What We're Watching

Modi wins in opposition stronghold, Guyana and Venezuela try to settle border dispute, Trump considers vetting AI models

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets his supporters as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters as the BJP won the Assam state assembly election and was on course to win West Bengal, in New Delhi, India, May 4, 2026.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets his supporters as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters, as the BJP won the Assam state assembly election and was on course to win West Bengal, in New Delhi, India, May 4, 2026.
REUTERS

India’s Modi consolidates grip after historic state election win

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party won the state of West Bengal for the first time, booting out the once-formidable opposition, the All India Trinamool Congress, which had governed for 15 years. This is the latest bit of good electoral news for Modi, whose party has now won a string of state elections since 2024, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a setback in national elections and was forced to govern in a coalition. The BJP now controls more than a third of India’s states, rekindling talk of whether Modi will seek re-election for a fourth term in 2029. The West Bengal triumph was charged by anger at corrupt and ineffective incumbents – a mood which drove out long-ruling parties in other states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well. But election observers have also focused on a darker factor: the BJP-led revision of voter rolls, which, they say, may have disenfranchised millions of voters.

Venezuela and Guyana are back in court over border dispute

The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings to sort out a border dispute that dates back more than a century. At issue is the resource-rich region of Essequibo, which European mapmakers, with US support, awarded almost entirely to Guyana in a decision that Venezuela has disputed ever since. Friction has grown since massive offshore oil deposits were discovered there a few years ago. In 2023, Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro stoked nationalist sentiment by holding a referendum in which Venezuelans overwhelmingly voted to annex the area, and even threatened a cross-border invasion. Maduro’s successor, Delcy Rodríguez, who now works closely with Washington, is no less die-hard on this issue. Last week, she attended a regional heads-of-state gathering wearing a pin – increasingly popular among Venezuelan officials these days – that depicts Essequibo as part of Venezuela. Guyana is seeking a ruling that ends the legal issue once and for all. If so, would Venezuela walk away and drop it? Don’t bet on it.

Trump administration weighs a hands-on approach to AI

The Trump administration is considering vetting artificial intelligence models before they’re released to the public, according to The New York Times. The effort to boost oversight would mark a sharp reversal from the administration’s laissez-faire approach toward Silicon Valley. So what changed? As we noted recently, Anthropic’s powerful new Mythos model may have been the catalyst. Designed to identify software vulnerabilities, the model rang global alarms over its ability to exploit those same cybersecurity weaknesses, prompting Anthropic to release it only to a small group of companies. The administration has since sought access to Mythos following its announcement, and reportedly wants to avoid potential political fallout should an AI-powered cyberattack occur. The vetting process may not be an idea that AI companies will necessarily oppose. While the Times notes companies don’t agree on what regulation should look like, they may find it easier to work with the administration than against it — so long as the White House doesn’t slow the rollout of their models.

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