The BRICS Summit puts India’s strategic autonomy to the test as New Delhi balances close ties with Russia against its Western partnerships The 18th BRICS Summit, opening in New Delhi on Friday, will test not only the geopolitical resilience of the largest grouping in the non-Western world, but also the maturity of Indian diplomacy. India has set itself an extraordinarily difficult task of trying to pour the oil of reconciliation onto the increasingly stormy waters of world politics. The theme of its 2026 BRICS presidency, “Building for Sustainability, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainable Development,” might sound hopelessly optimistic as the Ukraine conflict and sanctions against Russia continue, the US and Iran remain locked in confrontation, Western pressure on China is growing, Africa and Latin America face what BRICS countries regard as neo-colonial practices, and while trade and techno...
Posts
The US AI giant identified researchers tried to use Claude to increase transmissibility of dangerous pathogens, possibly for military use Anthropic says it has caught scientists using its AI models for research that could help develop biological weapons, including work aimed at making dangerous pathogens more transmissible and harmful. Five cases of biological researchers using Claude raised serious security concerns, according to a company threat intelligence report published on Thursday. One case, to be carried out at a military research institute, involved gain-of-function research aimed at making the chikungunya virus more transmissible and better able to evade the immune system. Another scientist used Claude while researching highly dangerous bird flu and ways the virus could adapt to mammals. Other cases involved work on viruses related to smallpox and the redesign of dangerous toxins. Anthropic s...
The Polish PM was joined by three other European leaders in warning that Brussels’ policies are squeezing industry amid its Russian energy divorce and military buildup The EU can forget about competitiveness while energy prices remain prohibitively high, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned, urging Brussels to avoid policies that push costs higher. Tusk spoke on Thursday at a press conference of the Visegrad Four (V4) – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic – a Central European grouping that coordinates regional interests within the EU. “We can put aside the dream of competing with China or the US as long as energy prices here remain at their current levels,” Tusk said. “The EU cannot afford to remain naive for even one more day when it comes to various ambitious policies. We must protect our industry.” Tusk mentioned EU energy and climate mea...
Intelligence alerted the authorities to plans for a mass crossing a day before tens of thousands entered the exclave, according to newly declassified files Spanish intelligence warned of plans for migrants to breach Ceuta’s border by land and sea just a day before tens of thousands of people poured into the enclave from Morocco, newly declassified documents show. The revelations have fueled accusations that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government failed to give the full story about what it knew before the crisis. The small Spanish territory on the North African coast has faced severe pressure since more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco in late July. Most have since returned or been sent back, but thousands remain, straining local services and fueling criticism of Madrid’s handling of the crisis. Ceuta Mayor-President Juan Jesus Vivas warned that the enclave is “on ...
Western Europe also endured its hottest summer ever recorded, as heatwaves and drought battered the region, according to Copernicus Global heat hit an all-time high in August, with temperatures averaging 16.96C worldwide, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Western Europe suffered its hottest summer on record, as heatwaves, drought, and wildfires battered the region. August 2026 was 1.65C hotter than the 1850-1900 average, a period commonly used as the benchmark for temperatures before large-scale industrial warming, Copernicus said on Thursday. It was the hottest August in records dating back to 1940 and effectively matched July 2023, the previous all-time monthly high, with less than 0.01C separating them. “Humans haven’t seen temperatures as hot as today for, arguably, at least the last 100,000 years,” Samantha Burgess of the European Center for Medium-Range...
The reported attack on the base in Jordan came amid a renewed standoff over the Strait of Hormuz Multiple US military aircraft were damaged in an Iranian strike on a key American airbase in Jordan, CBS reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The attack reportedly took place overnight on Tuesday and targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base near Azraq, about 100 km northeast of Amman, a major hub for US air operations in the region. One A-10 Thunderbolt, known as the Warthog, suffered severe wing damage, while around eight F-15s were lightly damaged but returned to service, according to the report. No US personnel were killed. US forces reportedly fired more than 30 Patriot interceptors during the attack. Jordan said it intercepted 18 Iranian missiles, with two falling in unpopulated areas and causing no casualties. US Central Command has not confirmed the reported damage. It has, however,...