The Pentagon’s deal with OpenAI. Hours after Trump announced Friday that all federal agencies should cease using artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic’s technology following a dispute over its use for surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, competitor OpenAI said it reached a deal with the Department of Defense to deploy its systems. OpenAI said the Pentagon would be allowed to use its technology for “all lawful purposes” and had committed to not using it unlawfully for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Reported delay on Taiwan arms announcement. The Trump administration has delayed announcing a weapons sale to Taiwan over concerns about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reaction, unnamed U.S. officials told the New York Times. Trump is due to travel to Beijing next month. The State Department said it does not discuss pending arms sales but that “the enduring U.S. commitment to Taiwan continues.”
Afghanistan-Pakistan war. Though countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar have attempted to mediate tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent days, fighting continued over the weekend. Afghanistan’s Taliban government said it repelled a Pakistani attack on Bagram airbase near Kabul. It is the heaviest fighting between the countries in years.
Trump’s Cuba threat. Trump said Friday that the United States might carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is dealing with the matter “at a very high level.” Rubio said last week that the island nation “needs to change;” last month he called for greater economic as well as political freedom in the country.
Vietnam’s AI law. The country became the first in Southeast Asia to enact a comprehensive law regulating AI yesterday. Vietnam’s legislation was modeled after the European Union’s AI policy and seeks to manage the risks of generative AI by mandating human oversight and labeling of AI-generated content that cannot easily be identified.
North Sea tanker seizure. Belgian and French forces seized a tanker in the North Sea suspected of carrying sanctioned Russian oil, Belgium’s defense minister said Saturday. In a social media post, French President Emmanuel Macron called the seizure a “major blow” to the Russian shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil.
Venezuela’s Machado plans return. Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced yesterday she plans to return to the country in a few weeks. She spent almost a year in hiding in Venezuela before traveling to Oslo in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. She has since met with Trump at the White House and is currently in the United States.
Ghanaians killed in Ukraine. An estimated 272 Ghanaians have been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine and at least 55 have been killed, Ghana’s foreign minister said during a visit to Ukraine Friday. He said the Ghanaian government would work to dismantle illegal recruitment schemes. Ghana is one of a number of African countries whose citizens have been recruited by Russia.
