Stay up-to-date with the most recent news stories from around the world
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Nvidia and Meta have signed a multi‑year partnership that will see Meta deploy millions of Nvidia chips across on‑premises and cloud infrastructure. The deal secures compute supply for Meta's AI ambitions while reinforcing Nvidia's dominant position in AI hardware, with wide implications for competitors, cloud providers and energy use.
Meta and Nvidia have widened a strategic partnership to include large‑scale deployment of Nvidia GPUs and the first standalone mass roll‑out of Nvidia’s Grace CPUs, plus future plans to adopt Vera CPUs around 2027. The deal ties Meta’s planned $135 billion capex trajectory to Nvidia’s full‑stack platform while leaving room for other suppliers as a hedge against vendor concentration.
Using MeerKAT and a powerful gravitational lens, astronomers have detected the most distant and brightest hydroxyl megamaser known, in a merging galaxy more than 8 billion light‑years away. The result demonstrates how sensitive radio arrays and lensing can probe molecular gas and extreme star formation at cosmological distances, opening new avenues for studying galaxy evolution ahead of the SKA era.
China’s Spring Festival Gala has become a major stage for robotics firms chasing public attention, but the industry still faces fundamental commercial challenges. High-profile performances generate emotional value without addressing core needs such as repeatable deployments, cash-flow sustainability, and industrial reliability.
As Chinese young adults face intrusive questioning during Lunar New Year visits, they are adopting new strategies—preparing stock answers, diverting conversation, avoiding visits or educating elders—to protect personal boundaries. These practices reveal broader tensions between ritual obligations and modern pressures such as urbanisation, housing costs and delayed family formation.
A NUAA research team reports a method to raise the critical flutter speed of flying‑wing designs by over 60 percent, potentially enabling a stealthy bomber to operate at supersonic speeds. While the result does not guarantee an operational supersonic H‑20, it removes a major technical barrier and alters strategic calculations about survivability and strike range.
President Trump said he has discussed future U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese leaders, a statement that contradicts a long-standing U.S. pledge not to consult Beijing and has alarmed officials in Taipei and Tokyo. The comments come amid reporting of a potential $20 billion package of air-defence systems and broader U.S.-China talks ahead of a planned presidential visit to China.
China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala turned into a high‑stakes showcase for humanoid-robot firms, offering colossal national exposure but also prompting debate over whether theatrical demonstrations translate into commercial viability. The sector now faces a pivot from spectacle to scale: 2026 will test which firms can deliver reliable, cost-effective robots and which will be left behind as capital cools.
China’s biggest tech firms spent more than 45 billion yuan over the 2026 Lunar New Year in an AI‑focused red‑envelope battle that mixed cash prizes, task‑based incentives and offline vouchers. The campaign was a large‑scale acquisition and product‑education experiment whose success will be decided not by downloads or single‑night peaks but by whether users form lasting habits and remain active after the holiday.
Japanese police have detained three U.S. service members on suspicion of thefts in Tokyo and Okinawa, with two suspects potentially tied to a larger string of incidents involving sums that may exceed ¥10 million. The arrests risk intensifying longstanding local opposition to American bases and will test U.S.-Japan cooperation under the Status of Forces Agreement. The cases also highlight personnel welfare and oversight issues within U.S. forces in Japan, and could prompt calls for greater transparency and remedial measures from both Tokyo and local communities.
Armed attackers struck two villages in central Nigeria on February 3, killing more than 160 people. The UN Security Council condemned the massacre and urged international cooperation, while Nigeria deployed troops and confirmed US personnel are on the ground to assist in countering IS-linked militancy.
NORAD tracked two high-altitude objects over northern California on February 15 and dispatched two F-16s to intercept them. The objects were assessed to be meteorological balloons and posed no threat to military or civil aviation.
The U.S. Air Force flew 18 F-35A fighters from RAF Lakenheath to the Middle East on Feb. 16, supported by tankers and operating in three‑ship formations. The deployment is a significant, visible show of force meant to deter Iran and reassure regional partners amid heightened tensions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at an American Jewish leaders’ gathering that Israel aims to phase out U.S. military funding within ten years and build a fully autonomous defence industry. The goal would reshape procurement, shift fiscal burdens to Israel, and alter the leverage and dynamics of the U.S.-Israel security partnership.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly set uncompromising conditions ahead of a new round of US–Iran talks, demanding the dismantling and removal of Iran’s uranium‑enrichment infrastructure rather than merely a pause. He also insists on the complete disarmament of Hamas and signalled a desire to end US military aid to Israel after the current package expires in 2028.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to accelerate Britain’s move to spend 3% of GDP on defence, stressing that Europe must be prepared to fight and that UK security remains bound up with the Continent. The vow aims to reassure NATO allies and domestic audiences, but its strategic value will depend on execution, procurement, and cooperation with European partners.
The United States has accelerated deployments to the Middle East ahead of indirect talks with Iran in Geneva, repositioning aircraft from the UK, moving equipment to Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and extending troop rotations. Washington’s actions are meant to pressure Tehran and prepare for possible military contingencies, but they raise escalation and regional-risk concerns.
A U.S. B‑52 joined Philippine aircraft in a South China Sea patrol from Feb 2–6, prompting five days of Chinese sea and air counter‑patrols. The episode illustrates how diplomatic outreach between Washington and Beijing can coexist with, and even be shadowed by, intensified military competition in the region.
Delegations from Russia, the United States and Ukraine met in Geneva on 17 February for tripartite talks hosted by Switzerland. While public details are sparse, the format suggests discussions on humanitarian issues, security guarantees and confidence‑building measures, with major disputes over territory and sanctions likely to constrain outcomes.
The 62nd Munich Security Conference exposed a quieter, deeper rift between the United States and Europe over the distribution of security responsibilities and the future of the Western order. European leaders publicly signalled a push toward greater strategic autonomy even as they remain materially dependent on US security guarantees, while civil society protests underscored domestic opposition to expanded militarisation.
