World
NATO takes on AI as the next great theater of war
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the next great domain in the theater of war, and NATO allies have made it a top priority as they look to bolster the alliance’s collective defense.
A summit in Washington, D.C., next week will not only commemorate the 75th anniversary of the alliance but will focus on safeguarding NATO in an increasingly hostile geopolitical sphere.
The global consequences of the war in Ukraine have been far-reaching, and the deepening divides between the West and top authoritarian adversaries has had an effect on everything from defense to trade.
At the core of how NATO is looking to safeguard itself in challenging times is change in AI technology.
BATTLEFIELD DEMANDS SPARK AI RACE IN UKRAINE AS WAR WITH RUSSIA RAGES ON
A UJ-22 Airborne (UkrJet) reconnaissance drone prepares to land during a test flight in the Kyiv region Aug. 2, 2022, prior to being sent to the front line. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
The reliance on drones in kinetic warfare drastically ramped up with the conflict in Ukraine, prompting an AI race and the need for evolving offensive and defensive strategies.
“There should be concern about countering Chinese and Russian AI capabilities in wartime, but concern should not be mistaken for despair,” said retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Just as there are reasons for concern in countering Chinese and Russian kinetic weapons — such as hypersonic maneuvering cruise missiles — the U.S. has the ability to build effective offensive and defensive systems to deter and, if necessary, defeat adversary actions,” he added.
In March, NATO more than doubled its tech accelerator sites under a program known as Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), which works with private and public companies to develop “deep technologies” to address the alliance’s defense challenges.
Under DIANA, there will be testing sites in 28 of the 32 NATO nations in a move to support innovation across the alliance in AI, cyber, 5G, hypersonic and autonomous systems.
But the vast expansion of AI capabilities means the alliance is also looking to establish guardrails, particularly when it comes to AI use in wartime.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, receives applause from NATO members, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, center, and U.S. President Biden ahead of a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council during the NATO Summit in Vilnius July 12, 2023. (Doug Mills/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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“There will be doctrinal discussions at NATO on making sure that we don’t have ‘SKYNET’ take over and start engaging in kinetic action without humans making decisions,” former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment Marshall Billingslea told Fox News Digital.
“As drones become increasingly sophisticated, while remaining inexpensive, and as people introduce artificial intelligence into drones for attack, there is a need for a comparable level of AI that has to get incorporated into countering UAS [unmanned aircraft systems], as well as theater missile defense capabilities,” he said.
Billingslea said AI is already being used effectively by the U.S. when it comes to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, but that is now being expanded throughout NATO.
As the alliance looks to ramp up its collective defense, its AI initiatives are aimed at not only collecting security and intelligence data from all partner nations, but utilizing that intel more efficiently by offloading the human burden of analyzing it.
Firefighters work after a drone attack on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna, File)
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AI in kinetic warfare is not the only area that has NATO on high alert.
Propaganda has long played a role in wartime, but the use of disinformation campaigns and malware have become key tools in soft-war operations that can be widely employed using AI, making AI-augmented soft-war tactics a significant challenge to counter.
“The area of greater concern for me is the use of AI to improve malign influence operations during peacetime or in a crisis buildup,” Montgomery said. “Russia and China have both demonstrated a willingness to operate in the gray zone to a much greater degree than the U.S. and its democratic allies. As a result, Chinese and Russian AI-infused malign influence operations could have a significant negative impact.”
Dependence on Chinese systems has long been debated between the U.S. and its European allies, though Beijing’s ties with Moscow has prompted many in Europe to cut ties with Chinese digital infrastructure companies.
The war in Ukraine has highlighted NATO’s need to safeguard its members and partner nations, particularly non-NATO countries in Europe and in areas like the Indo-Pacific, from threats posed by AI technologies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping toast during their dinner at The Palace of the Facets in Moscow, Russia, March 21, 2023. (Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)
“There’s a coalition of authoritarians that NATO has to deal with, and that is China, Russia, North Korea and Iran,” Montgomery said, pointing to how all four have not only positioned themselves against the West but have done so, in part, by backing Moscow with military and economic aid for its war in Ukraine.
“From my perspective, Ukraine is on the front line of fighting all four of these authoritarian regimes. NATO better step up to support it,” he added.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”
The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”
UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
World
Suspected Hamas terrorist arrested in Greece for allegedly plotting attack on Israeli cruise ship
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A suspected Hamas terrorist, reportedly granted asylum a year from the Gaza war, was arrested by Greek police for allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise line.
The Gaza man, 37, was arrested on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday for his alleged ties to one of four suspected Hamas terrorists previously arrested in Cyprus, having traveled with him to Malaysia, where they allegedly received training in making explosives from commercially available chemical agents.
The Israeli cruise ship MS Crown Iris was the believed target of the attack before it was scheduled to arrive in Crete on Tuesday. Police did not publicly identify the man or name a target in their initial statement.
Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards, The Associated Press reported.
3 ALLEGED HAMAS MEMBERS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS IN GERMANY
A Wednesday protest at the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, opposing the arrival of the Crown Iris cruise ship was a prelude to the arrest of a suspected Hamas terrorist who is alleged to have plotted an attack. (Costas Baltas/Anadolu)
The suspect, an electrician who has been reportedly living in Crete for the past year and working at a hotel there after being granted asylum, will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.
The suspected terrorist had placed an online order for what police said were “chemical agents” that could be used in the manufacture of explosives, according to the report.
State broadcaster ERT, cited by Israeli and Greek media, reported that police also found laboratory equipment.
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The case appears to be part of a broader regional counterterrorism probe. Cypriot authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after intelligence led investigators to materials in two residences that police said could be used to manufacture explosives. Two more Palestinian men were detained May 29 as part of the same investigation, according to Greek police.
The Crown Iris has become a recurring flashpoint at Greek ports amid anger over the war in Gaza. Protesters gathered near the ship when it docked in Piraeus on Wednesday, June 3, and demonstrations against the vessel have followed it at Greek ports since last year.
Protesters allege that Mano Maritime, the owner of the MS Crown Iris, is profiting from the Hamas-Israel war by selling tourist services to Israel Defense Forces soldiers during breaks from active duty.
In July 2025, Greek police used tear gas and made arrests as demonstrators tried to block the ship at Agios Nikolaos on Crete.
Greek security forces were forced to protect Israeli tourists traveling on buses to board the Israeli-owned cruise ship MS Crown Iris at the port of Piraeus in Athens on June 3, 2026. (Aggelos Nakkas/AFP)
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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced formal charges against the suspect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Two cups of ice cream, costing 44 euros. That is what happened to an American tourist couple on 3 June during a visit to the centre of Rome, just a few metres away from Piazza Navona.
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The episode, recounted on social media by Nicole Ann from Florida, quickly drew users’ attention, sparking a heated online debate about the relationship between tourism and price transparency in one of Rome’s most visited areas.
The woman explained that she and her husband had stopped at the “Don Nino” ice cream parlour in Via di Tor Millina to order two cups, each with three flavours. While the ice creams were being prepared, staff are said to have added other products, including macarons and pistachio cannoli, without it being immediately clear that these were chargeable extras. When it was time to pay, a surprise was awaiting.
“I thought they had said 14 euros,” Nicole wrote in a Facebook group offering travel tips for people visiting Rome, explaining that she only realised the actual amount after checking the receipt.
The receipt posted online shows that the two portions, listed as maxi, cost twelve euros each. On top of this came supplements for whipped cream, macarons and pistachio cannoli, bringing the total to 44 euros for an order consumed without table service.
In her post, the tourist described the experience as a “tourist trap”. Responding to the many comments she received, she nevertheless made it clear that she does not intend to contest the payment, admitting that she should have checked the price more carefully before buying. She also said she had travelled to other parts of Italy without ever encountering similar prices for an ice cream.
The post quickly went viral, attracting hundreds of reactions. Hundreds of people commented on the episode, which was shared across the web and picked up by several online newspapers.
Many users expressed solidarity with the American couple, while others pointed out that in areas with the highest concentration of tourists, prices can be significantly higher than in other parts of the city.
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