Trump's grand plan to reshape the world order leaves Europe with a difficult choice to make For 80 years, what bound the United States to Europe was a shared commitment to defence and a common set of values: a commitment to defend democracy, human rights and the rule of law. That era was inaugurated in March 1947 in an 18-minute speech by President Harry Truman, in which he pledged US support to defend Europe against further expansion by the Soviet Union. America led the creation of Nato, the World Bank, the IMF and the United Nations. And it bound itself into what became known as the rules-based international order, in which nation states committed to a series of mutual obligations and shared burdens, designed to defend the democratic world against hostile authoritarian powers. Now, the new US National Security Strategy (NSS), published in December, signals that, for the White House, that shared endeavour has ended; that much of what the world has taken for granted about America's role is over.

Our world is in a spiral of crises. While conventional threats, such as famine, drought, civil war and genocide, continue to loom over humanity in many parts of the world, the race to assume control of new phenomena that have the potential to change the world – such as novel communications and weapons technologies, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies – is also gaining pace and posing new threats to our collective wellbeing. Our current "rules-based international order", which was established in the aftermath of World War II to increase global cooperation, generate economic prosperity, prevent wars, and ensure stability, equality and justice is struggling to navigate these complex challenges and falling short of preventing violations of its founding principles. A state of irregularity, which benefits only a handful of powerful countries and interest groups while spelling catastrophe for the masses, is close to becoming the new normal of the global order. Therefore, it is now not a preference but an obligation to make comprehensive reforms to the system to prevent this scenario from becoming reality.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Friday confirmed they will strengthen cooperation toward realizing a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" amid China's growing assertiveness in the region and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Widodo said Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations stand ready to build cooperation with their partners, and Kishida, who is on the first stop of his trip to Southeast Asia and Europe, underscored the importance of upholding the rules-based international order. "We are facing many challenges, including the situations in Ukraine, the East and South China seas and North Korea, and maintaining and strengthening the rules-based, free and open international order has become more important," Kishida said during a joint news conference after the summit. Kishida said that based on such understanding, the two sides confirmed they will strengthen cooperation toward realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, an initiative that Japan has been pushing, and the ASEAN Outlook spearheaded by Indonesia. Japan views Indonesia, this year's host of the Group of 20 summit to be held in November and a key economy in Southeast Asia, as a strategic partner sharing universal values such as democracy and the rule of law.

Brussels – NATO leaders warned Monday that China's military ambitions pose "systemic challenges" to their alliance, and agreed to enhance ties with Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations to back the rules-based international order. The tough line against Beijing, taken in a communique released after the NATO summit, came as U.S. President Joe Biden rallies allies to counter what he calls autocracies like China and Russia that are challenging an open international order. "China's stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security," said the communique from the 30-member organization that brings together North American and European countries. The leaders also expressed concerns over what they called China's coercive policies, while pointing out the country's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal and criticizing the opaqueness of its military modernization. The communique, meanwhile, named Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea as countries with which NATO plans to strengthen its "political dialogue and practical cooperation" in a bid to promote cooperative security and support the rules-based international order.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a train wreck in slow motion. This crash could turn out to be the spark that ignites a whole-of-global-society meltdown like in the world wars of the 20th century. Those were conflicts within humanity. Few may have recognised it yet, but the world wars of the 21st century have already begun and unlike those of the past century, the new conflicts are between humanity and nature. The COVID-19 pandemic is nature's first global-scale assault on the uber-modern human world.

OSAKA - With six months to go until the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, the basic agenda has been set for discussion on issues of global importance. But with the G20 process increasingly seen as failing and many leaders likely to arrive in Osaka with severe domestic political problems at home, what will come out of the summit in terms of new agreements to cooperate on issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development to strengthening multilateral free trade and investment is increasingly unclear. On Dec. 1, as the G20 leaders' summit in Buenos Aires closed, Prime Minster Shinzo Abe outlined the agenda of what will be discussed when the leaders meet on June 28 and 29 in Osaka. "At the G20 Osaka Summit, I will set our goal to materialize a free, open, and inclusive and sustainable future society and promote efforts to this end, through our development efforts centered on the sustainable development goals and contributions to addressing global issues, along with driving the world economy through the promotion of free trade and innovation as well as simultaneously achieving economic growth and inequality correction," Abe told the other leaders. Technological innovation, especially in artificial intelligence and robotics, is another area that Japan will ask world leaders to discuss, along with infrastructure development and global health care.

Despite the fraught global environment -- with U.S.-China animosity mounting alongside a bevy of regional security concerns -- Japan appears to be viewing the situation as a glass half-full scenario, according to leading experts, as well as current and former officials. That was the scene Wednesday, when pundits and diplomats from Japan and across the globe gathered for the Eurasia Group's inaugural G-Zero Summit in Tokyo. With China and the Trump administration posing potential headaches for Tokyo, many said the country's unique position and stable domestic politics could be an opportunity for it to break out of its diplomatic shell and play a larger leadership role in regional and global politics. "After World War II, the U.S. has shouldered much of the responsibility" in establishing and maintaining the international rules-based order, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in the conference's keynote speech. Yet Kono believes Washington can't continue to go it alone and "has been getting a little tired … so someone else has to take up the responsibility."

Social robot company Jibo is sadly running on fumes after burning through nearly $73 million in funding. In a story first reported by BostInno and since confirmed by The Robot Report, Jibo has laid off the majority of its workforce to enable "additional time to secure additional funding or pursue an exit." Jibo was once heralded as "the first social robot for the home." Founded in 2012 by famed MIT roboticist Cynthia Breazeal, Jibo successfully raised over $3.5 million when its Indiegogo campaign ended in 2014. At the time, Breazeal promised to usher in a new age of social robotics.

A $199 device that tricks Tesla's autopilot system into thinking a driver's hands are on the steering wheel has been ruled unsafe by US regulators, who issued a cease and desist order to its makers on Tuesday. The Autopilot Buddy was deemed'unacceptable' by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) because it fools the autopilot into functioning without the driver being able to intervene immediately if anything goes wrong. The Buddy is a magnetic plastic strip that applies enough pressure on the wheel to keep the autopilot driving the car - while usually the system will issue warnings before shutting down if the driver's hands are not detected. Tesla's autopilot system only works if it senses a driver's hands on the steering wheel (as seen in this file photo). The Autopilot Buddy works by mimicking the presence of a driver's hands'A product intended to circumvent motor vehicle safety and driver attentiveness is unacceptable,' said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi King.