In celebration of the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), established in August 1927, the PLA commemorates its founding on August 1st each year (remembering the Nanchang Uprising of 1927). This anniversary is marked amidst ongoing efforts to modernize its defense capabilities, alongside diplomatic and military endeavors to strengthen dialogue, partnerships, and the exchange of experiences with European, Asian, and international militaries. The PLA is considered the cornerstone of China’s national defense, and Chinese military leaders at all embassies and consulates worldwide organize numerous official events to mark its founding on August 1st each year. Chinese embassies and military attachés around the world, such as the Chinese Embassy in Belgium and other European countries, host official receptions to highlight the PLA’s role in maintaining global peace and stability, as well as its development capabilities and readiness. The PLA is focused on transforming into a modern, integrated military force encompassing land, sea, and air.
China’s military relations with European militaries reflect the logic of military diplomacy, as China seeks to deepen military ties with its European allies and partners within its strategy of mutual military engagement, cooperation, and learning opportunities. Here, Chinese military channels with European countries serve as avenues for dialogue and the exchange of views on regional and international security to achieve balance and stability. Beijing, through its diplomatic activities, emphasizes the importance of balanced partnerships with the European Union and its member states to provide stability and certainty to the world. In this context, Beijing’s relationship with European militaries takes on a dual character of strategic competition and mutual caution, especially given Washington’s efforts to utilize NATO to contain Chinese power. Consequently, tension has arisen between the Chinese military and NATO due to China’s rejection of NATO’s Asian expansion into its regional sphere. Beijing views NATO’s attempts to broaden its security engagement with Asia-Pacific countries as a threat to stability and incompatible with the multipolar world order, while China rejects the logic of military hegemony. The Chinese military, in its strategic literature, emphasizes its opposition to American power and hegemonic policies implemented through the NATO military alliance. China and the People’s Liberation Army also strongly reject NATO’s involvement in Asia-Pacific affairs, viewing it as interference that threatens regional and global stability and leads to confrontations between military blocs.
Herein lies the official Chinese military stance on the NATO military alliance, describing it as a relic of the Cold War that extends beyond its original geographical scope. China explicitly accuses NATO of instigating tensions and provoking confrontations in Asia. Furthermore, China warns against the militarization of the region through NATO partnerships with countries such as Japan and Australia. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) maintains that China’s defense policy aims to protect national sovereignty and regional security, viewing Western actions as attempts to contain Chinese influence and impose American hegemony. Therefore, Chinese intelligence, military, defense, and security circles reject the logic of linking Euro-Atlantic security to issues in the Indo-Pacific region.
The most significant dynamics of the Chinese military relationship with European armies are characterized by the maintenance of strategic autonomy. Some European capitals seek to avoid full involvement in the US-China conflict, preferring to preserve commercial interests and pursue self-sufficiency. This is further complicated by technological and industrial competition between European armies and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. NATO closely monitors the development of the Chinese military’s cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence, viewing them as strategic challenges impacting global supply chains. Meanwhile, China perceives NATO’s policies as subservient to US interests at the expense of European national security. NATO’s ongoing monitoring of Chinese cyber capabilities and the escalating technological competition between China, Europe, and the United States for leadership in the digital and economic future are noteworthy. These tensions manifest in mutual concerns regarding cybersecurity and global supply chains, which raise serious concerns for NATO due to the numerous strategic challenges and cyber threats they pose. Here, NATO monitors digital operations and hybrid attacks linked to Beijing-affiliated actors targeting critical infrastructure and technological security, according to NATO’s military perspective. NATO’s military strategies focus on protecting technological superiority in artificial intelligence and semiconductors to prevent any potential disruption to global supply chains.
Stay ahead of the geopolitical week.
MD Briefing delivers expert analysis across five global fronts — the Indo-Pacific, energy, geoeconomics, European security, and the Middle East — every Monday morning. Free.
For this reason, China’s stance toward NATO is characterized by accusations of American political dominance. Beijing believes that NATO’s expanding policies and transatlantic orientation serve the US strategic agenda at its expense and in confrontation with China, which, from the Chinese perspective, affects European security itself. China considers NATO’s increasing involvement in Asia-Pacific issues and technological confrontation not to serve Europe’s own security interests but rather to threaten international stability as a whole. Thus, China’s position on NATO is based on the accusation that it serves American hegemony and threatens security and stability in Asia and Europe. Beijing views NATO as a tool for implementing America’s strategic plans, aiming to mobilize member states of the military alliance to pursue a policy of Asian expansion in the face of China. China and the People’s Liberation Army reject NATO’s involvement in Asia-Pacific issues, arguing that NATO’s policies harm Europe’s economic and technological security. From a Chinese perspective, the alliance’s technological confrontation poses a threat to international stability and European security, with China believing that NATO’s policies ultimately undermine Europe’s own security.
Love Island fans have been rooting for one couple since day one of the 2026 summer season – but they got dumped on the eve of the final and were forced to take out another couple with them
22:56, 26 Jul 2026Updated 22:56, 26 Jul 2026
Mica Harris and Samraj Toor were booted from Love Island hours before the live final(Image: Lifted Entertainment/Shutterstock)
Love Island viewers shocked by a brutal penultimate episode twist that cost two couples a place in the final. The 2026 season of ITV’s long-running reality romance show has been airing since the beginning of June.
But the thirteenth season of the ITV show has proved to be very unlucky for two loved up couples – who were brutally ditched from the villa the day before the live final meaning they lost all hope of scooping the £50,000 Love Island prize. For one couple, it was a real stinger – as they had made it all the way through the past two months of couplings, uncoulpings and dumpings – only to fall at the last hurdle.
Mica Harris, 21, from Barbados, and 25-year-old Samraj Toor, from Birmingham, coupled up on day one of the 2026 summer season but were told their Love Island dream was over in scenes that aired on Sunday night. But a cruel twist meant they weren’t the only pair to lose out on a place in the final.
At the beginning of the episode, the former couples from the season returned to the Villa to reveal which couple each of them thought didn’t deserve a place in the final. After the majority decided on Mica and Samraj, the deflated couple began to say their goodbyes and prepared to leave.
However, the crushed duo then received a text message while packing up their things that told them that only three couples could advance to the live final, and they had the terrible task of picking one other couple to get booted from the Island before the final.
And in an even more agonising twist for viewers, the episode ended before Mica and Samraj’s decision was aired. Fans of the show are now waiting in fear that their favourite couples might not make it to the final after all.
One commented on X: “If they choose Julia & Lorenzo I’m boycotting the final, this twist is dumb.” And another raged: “I hate this production move because Simba/Angelista or Julia/Lorenzo might be in jeopardy smh.”
Indeed, some viewers have accused Love Island bosses of trying to fix the finale by granting Mica and Smaraj a veto over who gets to make it to the end.
One wrote: “This plot twist was actually to help Jasmine and Kavan secure their spot in the finals over Julia and Lorenzo I don’t want to hear about who the producers favor anymore cause it’s clear.”
And another argued: “It makes zero sense to give Samraj and Mica a say in who reaches the final when the public has repeatedly voted them into the bottom. The logic just isn’t there…”
Love Island 2026 will reach a climax on Monday 27 July – airing on ITV2 and via ITVX from 9pm.
Today, Friday 24 July, sees the second episode of The Hairdresser Mysteries air where a synopsis teases: “When a celebrity weather reporter is found dead, Lily investigates if his zero-star reviews of all the local businesses have driven one of their own to murder.”
Sally Phillips plays main character, Lily Petal, who is forced to turn from hairdresser to amateur detective when crimes keep happening on her doorstep in the sleepy village.
She is helped in her investigations by brilliant analytical hair salon assistant Clary Coombs, played by Charlotte Jordan, and eager PC Adam Watson, played by Ben Castle-Gibb.
On Friday’s episode, viewers were introduced to Gloria Crudd, who is another newcomer to the village hoping to make a fresh start with her ice cream parlour but soon finds her old life catching up with her.
On the show, Wendi looks worlds away from Cilla as her character Gloria has a pastel pink copper coloured curly beehive hairdo adorned with jewellery pieces.
However, Wendi isn’t the only Coronation Street star in the new series as she is joined by fellow Weatherfield favourite Charlotte Jordan who is playing Clary Coombs – Lily’s ‘bright and analytical assistant and the Watson to her Shear-lock Holmes’.
Charlotte, 32, is best known for playing Daisy Midgeley on the cobbles from 2020 to 2025, where her character was involved in several huge storylines including the hard-hitting acid attack plot.
Viewers have already shared their praise for the new series as one person said on Twitter, now X: “Watching the first episode of #TheHairdresserMysteries and I absolutely love it! So many talented actors I recognise, such a cosy atmosphere too. And it’s filmed in the beautiful West Midlands! More plans!”
To which another account put: “Loved today’s #TheHairdresserMysteries premiere, great stuff from @CharlieJordanxo Sally Phillips, @elisabethdw @sarker guy Henry and Ben castle- Gibb, can’t wait to see what’s coming up.”
The Hairdresser Mysteries airs on Fridays at 2pm and all episodes are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Fans of the beloved medical sitcom will be seeing some characters leaving
Donald Faison and Zach Braff in the new Scrubs revival series (Image: GETTY)
The Scrubs reboot is returning for another outing but there’s been a cast shakeup.
The forthcoming Season 11 of Scrubs, which marks the second outing for the revival series, is bidding farewell to two cast members.
Joel Kim Booster, who plays Dr Park, and X Mayo, who starred as Charge Nurse Raymond won’t be returning, Deadline reported.
Instead, The O.C. star Rachel Bilson will be getting more screen time as Rachel, along with original Scrubs cast member Neil Flynn as The Janitor.
Additionally, Scrubs newcomer Ava Bunn has been promoted to a series regular as intern Sam Tosh.
Scrubs’ beloved trio of John ‘JD’ Dorian (played by Zach Braff), Christopher ‘Turk’ Turk (Donald Faison) and Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) will be again leading the series.
HBO’s Rooster star John C. McGinley will be reprising his iconic role as Dr Perry Cox and Judy Reyes returns as Carla Espinosa while also working on ABC’s High Potential.
Meanwhile, the cast playing the newbie interns will be back in the frame, including Jacob Dudman as Asher Green, David Gridley as Blake Lewis, Layla Mohammadi as Amara Hadi, and Amanda Morrow as Dashana Trainor.
ABC renewed the comedy drama not long after the first season of the reboot finished airing in April this year.
The Scrubs revival focuses on JD helping to train up a new group of interns and learning lessons along the way.
The new series holds a 8.3/10 rating on IMDB and has been praised by many Scrubs fans, who feared that the revival wouldn’t match up to the original series and follow a similar path to the disastrous Season 9 which was the last outing before the show got cancelled.
Many have praised the new series on IMDb, with one person posting in their 10/10 review: “I didn’t expect this season to be half as decent as the old seasons, yet, I’m shocked at how well they’ve pulled this off.”
A second top rated review noted: “There are not many shows that were amazing in the original run, then come back after more than a decade with the same magic but Scrubs has pulled it off.”
Get Disney+ for £5.99
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
A Disney+ subscribtion now starts at £5.99 per month and provides access to hit series like Rivals, Only Murders in the Building and The Bear, plus countless titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more.
A third echoed similar sentiments in their top-tier review: “This reboot has everything you wanted and everything you didn’t know you needed. They captured what we loved about the original cast while introducing new characters in a way that feels natural, not like they’re trying to recreate J. D. and Turk.”
Josh Kerr says breaking the men’s mile world record is an “an awesome achievement” but hints he could attempt to set a new mark.
Kerr, 28, beat Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1999 time, crossing the line in three minutes 42.66 seconds.
The Scot became the seventh British athlete to claim the mile record and first since Steve Cram in 1985. Kerr’s previous best personal best over the mile was a British record of 3:45.34.
“The biggest goal that I had [this year] was going after the world record in the mile,” Kerr told BBC Breakfast. “It was a perfect year for it.
“With the history that the UK have in the mile distance, obviously with Sir Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile back in 1954 and then the slew of incredible British athletes that we had for a long time – [Sebastian] Coe, Cram, [Steve] Ovett – it was just time for me to bring that distance and that record back home to the UK.
“To be able to break that record by nearly half a second was an awesome achievement.
“On another day, with maybe a little bit more favourable wind, I could maybe take another little chunk off it. It’s with us now and if we’re in the fitness for it again, we’ll maybe go after it and take a good more chunk off it.”
Rocket Lab (RKLB) is testing its 200-day moving average following a sharp July pullback, with the setup matching a historically bullish signal, according to Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
In a post on X, Schaeffer’s said the stock has produced positive one-month returns
People in Cuba already faced an ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis, largely due to a US blockade.
Published On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026
Cuba has suffered its third nationwide power blackout since the start of the year, as the country’s fuel reserves diminish and its electric grid crumbles due to an energy crisis precipitated by the US fuel blockade.
The blackout in the country of nearly 10 million people was reported on Monday by the state-run Electric Union, which said that the cause is under investigation.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said protocols were quickly activated to restore electricity throughout Cuba after the outage.
“Vital services continue to be protected, amidst this complex situation exacerbated by the energy blockade we face,” he said.
Grid operator UNE said it was providing electricity to some vital services, including hospitals and food production centres, but by late afternoon was able to serve only 1 percent of the capital, Havana’s, demand.
Cuba was already struggling with fuel supplies before US President Donald Trump cut off oil deliveries from Venezuela to the island in January. But Trump’s actions, including threatening tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, have made things significantly worse, and deepened the island’s financial crisis. As a result, blackouts and power cuts have accelerated.
Since January, Washington has only allowed one oil tanker, from Russia, to pass its blockade and dock in Cuba, as part of a sanctions campaign aimed at ending more than six decades of communist government in Havana.
Trump has pointed to the US abduction of Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, in January, and his replacement with a successor that can be pressured to work with the US, as a potential blueprint for Cuba.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the US of trying to “incite social unrest by strangling Cuba’s fuel supply”.
“The actions of electrical workers in the midst of a genocidal energy blockade are heroic,” he wrote on social media.
The blackout is the eighth on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024. It comes as the state imposes power cuts across the country – over 30 hours straight in parts of Havana and over 70 hours in some rural areas – in a desperate attempt to preserve fuel.
“Living like this is agony,” Meyboll Font, a 51-year-old self-employed social media community manager, told the AFP news agency.
Font said her Havana neighbourhood has been surviving on just “three or four hours of power a day”, but that the blackout was worse because “you never know when it [electricity] will return”.
South Africa’s government has been accused of not doing enough to crack down on xenophobic attacks.
Published On 6 Jul 20266 Jul 2026
The safety of African immigrants in South Africa is deteriorating, Nigeria’s foreign minister has warned, after two Nigerians were killed in disputed circumstances during anti-immigrant protests.
“There are no signs that the situation is improving,” Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said on Monday, while announcing more evacuation flights.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The minister demanded South African authorities investigate the deaths of two Nigerians, Musa Yunana Joe and Charles Iroegbu, killed amid “the ongoing xenophobic protests and attacks on migrants”.
South African police said Joe’s killing did not appear to be related to the protests, but could not immediately comment on Iroegbu’s death.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry says Joe was killed in front of his shop in the northeastern city of eMalahleni by unidentified criminals on June 28 , while Iroegbu was killed by South African police during interrogation in Pretoria on the same day.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said: “We wish to place the Government of South Africa on notice that if the situation continues to persist, all options remain on the table, some of which will be activated if the uncultured and provocative trend of intolerance… against foreigners is not addressed”.
South African foreign ministry spokesman Chrispin Phiri said the government had asked Nigeria’s High Commission to submit “any actionable information to our law enforcement authorities, which will enable a thorough, objective investigation in accordance with the rule of law”.
Weeks of anti-immigrant marches
There have been weeks of protests against undocumented migrants, with many South Africans blaming workers from other African countries for taking their jobs and putting a strain on their social services.
South Africa’s government has been accused of not doing enough to crack down on the violence, which has claimed the lives of several foreigners and seen shops owned by immigrants looted and torched.
Mozambique said that five of its citizens were killed in xenophobic attacks in late May. South Africa said the number was only two.
Ghana and South Africa were embroiled in a diplomatic row last week, following the killing of a Ghanaian national. The South African government said the death of Bashiru Isak was not linked to anti-immigrant protests.
Hundreds of Nigerians, among tens of thousands of foreigners, have already left South Africa, once a popular destination for documented and undocumented African immigrants due to its relatively strong economy.
Uganda’s High Commission in Pretoria announced on Monday that a fourth group of Ugandan nationals were voluntarily repatriating.
South Africa has had a longstanding violent crime problem that precedes the outbreak of xenophobic violence.
Foxconn’s (FXCOF) June revenue surged 52.11% year-over-year, and it forecast a growth outlook for the third quarter but cautioned about a “volatile global political and economic situation.”
The company saw a record second quarter revenue, which also beat analysts expectations, on strong demand
Spain’s immigration scheme sees more than a million applications, with Latin Americans leading the numbers at 67 percent.
Published On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026
Almost 1.2 million undocumented migrants have sought legal status in Spain under a scheme that has defied a growing European crackdown on irregular immigration.
The government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a standard-bearer of more open immigration policies, launched the vast plan in April while European neighbours toughen measures in response to pressure from ascendant far-right parties.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
A total of 1,174,978 applications were submitted between mid-April and June 30 when the window closed, with more than 600,000 already being processed, Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela told a news conference in Madrid on Thursday.
Latin America accounted for 67 percent of the submissions, with Colombia alone representing 25.9 percent of the total. African nationalities followed with 22.9 percent.
After Colombia, the most represented countries were Morocco at 13.3 percent, Venezuela with 11.8 percent and Peru at 8.8 percent.
An overwhelming majority of applicants were young, with eight out of 10 younger than 45 years old, while 57 percent of the total were males against 43 percent for females.
The application total does not necessarily indicate how many people will normalise their situation. According to government projections in April, there are about 500,000 potential beneficiaries.
Applicants must prove they have a clean criminal record and spent at least five consecutive months in Spain before January 1.
The authorities have three months to process their paperwork and decide whether to issue a work and residence permit valid only in Spain.
Sanchez has touted the benefits of immigration and the vast regularisation scheme for sectors such as construction that need to boost their workforce.
“Without immigration, Spain would lose 19 percent of its GDP by 2050,” Sanchez said on Tuesday during a presentation on migration. “And what does that mean in business terms? It means, for example, that 90,000 bars would have to close, that 50,000 primary and secondary classrooms would find themselves without students, and that around 220,000 farms would disappear.”
Without immigration, he added, Spain would be “poorer, emptier, weaker and without the resources to fund its welfare state”.
“Spain has never moved forward by building walls,” the prime minister said. “The only decent thing to do is extend a hand, not turn our backs on immigration.”
Spanish business leaders have welcomed the move, but the conservative and far-right opposition are furious about a policy they say will encourage more irregular immigration. Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, slammed the scheme, calling it an “invasion”.
“More than a million strangers now competing with Spaniards for jobs, housing, daycare places, hospital beds, and social assistance. It’s an invasion. And it’s a betrayal,” Abascal said on X.
Folarin Balogun scores and is later sent off as the United States advance past a lacklustre Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara to reach the last 16 of the World Cup.
The UK has experienced its hottest June day on record after temperatures soared to 36.1C (97F) in Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of schools shut across England and Wales and transport has also been disrupted, with train passengers advised to avoid all non-essential travel.
The heatwave is forecast to continue into Friday, with a further high of about 38C possible, the Met Office said.
A red extreme heat warning issued by the Met Office across parts of south and central England and south Wales remains in place until 23:59 BST on Thursday.
Wednesday’s high came between 15:00 and 16:00, breaking the previous June record of 35.6C recorded in Southampton in 1976 and Camden in 1957.
This new record is described as “provisional” by the Met Office, which now has to conduct checks to ensure the measurement is reliable.
The next highest temperatures of the day were all recorded in southern England, including Wisley, Surrey, on 36C, Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on 35.9C, and Charlwood, Surrey, on 35.7C. And Wales had its hottest day of the year so far, with a high of 33.3C at Cardiff Bute Park.
Rio Tinto (RIO) expects its lithium business to grow faster than its copper, iron ore, and other divisions as it works to triple production by 2028, the head of the company’s aluminum and lithium business unit said late Tuesday.
The FIFA World Cup has yet to provide a meaningful boost to U.S. economic activity, with business surveys, card spending data, and airline passenger traffic showing little evidence that the tournament is supporting demand, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Germany come from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Group E, sealing FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout place.
Published On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026
Deniz Undav scored two goals off the bench as Germany pulled off a thrilling comeback to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their World Cup Group E match, securing their place in the knockout stage for the first time since they won the title in 2014.
After having two goals disallowed in the first half on Saturday, Germany did not lose focus and used intricate passing to find their way, while the West Africans produced their dynamic brand of attacking football in a wild Group E clash.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Undav levelled the score with a controlled, volleyed finish in the 68th minute and struck again when he received a pass on the turn, before swivelling and firing home a ball that Yahia Fofana had no chance at stopping.
The versatile striker now has nine goals in his last eight matches.
Simon Adingra had a late chance for Ivory Coast, but he failed to get a shot off in the area before Germany charged back down the field and Fofana blocked a low shot from Nathaniel Brown.
Ivory Coast had opened the scoring in the first half when Franck Kessie slotted home a rebound off a shot by Amad Diallo on a play created when Yan Diomande charged down the left side and sent in a cross.
With more than 100,000 people of German ancestry living in Toronto, Julian Nagelsmann’s men enjoyed plenty of support but were a frustrated group at the interval with nothing to show for their eight attempts on goal.
Germany looked to have opened the scoring when midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic rose to meet a short corner in the 25th minute but was deemed to have fouled Fofana in the process.
The ruling left Pavlovic with his hands atop his head in disbelief while Fofana received some attention after the collision, and the partisan German crowd made their disdain for the referee’s decision known.
Shortly after, it was Ivory Coast who finally broke through with Kessie’s goal. The West Africans have scored in their last seven matches at the tournament – the longest such sequence on the global stage in their history.
Germany once again put the ball in the back of the net, but their celebrations were cut short as the referee determined that Jamal Musiala had fouled Odilon Kossounou in the buildup.
Germany top Group E with six points and are through to the last 32, while Ivory Coast remain on three after two matches. Ecuador and Curacao meet in Kansas City later on Saturday.
Germany will close out the group stage against Ecuador on Thursday in New Jersey, while Ivory Coast face Curacao in Philadelphia.
Ukraine’s defence ministry believes artificial intelligence is set to fundamentally transform modern warfare, as Kyiv accelerates efforts to integrate AI into battlefield operations amid its ongoing war with Russia.
According to Danylo Tsvok, head of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry AI Research Centre, the country is already employing artificial intelligence across multiple military functions, including drone operations, battlefield planning, intelligence analysis, and missile attack assessments.
The centre, established in March, is part of a broader effort to make data driven decision making a core component of Ukraine’s defence strategy. Officials envision a future where AI systems, sensors, drones, command centres, and weapons platforms operate through a unified digital network capable of processing battlefield information and recommending military actions in real time.
Why It Matters
Ukraine’s experience is increasingly being viewed as a preview of how future wars may be fought. The conflict has already demonstrated the growing importance of drones, autonomous systems, and real time intelligence, but AI could push military operations into an entirely new phase.
Rather than merely supporting commanders, future AI systems may become central to battlefield decision making by processing vast quantities of data faster than human operators can manage. This could dramatically shorten the time between identifying a target and launching an attack.
The implications extend far beyond Ukraine. Military planners around the world are closely monitoring the conflict as a testing ground for next generation warfare technologies.
The Rise of AI Driven Combat
The war has already evolved into a technological competition in which both Ukraine and Russia are attempting to gain advantages through automation, data analysis, and autonomous systems.
Ukraine is working toward a battlefield operating system capable of integrating information from drones, reconnaissance assets, weapons systems, and frontline units into a single decision making framework. The objective is to create a comprehensive operational picture that enables faster and more effective responses.
Russia is pursuing similar capabilities, particularly in drone warfare and strike planning, creating what Ukrainian officials describe as an emerging competition between military operating systems rather than simply armies.
Global Defence Implications
The conflict has attracted significant attention from defence technology firms and AI developers seeking real world operational data. Companies and governments increasingly view Ukraine as one of the most important testing environments for military AI applications.
The lessons learned from the war could influence defence procurement, military doctrine, and security planning across NATO, Asia, and other regions facing evolving security challenges.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in military systems, countries may be forced to rethink command structures, training requirements, and the role of human decision makers in combat.
Key Stakeholders
Ukraine military
Russian military
Defence technology companies
NATO members
Artificial intelligence developers
Defence ministries worldwide
Military planners and strategists
Future Outlook
Over the next three to five years, military competition is likely to shift increasingly toward AI enabled command systems, autonomous platforms, and integrated battlefield networks.
Countries capable of rapidly processing information and converting it into actionable decisions may gain a significant operational advantage. At the same time, concerns about autonomy, accountability, and human oversight will become more prominent as AI systems assume larger roles in combat operations.
The race to integrate AI into warfare is expected to intensify, making technological superiority as important as traditional military strength.
Analysis
Ukraine’s assessment points to a deeper transformation than simply adding artificial intelligence to existing weapons systems. What is emerging is a shift from platform centric warfare to data centric warfare, where military advantage depends less on the number of tanks, aircraft, or soldiers and more on the ability to collect, process, and act on information faster than an opponent.
The most significant aspect of this transition is the compression of decision making time. Historically, military success depended on commanders interpreting information and issuing orders. AI has the potential to reduce that cycle from hours or minutes to seconds, creating a battlefield where speed of analysis becomes as important as firepower.
This evolution could fundamentally alter military hierarchies. If AI systems become capable of generating reliable operational recommendations faster than humans can assess them, commanders may increasingly act as supervisors rather than primary decision makers. The challenge will be balancing military effectiveness with accountability and ethical oversight.
The Ukraine conflict is therefore becoming more than a territorial war; it is also serving as a laboratory for the future of warfare. The countries that emerge with the most effective integration of AI, autonomous systems, and battlefield data networks may define military power for decades to come. In this sense, the competition between Ukraine and Russia increasingly resembles a contest between technological ecosystems, foreshadowing a future in which wars are won not only through weapons but through algorithms and information dominance.
Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang speaks to reporters after arriving at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on Friday. Photo by Yonhap
Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang said Friday that he views robotics as the next major growth sector in South Korea, adding that the domestic market is well-positioned for growth.
Huang, a central figure in the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, made the remarks after arriving at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul aboard his private jet for a four-day visit.
“(South) Korea has many sectors to invest in. Robotics is going to be the next major sector,” Huang told reporters, adding that the Korean “market is doing very well.”
Asked whether he had brought any gifts for South Korea, Huang responded with a smile.
“Did I bring any gifts for Korea? I brought a lot of business for Korea,” he said. “I have some surprises.”
The trip comes less than a year after Huang’s previous trip to South Korea in October, which coincided with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.
During that visit, Huang drew widespread attention when he joined Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung for a late-night meal of Korean fried chicken and beer, commonly known as “chimaek.”
One of the most anticipated events during Huang’s visit is an informal dinner with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. Hyundai Motor Group’s chief who had earlier been expected to join the group has since confirmed he will be unable to attend.
Together, the companies represented at the gathering span nearly every layer of the AI value chain, including semiconductors, data centers, AI models, software and robotics.
Huang is also set to hold talks with executives from the gaming industry, AI and robotics startups, university researchers and students, according to industry sources.
“Because Korea is a manufacturing center of the world, we can apply the robotics technology, the physical AI technology that we invent here for the industry,” he said.
He further said Nvidia will partner with domestic manufacturing firms in robotics and AI.
“The manufacturing of semiconductors will become increasingly robotics and increasingly AI driven in the future, and so we have a great opportunity to partner with the semiconductor companies here as well,” he added.
Later in the day, Huang visited an internet cafe in Seoul and met with esports players, including gaming superstar Faker.
“This is the birthplace of esports,” Huang said, emphasizing that Korean gamers have long been among the world’s most competitive players who are using Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs).
Nvidia’s GeForce graphics cards are designed to deliver the high frame rates demanded by professional gamers.
Huang is also expected to meet Krafton Executive Director Chang Byung-gyu and other senior executives from the gaming company, though the exact schedule has yet to be confirmed.
The two companies are expected to discuss potential cooperation involving Nvidia’s RTX Spark platform for premium Windows laptops, as well as physical AI technologies.
Earlier this year, Krafton established a robotics subsidiary called Ludo Robotics.
During his stay, Huang is also expected to meet Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon to discuss cooperation in AI, including the supply of GPUs.
Details regarding the timing, venue and agenda of the meeting are still being finalized.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
Clay is not Sabalenka’s strongest surface even though she has won three times in Madrid, where the high altitude makes the conditions similar to a hard court.
Nor did she have a good build-up to Roland Garros. Six match points were squandered in a quarter-final defeat by Hailey Baptiste in Madrid in April, before she let a set and a break lead slip against Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea in Rome.
But, given her quality and pedigree compared to the other Paris quarter-finalists, it is hard not to think another golden opportunity has slipped through Sabalenka’s fingers.
Sabalenka’s four Grand Slam singles titles – two Australian Open and two US Open triumphs, all on hard courts – are more than most people can dream of.
But she has also lost four finals and six major semi-finals, despite a consistency on the biggest stages that is unrivalled among her peers.
Sabalenka has the proud record of not losing before the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since the start of the 2023 season.
However, she has not always dealt well with the pressure of the latter stages – particularly during the period where she has clearly been the best player in the world.
Sabalenka was the heavy favourite to beat underdog Madison Keys in the 2024 Australian Open final, but came unstuck. Twelve months later, she reached another Melbourne final – and a flurry of mistakes saw her squander a break lead in the deciding set against Elena Rybakina.
At last year’s French Open Sabalenka played what she described as the “worst final” of her life, hitting 70 unforced errors in windy conditions as she lost from a set up.
Against Shnaider, Sabalenka looked in control at 6-3 4-1 up before losing 12 of the final 13 games.
“I just think that there is something in specific moments during the match [where] I lose control,” said Sabalenka, whose 57 unforced errors outweighed her 46 winners.
WASHINGTON — The congressman returned home last Fourth of July to startling stories in Southern California as immigration patrols swept through communities, and one constituent told him about starting to carry a passport as proof of the right to be in the country.
Rep. Mark Takano, whose American-born parents were both incarcerated as young children with their families during the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II, could not help but see the parallels between that chapter of American history and this one.
“I do feel like there’s a similarity of circumstance of my own 2-year-old father and my 1-year-old mother being labeled as enemy aliens and they’re considered a danger to national security,” the Riverside Democrat told the Associated Press in a recent interview.
“They’re put into these incarceration camps,” he said. “Similar arguments have been made by this administration — that immigrants pose a grave danger to our country and it’s for the security of our country that we’re doing this.”
Echoes of history
President Trump’s campaign to achieve the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history is at an inflection point. Americans are seeing what it looks like to round up, detain and deport thousands of people, particularly in the aftermath of the deaths this year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens protesting the federal crackdown in Minneapolis.
The White House changed the leadership at the Department of Homeland Security as it reframes its approach. New Secretary Markwayne Mullin promised to keep the department off the front pages.
But Trump is also under mounting pressure from conservative groups not to let up on the goal of deporting 1 million people a year. The president’s Republican allies in Congress are fueling the immigration and deportation actions with billions of dollars in special funds.
Takano, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has drawn from his own family history — and the country’s eventual redress to Japanese Americans who were detained — to challenge Trump’s approach.
“We look back on that era of history as a shameful one, as a time when our political leaders failed the Constitution, failed the American people,” he said.
One family’s story among many
A high school history teacher before being elected to Congress in 2012, Takano grew up in Southern California and came to understand the family stories.
His grandfather Isao Takano arrived in the U.S. from Hiroshima and married Kazue Takahashi, a U.S.-born citizen. Together they settled in Bellevue, Wash., and started a business growing tomatoes, strawberries and chrysanthemums for the marketplace in Seattle.
When the U.S. entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, they were among some 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, immigrants and those born in the U.S., forcibly relocated.
His father, William, was 2 years old when his family was sent in 1942 to the incarceration camp at Tule Lake in Central California. His mother, Nancy Tsugiye Sakamoto, born in California to American-born parents, was a year old when she was relocated to the detention facility in Heart Mountain, Wyo.
Then, as now, he said, people are being swept up in the anti-immigrant detentions.
“Will Americans generations from now visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and think to themselves, how could our government do this?” Takano said during a House floor speech, referring to the Trump administration’s immigration detention facility in Florida.
“These future generations of Americans will look to us, the Congress, to see what we did to try to stop it.”
A Reagan-era law seen as model
Takano remembers his father taking him to see the land the family once owned. He learned about his great-uncles who served in the Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team of Japanese American soldiers; one was killed in action in Italy. He recalls his own father later collected donations for the national redress campaign.
In 1988 Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act, which sought to apologize for the “grave injustice” that had been done and provide $20,000 to each person detained. President Reagan signed it into law.
Takano’s parents were among those who received a letter of apology from the federal government, he said, and a payment.
Talks are underway among some in Congress, he said, for a similar redress to the people who have had their car windows smashed in, their homes raided and livelihoods upended as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.
“Remarkably the country did come to realize the mistake,” he said. “I believe we’re living through one of those eras of mistakes, and I believe we can come out of this moment stronger.”
Kim Hyun-tae, executive director of product planning and strategy for LG Energy Solution’s energy storage system business division, speaks Friday at the second Asia Today Environment Forum at The Plaza Seoul. Photo by Asia Today
May 29 (Asia Today) — LG Energy Solution sees the electric vehicle slowdown as an opportunity to expand its energy storage system business as artificial intelligence data centers drive surging electricity demand, a company executive said Friday.
Kim Hyun-tae, executive director of product planning and strategy for LG Energy Solution’s energy storage system business division, said the EV “chasm” has created risks but also opened a path for the company to shift more aggressively into ESS.
“In the carbon-neutral era, we must move beyond simply increasing renewable energy and improve both grid stability and energy efficiency,” Kim said.
Kim made the remarks at the second Asia Today Environment Forum held at The Plaza Seoul, where he gave a presentation titled “LG Energy Solution’s vision for power grid stabilization and decarbonization.”
He outlined LG Energy Solution’s strategy for shifting toward ESS and responding to electricity infrastructure needs in the AI era.
Kim said South Korea’s battery industry had built large-scale production bases in the United States, viewing it as a core automotive market. But the market contracted after the second Trump administration took office and reduced electric vehicle subsidies while changing related policies.
“We secured new business plans by proactively converting U.S. plants from EV-centered production to ESS production,” Kim said.
LG Energy Solution produces ESS products in South Korea, Europe and the United States, Kim said. Its ESS production capacity in North America is now about 50 gigawatt-hours, and the company plans to expand that to more than 80 gigawatt-hours by next year.
“The United States has the highest ESS demand after China,” Kim said. “An ESS boom is taking place in the United States because investment subsidies of at least 30% and as much as 60% are provided when ESS and renewable energy facilities are built.”
Kim said the spread of AI data centers is also driving ESS demand.
“AI data centers are called a hippopotamus that eats water and electricity because they consume enormous amounts of power,” Kim said. “Nvidia’s next-generation Rubin graphics processing unit is expected to consume about four times more power than the Blackwell chip currently being sold, so securing stable power is essential.”
Kim said global Big Tech companies are focused on “time to power,” or how quickly new power capacity can be secured.
“Because connecting to existing power grids takes a long time, demand is growing for quickly building onsite and off-grid power sources that combine solar power, ESS and small gas turbines,” he said.
Kim also proposed an ESS-based distributed power grid model as an alternative to delays in building new transmission networks.
“Large-scale electricity demand sites are increasing, such as the Yongin semiconductor cluster, but building new transmission networks or high-voltage direct current systems usually takes six to seven years,” Kim said.
“For example, a realistic alternative could be storing electricity generated from renewable energy in the Honam region in ESS and then using existing transmission networks to distribute it to demand centers,” he said.
In the medium and long term, Kim said sodium-ion batteries, sometimes called “salt batteries,” could become a game changer in the ESS market.
“When renewable energy’s share expands to about 50%, large-scale ESS will be needed to offset intermittency, but costs are currently high,” Kim said. “LG Energy Solution plans to test sodium-ion batteries that can replace lithium in the United States in 2027 and pursue large-scale commercialization in 2029.”
Kim also said the global ESS market is being reshaped around domestic protectionism.
“The United States is encouraging the use of U.S.-made products through subsidy policies based on the Inflation Reduction Act, and Europe is also pursuing the introduction of the Industrial Accelerator Act, which is being called a European version of the IRA,” Kim said. “In a blocked supply chain environment, policy consideration is also needed to protect domestic industries and strengthen supply chain competitiveness.”
Kim said LG Energy Solution is building a decarbonization system that includes its supply chain and recycling operations as it works toward achieving RE100 by 2030 and carbon neutrality across its value chain by 2050.
Taipei, Taiwan– For Li, an engineer at Taiwanese computer giant ASUS, the AI boom sweeping Taiwan has made it an exciting time to work in tech.
Taiwan is a semiconductor powerhouse, producing about 90 percent of the most advanced chips used to power leading AI models such as ChatGPT and Claude.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“I’ve felt Taiwan’s tech and computer industry becoming more vibrant,” Li, who asked not to be identified by his real name, told Al Jazeera, pointing to events such as the upcoming Computex tech and AI expo running from June 2 to 6.
Still, Li worries that the spoils of Taiwan’s AI windfall are not being shared equally.
“Most industries unrelated to tech don’t seem to be feeling the benefits, so it doesn’t feel evenly distributed at the moment,” Li said, explaining that many of his former classmates working outside of tech do not appear to be doing as well.
“It’s mainly the industries at the front of this tech wave that are benefitting.”
Taiwan’s economy is growing at a pace that would be the envy of any country.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 8.63 percent in 2025, followed by a heady 13.69 percent expansion in the first three months of this year.
Students dressed in white protective suits and face masks visit a clean room as part of a summer camp organised by US chip designer Synopsys with the goal of attracting more youth to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, in Hsinchu, on July 18, 2025 [Ann Wang/Reuters]
Exports surged 34.9 percent last year to $640.7bn, with more than two-thirds of the total being tech-related goods and services.
Semiconductors alone account for more than 20 percent of Taiwan’s GDP, according to US trade data, with the vast majority of production handled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), whose top customers include Nvidia and Apple.
TSMC by itself accounts for more than 40 percent of the value of the island’s stock market.
While impressive, the rapid economic expansion has raised concerns about being overreliant on the growth of AI.
Taiwan’s Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-lung has sounded the alarm about an emerging “K-shaped economy,” where certain sectors grow rapidly while others fall into stagnation.
While critical to Taiwan’s economy, the semiconductor industry is far from the largest source of jobs.
The sector employs only about 300,000 people in a workforce of 11 million, according to data compiled by Dachrahn Wu, director of National Central University’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development.
The broader electronics and IT manufacturing industry employs about one million people, compared with about seven million working in the service sector, according to Wu’s data.
The heavy reliance on a single industry for growth marks a shift from the Asian Tiger era of the 1960s to 90s, when Taiwan’s economy was driven by hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to James Lin, a historian who specialises in Taiwan’s post-war economic transformation.
“From the 1970s to 1990s, economic growth was concentrated in the hands of small and medium family enterprises that exemplified the ‘living room factory’ model, where family-owned businesses focused on producing one part for a consumer product,” Lin told Al Jazeera.
“The benefits of this period were thus more widely distributed across Taiwanese society,” Lin said.
“By contrast, today, wealth inequality is growing in Taiwan as land is becoming more expensive and large corporations like TSMC attract the lion’s share of foreign capital investment rather than small corporations.”
Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, said Taiwan’s economic model has left it at risk of becoming a “dual society” where tech sweeps up talent, funding and resources at the expense of other industries.
“It’s very hard if you’re not in [the semiconductor] sector in Taiwan right now,” Garcia Herrero told Al Jazeera, pointing to low wages for workers in non-tech roles and rising costs for businesses.
Some of Taiwan’s challenges are out of its control, said Chao-Hsi Huang, associate dean at the Taipei School of Economics and a former director at Taiwan’s central bank.
Those challenges include US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have partially exempted semiconductors but hit exporters in non-tech industries.
“The traditional [manufacturing] sector suffers higher tariffs than other competing countries like Korea or Japan, or even Southeast Asian countries, due to the fact we are not able to sign free trade agreements,” Huang told Al Jazeera.
“We are treated differently, and that’s a difficulty we are facing.”
Critics have placed other issues on the shoulders of the government, including a weak currency that has made exports more competitive but chipped away at consumers’ purchasing power.
Taiwan’s government denies engaging in currency manipulation, though it acknowledges intervening in the market to smooth out “volatility” when the new Taiwan dollar falls or rises sharply against other currencies.
After two decades of stagnation through the 2010s, wages are growing again – albeit unevenly.
Real average wages grew 1.4 percent in 2025, while median wages rose 1.35 percent, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
Still, 70 percent of Taiwanese earned less than the average, a statistic attributable to the distorting effect of much higher salaries in the tech sector, where pay is nearly double the national average.
A miniature-sized wafer sorter machine model by Rorze on display at the Science Park Exploration Museum in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on February 6, 2023 [Ann Wang/Reuters]
For Taiwanese frustrated with stagnant pay, Taiwan’s soaring stock market has offered some consolation.
Riding the AI boom, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) more than doubled in value between 2019 and 2025 to $2.2 trillion, according to HSBC.
Regulatory changes introduced in 2020 made it easier for small-time investors to buy single stocks, encouraging a rush of everyday Taiwanese into the market.
In January, the TWSE reported that the number of trading accounts had reached 13.77 million – equivalent to 60 percent of Taiwan’s population – while hailing the bourse as a “cornerstone for inclusive prosperity and shared growth”.
Though more equal than neighbours such as Singapore, Hong Kong and China, Taiwan’s wealth divide has grown over the decades.
In 1980, Taiwan had a Gini coefficient of 0.308 – a measurement of wealth distribution where 0 indicates perfect equality – putting it on par with contemporary Norway, according to the DGBAS.
By 2024, Taiwan’s Gini coefficient had grown to 0.341 – lower than many countries but still a significant rise.
“I feel that the benefits of economic growth haven’t been distributed evenly,” Ryan, an engineer in the local tech sector who asked not to be identified by his real name, told Al Jazeera.
“Some industries or asset holders benefit significantly, but ordinary office workers often experience a rise in prices and housing costs, rather than an easier life,” he said.
Wei-ting Yen, an assistant research fellow at the research institution Academia Sinica, said while the semiconductor and stock market booms have helped some Taiwanese, they have heightened the angst of others.
In a survey of 1,195 Taiwanese voters carried out last month, 40 percent said their household was financially either “anxious” or “very anxious” due to rising living costs, particularly housing.
“I think subjectively, they’re anxious that they’re not accumulating wealth and it’s not enough to help them buy a house or an apartment,” Yen told Al Jazeera.
“Housing prices have been going crazy worldwide, and the stock market has been going crazy, [but] for people who do not have extra money to invest in those two options, it creates even more frustration and anxiety around them,” she said.
