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| President Vladimir Putin of Russia, right, and his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu. Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, via Reuters |
Russia could put a nuclear weapon into orbit, U.S. warned
U.S. intelligence agencies warned European and Asian allies that if Russia launches a nuclear weapon into orbit, it will probably do so this year — but the country might instead launch a “dummy” warhead to obscure its capabilities.
Putin has made no secret of his interest in upgrading Russia’s nuclear weapon delivery systems, but using a traditional nuclear weapon would likely lead to swift retaliation. A space weapon would target satellites rather than any place on Earth, and Putin might think that using the weapon to destroy satellite communications might prevent nuclear reprisals from the U.S. or allied nations, U.S. analysts said.
According to two senior officials briefed on the intelligence assessment, Putin may believe that the mere threat of massive disruption — even if it meant blowing up Russia’s own satellites — might provide a new kind of deterrent.
More from Russia: A pro-war Russian military blogger died yesterday after he wrote that the country’s military had pressured him to remove a post exposing the scale of Russia’s losses in a recent battle in Ukraine, his lawyer said.
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| Emmanuel Polanco |
China needs U.S. technology for A.I.
China is racing to build generative A.I., but the companies developing it are relying almost entirely on underlying systems from the U.S.
China’s dependence on American A.I. has fueled deeper questions about the country’s innovation model, which is impeded by strict government regulations, censorship rules and U.S. restrictions on chip sales.
China now lags behind the U.S. in generative A.I. by at least a year and may be falling further behind, according to more than a dozen tech industry insiders and leading engineers.
The jockeying for A.I. primacy has huge implications. Breakthroughs in generative A.I. could tip the global technological balance of power, increasing people’s productivity, aiding industries and leading to future innovations, even as nations struggle with the technology’s risks.
Silicon Valley venture capital firms are backing away from Chinese startups because of intensifying scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers.
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| Supporters of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister. Fareed Khan/Associated Press |
Pakistan’s election shattered the military’s mighty image
The military, long respected and feared as the ultimate authority in Pakistan, is facing a crisis after allies of the country’s ousted prime minister won more seats than any other party in recent elections. Even so, a candidate from the generals’ preferred party will become prime minister, after it formed a coalition with the country’s third-largest party.
No one thinks that the military will cede power anytime soon, and no one is sure how generals will react to protests on the streets. The only certainty, experts agreed, is that the military’s prominent role in politics will endure — as will the instability that Pakistan has been unable to shake.Continue reading the main story
| THE LATEST NEWS |
Around the World
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| Meridith Kohut for The New York Times |
| Many prisons in Latin America have become safe havens for incarcerated criminal leaders, who effectively control the prisons and run their enterprises from behind bars.Russian forces have launched attacks on the southern Ukrainian village of Robotyne, targeting land hard-won by Ukraine last summer.The British government confirmed that a test launch of an unarmed Trident missile last month failed. |
U.S. News
| President Biden is weighing an executive order that could prevent people who cross illegally into the U.S. from claiming asylum.The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos in test tubes should be considered children. The decision cast doubt over the future of fertility care and raised complex legal questions.President Biden announced yesterday the cancellation of an additional $1.2 billion in student loan debt for about 150,000 borrowers. |
Israel-Hamas War
| The U.S. defended Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the U.N.’s highest court yesterday.Groups of civilians in Gaza are regularly attempting to ambush aid convoys, according to two Western officials and images reviewed by The Times.A report by an Israeli organization for survivors of sexual assault concluded that sexual violence against Israelis during the Hamas-led attack was “systematic and widespread.” |
Business and Economy
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| Jason Redmond/Reuters |
| The head of Boeing’s 737 Max program is leaving the company, as part of leadership changes after a piece of a 737 Max 9 jet fell off in flight last month.Volkswagen is trying to tap into nostalgia and the growing demand for electric cars to expand its meager share of the U.S. auto market. |
What Else Is Happening
| Astronomers claimed this week that they had discovered what might be the most luminous object in the visible universe — a supermassive black hole that was swallowing a star a day. Other astrophysicists cast doubt on the result.From Opinion: The Times sent reporters and photographers across the U.S. to speak with people experiencing homelessness, and they shared their situations and possible solutions. |
A Morning Read
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| Leonhard Simon/Reuters |
Germany’s soccer fans may have disrupted a deal that would have provided domestic teams with a $1 billion cash injection.
Clubs in the league must be majority-controlled by fans, and the prospect of even indirect private investment proved toxic. Fans delayed games across the country by raining tennis balls, chocolate coins and marbles on fields, embarrassing authorities and perhaps cowing the league into voting down negotiations with a private equity firm.
Lives lived: Charles Stendig traveled to factories across Europe to bring cheerful avant-garde furniture back to the U.S. He died at 99.
| SPORTS NEWS |
The W.W.E. wrestlers obsessed with soccer: The worlds of the two sports are colliding.
Manchester United has new owners: How might the club change?
A wild off-season in Formula 1: Hamilton switches, Steiner exits and much more.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Gordon Welters for The New York Times |
‘Taxi Driver,’ screened in a Berlin cab
As Martin Scorsese accepted a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this week, a group of the city’s taxi drivers crammed into the back of a worn-out cab to watch his 1976 film “Taxi Driver.”
The unconventional screening, just outside one of Europe’s most prestigious film festivals, was part of the makeshift TaxiFilmFest. Running through Sunday, it is partly a protest over the miserable state of the taxi industry (the Berlin festival has an exclusive deal with Uber) and partly a counterfestival to celebrate the taxi cab’s iconic place in the urban cultural landscape.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Linda Xiao for The New York Times |
Cook: Fragrant dill rice pairs perfectly with salmon, and baking them in the same dish makes for an easy meal.
