On Monday, a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel that was chasing a Philippine Coast Guard vessel rammed into a Chinese warship. The ramming caused substantial damage to both Chinese ships. Video stills show the CCG vessel with a crumpled bow – it is reportedly no longer seaworthy. The Chinese destroyer seems to have fared much better, with only deep scratches visible.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Saratov oil refinery paused operations following a Ukrainian drone strike. Saratov can refine 140,000 barrels of oil a day into gasoline, which will impact the domestic supply. Saratov is the third refinery to pause operations this month due to Ukrainian strikes. Also, Ukraine struck the Orenburg helium facility – Russia’s only helium production facility and one of the largest in Europe. It has a processing capacity of approximately 15 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Helium is a critical component for missiles, the space industry, and the aircraft industry.
On Wednesday, it was reported that U.S. authorities have secretly placed location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips they see as being at high risk of illegal diversion to China. The trackers are typically hidden in the packaging of the server shipments and can help build cases against people and companies who profit from violating US export controls.
On Thursday, A former Google executive, Mo Gawdat, warned that AI might lead to a “short-term dystopia” by 2027 unless systematic changes are made to how AI is being developed. Gawdat served as chief business officer at Google. Gawdat says that more white-collar workers will be at risk of losing their jobs in this “dystopia” scenario, and it may not be just entry-level workers.
On Friday, Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The two leaders and their teams met for 3.5 hours and did not reach a deal. Afterwards, Trump told European leaders that he was open to offering U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine, which is a significant shift in his stance toward America’s role in any end to the war. Trump told European officials that Putin wouldn’t stop fighting during any peace talks and insisted Ukraine cede territory in the country’s east in exchange for a freeze of the front line elsewhere. Putin accepted, Trump said, that any peace would need to include the presence of Western troops in Ukraine as a way of ensuring its durability.
On Sunday, Israeli protesters demanded a deal to free hostages in Gaza and attempted to shut down the country in one of the largest protests in 22 months of war. Organizers, representing the families of hostages, asserted that hundreds of thousands of people took part. Protesters gathered at dozens of places, including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theatres closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’ position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated.”