European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius stated on Wednesday that Europe could defend itself with conventional forces but could not replace the United States' nuclear umbrella, according to Euronews. The statement followed comments made on Monday by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding the European Union's reliance on U.S. nuclear protections.
Kubilius told Euronews that the EU must work towards becoming independent in conventional defense. "Europeans cannot replace the US nuclear umbrella, at least for the time being, but when it comes to conventional defence the situation is different," Kubilius said.
Henrik Dahl, a Danish MEP, wrote in an opinion piece for Euronews that Europe lacks key military capabilities, "especially independent command, intelligence, and digital infrastructure," most of which are still provided by the U.S. Dahl noted that Rutte's statements during a hearing on Monday had united the European Parliament, albeit in irritation.
In other news, Mark Zuckerberg discussed Meta's AI smart glasses business during Meta's Q4 2025 earnings call on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch. Zuckerberg said, "It’s hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses that people wear aren’t AI glasses." He added that sales of Meta's glasses tripled within the last year. Zuckerberg compared the current moment to the arrival of smartphones, suggesting that it was only a matter of time before most glasses became AI-powered.
Meanwhile, BBC One released the first trailer for its new miniseries adaptation of William Golding's 1954 novel "Lord of the Flies," Ars Technica reported. The miniseries, which has the support of the Golding family, is expected to closely follow the novel's plot. Golding was inspired to write "Lord of the Flies" by "The Coral Island," a pro-colonialism children's novel.
In broadband news, SpaceX has made demands on state governments regarding federal grant money for Starlink, Ars Technica reported. SpaceX will provide all necessary equipment to receive broadband at no cost to subscribers requesting service, eliminating the up-front hardware fee. SpaceX pledged to make broadband available for $80 or less a month, plus taxes and fees, to people with low incomes in subsidized areas.
Discussion
Join the conversation
Be the first to comment