Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Bottom lines up front WASHINGTON—Earlier this week, I shared the five issues that I would be watching to assess whether US President Donald Trump’s trip to China delivered for the United States. Overall, Trump appears to have sidestepped the biggest trap—Beijing’s attempt to box Washington in on Taiwan—but underperformed on everything else. One of the only outcomes of note was China lifting an import ban on US beef, which it has already apparently reversed, or at least scaled down.  The biggest issue In the first bilateral meeting on the first day of Trump’s visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a blunt Taiwan warning. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s readout of the exchange, Xi called Taiwan the…

It all goes down tomorrow night (Sat., May 16, 2026) LIVE on Netflix from inside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., as female legends Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano help ring in Most Valuable Promotions’ official mixed martial arts (MMA) debut.Official weigh ins were LIVE Friday morning with full results HERE.This weekend’s clash between Rousey and Carano is significant for more than one reason. Not only is it a matchup between two of the biggest names in female combat sports ever, but it’s MVP’s first attempt at stealing some MMA shine from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Remember, UFC had…

This wouldn’t be the first time Chimaev’s “rat lip” has been mentioned by a fellow fighter.Rousey’s long-awaited return to competition will finally unfold tomorrow night (Sat., May 16, 2026) LIVE on Netflix from inside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., when “Rowdy” meets fellow women’s MMA pioneer, Gina Carano, in the main event. It’s expected to be a massive spectacle for Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), which will include appearances from former UFC stars like Nate Diaz, Francis Ngannou, and Mike Perry.Of course, Rousey is the star attraction. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion is making her first combat appearance…

As artificial intelligence capabilities advance at a pace few predicted even two years ago, both public and private sector security leaders are confronting a shared challenge: how to adopt these technologies in ways that enhance mission performance without compromising security, trust or predictability. In the United States federal government, and particularly within national security communities, the implications of getting AI wrong are far reaching. Policymakers depend on unbiased, predictable assessments. Decisions shaped by AI can directly influence foreign policy, military strategy and the safety of American citizens. These stakes have led government teams to approach AI adoption with a careful…

The U.S. Navy’s fourth Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be delivered two years late because of limited construction space at the shipyard where it’s being built, according to the Navy.The service’s fiscal 2027 shipbuilding budget estimate, which was released in April, shows that USS Doris Miller’s arrival was bumped from February 2032 to February 2034 due to “constraints” at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard in Virginia. That delay, however, is a result of issues with the construction of the third Ford-class carrier, the CVN-80, or USS Enterprise.“The primary schedule driver for CVN-81 is the lack of available…

A Romanian defense startup has unveiled what it describes as a low-cost AI-enabled cruise missile at one of Eastern Europe’s most prominent defense exhibitions, offering a glimpse of how smaller national defense industries are attempting to develop precision strike capabilities that were once the exclusive domain of major military powers. Oves Enterprise publicly showcased the […]

UNICEF Press release Ongoing violence and displacement pushing over 770,000 children towards chronic mental health conditions 13 May 2026 AMMAN/BEIRUT, 13 May 2026 — Children in Lebanon continue to be at the sharp end of ongoing violence, displacement and exposure to traumatic events. In the past seven days alone, despite an agreed ceasefire on 17 April 2026, at least 59 children have reportedly been killed or injured. This includes two children from the same family who were killed this morning, along with their mother, in a strike that hit their car. These are a stark reminder of the grave violations…

The rotors of the MV-22B Osprey cut through the East African night as red cabin lights illuminated Marines, aircrew, and mission equipment inside the aircraft. Somewhere below us stretched the Horn of Africa; vast, distant, and beautiful in a way only Africa can be at night. I sat in the back seat of the aircraft preparing to document an East Africa Response Force mission to support regional readiness and interoperability across Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa area of responsibility. As I looked out across the darkness, it was difficult not to think about the fact that somewhere…

Sputnik News 20260513 MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Pakistani navy has put on combat duty the Chinese-built PNS Hangor, the first of eight Hangor-class submarines, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Wednesday. Another seven submarines, built in the Chinese city of Sanya on Hainan Island, are expected to arrive in Pakistan by 2028, which will enhance Pakistani naval capabilities, the report said. The commissioning of PNS Hangor will increase the number of Pakistani submarines equipped with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems to four, including three Turkish Agosta-90B submarines, it added. Thus, the total number of submarines in the Pakistani fleet may…

A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday that would dismantle the government agency responsible for maintaining the military draft database of young, eligible men.The bill — advanced by Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. — would phase out the Selective Service System, citing its annual operating cost of more than $31 million per year. The senators argued that the agency has been largely defunct since 1973, the last time the United States conducted conscription. “The Selective Service is an outdated program that costs millions of taxpayer dollars to prepare for a military draft…