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Europe weighs Kyiv defense obligations

Ukraine called on Europe to quickly appoint an envoy for potential peace talks with the US and Russia, as the continent rushed to respond to the negotiations they’re excluded from. As Washington and Moscow prepare for talks in Riyadh on Tuesday, Europe’s powers clashed over whether to dispatch troops to Ukraine as peacekeeping forces. Some European officials fear US President Donald Trump will strike a ceasefire deal and leave future security obligations to Europe: The US has reportedly asked the bloc what guarantees it can provide Ukraine to ensure lasting peace. The prospect of higher military spending sent European defense stocks to record highs on Monday.

Xi signals support for private sector

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s forum with business leaders Monday affirmed the rehabilitation of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, and signaled the country’s support of its private sector, analysts said. Ma had been out of the public eye after a 2020 speech criticizing Beijing’s financial regulations, “becoming the most prominent victim” of the government’s yearslong crackdown on its tech sector, the Financial Times wrote. But at the symposium, which “had all the trappings of a national turning point,” Ma sat front row as Xi vowed to improve China’s business environment, Bloomberg wrote: Amid economic malaise, private companies are driving innovation and growth, which Beijing desperately needs.

Western biz rethinks China push

As China shows signs of backing its domestic private sector, Western tech and financial firms are increasingly scaling back their presence there. With US-China trade tensions rising, tech companies are adopting an “Anything But China” approach, The Wall Street Journal reported, by not only diversifying their supply chains, but also building factories outside of the country. The relocation is much more permanent, and a boon to alternative locations like Mexico and Malaysia. And on Wall Street, banks are shifting their Asia resources to Japan and India, as tightening US restrictions on China investments — coupled with Beijing’s sluggish economy — make the country “a fading prospect,” Bloomberg wrote.

Musk team seeks IRS access

The US Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to the private financial information of millions of American taxpayers, The Washington Post reported. The plan has alarmed Democrats and tax experts, with one lawmaker calling it an “illegal and blatant power grab.” The IRS scrutiny is Musk’s latest effort to disrupt governance in the name of fiscal responsibility. But DOGE has “little to do with saving money,” The Atlantic argued, and more to do with attacking government expertise. Musk’s Washington exploits are “not a technical victory, but a cultural victory,” a longtime Silicon Valley engineer told Politico: Tech moguls have long wanted to apply their disruptive approach to governments.

DeepSeek downloads blocked in SK

South Korea blocked downloads of Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek’s chatbot over privacy concerns. A government probe reportedly found that the AI model had sent personal user data to Chinese tech giant ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The episode reflected the sustained overseas scrutiny of Chinese tech, while China’s own public and private sectors embrace the advances: Several local governments are integrating DeepSeek into their systems, and tech conglomerate Tencent announced plans to bring the chatbot to its WeChat app. The move is set to shake up the Chinese chatbot market, with Tencent’s shares surging on the news amid a broader tech rally; its CEO briefly became China’s richest person.

‘Stop The Steal’ book sparks SK row

South Korea’s public libraries have come under fire for not stocking a new book that alleges widespread election fraud. Stop The Steal’s cover features both the South Korean and US flags, reflecting how the country’s impeached and suspended leader, President Yoon Suk Yeol, has embraced Donald Trump’s playbook in alleging election irregularities to galvanize supporters. Library officials said they were overwhelmed with threats urging them to make the book available, with some administrators still weighing their decision, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. The episode mirrors fraught culture war debates over free speech in the US: “We strive to remain neutral, but it is difficult to stock books that satisfy everyone,” one library head said.

Meta to build massive internet cable

Meta plans to build the world’s longest subsea internet cable. The project, connecting five continents and spanning 31,000 miles, will support the tech giant’s artificial intelligence efforts. Internet cables have become crucial for digital connectivity and data services — and geopolitics often plays a role in their development, TechCrunch noted. After India’s prime minister met with US President Donald Trump last week, New Delhi vowed to finance part of Meta’s cable, which will pass through the Indian Ocean. The company has looked to expand beyond social media into high-tech lanes like AI: It is reportedly working on humanoid robots that can do household tasks. But past efforts to branch out, like the metaverse, have flopped, CNN wrote.

Skies set to get more crowded than ever

The skies will become more crowded than ever over the next decade, as drones, flying taxis, and rockets compete with the growing numbers of airliners. Passenger plane numbers are expected to rise by a third to 36,000 by 2034, while the space industry is exploding: The number of objects launched into space went up tenfold between 2013 and 2023, and orbital debris is becoming “a critical safety and air traffic control issue,” one analyst told the Financial Times. Drone deliveries and piloted and autonomous air taxis are being trialed around the world. The rapidly expanding use of airspace is approaching a “limit in [human] cognitive capacity,” an expert said, and would require increasing use of automation and artificial intelligence.

Chinese artist protests Ukraine war

A Chinese artist is risking Beijing’s wrath by posting an image a day online protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese Communist Party often cracks down on dissident art: Ai Weiwei and Liu Xiaobo both spent time in prison. US-based Chinese citizen Xu Weixin, who travels home regularly, told The Wall Street Journal that it is “a tough balance” being even mildly critical of Beijing, which tacitly supports Moscow’s war efforts. Xu’s earlier art, depicting the Cultural Revolution and the costs of China’s breakneck 2000s economic growth, also courted controversy, although he always knew “where the red lines were.” He noted that posts expressing sadness over the Ukraine war have often been permitted. Still, censors have blocked his Weibo account twice.

Swiss Alps cater to ultra-wealthy

The Swiss Alps are increasingly catering to the ultra-rich, with luxury hotels on the rise as mid-range and budget ones decline. Four- and five-star hotels now account for more than a third of all Alpine stays, NZZ reported. It’s partly driven by US inflation: A high-end hotel in St. Moritz is now cheaper than a comparable one in Aspen, Colorado. Resorts are also angling more than ever for the elite, with the cheapest room at one St. Moritz hotel going for $2,022 and offering an airport pickup in a Rolls-Royce once owned by Queen Elizabeth II. Meanwhile, mid-market resorts are under pressure, especially because climate change is pushing snow lines higher, requiring expensive artificial snow machines.

Feb. 18:

• The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is set to expire.
• South Korea’s constitutional court continues hearings in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial.
• Director Richard Linklater’s film Blue Moon premieres at the Berlinale film festival.

A “revelatory” 1777 letter written by the first US president is expected to sell for $150,000 after decades of being hidden in a private collection. George Washington’s handwritten letter — up for sale on Presidents Day — offers a “rare understanding of his confidence in regular Americans to fight and win the revolutionary war,” The Guardian wrote. In the letter, Washington seemed undeterred by a British raid on a military supply depot, showing faith in the retaliation by local citizen militias. Washington also mentioned his first inoculation campaign against smallpox that was spreading, marking “an important moment in science and medicine,” said Nathan Raab, president of the collection selling the letter. “To call it rare probably doesn’t go far enough.”

People are increasingly spending hours each day building relationships with artificial lovers, reports Semafor’s Rachyl Jones, who spoke to 11 people with AI companions.

“It’s not like it’s toxic when you touch it,” said one expert, who was concerned about the opportunity chatbots provide to retreat from reality. “But over time, this is not practice for healthy mutual relationships.” For good or ill, people dating AI chatbots often “see themselves as pioneers,” Jones wrote.