🇺🇸 War Department announces vendors invited to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commissioned an acquisition strategy to swiftly outfit our combat units with lethal drones. The War Department today announced the 25 vendors invited to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP), an acquisition reform effort designed to rapidly field low cost, unmanned one way attack drones at scale as part of strengthening America's Arsenal of Freedom.

The Phase I evaluation—the Gauntlet—will begin 18 February at Fort Benning, where military operators will fly and evaluate vendor systems. The Gauntlet will conclude in early March, when approximately $150 million in prototype delivery orders will be placed, with deliveries beginning shortly thereafter and continuing over the following five months. By 2027, the Department will be fielding hundreds of thousands of weaponized, one way attack drones ready for combat.

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🇩🇪 German Finance Minister praises new data center, says it ’strengthens digital sovereignty’

Deutsche Telekom AG and Nvidia Corp. opened a €1 billion ($1.2 billion) data center in Munich on Wednesday, marking a significant step for Germany’s digital infrastructure. Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil attended the opening ceremony for what is considered one of Europe’s largest facilities for technology capable of powering complex AI systems.

German software giant SAP SE is providing platforms and applications for the new facility. The involvement of major corporations and high-level government support demonstrates Germany’s commitment to developing an AI ecosystem that can compete with the US and China.

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🇨🇳🇷🇺 Xi and Putin deepen China-Russia coordination, vow broader global cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 4th discussed global affairs, including the expiration of a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia, and affirmed their willingness to cooperate.

Putin noted that trade turnover between Russia and China has exceeded the $200 billion mark for the third consecutive year, while trade in agricultural products grew by more than 20% in 2025. Russia remains among the leading suppliers of energy resources to the PRC. Also both countries are ready to work closely together on global issues not only bilaterally but also within multilateral groups such as the United Nations, BRICS, and the SCO.

#BRICS

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↗️ Apple beats tech stocks by most in a year as it avoids AI panic

Apple Inc. is trading in the opposite direction of technology stocks and the broader market as investors increasingly view it as an oasis of safety amid fears of AI disruption.

The iPhone maker’s shares were up 1.8% at around 12:30 p.m. in New York on Wednesday, compared with a 2.4% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index. That means Apple is outperforming by its widest degree since early 2025. The gain has resulted in a market capitalization of just over $4 trillion for Apple, allowing it to squeak past Alphabet Inc. for the title for the second-largest company in the world, after Nvidia Corp.

The company is expected to be a beneficiary of AI adoption, as hardware like the iPhone is expected to be a central place where users access AI services. Last month, Alphabet’s Google entered a multiyear deal to power Apple’s AI technology, including the Siri voice assistant.

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🇺🇸🇨🇳Trump holds ‘long and thorough call’ with Xi Jinping

President Trump held a “long and thorough call” on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This reflects a continued thaw after last year’s trade war.

“The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way,” - Trump posted on Truth Social. 🤝

#BRICS

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🎮 AMD reveals next-gen Xbox could launch in 2027

AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su let out a hint about when a next-gen Xbox could launch during the company's Q4 2025 earnings call.

"Development of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027," said the top executive.

AMD has been a long-term partner with Microsoft on its Xbox consoles. Both the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles sport semi-custom AMD SoCs. More recently, AMD and Microsoft partnered for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, and the two companies announced a partnership for the next-gen Xbox console in June 2025.

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🇦🇷🇺🇸 Argentina signs critical minerals deal with US

Argentina and the United States signed an agreement on critical minerals on Wednesday to strengthen and secure supply chains, according to the Argentine ministry. He said in a statement that the initiative is expected to drive significant economic growth for Argentina. The country’s mining exports reached $6.04 billion in 2025.

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💵 Google looks to plow $180B into data centers this year.

Google’s parent Alphabet is doubling down on generative AI in 2026. On Wednesday's earnings call, the search and advertising giant boosted its full-year capital expenditures target to between $175 and $185 billion, roughly twice what it spent last year. The search and ads giant will use that massive pile of cash to build data centers and buy the kit to fill them, to support its own products and the infrastructure needs of partners like Apple, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Speaking during Alphabet’s earnings call, CFO Anat Ashkenazi said roughly 60 percent of the company's 2026 capex spend, or about $105 to $111 billion, will go toward fast-depreciating assets like servers. The remaining 40%, or $70 to $74 billion, will support the construction and networking of new data center facilities.

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⚡️📉Bitcoin price nears $63,000, hitting lowest levels since October 2024, hitting its lowest price in more than a year.

On Thursday, the price of Bitcoin fell sharply as broader financial markets weakened and traders moved money out of riskier investments. The slump pushed the global crypto market down by hundreds of billions from its peak in late 2025. The token is down more than 45% from last year's all-time high, erasing all of the gains made during President Trump's second term.

A mix of reasons is behind the slide. Some large Bitcoin holders and funds are selling their holdings, placing downward pressure on price. Analysts also say that high interest rates and weaker confidence in risky assets like crypto have made people cautious.

A similar dynamic is playing out with ethereum (ETH) ETFs, as investors are down approximately 31% given their average cost basis, according to 10X Research data. Altcoins are also seeing losses as traders shift money toward more traditional assets.

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🇺🇸🛳 US CENTCOM releases footage from onboard USS Abraham Lincoln amid tensions with Iran.

US CENTCOM released incredible footage showing the take-offs and landings on the USS Abraham Lincoln - the carrier has been called into action recently in the Gulf as tensions with Iran have increased.

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🇺🇸🇨🇳 US, China opt out of joint declaration on AI use in military

At a military AI summit, one-third (35) of the 85 attending countries pledged to govern AI in warfare and signed a commitment to 20 principles on AI on Thursday.

The document outlined the ⁠importance of risk assessments, robust testing and training ​and education for personnel operating military AI capabilities, affirming human responsibility over AI-powered weapons, encouraging clear chains of command and control, and sharing information on national oversight arrangements.

Notably, China and the U.S. did not sign. Major signatories on Thursday included ‌Canada, Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, South Korea and Ukraine.

#BRICS

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🇺🇸 Scott Bessent: Iran leadership wiring money out ’like crazy’ 🤪

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that Iranian leaders are moving money out of the country "like crazy," which he views as a sign that "the end may be near" for the current regime. Bessent described the situation saying "the rats are leaving the ship" in Iran, suggesting significant capital flight by Iranian leadership.

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🇨🇳 Geely Overtakes Tesla in Global EV Sales

Global electric vehicle deliveries in 2023 reached approximately 21.47 million units, a 21.5% increase compared to the previous year. Chinese BYD claimed the top position in the global electric vehicle market.

Chinese Geely Auto Group sold approximately 2.225 million units, a 56.8% surge compared to the previous year, overtaking Tesla to secure second place. In contrast, Tesla sold around 1.636 million units, an 8.6% decrease from the previous year, dropping to third place. Weak sales of key models such as the Model 3 and Model Y led to an overall decline in performance.

#BRICS

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🇺🇸 President Trump mocks the media for not grasping his sense of humor during a lighthearted moment about his faith.

Addressing the National Prayer Breakfast, he blamed the media for writing his exact past words about the afterlife, suggesting his sense of irony didn't come through in the reporting.

"I said, 'I won't qualify. I'm not going to make it to heaven.' And the New York Times did a front-page story that Donald Trump is questioning his life and the meaning of his life. I was just having fun ," 😄 Trump said of his past comments.

He added of heaven: "I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I'm not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people." ❤️

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🤔 CME to support Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar – Potential impact on altcoins? 

Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar are set to score new institutional milestones. From the 9th of February, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will support Futures products for these altcoins, opening a new venue for big players to gain exposure.

For ADA, the bigger size contract will contain 100K ADA coins, while the smaller one will have 10K ADA. Chainlink’s contracts will contain 5K Chainlink [LINK] and 250 LINK coins for the larger and micro offerings, respectively. Finally, Stellar’s larger contract will have 250K Stellar [XLM], and the smaller version will have 12,500 XLM. 🤩

The latest addition will expand CME’s crypto portfolio to seven assets, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum [ETH], Solana, and Ripple [XRP]. 

According to Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group global head of crypto products, the latest additions will offer investors more tools to gain exposure in the growing markets.

“Market participants will now have greater choice with enhanced flexibility and more capital efficiencies,” - he added.

#Stellar

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👨‍💻 Nvidia recommends uninstalling Windows 11 KB5074109 January update to prevent framerate drops and artifacting

If you've recently updated your Windows and are experiencing gaming instability despite owning one of the best graphic cards, the Windows 11 KB5074109 January update may be to blame. Amid reports of framerate drops, gaming artifacts, and black screens, Nvidia has recommended uninstalling the update as a temporary workaround while the chipmaker investigates the issues.

"Even though it started after a Windows 11 update, we are looking into it. As far as I know, the only way to resolve it appears to be uninstalling KB5074109," wrote Manuel, a Nvidia representative, on the official GeForce forums.

The January 2026 security update is a mandatory one because it addresses 114 security vulnerabilities and resolves multiple issues, including battery drain on systems with NPUs. However, the major update has done more harm than good, particularly leaving owners of GeForce graphics cards on the short end of the stick. 🙁

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🇺🇸 ‘Rebuilt military in first term, refurbished nuclear weapons’: Trump on why US is world's most powerful country.

In a post on his social media platform, TruthSocial, Trump stated that the United States is the most powerful country in the world. During his first term, Trump rebuilt the American military and refurbished nuclear weapons, stopped the nuclear wars from breaking out between India and Pakistan, Iran and Israel, Russia and Ukraine.

Thank you President Trump! 🙏❤️

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🇨🇳 China beats U.S. on another automotive innovation: banning electronic door handles

The Chinese government moved to ban retractable door handles in new cars following multiple deaths where occupants were trapped inside burning vehicles. China isn’t the only country where such incidents have happened. On Wednesday, a new lawsuit was brought to the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts regarding the death of another Tesla driver who was unable to escape a vehicle on fire.

Since reports of similar cases have emerged over the last year, Tesla has stated that it is redesigning its door system to automatically unlock after detecting collisions. Rivian says it’s also reconsidering its approach for the upcoming R2 model, after the revised R1 introduced electronic handles that made the physical failsafes particularly difficult to find for rear passengers. One U.S. representative from Illinois introduced a bill last month requiring manual interior handles in new cars, but it’s too early to say if the measure has legs. 🤔

#BRICS

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