US forces boarded and "shut down" a sanctioned Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on February 16, 2026, according to Sky News, as part of efforts to target illicit oil tankers linked to Venezuela. The Veronica III was tracked from the Caribbean and boarded by military personnel in a "right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding," the Department of Defense reported. The tanker had departed Venezuela on the same day as an American military operation involving Nicolás Maduro, with Washington declaring the tanker had tried to "defy President Trump's quarantine," according to Sky News.
Meanwhile, in India, the country is hosting a four-day AI Impact Summit this week, attracting executives from major AI labs and Big Tech, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, as reported by TechCrunch. The event, expecting 250,000 visitors, will feature Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to deliver a speech with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. India has earmarked 1.1 billion for its state-backed venture capital fund, which will invest in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, according to TechCrunch.
Also in India, Peak XV Partners has backed Indian startup C2i Semiconductors with 15 million in a Series A round, as reported by TechCrunch. The investment comes as data-center energy demand accelerates worldwide. C2i is building plug-and-play, system-level power solutions designed to cut energy losses and improve the economics of large-scale AI infrastructure. Electricity consumption from data centers is projected to nearly triple by 2035, according to a December 2025 report from BloombergNEF, while Goldman Sachs Research estimates a similar trend.
In other news, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a message of support from the Trump administration to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is facing a challenge in his country's April elections, according to Euronews. Rubio praised Orbán's relationship with Donald Trump. "At the end of the day, we are still human, we're still people, and that person-to-person connection that you've established with the president ha," Rubio stated, according to Euronews. Orbán has endorsed a peaceful transfer of power if he is defeated.
Finally, advancements in electronic stability and traction control systems are making driving safer, according to Ars Technica. These systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, reducing the likelihood of drivers experiencing unexpected slides and crashes.
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment