Wednesday☕️

26 Mar 2025 — 6 min read

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Yesterday, March 25, 2025, Alexander Lukashenko was inaugurated for his seventh consecutive term as president of Belarus, a position he has held since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The ceremony occurred at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, where Lukashenko placed his right hand on the Belarusian Constitution and recited the presidential oath in the Belarusian language. This followed a presidential election on January 26, 2025, where official results indicated Lukashenko received nearly 87% of the vote. Opposition groups and some international observers have questioned the election’s integrity, citing reported irregularities.

Belarus is a presidential republic with Lukashenko as the head of state, leading a government that includes the National Assembly, a two-chamber parliament consisting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic, both predominantly composed of his supporters. Lukashenko first won the presidency in 1994 in an election recognized as fair by international standards at the time. He later amended the constitution through referendums to expand his authority and eliminate term limits. Belarus maintains a strong alliance with Russia, which provides economic and military assistance, including the presence of Russian troops and nuclear weapons in Belarus since 2022. The country also has economic ties with China, while its relationships with Western nations, such as the European Union and the United States, have remained tense, particularly following the disputed 2020 election.

Economics & Markets:

On March 25, 2025, World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture backed by President Donald Trump and his family, announced the launch of a new stablecoin called USD1. The announcement detailed that USD1 is designed to maintain a constant value of $1, fully backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents, with reserves held by California-based BitGo. The stablecoin will initially operate on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains, with plans to expand to other networks later. This move follows the company’s earlier success in raising $550 million through sales of its WLFI token, reflecting its growing presence in the crypto market. The launch was shared via a statement from the company, though no specific release date for trading was provided.
World Liberty Financial, founded in September 2024 by Trump, his sons, and real estate businessman Steve Witkoff, aims to offer a stable digital currency for secure, cross-border transactions, targeting sovereign investors and major institutions, according to co-founder Zach Witkoff. The USD1 launch aligns with a broader push in Congress for stablecoin legislation, potentially benefiting World Liberty Financial’s operations, though it enters a competitive market dominated by established players like Tether and USDC.

Environment & Weather:

As of March 26, 2025, wildfires in South Korea have resulted in at least 16 deaths. The largest fire began on March 22 in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, and has spread over four days to Andong, Cheongsong, Juwangsan National Park, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok. The fires have burned more than 15,000 hectares (37,066 acres) of land and destroyed over 150 buildings, leading to the evacuation of over 5,400 people. The southeastern regions, including Sancheong, Uiseong, and Ulsan, have been the most affected.

The South Korean government has responded by deploying resources to fight the wildfires, with over half of the fires extinguished by March 26. Efforts to contain the remaining blazes, including the major fire in Uiseong, are ongoing. More than 5,400 residents have been evacuated, and thousands of prison inmates have been moved from impacted zones. Several areas have been declared special disaster zones to aid response efforts. Social media has documented the fires’ impact, showing images of affected landscapes and communities. The fires have also damaged cultural sites, including a historic temple in Uiseong, though some artifacts were relocated beforehand.

Science & Technology:

Yesterday, March 25, 2025, OpenAI announced the launch of its GPT-4o image generation feature, integrating it into ChatGPT and Sora, its video generation platform. The announcement came during a livestream led by CEO Sam Altman, stating that the feature is now accessible to all ChatGPT users across Free, Plus, Pro, and Team tiers, with plans to include Enterprise, Education, and API users soon. Unlike the previous DALL-E 3 model used separately, GPT-4o allows image generation within the same chat interface, combining text and visual processing. Demonstrations during the event included examples of photorealistic images, text within visuals, and complex outputs like comics and infographics.

The GPT-4o image generation tool is intended for use in various fields such as design, education, and marketing. It enables users to specify details like aspect ratios, colors, and backgrounds via chat instructions. The model can process prompts with up to 20 objects and uses conversation history for context, though rendering may take up to a minute.

Figure Robots:

Yesterday, March 25, 2025, Figure, an AI robotics company, announced a new feature for its Figure 02 humanoid robot called "learned natural walking." This allows the robot to walk in a way that looks similar to how humans move. The company used a type of artificial intelligence called a neural network, trained with reinforcement learning, to teach the robot this skill. The training happened in a detailed computer simulation, where the robot learned from years’ worth of walking data in just a few hours, resulting in smooth and balanced steps. Videos from Figure showed the robot walking steadily in different settings, demonstrating progress in making humanoid robots better suited for places built for humans, like homes or offices.

This announcement highlights wider improvements in robotics that will lead to humanoid robots being able to perform complex tasks in the future. By using advanced AI, such as neural networks and reinforcement learning, robots can now learn complex actions faster than with traditional programming. Figure aims to create general-purpose robots that can work alongside people in places like warehouses or factories. These advancements, along with developments in hand movement, sensing, and interaction with humans, suggest that humanoid robots will one day be able to adapt to various jobs and environments, from industrial work to helping with daily activities.

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