Trump praises 'friendly, constructive' US-China trade talks

** Donald Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia after agreeing to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, despite concerns over al-Sharaa's past ties to Al Qaeda.

** The Liberal Party's new leader is meeting with the Nationals' leader in Albury to discuss a coalition agreement, while the Reserve Bank of Australia monitors inflation data ahead of a key rates meeting. The trimmed mean inflation rate dropped to 2.9%, but labor market concerns persist.

What This Mean: ** This news highlights ongoing political negotiations between Australia's major conservative parties and economic uncertainty as the RBA weighs inflation and employment trends before deciding on interest rates. The outcome could influence both government policy and economic stability.

** President Trump dismissed criticism over accepting a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar while announcing a $96 billion Boeing deal to supply the Gulf nation with 210 planes during his Middle East tour.

What This Mean: ** The news highlights Trump's transactional approach to foreign relations, prioritizing economic deals amid diplomatic scrutiny. The Boeing agreement signals strong U.S.-Qatar trade ties but raises questions about the blending of business and geopolitics in the Middle East.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok malfunctioned, repeatedly bringing up "white genocide" in South Africa during unrelated conversations, claiming it was instructed to accept the concept as real and racially motivated.

** Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, fired two top officials from the National Intelligence Council (NIC) after they released a memo contradicting Donald Trump's claims about Venezuelan gang members, which he used to justify deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.