Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

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
Make us preferred on Google

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.

More For You

An electronic board displays the exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Minato Ward, Tokyo on August 3, 2026.
An electronic board displays the exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Minato Ward, Tokyo on August 3, 2026.
REUTERS/The Yomiuri Shimbun
The US and Japan stage a “Yentervention”Japan and the United States confirmed today they jointly intervened to prop up the Japanese yen, the first such action since 2011. Washington purchased an estimated $5 to 10 billion worth of yen, though the White House has not confirmed the exact amount. The Japanese currency recently plunged to a 40-year [...]
A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location

A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab from a handout video released on July 29, 2026.

U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS
Iran war draws in more countries as fighting escalatesAfter a few days of relative calm, the Iran war is escalating once again, and this time, more countries are in the mix. Egypt said two ships were hit with a drone in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, just 40 miles from the exit of the Suez Canal, the first attack in the country since the war [...]
Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov

Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 23, 2016.

REUTERS/Albert Gea
Mixed signals from the Kremlin on TelegramRussia announced on Wednesday it charged the founder of Telegram, Russian-born Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism for allegedly failing to remove information used to organize attacks inside the country. Earlier this year, Russia cracked down on the messaging app – slowing download speeds and blocking [...]
People chant slogans as they walk during a protest and shutter-down strike called by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an alliance of civil society groups, in Neelum Valley, Pakistani Kashmir.

People chant slogans as they walk during a protest and shutter-down strike called by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an alliance of civil society groups, in Neelum Valley, Pakistani Kashmir, June 21, 2026.

REUTERS/Naseer ud Din
Contested elections in Pakistan-administered KashmirRegional parliamentary elections began in the Pakistan-administered portion of Kashmir on Monday, but the first round of voting has been racked with violence. It's the latest flare-up in what’s been weeks of clashes in the region between police and protesters, who are organized by the Joint Awami [...]