- The Guardian
- Issue #2199
CHINA: Twenty-nine countries have signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO). The organisation will be an independent international outfit with headquarters in Shanghai, China. The aim of WAICO is to promote international cooperation and global governance of AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair. The organisation will uphold the principles of the UN Charter, be committed to expensive consultations and adhere to a people-centred approach. Chinese President Xi Jinping officially announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Organisation on 17 July 2026. Among the 29 countries which signed the agreement are: China, Russia, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Belarus, Serbia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, Kazakhstan.
BURKINA FASO: Defence ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger met in Burkina Faso to discuss the legal framework governing the unified military forces of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), in a move to advance plans for a joint army among the three countries. The ministers reviewed a draft legal statute that will govern the operations of the Confederation’s unified forces and establish the legal basis for its future military activities. The meeting came days after Russia and the three Sahel States announced plans to deepen their military partnership amid an increase in attacks by armed groups across the region. The three countries aim to use the unified force to overcome the operational limitations imposed by national borders, enabling a coordinated response to armed groups that operate across frontier areas.
IRAN: Iran’s national mathematics Olympiad team secured first place at the Fourth International Mathematics Competition. The team achieved the highest overall rating after an outstanding performance against competitors from 49 countries. The six-member Iranian team captured four gold medals and two silver medals, finishing ahead of Poland and Brazil to claim the championship title.
IRELAND: Addressing the Irish Parliament, Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris stressed that the reunification debate should not be about the cost “but what a united Ireland could create.” He also pointed out that there will be a referendum on unification in the future. Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein leader, thanked Harris for his “constructive” comments and said, “For me, the question isn’t whether or not we can afford Irish unity. It’s really a question: Can we afford partition any longer?”
INDIA: India’s Director General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) has asked shipping companies and vessel operators to refrain from deploying Indian sailors in vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Indian seafarers are disproportionately impacted by the attacks on ships in various global conflict zones as the country has some 300,000 nationals working on ships, making it the third-largest supplier of maritime labour globally.
CHINA: A Chinese AI called Kimi K3 is about to be the first open-source AI model in its class. The Chinese AI start-up Moonshot has unveiled a massive new artificial intelligence model it says can rival top American firms. The company launched Kimi K3, containing 2.8 trillion parameters, which serves as a measure of an AI’s scale and processing power. For reference, Anthropic’s product Mythos, has 10 trillion parameters, while Chat GPT 4 had 1.8 trillion. The US has done its best to strangle the Chinese AI industry at birth by denying it access to high-powered chips, but Kimi K3 and other breakthroughs suggest Chinese developers are finding ways around these constraints.
US: More than 50,000 US military personnel are currently deployed across the Middle East. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a characteristically bombastic statement, “More than 50,000 men and women in uniform are operating across the Middle East. They remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal and ready.” US forces carried out a number of strikes on Iran. Iranian forces have responded with strikes on US bases in the Middle East (see “Protection racket: Trump bombs Iran again” this issue).
