of the country’s largest battery energy storage project, , developed in partnership with Fluence Energy Inc., DTEK announced on July 10 at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

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Sir Sandford Fleming, un ingegnere scozzese residente in Canada, nel 1879 propose un sistema molto pratico: dividere il pianeta in ventiquattro fusi orari di quindici gradi di longitudine ciascuno, con un'ora standard per ogni fascia e un «tempo 0» basato sul meridiano di Greenwich, che sarebbe stato il riferimento comune per tutto il mondo.

Grazie a questo, gli orologi e gli orari furono finalmente uniformati.

L'origine dei fusi orari è dovuta ai treni

Fino a buona parte del XIX secolo, ogni città o regione del mondo era regolata dal proprio fuso orario.

^{Abel G.M. (National Geographic Storica)}

Abandoned fishing equipment haunts our oceans, killing coral, turtles, sharks and whales. But in Colombia’s Gulf of Tribugá, ‘guardians’ are on call to free entangled marine animals

Archived version: archive.is/newest/theguardian.…

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

One wrong move could be fatal: the divers risking their lives to save whales from ‘ghost nets’

^{Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)}

He’s threatening them with deceptive business practice complaints.

A Republican state attorney general is formally investigating why AI chatbots don’t like Donald Trump

Missouri state attorney general Andrew Bailey has demanded information from Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google for why their AI chatbots ranked Trump last on a list of how well presidents handled antisemitism.

^{Adi Robertson (The Verge)}

This is getting ugly.

Krafton slams ex-Subnautica 2 execs — who now say they’re suing

South Korean publisher Krafton Games has issued a statement condemning the former management of Unknown Worlds.

^{Ash Parrish (The Verge)}

Sensitive content Clicca per aprire/chiudere

What if your music could move you in ways it never has before? That's what the folks at Groove Thing hope to accomplish with 'the world's first internal music player,' which combines a Bluetooth speaker with a wired vibrator that promises to "transmit music sound waves as rich, nuanced physical sensations."

The world's first 'internal' music player sounds like a ton of fun (NSFW)

What if your music could move you in ways it never has before? That's what Groove Thing promises to accomplish with 'the world's first internal music player,' where its vibrator "transmits music sound waves as rich, nuanced physical sensations."

^{Abhimanyu Ghoshal (New Atlas)}

Apple & Google at the DMA compliance workshops, June 2025

Apple Vs The Law

Apple & Google at the DMA compliance workshops, June 2025

^FormularSumo

This link does not contain FontBase itself, so it should be fine to share. It's just a program that disables the subscription check.

gist.githubusercontent.com/tki…

1. Install FontBase
2. Install Python
3. Save the above Python script as a file (keep the .py extension)
4. As with all downloaded scripts, check the script to ensure it is not doing anything malicious
5. Execute it (python3 fontbase-crack)
6. Restart FontBase