"Switzerland must be able to defend itself as effectively as possible against an armed attack. In the event of an attack, it should be prepared to defend itself, if necessary in collaboration with its partners"

Lutnick says the H200 deal was decided between Jensen Huang and President trump, admitting that he was out of the loop on the decision. He also calls Jensen Huang "Jensen Wang" twice...

Am sure Brussels could find common ground with the Trump administration in encouraging/ persuading Hungary to leave the EU!

EXCLU: A U.S. special operations team boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related articles headed to Iran from China, U.S. officials said, a rare interdiction aimed at blocking Tehran from rebuilding its military arsenal.

Laura Loomer, a white nationalist who believes 9/11 was an inside job, appears to be determining the leadership of America's largest intelligence agency, and one which has huge influence on the entire community of Five Eyes allies.

'A statement from Guyana's Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening, however, said that the Skipper was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana."'

'that the ship’s registration in Guyana has come under question does open up a possible legal avenue for the seizure...Unclos permits boarding in circumstances where a ship “is without nationality”.'

Doing some prep for a forthcoming @TheEconomist podcast on the great war movies.

"U.S. forces left more than $7 billion in military equipment with the Afghan national army [incl] more than a quarter-million rifles — enough to arm the entire U.S. Marine Corps — and nearly 18,000 night-vision goggles, enough [for] the 82nd Airborne..."

"Bondi’s claim that the Skipper was seized in accordance with domestically imposed sanctions has no standing in international law."

Not sure I find this term convincing. "Hybrid air denial combines two age-old ideas—hybrid warfare and the denial of air superiority—into a peacetime contest for control of the skies."

Is there any legal basis for tanker seizures, given that the sanctions in question here are unilateral US ones? "New reporting suggests the Trump administration is planning a series of similar shadow-fleet tanker seizures"

"It is understood that under current plans a single counter unmanned aerial battery would be deployed to the airbase at Baldonnel in west Dublin, [with a] number of foreign leaders...expected to visit Ireland in the second half of 2026"

"The drone initiative will represent the first component of an overall military radar programme, likely to be the most expensive defence project in the history of the [Irish] State and which the Government wants fully in place by 2028."

To reconcile two news stories from the last 24 hours, it is interesting that India removed all administrative vetting for Chinese business visas (a Chinese ask) before China removed a variety of export controls that India perceives as throttling Indian businesses (an Indian ask).

Punchy language from the Irish taoiseach. 'Martin said the drones identified over Dublin Bay were "suggestive of being part of an ongoing Russian inspired hybrid campaign against European and Ukrainian interests".'

"Russia’s microelectronics industry is underperforming, still dependent on foreign suppliers for more complex chips, and ... disruption to its operations would have a serious impact on the production of some of the most critical components of its air defence systems"

'Neutral and poorly armed Ireland — long viewed as “Europe’s blind spot” — announced Thursday it will spend €1.7 billion on improved military equipment, capabilities and facilities to deter drones and potential Russian sabotage of undersea cables.'

Worth noting that last week Pete Hegseth repeated US military threats towards Greenland, which is part of Denmark, a NATO ally. If allies do not "defend shared interests" DoD, he said, "stands ready to take focused and decisive action" https://t.co/wJCAm9YDYg

On the NSS. "North Korea is not mentioned at all." https://t.co/MU5q4egKQv Interesting signal for extended deterrence.