#geopolitics

#geopolitics

Trade restrictions on advanced AI chips are reshaping the entire semiconductor industry in unprecedented ways. Where previously the design and performance of AI accelerators were primarily driven by physics, manufacturing yields, and customer demands, they are now controlled by US export restrictions. The US's Department of Commerce has set strict limits on how leading American technology companies, such as Nvidia and AMD, design AI chips, with restrictions on performance, memory bandwidth, and interconnect speeds.

I find them so alluring, almost like perfume bottles or snow globes, but so grotesque, she explains as we handle the etched and sculpted objects, which each have a precious drop of crude oil at their centre. They have these shiny, dazzling exteriors, but when you get close you see the death mulch inside. All presentations of power are fragile; they collapse once you get close enough.

Is the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) submarine power cable project dead in the water? The GSI project, which is worth 2 billion ($2.36 billion), seeks to build a subsea electric cable connecting Greece and Cyprus and later Israel. The aim is to integrate the Republic of Cyprus into the European electricity transmission system and bolster the energy security of EU member states Greece and Cyprus.

In July, the EU sanctioned an Indian refinery that refined Russian crude, ensuring it can't sell to Europe. Since then, US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India, half of it as punishment for buying Russian fuel. But as the EU and the US align their policies against Russia on secondary sanctions for its war in Ukraine, the Trump reportedly called on the bloc to impose up to 100% tariffs on India.

The trade deal von der Leyen signed with Donald Trump in July was an unequal bargain, decried by right and left as a humiliation for Europe. Russia escalated its attacks on Ukraine, while EU leaders were left wincing at the spectacle of Trump's red carpet welcome for Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Israel's war on Gaza continued relentlessly, killing more than 64,000 people and bringing famine to the strip,

Netanyahu has grandiose idea of wanting to redraw the map of the Middle East Quotable I think what we're seeing is an evolution of Netanyahu's descent into insanity. The brazen activities of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are a way to redraw the Middle East map, says Professor Mehran Kamrava from Georgetown University. Video Duration 01 minutes 33 seconds 01:33 Video Duration 01 minutes 23 seconds 01:23 Video Duration 01 minutes 17 seconds 01:17 Video Duration 00 minutes 58 seconds 00:58

Pressing challenges, from the climate emergency to pandemic preparedness, demand concerted efforts at the global scale. But the growth in the use of international sanctions since the Second World War, although mostly targeted at economic growth and military capacity, has also affected science and scientific cooperation (see 'Science, restricted' and Supplementary information for raw data). Many nations have suspended publicly funded collaborations with the scientific institutions of several countries, including Iran, North Korea and Russia.

Earlier this year the Welsh village of Cyffylliog in Denbighshire was beset by an unexpected stream of traffic after an Aldi supermarket appeared on a map. The name of a farm just below the village, home to about 500 people, was changed on Google Maps to the name of the supermarket, leading to an influx of people attempting to do a weekly shop, and a milk tanker getting stuck. Google said it worked around the clock to identify suspicious behaviour, and corrected the listing.

Climate change, rising seas and China's push for influence are set to dominate talks at the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands this week, in a meeting already marked by geopolitical tensions. The lead up to the forum has already been fraught with tensions after Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele excluded external partners including China, the US and Taiwan from discussions.

On Wednesday morning, the three men led a group of more than 20 world leaders as they strode towards a rostrum in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to watch a victory day parade marking the end, eight decades ago, of a global conflict that would soon usher in the first cold war. When Wednesday's celebrations end, however, the regimes in Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang will be left to confront significant domestic challenges that might yet shift their focus from global power politics.

In recent years, the global conversation around cloud computing has shifted from a focus on technology to geopolitics. Data sovereignty, privacy, and control are now top concerns for enterprises outside the United States-especially across Europe, the UK, Asia, and Africa. Regulations and shifting political winds are prompting companies to reassess the risks of storing their data in the hands of foreign-most notably, American-companies.

The traditional post-summer rentree feels almost incomplete without an accompanying political crisis in France. And right on cue this year's return from les grandes vacances has delivered but in the form of a shock move that could collapse the government within a fortnight, plunging Europe's second biggest economy into chaos. Prime minister Francois Bayrou stunned the country on Monday by announcing he would seek a back me or sack me confidence vote in the national assembly on 8 September.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are among the world leaders who will attend a military parade with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, in a show of collective defiance amid western pressure. No western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week with the exception of Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a member of the European Union according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

A new unease has gripped the German population, making itself felt around kitchen tables, in classrooms and in offices. Many are trying to imagine the unimaginable: a war in Europe, triggered by Russia, involving German soldiers, German sons and daughters, sent to the front to defend democracy.

Trump's portrayal as a dealmaker was tested in Anchorage, where he claimed Putin respected him, despite Putin holding to his Ukrainian territorial claims.

The war has been raging since 2022 but some, like international security and geopolitics experts like Karthika Sasikumar, say they'd be shocked if there's a substantial breakthrough that comes from the summit.

The Mercator map distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles while shrinking Africa and South America. This false representation influences media, education, and policy.

"I don't think there's a big wall of oil coming from Russia if peace breaks out," said energy forecaster Dan Pickering. "My expectation is there's a more significant impact on sentiment-'Here come the Russians'-than there would be on actual barrels."