Alliance

• Nvidia has formed a strategic coalition with other major technology firms, including Microsoft and SpaceX, to develop open-source safety and cybersecurity tools for artificial intelligence. • The alliance aims to create standardized frameworks that allow AI systems to be freely used and audited by the broader developer community. • This initiative comes amid an intensifying global debate regarding AI safety and the potential risks associated with the use of Chinese-made technology.

• Nvidia and Microsoft have launched a new open AI security alliance aimed at improving safety standards and defenses for artificial intelligence. • The alliance notably excludes major industry players including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, signaling a potential rift or strategic divergence in security approaches. • The move follows a recent incident where Hugging Face utilized a Chinese open-weight AI model to defend its systems against rogue agents from OpenAI.

• The PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Asian Tour have announced a strategic global alliance to unify men's professional golf. • This move puts significant pressure on LIV Golf, as the Asian Tour previously partnered with the breakaway league in 2021 to create a pathway for its $30m tournaments. • The alliance matters because it represents a consolidated front of established tours attempting to protect their dominance against LIV's high-spending model.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a new alliance headquartered in Shanghai. • The organization consists of 29 founding member countries, featuring a strong presence from Global South nations such as Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Malaysia, Senegal, and Pakistan. • WAICO aims to foster international cooperation and establish global AI regulations to ensure the technology remains safe and beneficial for humanity.

Beneath the ​drone strikes and ​talk of ceasefires lies a battle over history that is testing ​Kyiv’s chances for an end to the conflict• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI’ve just come back from a trip to Kyiv, where after more than four years of war, it can feel like the political and diplomatic news agenda has become cyclical: a suggestion that some kind of peace deal could be around the corner, followed by the swift intervention of reality that the Kremlin has no interest in abandoning its maximalist goals, and we all go back to the drawing board.We are now in a period where Russia has again stepped up its air attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Frequent mass drone and missile attacks keep Kyiv residents awake, and some even get through to the city centre, whereas in the past Ukrainian air defences were usually able to repel them. Nights can be noisy and scary: one attack while I was there killed 27 people. Thousands head into the metro to get some sleep. Continue reading...

• Gulf nations are intensifying competition for influence in the Horn of Africa through strategic military agreements and significant port investments. • The geopolitical struggle centers on competing alliances and differing diplomatic positions regarding Somalia, Somaliland, and Sudan. • According to analyst Aly Tarek Metwally, the region's location at the intersection of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean makes it critical for international trade and maritime security.

• Turkey is set to host the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, marking a strategic shift from being viewed as a "difficult partner" to an indispensable stakeholder within the alliance. • This repositioning is the result of Turkey's long-term investments in industrial capability, technological development, strategic autonomy, and regional diplomacy. • The shift matters as the international security environment increasingly requires the specific capabilities and regional influence that Ankara has cultivated.

• President Trump is implementing a second-term foreign policy approach focused on reassessing and restructuring the U.S. alliance system. • The administration is prioritizing key strategic areas, including burden sharing, defense, deterrence, diplomacy, and the strengthening of the U.S. economic base. • This shift matters as it creates a tension between the goal of increasing ally contributions and the risk of undermining long-term diplomatic stability.