Trump said he's "considering" pulling the US out of NATO, a dramatic escalation in his feud with allies over the Iran war. The comment came as UK PM Keir Starmer convened 35 countries in London to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most critical oil chokepoint, which Iran has blockaded for over a month. Trump told nations to "get your own oil," doubling down on his frustration that NATO allies won't back the US-Israel campaign against Tehran. Spain and France have already closed their airspace to US military aircraft involved in the conflict. The transatlantic rift is now the deepest since the Iraq war. Read more →
As the Iran war enters its second month and global energy markets remain in chaos, China is positioning itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran. Beijing's calculus is straightforward: the conflict destabilizes the global economy China depends on for its export-driven recovery. Unlike Pakistan's quiet back-channel diplomacy, China is doing so publicly — a calculated move to burnish its image as a responsible global power while the US is isolated. Whether Iran or the US will accept Beijing in that role remains deeply uncertain. Read more →
Israel's defense minister said Israeli forces will control "the entire area" from the border up to 20 miles into Lebanon, effectively signaling a new phase of occupation along the Litani River. Attacks have expanded to areas beyond Hezbollah's traditional zones of control. Over 1.2 million Lebanese civilians have been displaced, with Israel barring returns to border villages indefinitely. Rights groups warn of a Gaza-style destruction model being applied to southern Lebanon. The announcement escalates a second front in the regional conflict alongside the ongoing Iran campaign. Read more →
At least 100 of Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous taxis came to a halt across Wuhan late Tuesday night, trapping passengers inside vehicles stopped mid-traffic on highways and city streets. Police confirmed the incident was caused by a "system failure." Social media posts showed at least one collision. The outage is a major reputational blow to China's flagship autonomous vehicle program at a time when Beijing is pushing to scale robotaxi fleets nationwide. Baidu has not commented beyond acknowledging the system failure. Read more →
NASA's Artemis II mission is targeting launch today at 6:24 PM EDT — the first crewed flight to lunar orbit in 54 years. Four astronauts will spend roughly 10 days orbiting the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft, paving the way for a future crewed landing. The crew includes the first woman, first person of color, and first non-American (Canada's Jeremy Hansen) to travel beyond low-Earth orbit. Notably, the piece contextualizes Artemis within a broader US military space strategy — the Pentagon is not far behind NASA in planning its own lunar operations. Read more →
With Hungary's parliamentary election 11 days away, opposition leader Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party are polling at levels that could end Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule — the longest in the EU. The final stretch has turned toxic: both sides are accusing each other of vote-buying in rural constituencies, illegal wiretapping, and foreign interference from Moscow and Kyiv. Magyar, a former Orbán ally who now campaigns on rule-of-law and EU alignment, represents the most credible threat to Hungary's entrenched autocracy since 2010. Read more →