Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
US Senate confirms staunch pro-Israel conservative Huckabee as Israel ambassador US issues new sanctions on Iran as Trump seeks talks Trump repeats threat to use military force if Iran does not agree to nuclear deal Are B-2 bombers a message to Iran? 'We'll let them decide,' Pentagon chief says U.S. and Russia swap prisoners in deal arranged by intelligence agencies Ukraine counts more than 150 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia Hezbollah says it is ready to enter talks with government on defense strategy South Korea sanctions Chinese nationals, HK, Russian entities over North Korea shipments Trump transforms tariff war into high-stakes showdown with China Taiwan President Lai Ching-te: Taiwan has a roadmap for deeper US trade ties WSJ’s Sadanand Dhume: Trump’s tariffs are Modi’s greatest economic test WSJ Editorial: Trump blinks on tariffs, again, for nowIn The News
Israel
An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City neighborhood killed 23 people on Wednesday, including eight children, and left more than 70 wounded, Gaza’s Civil Defense service said. About 20 people remained missing, but rescuers had little equipment to pull them from the rubble, the group said. The Israeli military said it had been targeting a Hamas operative who it said was responsible for planning attacks. – New York Times
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited the White House two months ago, President Trump sold him a brazen dream: The United States would take control of the Gaza Strip, relocate about two million Palestinians and turn the devastated seaside enclave into a glittering “riviera.” – New York Times
Turkey has been holding technical talks with Israel for deconfliction in Syria when needed, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday France could recognise a Palestinian state in June, adding that in turn some countries in the Middle East could recognise the state of Israel. – Reuters
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday backed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, installing a staunch pro-Israel conservative in the high-profile post amid war in Gaza and relations complicated by U.S. tariffs. – Reuters
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Wednesday that his country will offer temporary shelter to Palestinian medical evacuees and children orphaned by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. – Associated Press
Elie Podeh writes: Relations with Qatar, open and/or covert, serve Israel’s goals. However, if such relations come at the expense of Egypt in any way, then it is a mistake. For Israel, the size, proximity, and importance of Egypt makes it its most valuable Arab ally. Though diplomatic and military channels have been kept open during the war, contacts were not held at the helm. Moreover, several government ministers made extreme political statements that negatively reverberated in the Egyptian media. March 26 marked the 46th anniversary of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Yet it appears that the Israeli government tends to take this peace for granted, rather than treating it as a delicate flower in need of constant care and cultivation. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
The United States issued fresh sanctions targeting Iran on Wednesday, the Treasury Department said, two days after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. planned direct talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. – Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was up to Iran to decide whether the recent U.S. movement of B-2 bombers was a message to Tehran, as he voiced hope that U.S.-Iran negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program could be resolved peacefully. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated his threat to use military force if Iran did not agree to end its nuclear program, saying Israel would play a key role in any military action. – Reuters
Russia said on Wednesday the world was getting tired of endless threats against Iran and that bombing the Islamic Republic would not bring peace, cautioning that Tehran was already taking preventative measures. – Reuters
Iran’s president again pledged Wednesday that his nation is “not after a nuclear bomb” ahead of talks between Tehran and the United States, going as far as dangling the prospect of direct American investment in the Islamic Republic if the countries can reach a deal. – Associated Press
Russia and Ukraine
Russia and the U.S. carried out a prisoner swap early Thursday in Abu Dhabi in a sign of continuing confidence building, as the two sides pursue a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national who was sentenced last year to 12 years in a penal colony after being found guilty in Russia of treason for donating less than $100 to a U.S.-based Ukrainian charity. – Wall Street Journal
More than 150 Chinese citizens have joined the Russian military to fight against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The reports indicate a deeper Chinese involvement in the war than previously known, although a Western official said the men were most likely mercenaries. – Wall Street Journal
The number of covert Russian attacks nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024. That has worried European governments who fear that the invasion of Ukraine by President Vladimir V. Putin is part of a broader offensive that is underway elsewhere in the shadows and could easily escalate into additional overt aggression. – New York Times
The attack last Friday killed 19 civilians, including nine children, making it the deadliest strike against children since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the United Nations. The assault, the worst on Kryvyi Rih during the war, sent shock waves across Ukraine, which declared a day of national mourning on Sunday. – New York Times
U.S. and Russian delegations arrived on Thursday for talks in Istanbul on normalising the work of their diplomatic missions after the war in Ukraine triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War. – Reuters
Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Ukraine had carried out six attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the past day, in violation of a U.S.-brokered moratorium on hitting energy infrastructure targets. – Reuters
Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, injuring at least 12 people, authorities said on Thursday. – Reuters
Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia had launched a new offensive on the northeast of the country, adding that a large increase in assaults was already being observed. – Reuters
Iraq
Iraq signed non-binding agreements with two American companies to add 27 gigawatts to its power production capacity in an effort to address increasing demand for electricity. – Bloomberg
The United States has declined to renew a waiver that had allowed Iraq to buy electricity from Iran without running afoul of sanctions, a U.S. official said Sunday. – Associated Press
Iran has transferred new long-range missiles to proxy groups in Iraq over the past week, defying hopes that the anti-American militias would disarm amid concern of an escalation with US President Donald Trump, according to a Tuesday report, amid preparations for high-level US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman Saturday. – Times of Israel
Turkey
Turkish police detained two prominent opposition journalists in early morning raids on Thursday in Istanbul as part of an investigation into alleged threats and blackmail, according to a court document seen by Reuters. – Reuters
President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is not expecting a negative situation for its trade, production and exports as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which went into effect on Wednesday. – Reuters
Ryan Gingeras writes: Whatever choice he makes, Turkish politics will likely grow more volatile. Lest one forget, any one of these scenarios would weigh heavily on Turkey’s long-reeling economy. In light of the Trump administration’s tariff policy and the growing prospects of a global recession, a severe economic downturn is not outside the realm of possibilities for Turkey. In short, Erdoğan’s dual efforts to strengthen his hold on power, while boosting Turkey’s influence in the Middle East, may weaken him further and precipitate far more severe crises. What sort of dimensions such a crisis would assume is difficult to know. At this stage, given global conditions, it seems easier to imagine Turkey growing weaker, or at least more unpredictable, than not. – War on the Rocks
Egypt
Egypt will offer stakes in military-owned companies through its sovereign wealth fund, the cabinet said on Wednesday, seeking to meet the requirements of the International Monetary Fund to expand the private sector’s role in the economy. – Reuters
Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated to 13.6% in March from 12.8% in February, higher than analysts had expected, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday. – Reuters
The IDF informed the Egyptian army of their intention to transform Rafah into a “complete buffer zone” and deploy heavy equipment in the area, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported on Thursday. Israeli officials also recommended that Cairo avoid sending additional military reinforcements to the Gaza border, the report stated. – Jerusalem Post
Saudi Arabia
Saudi oil firm Aramco has discovered 14 oil and natural gas fields and reservoirs in the kingdom’s Eastern Region and the Empty Quarter, state news agency SPA said on Wednesday, containing small volumes. – Reuters
Tesla’s entry into Saudi Arabia is a fresh signal Musk has mended relations with the kingdom after a spat with Yasir Al Rumayyan, head of the $925 billion Public Investment Fund. The two had a falling out after Musk tweeted in August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private on the basis of preliminary talks he’d had with Al Rumayyan. – Bloomberg
The kingdom’s budget deficit will probably soar to $67 billion this year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. calculated in projections provided exclusively to Bloomberg News. That’s well over double the government’s base forecast from late 2024 and will likely force Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to borrow more on global bond markets and further cut back his multitrillion-dollar plans to transform the economy. – Bloomberg
Middle East & North Africa
The Islamic State has shown renewed vigor in Syria, attracting fighters and increasing attacks, according to the United Nations and U.S. officials, adding to the volatility of a country still reeling since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. – New York Times
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said on Thursday it is ready to enter into talks with the Lebanese government on a national defense strategy. – Reuters
Suspected US airstrikes in Yemen overnight into Thursday killed at least three people, while the death toll in an earlier attack rose to 13 dead, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said. The rebels meanwhile aired footage they said showed the debris left after shooting down yet another American MQ-9 Reaper drone. – Times of Israel
Simon Henderson writes: With four or five weeks to go before the Trump trip, many things can crop up to alter the schedule of the agendas. Almost anything could happen. “Expect the unexpected” was a line I used in an AGBI op-ed in January, four days after Trump’s inauguration. I was reminded of it by the interviewer during a live, simultaneously translated interview I had with BBC Persian Television on April 6. That’s the channel broadcast into Iran and possibly watched by an ayatollah or two, and probably the intelligence side of the Revolutionary Guards. The phrase certainly covers Trump’s continuing diplomatic style. It is perhaps important to remember that the Saudis, Qataris and Emiratis will be mindful of it in their planning during the run-up to his Gulf visit. And the Iranians as well. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
South Korea said on Thursday it has imposed sanctions against Hong Kong and Russian entities, alongside two Chinese nationals, for involvement in operating vessels in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea. – Reuters
South Korea’s Constitutional Court overturned on Thursday parliament’s impeachment of Justice Minister Park Sung-jae for his involvement in the December 3 martial law declaration by ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap News Agency reported. – Reuters
South Korea’s top trade envoy Cheong In-kyo said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff reprieve had provided room for negotiations, as the country seeks to reduce tariffs through talks. – Reuters
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who is the front-runner in opinion polls to be the country’s next leader, declared his bid for the presidency on Thursday, promising to fix inequality and spur economic growth. – Reuters
Han Dong-hoon, a former leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, announced his bid for the presidency on Thursday. – Reuters
China
By pausing global tariffs against dozens of countries and raising them on China, President Trump has set up a high-stakes showdown in hopes he can pressure Beijing into a face-saving deal after weeks of global turmoil. There is little sign so far, though, that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is ready to buckle. – Wall Street Journal
With the latest sharp escalation in tariffs on China, U.S. orders for Chinese factories are getting canceled and Chinese manufacturers say they can’t lower prices further for U.S. customers. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump’s effort to remake the global trading system has sent shock waves through Taiwan — first, with the announcement that its exports to the United States would be hit with a 32 percent tariff, except for its computer chips. – Washington Post
China’s energy storage industry faces a double whammy to its sales prospects from punitive US tariffs and scaled-back support from the government in its domestic market. – Bloomberg
Michael Sobolik writes: U.S. policymakers need to identify and exploit whatever Chinese leaders care about more in the short term than incremental gains in the Taiwan Strait. Weapons sales would help Taipei, but dialing down the temperature would help even more. Washington has options so long as policymakers steel their resolve to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Xi. If he’s strategic in his approach, Mr. Trump can succeed where Presidents Obama and Biden failed. – Wall Street Journal
Lai Ching-te writes: Our approach is long term and principled, grounded in a lasting commitment to our friendship with the US, a firm belief in the benefits of fair and reciprocal trade, and an unwavering dedication to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We are confident that our shared economic and security interests will not only overcome turbulence in the international trade environment — they will define the future of a free and open Indo-Pacific. – Bloomberg
Joseph Bosco writes: At that point, Chinese military officials will make it known that they are preparing for nuclear war with the United States. Finally, Xi will declare that he and his good American friend will reason together to prevent that catastrophe. That scenario will produce for Taiwan the same protracted abandonment Ukraine is suffering under Trump. Trump can short-circuit it only by declaring publicly and unequivocally that the U.S. will defend Taiwan, and that the burden is on China to prevent the conflict. – The Hill
Kurt M. Campbell and Rush Doshi write: Such a commitment is not just a policy, but a signal of the capabilities of the United States, its allies, and partners. The Chinese Communist Party is inordinately focused on perceptions of American power, and a critical input in that equation is its estimation of Washington’s ability to pull in the allies and partners that even Beijing openly admits are the United States’ greatest advantage. Accordingly, the most effective U.S. strategy—the one that has most unsettled Beijing in recent years and can deter its adventurism in the future—is to build new, enduring, and robust capacities with these states. A sustained, bipartisan commitment to an upgraded alliance network, coupled with strategic cooperation in emerging fields, offers the best path forward to finding scale against the most formidable competitor the United States has ever encountered. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
India wants to move quickly on a trade deal with the United States, a government official said on Thursday, after President Donald Trump’s stunning decision to pause hefty reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, while hiking levies on China. – Reuters
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said her country’s economy – hit by U.S trade tariffs – will need help from the Reserve Bank of India and the government as she welcomed Wednesday’s interest rate cut by the central bank. – Reuters
India has approved the purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets from France for its navy, two people aware of the decision said on Wednesday, a move aimed at deterring threats as rival China grows its naval presence in the Indian Ocean. – Reuters
India has withdrawn a transhipment facility for Bangladesh’s export cargoes to other countries via its land borders, in a fresh blow to Dhaka which is already reeling from steep U.S. tariffs on its goods. – Reuters
Pakistan plans to allocate part of its surplus electricity to Bitcoin mining and AI data centres, the head of Pakistan’s Crypto Council and adviser to the finance minister said on Wednesday, adding it had held talks with several mining firms. – Reuters
Sadanand Dhume writes: For Mr. Modi, the challenge also presents an opportunity. To lift India’s economy, he could tackle the complicated labor laws, byzantine tax policies, bureaucratic overreach and unreliable electricity supplies that have made India uncompetitive as a manufacturing destination compared with nimbler Asian rivals. Prachi Mishra, an economist at Ashoka University in India, said in an email that New Delhi ought to adopt a four-pronged strategy: Expedite free-trade agreements, reform labor regulations, make it easier to extract raw materials and create large special economic zones for labor-intensive manufacturing. Mr. Modi should have pursued these economic reforms years ago. But perhaps Mr. Trump will force him to do what he should have done from the start. – Wall Street Journal
Andy Mukherjee writes: The Americans will have to accept high tariffs as well as the requirement that milk, butter and cheese sold locally only come from animals that have not consumed feeds containing “internal organs, blood meal, or tissues of ruminant or porcine origin.” Washington views these conditions as a nontariff barrier devoid of any animal or human health justification. However, no Indian government — let alone one led by the self-appointed guardian of the Hindu right — will dare sacrifice a core cultural value of the nation’s vegetarian population. Or incur the wrath of dairy farmers in Gujarat, Modi’s home state. Let quality control on food stand; most of the rest should go. Especially the inspector raj. – Bloomberg
Hely Desai writes: As political winds shift and India recalibrates its approach to China, it should ensure that the recent diplomatic thaw does not lead to strategic complacency. While dialogue may offer temporary stability, deterrence ultimately rests on a combination of military capability and political resolve. If India fails to act now, it risks not just playing catch-up later but being strategically sidelined in an evolving global order. The time for half-measures has passed. India should either commit to serious military transformation or accept the consequences of stagnation. – War on the Rocks
Asia
Markets in Asia staged gains during morning trading on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced he would increase tariffs on goods from China to 125 percent, while also pausing many new tariffs on goods from other nations, including Japan and South Korea. – Washington Post
New Zealand and Australia said on Thursday they are each working with other nations on a possible joint response to shore up free trade against a barrage of U.S. tariffs. – Reuters
New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday comprehensively rejected a bill aimed at reinterpreting the principles of the country’s founding agreement following months of protest and debate over the place of indigenous Maori in the Pacific nation. – Reuters
Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region said on Thursday they have killed more than 17 people since the weekend, claiming that they were soldiers disguised as gold miners, and police said the insurgents were holding two hostages. – Reuters
Australia on Thursday declined Beijing’s proposal to work together to counter U.S. tariffs, saying instead it would continue to diversify its trade and lower its reliance on China, its largest trading partner. – Reuters
Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister is set to talk on Wednesday with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and plans also to meet Boeing, SpaceX and Apple executives this week, according to an internal schedule seen by Reuters. – Reuters
Europe
U.S. distillers breathed “a huge sigh of relief” after American whiskey was left out of a package of products set to be hit with tariffs in Europe in retaliation for President Trump’s own sweeping import duties. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union hit back at President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs Wednesday by approving levies of up to 25 percent on a sweeping list of U.S. products, as the bloc’s leaders attempted to bring Washington to the negotiating table and Trump signaled a new willingness to compromise. – Washington Post
The parallels between President Trump and Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, are growing starker. Ms. Truss triggered market turmoil in 2022 after she proposed sweeping tax cuts that she proposed to pay for with massive government borrowing. Ms. Truss was ultimately doomed by fears of a credit crisis after yields on British government bonds spiked. – New York Times
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Wednesday it was vital for the country’s economy to extend a permit-free freight regime with the European Union until at least the end of the year. – Reuters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the US decision to pause a round of global tariffs can serve as a way to open “a door to negotiation” and therefore could lead to an agreement. – Bloomberg
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama hailed Donald Trump as “good for everyone,” portraying the president’s abrasive treatment of US allies as an opportunity for a European Union that has lost its way to rediscover its mojo and build its global influence. – Bloomberg
Rosa Prince writes: Having failed to dodge the initial imposition of tariffs completely, the British government’s next aim of negotiating a swift trade deal with Washington to ameliorate their worst effects seems similarly doomed. Meanwhile, Trump will put pressure on the UK not to carve out alternative arrangements with China and the EU, or form an economic coalition of the willing with the likes of Canada, Australia, and Japan. But Starmer can’t allow him to dictate British trade policy. – Bloomberg
Matthew Brooker writes: It’s difficult to overstate just what a watershed moment this was for Europe (and one that China, with its globalization happy talk, still seems not to have absorbed). Once the mask has slipped, the illusion can’t be seen again. The US may be acting in an unfriendly manner right now, but at least it doesn’t have a historical dedication to the subjugation of liberal democratic freedoms — and there is always the chance that it will return to its senses at some point. What such hopes can Europe have for Communist China? – Bloomberg
Africa
Authorities in Mauritius arrested the former finance minister and central bank governor on Wednesday as part of an investigation into embezzlement at a state company, the Indian Ocean island nation’s financial crimes commission said. – Reuters
Tanzanian police arrested the leader of the country’s main opposition party on Wednesday as he finished addressing a public meeting, his party said. – Reuters
The top opposition candidate in Gabon’s presidential election challenged the eligibility of Brice Oligui Nguema in an interview with Reuters, saying the putschist-turned-frontrunner posed a threat to democracy. – Reuters
The United States has pushed for a deal that would ensure the reopening of a major tin mine in war-hit eastern Congo, four sources briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. – Reuters
African countries have watched with mounting angst as President Donald Trump has taken a hatchet to foreign aid and slapped tariffs on some of the world’s poorest nations. Now they’re concerned that US military cooperation that’s aided the fight against terrorists and rebellions may be next. – Bloomberg
The Americas
The barrage of tariffs President Donald Trump levied last week, which sent shock waves through global markets, sparked pledges to retaliate from key U.S. trading partners but few made immediate moves to intensify the global trade war the White House appears eager to pursue. – Washington Post
Panama said on Wednesday the United States recognized its sovereignty over the Panama Canal, despite tough rhetoric from Washington, as the two nations announced agreements to deepen U.S. military training in the Central American nation. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that his nation will be reciprocal on tariffs announced by the United States, but noted the Latin American country will “use every word for negotiation that is in the dictionary” first. – Reuters
North America
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said President Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs marked a “welcome reprieve” for the global economy. Carney had warned this week that the probability of a U.S. recession had escalated due to the President’s tariff policy, and that Canada could not avert the fallout from a downturn. – Wall Street Journal
Mexican officials are scrambling to come up with a plan to increase the amount of water the country sends to the United States because of growing concern that President Donald Trump could drag a dispute over an 81-year-old water treaty into trade negotiations, according to three sources familiar with the matter. – Reuters
The leaders of Mexico and Brazil said on Wednesday they would work to strengthen trade between their nations — Latin America’s two biggest economies — as a counterweight to U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting positions on global tariffs that have thrown markets into chaos. – Associated Press
United States
President Trump finally blinked. It took a week for the plunge in the stock and bond markets—along with a sustained campaign by executives, lawmakers, lobbyists and foreign leaders—to prompt Trump to roll back for 90 days a major element of his sweeping tariff plan. – Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged four Americans for their role in an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo after three of the men were returned to U.S. custody this week, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday aimed at reviving U.S. shipbuilding and reducing China’s grip on the global shipping industry, vowing to boost funding for the effort in coming years. – Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was not trying to re-invigorate trade with Russia by sparing Russian goods from new tariffs, but it was up to Trump whether to impose any future duties. – Reuters
U.S. judges in Texas and New York dealt blows on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s effort to revive deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a nationwide ban on such removals. – Reuters
US immigration authorities said Wednesday they will look at social media accounts and deny visas or residence permits to people who have exhibited “antisemitic activity,” including support for terror groups, online. – Times of Israel
Editorial: Who knows what Mr. Trump really intends, and it isn’t clear he even knows. He’s still fixated on erasing the U.S. trade deficit with nearly every individual nation, which makes no sense given the differences in economies. His 90-day pause means the tariffs could come back with a vengeance if he doesn’t like the concessions countries offer. For businesses, this means more uncertainty, which means continuing delays in capital investment crucial for growth. Consumers will still feel pain because companies price inventory on replacement cost, not average cost, so tariffs are already hitting prices. – Wall Street Journal
Karl Rove writes: Little has been done on either problem for eight years. High tariffs and bellicose U.S. rhetoric will only push those countries into China’s arms while doing nothing to stop IP theft. Declining approval numbers, dropping consumer confidence, a falling stock market, growing talk of a recession—all in fewer than 100 days. Mr. Trump is smart to take an off-ramp by cutting tariff deals. The alternative might have been global economic crisis and a Republican wipeout in the midterms. – Wall Street Journal
Cybersecurity
Ziroh Labs, an artificial intelligence startup operating in India, collaborated with researchers at the country’s premier technology school to design an affordable system that it says can run large AI models without requiring advanced computing chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. – Bloomberg
U.S. senators on Wednesday took a light touch with the acting head of U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed bewilderment over the firing of his predecessor less than a week ago. – The Record
Human rights nonprofit Amnesty International urged Thai authorities this week to investigate claims of state-sponsored cyberattacks against human rights organizations and pro-democracy activists following the leak of internal government documents that seemingly detailed such an operation. – The Record
German authorities suspect that Russian state-backed hackers were behind a recent cyberattack on a prominent Berlin-based research institute focused on Eastern Europe, the second such incident involving the organization in recent months. – The Record
Sebastien Laye writes: “What distinguishes leaders from laggards and greatness from mediocrity is the ability to uniquely imagine what could be,” American author Robert Fritz once boldly asserted. This quote applies well to the fact that the U.S. edge in artificial intelligence systems is dwindling by the day. The stakes are increasing, however, with artificial general intelligence on the horizon. – Washington Examiner
Defense
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to review the Pentagon’s weapons acquisition process, including assessments of top weapons programs that may be behind schedule and beset by cost overruns. – Bloomberg
Over the next five years Marine aviators should see more F-35s, an upgraded MV-22 Osprey fleet, a larger fleet of cargo aircraft and data-enabled predictive aircraft maintenance. – Defense News
General Atomics and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are teaming up to produce a long-range precision-guided missile for the U.S. market, the companies announced this week. – Defense News
Peter Suciu writes: “This situation reflects a broader pattern of power consolidation and ideological filtering within the security apparatus.” Tsukerman further warned that the consequence is not merely administrative disruption but a weakening of the U.S. defensive posture. “If loyalty is no longer to the rule of law but to the preferences of the executive, then what we face is not reform, but a slow unraveling of democratic guardrails that once ensured strategic continuity and institutional resilience,” Tsukerman continued. – The National Interest