⚡️🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran delegations in Pakistan for peace talks amid fragile ceasefire

Trilateral talks between the US and Iran are underway with Pakistan serving as a mediator. Vice President JD Vance is leading the American delegation, which includes U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

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✈️ FAA courts gamers to become air traffic controllers

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just released a YouTube video targeted at gamers, asking them if they’re ready for a challenge and saying they’ve been training for it. This clip is part of the agency’s move to hire more personnel as the nation grapples with an air traffic controller shortage, with the FAA estimating that it would need to add 3,000 more fully certified controllers to its ranks.

Air traffic control is one of the most stressful jobs in the aviation industry. Gamers are valued for their hand-eye coordination, decisiveness when facing complex situations, and the ability to focus on screens for hours on end — crucial traits built over hours of gaming, which, incidentally, are also useful in the high-stress environment of air traffic control (ATC).

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🇨🇳 China’s BYD debuts electric SUV with up to 590-mile range capability, 130.15 kWh battery

The BYD Great Tang full-size SUV is now reaching dealerships across China ahead of its planned April presale debut at the Beijing Auto Show. In its most capable form, the SUV is expected to deliver up to around 590 miles of driving range, positioning it as a long-distance option in the segment.

#BRICS

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🚘 Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that outsmarts even smart headphones

Pedestrians wearing headphones are exposed to an increased risk of accidents. In an effort to reduce collisions with cyclists, Škoda Auto, in collaboration with scientists, introduces an innovative bicycle bell whose sound can penetrate even active noise cancellation systems. In doing so, it helps prevent injuries to both pedestrians and cyclists and contribute to increased safety in urban traffic.

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🇲🇽 Mexico to roll out universal healthcare next year

Mexico’s 120 million citizens will begin to enjoy free, universal access to healthcare from next year, following a decree by president Claudia Sheinbaum. The first phase of the new universal system will begin on 13 April, with citizens aged 85 and older eligible to register for the ID needed to access care. From January 2027, healthcare institutions will start working together to bridge gaps in access to care.

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🤑 What the DeFi is happening on Stellar?

Something remarkable is happening on Stellar. While the broader crypto market debates narratives and chases hype cycles, a sophisticated DeFi ecosystem has been quietly maturing on one of the industry's most battle-tested networks. Protocols are shipping. TVL is climbing. And real-world assets are finally finding their onchain home.

The OGs: Pioneers of Stellar DeFi 📚

Every thriving ecosystem needs healthy growth, and the early DeFi builders on Stellar have delivered exactly that. They're production-grade protocols attracting meaningful capital and real users.

1. Blend: The lending primitive Blend crossed a significant milestone early in 2026, surpassing $80 million in TVL according to DeFiLlama. For a deeper dive into how Blend has achieved this growth and what it means for Stellar DeFi, check out Marijo's excellent breakdown on X.

2. Aquarius: Aquarius continues to demonstrate that an independent, decentralized exchange on Stellar can have serious staying power. Holding over $40 million in TVL in Jan-Feb 2026 on DeFiLlama, the widely-used DEX has become a reliable liquidity hub for the ecosystem, providing the swap infrastructure that other protocols depend on.

3. DeFindex: One of the most exciting developments in ecosystem maturity is the DeFindex integration with Blend. By offering access to Blend pools, DeFindex is making it dramatically easier for Stellar dApps to tap into the ecosystem's growing DeFi capabilities.

🚀 Just launched: Fresh protocols expanding the frontier

1. Templar: Templar introduces a powerful new borrowing mechanism to Stellar. Users can now borrow stablecoins such as USDC against collateral like XLM—and soon against real-world assets (RWAs). This expands functionality for asset holders who want liquidity without selling their positions.

2. Sushi: The first concentrated liquidity DEX on Stellar is here. Liquidity pools including PYUSD<>USDC, XLM<>USDC, and USDY<>USDC are now live and in use! Sushi's deployment brings the swap efficiency of concentrated liquidity to the ecosystem, allowing liquidity providers to optimize their positions. Cross-chain functionality is on the Q2 roadmap.

3. RWAfi: Centrifuge announced the launch on Stellar of DeFi versions of deJTRSY, the Janus Henderson Short-Term US Treasury strategy, and deJAAA, their AAA-rated CLO strategy. This represents a significant step toward bringing institutional-grade, high quality real-world assets into DeFi rails.

4. Utila: For institutions and power users, Utila offers a new multichain MPC wallet with Soroban (Stellar smart contracts) support. Now enterprises can participate confidently in Stellar DeFi, with the ability to simulate transactions, safely interact with protocols, and even plug yield.xyz into the UX.

📆 What's coming: The next two quarters will bring an explosion of new functionality—perps, PayFi, new stablecoins, tokenized commodities, and more.

Stellar has always had the core value proposition of fast finality, low fees, and a network that's been running reliably since 2015. What's been building over the past year is the DeFi infrastructure to match.

If you've been waiting for Stellar DeFi to "arrive"—it's here. And it's just getting started. 🌎💫

#Stellar

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🌘 Oxygen made from Moon dust for first time

Blue Origin had developed a reactor that could successfully release oxygen from lunar soil by using an electric current. Scientists and engineers want to extract the oxygen to repurpose it as breathable air or rocket fuel. Transporting oxygen to space from Earth would be too dangerous and expensive, so making it on the Moon is seen as a key step for long-term habitation.

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📶 Motorola Solutions teams up with Starlink and T-Mobile to deliver satellite-powered connectivity for first responders using APX NEXT devices with 5G + direct-to-cell support

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📆 Reminder: Our meeting is coming up!

Have you prepared your questions yet? If not, there’s still time — come ready to share, ask, and explore 💬💫 This Q&A + Meet & Greet Call is built around the topics you care about most, so your voice matters.

🔘Monday, April 13 @ 9pm CST / 4am CET / 2pm NZST 🌐

❗️Don’t forget to take the test and complete the course → @QSITrainingBot

We’re excited to see you — don’t miss it! 🚀

#Stellar

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🇨🇳🇹🇼 China says it will resume some ties with Taiwan after visit by opposition leader

China said it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan such as direct flights and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products following a visit by the Beijing-friendly opposition leader of the self-ruled island.

In the statement, China plans to resume direct flights between Taiwan and mainland cities like Xi’an or Urumqi. China also said it would work toward construction of a bridge that would connect the mainland to Matsu and Kinmen, Taiwanese islands that are closer geographically to China.

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📱 XChat lands on iPhone April 17 , Musk’s messaging play Is finally real

XChat, a standalone messaging app developed by X, was announced to launch on iOS devices including iPhone and iPad. The app was designed with a focus on privacy, featuring end-to-end encryption to secure user communications.

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🇨🇳 China has unveiled a new category of miniature vehicles: toy-sized cars that are fully operational

China produces a variety of tiny cars and scaled-down replicas inspired by icons like the Toyota AE86 Trueno (the legendary "Hachi-Roku" from Initial D) and the Porsche 911 (especially 964-era models). These range from full-size body shells to adult-sized electric go-kart-style minis, often built for fun, drifting, or display. 😁

#BRICS

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⚡️🇭🇺 Hungarian Leader Orban Concedes Loss in Landslide Election

An upstart opposition party in Hungary ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in a historic election that will redefine the country’s relationship with the European Union, Russia and the US administration of President Donald Trump.

Peter Magyar’s Tisza party was headed for a supermajority in parliament that will allow it to deliver on bold promises to dismantle Orban’s self-styled illiberal system. Tisza had 69% of the parliamentary mandates compared with 28% for Orban’s Fidesz, according to the Election Office in Budapest with 90% of the votes counted.

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🌐🇵🇭 Philippines Asks Facebook to Curb Fake News, Warns of Legal Move

The Philippine government has asked Meta Platforms to implement measures to curb the spread of “false and panic-inducing content” on its platforms, warning of possible legal action if the company fails to act swiftly. The Presidential Communications Office said that it had identified several categories of harmful content circulating online.

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🗺 China develops crystal that could enable GPS-free navigation for submarines, missiles

Scientists from Xinjiang University in China have developed a new ultraviolet (UV) producing crystal that could help build extremely accurate thorium nuclear clocks. Essential for tasks like guidance, this could help navigate things like submarines or deep-space probes without GPS in the future.

The new crystal can convert laser light into very short wavelength ultraviolet light (145.2 nm). This is short of the 148.3 nm, but beats the previous world record of 150 nm, which is a major achievement.

Scientists believe that nuclear clocks which use vibrations in atomic nuclei instead, could be 10-1000 times more accurate. This development is groundbreaking as atomic nuclei are more stable than electrons, and less affected by things like temperature. They are also less impacted by external vibration and other things like magnetic fields.

#BRICS

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💀 Elon Musk Appears to Post on TikTok

Elon Musk's verified TikTok account posted for the first time to the video sharing site. The clip is speaking about the future and showed a supercut of achievements and promotional material from his companies SpaceX and Tesla. The video was captioned “Ad Astra,” a Latin phrase meaning “to the stars.” 💫

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⚡️🇯🇵 Takaichi Urges Constitutional Reform Talks as Hormuz Risk Looms

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged her ruling party to accelerate talks on constitutional reform — a move that could make her the first leader to achieve it, but which risks alienating voters if she’s unable to generate broader public support.

“I hope that we can go into next year’s party congress saying that there is a clear prospect for initiating constitutional revision,” — Takaichi said at a party meeting on Sunday. “Let us put our story and our vision of an ideal Japan into words and inscribe it onto a new page in the book of history.”

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🚀 Q&A + Meet & Greet Call Reminder – Happening Today!

🎯Today’s Сall will focus on the topics you care about most. Come prepared with your questions — we’re here to answer all of them!

Don’t be shy or afraid 🙌
Be active, get involved, and make the most of it! ✨

QSI was built "By the People, For the People"🔣 precisely because we wish to serve others so they have an easier time onboarding into the ecosystem and learning what Stellar is all about. 💫

📆 Don’t miss out — if this speaks to you, join us in Zoom!

🔘Monday, April 13 @ 9pm CST / 4am CET / 2pm NZST 🌐

📌 Beginners reminder: Please make sure you’ve completed the course and passed the test → @QSITrainingBot ✅

We look forward to seeing you all! 💖
See you soon! ⌛️

#Stellar

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