Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say Share Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say on social media Mundane regulatory problems in Kyiv and unimaginative institutional thinking in Europe's militaries are holding up joint weapons production. And that is undermining Ukraine's battlefield performance and leaving Europe's armed forces unprepared for modern warfare. Those are the conclusions of a new report from the Centre for Statecraft and National Security (CSNS) at King's College London, and experts who spoke to Al Jazeera. Kyiv receives weapons, Western partners receive know-how. That formula has led to at least 180 business-to-business partnerships between Ukrainian and foreign partners, but 22 percent of them are stalled, according to the report, Beyond Aid: Making Ukraine Defence Cooperation Work.

Pakistan's new drone deal is with Trump-backed firm also selling to India Share Pakistan's new drone deal is with Trump-backed firm also selling to India on social media On September 16, a delegation from Powerus, a year-old United States drone company backed by two sons of President Donald Trump, was received by Pakistan's military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at military headquarters in Rawalpindi. A day later, the company announced it had received a "limited procurement order" from Pakistan's Ministry of Defence for unmanned aerial systems. It also said it had signed a separate memorandum of understanding (MoU) with senior Pakistani defence officials. But for analysts studying Pakistan's venture in drone technology, even bigger concerns have arisen from information that has since emerged. Less than three months earlier, the same company had given an Indian defence manufacturer the exclusive right to make and sell its drone interceptor technology in India.

'This is an apartheid regime' Does Trump have real leverage over Netanyahu? A handful of electronic components, a few wires and a basic programmable circuit board are enough to bring a group of curious children around a table in central Gaza to learn about robotics. Students at The Next Gen Team: Rising Robotics Engineer Project in Deir el-Balah learn how to integrate sensors into alarm systems, study robotics, understand how motors and drive units work, as well as get firsthand experience with programming. The robotics and early warning systems they are working on could make way for bigger developments such as early detection of gas leaks and fires or help rescue workers access hard-to-reach areas, such as victims trapped under rubble. Today's lesson will also teach students the sciences of the future and help them keep pace with technological advancements happening outside Gaza's borders. Before the war, students had access to schools, universities, incubators and training programmes to pursue an interest in technology.

'Just ask Grok': How ISIL is using Big Tech's AI to build bombs Share'Just ask Grok': How ISIL is using Big Tech's AI to build bombs on social media Boko Haram fighters are using the artificial intelligence chatbots of Big Tech companies to help build more powerful bombs, plan attacks and solve problems during combat, according to research by the University of Cambridge. A number of members described using Sam Altman-led OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Elon Musk's Grok, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta AI and China's DeepSeek as a routine source of technical and military advice before, during and after attacks. Researchers at Tech Against Terrorism infiltrated a pro-ISIL technical forum where supporters instructed one another on how to use AI and circumvent its safety restrictions. The findings come amid growing concern over ISIL's adoption of emerging technologies. In February, United Nations officials warned the Security Council of increased use of advanced AI by ISIL and its affiliates. At the same time, researchers and several of the technology industry's most prominent figures have warned that increasingly powerful AI systems are advancing faster than safeguards, raising concerns that unchecked advances in AI are making it easier for armed groups to exploit the technology.

'This is an apartheid regime' Does Trump have real leverage over Netanyahu? As the world wrestles with the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and the dangers of removing humans from life-altering decisions, Israel has pressed ahead with deploying AI as part of its military arsenal. In Gaza, AI systems have been used to determine potential bomb targets, contributing to the scale of the killing of Palestinians there as recently documented in the award-winning documentary NAZA . The Turkish media outlet PalDigital, citing rights activists and Israeli media reports, highlighted how Israel uses AI tools - and specifically a product called ImiSight developed by the Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael - to monitor vast swathes of land and observe changes that can then be used as justifications for demolitions. The tool was initially used by Israel in the Naqab desert, targeting Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel, PalDigital reported in July.

Did Iran capture a US submarine? Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed its critical East-West oil pipeline, a 1,200km (746-mile) conduit stretching across the Arabian Peninsula, after it was attacked by drones on Friday. The drones were reported to have been launched from Iraq, where an investigation is under way. No group has claimed responsibility for the strikes so far. It is understood that equipment used to operate the pipeline was also hit.

Current and former artificial intelligence researchers in the United States have issued dire warnings that the technology could soon lead to human extinction, capturing the attention of lawmakers in Washington. The most recent warning came in a lengthy social media post by Jacob Coxon, a San Francisco-based researcher who announced his resignation from Anthropic on Tuesday evening. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible - but I hear the same people express fear," Coxon said in his post, which prompted a flurry of responses by AI experts also sounding the alarm. Evan Hubinger, a current Alignment Science lead at Anthropic, echoed his remarks, saying, "we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!

South Korean consumer-electronics company LG has denied allegations that its smart televisions record ambient conversations, listen while on standby and store recordings for later transmission. On Wednesday, the company told Al Jazeera that voice data is only recorded when a user presses and holds the voice button on the TV remote or activates its "Hi LG" wake word, after the user has activated the Far-Field voice recognition feature. "Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations," LG said, adding that voice data is only processed via explicit user commands. "The audio is immediately deleted if the wake word is not recognised," the company said. The statement comes after a 135-minute investigative report released on Monday by a popular tech media outlet and YouTube channel, Gamers Nexus, with Level1Techs and independent security researchers.

The signing of the Paris Agreement by 200 countries in 2015 was a rare moment of global unity, and the euphoria was real. To cheers and tears, the international climate treaty was approved by nearly every country in the world. Fundamental to the agreement was a commitment to keeping temperatures from rising beyond 1.5C (2.7F) above the pre-industrial levels of the mid 19th-century. But 11 years on, it is evident that the Earth is soon going to exceed that threshold because of the continued record burning of fossil fuels. A report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya - called Limiting Overshoot - has found that even under the most optimistic scenario, the Earth will heat up by 1.8C (3.2F) above pre-industrial levels.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's three-day visit to Egypt, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, marked his first trip to the Middle East in four years and the first to Egypt in a decade. The trip caused debate among geopolitical observers over Egypt's diplomatic balancing act between China, one of its largest economic partners, and the United States, a major defence and strategic partner. Xi's visit came at a time when Chinese tech giant Huawei has submitted a tender to build Egypt's AI data centres. The US, meanwhile, is reportedly pulling together an offer to counter Huawei's bid. Whoever wins the contract to build the data centres will also gain an opportunity to strengthen their political and economic ties with Egypt.