📈 The Peak on Saturday

Good morning. And happy Valentine’s Day, to lovebirds and singles alike. 

Here’s a word of warning before you use ChatGPT to write any love letters on your behalf: a new psychological study from the University of Kent found that participants perceived personal messages drafted by AI as "less caring, less authentic, less trustworthy, and lazier.” 

We could have told you that without having to run a study.

—Quinn Henderson, Lucas Arender, Taylor Scollon

Like an overzealous recruiter on LinkedIn, the CIA wants to know if any Chinese nationals are #opentowork as a spy. 

What happened: The CIA released a spy recruitment video this week targeting members of the Chinese government and military, part of its push to rebuild its intelligence sources within the country. The video was shared on YouTube, X, and, of course, LinkedIn. 

Catch-up: About 15 years ago, China’s main intelligence agency uncovered a network of Chinese nationals who they believed were spying on behalf of the CIA. Dozens of them were imprisoned or executed, and the U.S. largely lost its intelligence foothold in the country. 

Why it matters: Espionage between China and Western nations, including Canada, has become increasingly brazen — so much so that the CIA is now openly advertising its spy recruitment efforts. 

Bottom line: The spying is certainly not one-sided, but China’s efforts dwarf those of other countries. China’s intelligence-gathering operation is made up of ~600,000 people, while its hacking program alone is larger than every other major nation’s combined.—LA

🇺🇸 Trump plans rollback of steel, aluminum tariffs. The U.S. president is reportedly planning to soften his 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum over concerns that they are increasing costs of goods for consumers (big surprise!) and voter anger over affordability is threatening to cost Republicans control over Congress in November’s midterm elections. (Financial Times)

🇨🇭 Switzerland to vote on population cap. Swiss voters will decide in a referendum this summer whether to limit the country’s population to 10 million. If passed, the government will have to deny entry to newcomers — including families of current residents — once the population reaches 9.5 million. Switzerland’s population is currently 9.1 million. (Guardian)

🇰🇵 Kim Jong Un’s daughter in line to lead North Korea. South Korean intelligence says that Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, is likely to succeed him as North Korea’s next leader. Little is known about Kim Ju Ae, but she has recently accompanied her father at more high-profile military events and state visits. (The Associated Press)

🇻🇦 Vatican Bank launches Catholic-friendly stock indexes. The new Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles Index and Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles Index will, according to the Vatican, choose stocks that are consistent with Catholic principles. The top holdings in the indexes are ASML and Meta, respectively. We defer to the experts on what makes those companies particularly aligned with Catholic teachings. (Bloomberg News)

🇹🇭 Thailand’s new governing party forms coalition. The conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which, to the surprise of many, won nearly 40% of seats in Sunday’s election, will enter a coalition with the populist Pheu Thai party. The new governing coalition could usher in an era of political instability for the country. (Reuters)—TS

After revolutionary protests that kicked out an autocratic government, Bangladeshi voters have chosen to roll with a familiar face.

What happened: The centrist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) scored a decisive victory in the country’s first federal election since the protests that ousted the previous government in 2024, and first competitive national election since 2008. The BNP has been in power three times before and is led by Tarique Rahman, “the scion of a political dynasty.”

Why it matters: The Bangladeshi uprising was the precursor to a wave of “Gen Z protests” that swept developing nations across the globe last year. The country’s decision to elect a moderate old-guard party promising stability and gradual change rather than roll the dice on a new, untested party could be an early indicator of the direction other countries take post-protests.

What’s next: Nepal, which toppled its government in September, will vote in March, with nearly one million new voters registered since the protests. We will see if they make like Bangladesh and turn to an old-guard party. They could even re-elect the deposed PM.—QH

Catch up on yesterday: 

What’s happening today:

Eat a Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed. Nothing says ‘I love you’ like making your sweetie a brekky they can eat while still tucked in. These recipes from the Guardian elevate standard breakfast-in-bed fare. And if you’re single, consider doing it as a form of self-love.

Read King Pong by Raiford Guins. This new book chronicles the fascinating history of Pong — the first commercially successful video game — and how the brilliantly simple game built what would become the gaming industry through groundbreaking market innovation.

Watch Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, now in theatres. The feature film culmination of Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll’s cult hit Canadian show was maybe our favourite movie of TIFF last year. See it with a packed audience and prepare to bust a gut.

Listen to Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX. We’re not rushing out to see the Wuthering Heights movie (tbh, it doesn’t look great), but we absolutely will be spinning Charli XCX’s accompanying soundtrack — her first new record since the Brat remix album.—QH

Hint: A classical music mecca, this European city is the birthplace of Mozart and served as the unmistakable filming location for The Sound of Music. It is home to impossibly blue lakes and world-famous Alps, making it a popular destination for hikers and mountain bikers. 

Have an inkling where this might be? Take a closer look and lock in your guess here.

Congratulations to the winners of last week's cartoon caption contest and thanks to everyone who submitted!

Want to see this week's cartoon and try your hand at another caption? Click here and give us your best witticism.

Kickstart the weekend with The Peak’s Saturday Crossword, the daily sudoku, and another round of Codebreaker. 

Then, a fake headline is in our midst, and it’s up to you to find it.

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Headline #4 is for the birds (that means it’s fake).