Some of China's America watchers see opportunities for their country in the United States' retreat from international institutions. Others see distractions and pitfalls.
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I didn't think I could be anymore excited for James Gunn's Superman movie. But, after the unveiling of its latest jaw-dropping teaser, clearly I wasn't pumped up enough for its July 11 release.
The sneak peek is largely an extended look at the first Superman trailer that made us fall in love with his mischievous canine companion Krypto.
Once a severely beaten-up Clark Kent/Kal-El convinces the lovable scamp to "take him home", though, we're treated to the official unveiling of the DC Universe's (DCU) take on The Fortress of Solitude. And, boy oh boy, did it leave my jaw on the floor.
For the uninitiated, The Fortress of Solitude is Superman's home away from home. It's an Arctic-based headquarters for the Man of Steel to get away from the humdrum of civilian life on Earth, where he first learned he wasn't of this world, and a base of operations where he can recuperate from, I don't know, getting smacked about by his foes.
What's striking about Gunn's take on the Man of Steel's iconic fortress, though, is that it isn't a stationary object that looms over the Arctic tundra. As the DCU Chapter One film's latest clip confirms, it actually grows out of the icy terrain that surrounds it. Oh, and it can spin on a 360-degree axis, which, you know, is handy when you need to point Supes at the Sun so he can heal using its ultraviolet rays.
Alan Tudyk's Superman character revealed I think this is the DCU's iteration of Kelex (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)Luckily for Superman, The Fortress of Solitude is home to a small group of technologically-advanced androids who are also on hand to help him recover.
In DC Comics, it's usually home to a single service robot named Kelex. Essentially, it's the HQ's caretaker whenever Kent is off masquerading as a reporter for The Daily Planet and/or keeping planet Earth safe from threats at home and further afield.
For one of 2025's most exciting new movies, it seems like Kelex will be the de-facto leader of the humanoid robots that inhabit Supes' secret stronghold. It appears he'll be voiced by Alan Tudyk, too, whose voiced countless characters over the years. That includes another sentient android in K-2SO, who first appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and who'll be part of the cast of Andor season 2 on Disney+.
Hear that? It might be the voice of whoever is playing Jor-El in Gunn's Superman film... (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)The robots' DCU design won't be unfamiliar to long-time DC fans, either. Indeed, Gunn has taken inspiration from Grant Morrison's 'All-Star Superman' comic book run, which also serves as a key storytelling influence on Superman, for their look.
Away from Kelex and company, it also looks like The Fortress of Solitude is hiding another cast-based secret. Listen closely when the robots are carrying Superman into the heart of his secret lair, and you can hear a voice saying... something in the background.
It's hard to make out who this is but, based on what we know about The Fortress of Solitude from the comics and previous film adaptations, there are references to Clark's Kryptonian parents within its walls. Could it be, then, that the voice we hear has ties to a new Superman cast rumor that suggests a Guardians of the Galaxy star will play Jor-El, Supes' biological father, in Gunn's movie? I wouldn't be shocked if that's the case.
You might also likeMicrosoft looks to be applying a major change to the Start menu in Windows 11, revamping the layout so that it’s all on a single panel – and allowing recommendations to be turned off if the user wishes.
These are positive steps forward for this central part of the Windows 11 interface, although they aren’t happening just yet.
In fact, this work is still hidden in the background of the most recent Dev and Beta preview builds of Windows 11. So, it’s present, but not yet officially live, and it has to be enabled by fudging things with a Windows configuration utility.
That’s exactly what PhantomOfEarth, a regular provider of Windows info on X, did to uncover the new Start menu layout, which now puts everything on one panel that you scroll down.
This means you now have the pinned apps at the top, then recommendations, and the full list of installed apps below that – rather than the latter being separated off, as is the case now in Windows 11, with the app list being in a different panel you switch to by clicking a button.
Hidden in today's Dev/Beta CUs: a major update to the Windows 11 Start menu! It has a new, larger layout with everything on one scrollable page, with the "All" list below recommendations - which can FINALLY be turned off! Pinned list is now limited to 2 rows, but can be expanded. pic.twitter.com/JkP3V2I5g6April 3, 2025
As Windows Central reports, the rejigged Start menu panel is now also wider, meaning there’s more space to pin your favorite apps for easy access.
Crucially, there’s another move, something I’ve been wanting for a long time, and that’s being able to switch off Microsoft’s recommendations for files or apps you might want to use (based on the history of your PC usage), as mentioned at the outset.
(Image credit: Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock) Analysis: An apparent reversal of course by MicrosoftIt’s good to see Microsoft is mulling a big, positive change for the Start menu, but we must remember that this isn’t yet in testing, so we can’t count on this redesign actually being realized. That said, it looks like this work is well underway in the background of Windows 11 preview builds, which is a positive sign.
The worry for me is that at the end of last year, Microsoft categorically said it wasn’t going to remove the recommendations panel, and would instead continue “to work on improving its quality” going forward. Well, that stance appears to have changed, but this previous statement does give me a little pause for thought.
I can only hope that the options to turn off recommendations makes the cut for the release version of Windows 11. Okay, so some folks might appreciate having recommendations flagged to them, and that’s fine – Microsoft has even been exploring some useful tweaks to them in recent times.
However, there are certainly people who could live without recommendations eating up space in their Start menu – myself included – and there should always have been an option to turn them off, really. Give people the choice to either have them, or not, plain and simple.
Also visible in testing here are the new grid and category views which are different choices for how you peruse the list of all the apps on your PC. These aren’t new, and have been in testing (officially) for a while, but I thought I’d highlight them in case you missed this. They’re also a positive stride forward for the Start menu, and the new views are a good alternative to having one long alphabetical list of apps, particularly the category view which groups related applications to make navigation easier. Again, you don’t have to do this, and you can stick with the default long list if you prefer, but as ever, more choice is always good.
Is there a chance we’ll see this new Start menu as part of Microsoft’s big 50th anniversary celebrations (a bash that kicks off later today)? Well, no, because this redesign isn’t even in testing yet, but it may be possible that Microsoft could mention the idea in passing or tease it somehow.
At least that would confirm that the revamp is definitely inbound, and quell any lingering doubts that I have based on some of the company’s past statements. I’ll be keeping my fingers firmly crossed that this is a move that’s incoming, and that it’ll be fully realized as it currently appears in testing (meaning that Microsoft doesn’t whip out the choice to turn off recommendations).
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In the last few days, there’s been a lot of confusion over when – or even if – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge will launch.
First, we heard that it might land on April 15, then the very next day, there were claims that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge had been delayed until May or June. Shortly after that, we heard that there was a chance Samsung would cancel the S25 Edge altogether.
Now, though, a SamMobile report from leaker Max Jambor suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is finally set to launch on May 13.
There’s not much more to this story, though Jambor is one of the several sources who previously claimed the phone had been delayed until May or June, so this is in line with that; it's an update to an existing claim.
Jambor also says that it will probably be announced during a small, online-only presentation, rather than a big Unpacked event with an in-person element. That’s largely in line with what other sources have said, though there’s previously been a suggestion that the Edge might just get a press release and no proper launch event at all.
(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff) Priced right down the middleIn any case, there’s also a new report on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge’s pricing, this time from WinFuture.
The site claims that the Galaxy S25 Edge will start at €1,249 in Germany. That’s for a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while a pricier model with 512GB of storage will apparently be sold for €1,369.
We won’t bother with price conversions here as they’re rarely accurate, but the key point is that this starting price would put the Galaxy S25 Edge right between the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus (€1,149) and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (€1,349).
If the same holds true elsewhere, then you can expect the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge to cost roughly $1,150 / £1,125 / AU$1,950, as that’s halfway between the price of the S25 Plus and the S25 Ultra in those regions.
You might also likeAustralia’s superannuation industry is experiencing a barrage of cyberattacks which have seen customers already lose more than AU$500,000.
AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Rest, Insignia and Hostplus all confirmed breaches, with the former confirming losing 600 member passwords, which cybercriminals tried to use in fraud attacks.
"We took immediate action to lock these accounts and let those members know," AustralianSuper's Chief Member Officer Rose Kerlin said, stressing that all members should reinforce their accounts with new, stronger passwords, and that they should check their balances.
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Unusual login activityFour members have cumulatively had AU$500,000 withdrawn from their accounts, Reuters further reported, citing an anonymous source. AustralianSuper is yet to comment on this information.
Rest Super, on the other hand, confirmed that the attack affected 20,000 accounts. "Over the weekend of 29-30 March 2025, Rest became aware of some unauthorized activity on our online Member Access portal," Rest CEO Vicki Doyle said. “We responded immediately by shutting down the Member Access portal, undertaking investigations and launching our cyber security incident response protocols."
Australian Retirement Trust also observed “unusual login activity” on “several hundreds” of accounts, but no withdrawals were attempted.
The country’s government has acknowledged these incidents and said it was working on a response.
The industry is a key component of the nation's savings system. It has seen substantial growth and consolidation in recent years. As of December 2024, the industry managed approximately $4.17 trillion in total superannuation assets, up 11.5% increase from the previous year. At the same time, there are approximately 23.1 million member accounts across 960 superannuation products.
Via Reuters
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This week inspired questions of self-reflection, like "could I talk for 25 hours straight?" and "do I feel liberated?" and "can you tell me again why the Wisconsin Supreme Court is important?"
A GOP electoral warning points to Elon Musk in the hot seat, and President Trump employed a third-term distraction. Also, a trade war rages, and there were mass firings at key scientific agencies.
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NCAA president Charlie Baker discusses a proposed settlement between college athletes and the NCAA for making direct payments to players for their name, image and likeness.
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Former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez, who likened President Trump to "Roman emperor" earlier this year, says he fears the U.S. revoked his visa over criticisms of Trump.
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The tone of voice and personality that brands use to market themselves to consumers has changed a lot in the past decade, with many brands communicating more frequently and in overly familiar ways.
President Trump is downplaying reports that far-right provocateur Laura Loomer influenced National Security Council firings on Thursday.
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The February 2022 protests, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, were sparked by a Canadian government vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
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South Korea's Constitutional Court removed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office on Friday, ending his tumultuous presidency and setting up an election to replace him.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will end a mortgage rescue plan that has saved many veterans from needlessly losing their homes, the move could strand thousands of others who need help.