🔥 US and Iran Agree to Two-Week Ceasefire — Strait of Hormuz to Reopen
After more than a month of escalating conflict, the US and Iran have agreed to a two-week conditional ceasefire, with talks set to begin in Islamabad on Friday. Iran has committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of global oil flows — and Trump dropped his threat to widen attacks. Both sides are claiming victory. Oil prices plunged up to 15% on the news. The deal was reportedly brokered with help from Pakistan, which has historic ties to Tehran. Hegseth called it "a chance at real peace." But the 14-day window is fragile: the ceasefire was announced just hours before Trump's original deadline for a devastating response. Why it matters: this is the most direct US-Iran diplomatic contact in years, and the path to this agreement has, according to the BBC, "fundamentally altered the way the rest of the world views the US."
Sources: Reuters · AP News (live) · BBC News (live)
🇮🇱 Israel Strikes Lebanon Hours After US-Iran Ceasefire Announced
Israeli forces carried out a large wave of air strikes across Lebanon — hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern Bekaa Valley — within hours of the US-Iran ceasefire being announced. The timing is a reminder that the broader regional conflict is far from over, even as Washington and Tehran step back from direct confrontation. Lebanon has been caught in the crossfire throughout the recent escalation. The strikes underline that Israel's calculus on ending the wider war may differ significantly from America's.
Source: BBC News · AP News
🇬🇧 Starmer in Saudi Arabia: UK Welcomes Ceasefire, Vows to "Sustain It"
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, welcoming the US-Iran ceasefire and saying the UK will do "all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire." Saudi Arabia has been a key regional interlocutor throughout the crisis. Starmer's visit reflects the UK's effort to position itself as a constructive partner in Middle East diplomacy — a notable shift after years of diplomatic strain in the region. The ceasefire is seen in London as a starting point, not an endpoint, with significant work remaining to extend it beyond 14 days.
Source: BBC News
🛡️ Russia's Military Hacked 18,000–40,000 Consumer Routers in 120 Countries
Russia's GRU military intelligence agency (APT28 / Fancy Bear / Forest Blizzard) has compromised an estimated 18,000 to 40,000 consumer routers — mostly MikroTik and TP-Link devices — in 120 countries, using them as a global espionage infrastructure. The routers were weaponised to hijack DNS lookups for targets including Microsoft 365 domains, intercepting credentials of foreign ministries, law enforcement agencies, and government bodies. APT28 operated for at least two decades and is behind dozens of high-profile government hacks worldwide. Microsoft also published independent findings confirming the DNS hijacking campaign. Home users can't do much here directly, but the takeaway is that EOL routers with unpatched firmware are an ongoing global cybersecurity liability — especially when they sit at the edge of corporate networks.
Source: Ars Technica · Microsoft Security Blog
🔒 Anthropic Limits Access to Mythos, Its New Cybersecurity AI
Anthropic has launched its new Claude Mythos Preview cybersecurity AI model — but only to a tightly vetted group of organisations including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Broadcom, Cisco, and CrowdStrike, with the US government also in discussions. The restricted rollout is notable: Anthropic's previous models have been broadly accessible via API. The company says limited access is warranted given the model's cybersecurity capabilities, but critics will note this creates a tiered AI landscape where the most powerful defensive tools are gatekept behind commercial and government relationships. The announcement came days after a data leak exposed Mythos documentation publicly online — the same leak that prompted the tighter-than-planned release.
Source: Ars Technica · Reuters
📱 Apple & Lenovo Get Lowest Repairability Scores in Annual PIRG Report
Apple earned the worst grades in PIRG Education Fund's 2026 repairability report, getting a C-minus for laptops and a D-minus for smartphones. The analysis used France's mandatory repairability index as a baseline but weighted physical disassembly ease more heavily. Lenovo also scored near the bottom. The report examined the 10 newest laptops and phones available in January via manufacturers' French websites — the only major market requiring repair scores to be displayed at point of sale. PIRG is pushing vendors to apply the same standards globally. Apple made some progress with the MacBook Neo, but the broader picture shows the right-to-repair movement still has significant ground to cover with the industry's largest players.
Source: Ars Technica · PIRG Report