Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has called China’s open-source artificial intelligence a “catalyst for global progress” and says it is “revolutionising” supply chains.
In a speech during Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Huang – whose firm last week became the first to touch $4 trillion in market value – hailed China’s role in pioneering AI, describing Chinese AI startup DeepSeek as “giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution”.
Huang made the comments a day after Nvidia announced it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after the United States government pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports.
“AI is transforming every industry from scientific research and healthcare to energy, transportation and logistics,” said Huang, who also praised China’s “super-fast” innovation, powered by its “researchers, developers and entrepreneurs”.
The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to Washington’s concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance its military capabilities.
Nvidia developed the H20 – a less powerful version of its AI processing units – specifically for export to China. However, that plan stalled when US President Donald Trump’s administration tightened export licensing requirements in April.
“Huang says he’s now free to sell to the Chinese market thanks to negotiations with China on trade,” Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu said, reporting from Beijing. “The Trump administration has confirmed that in exchange for rare earths, it will allow the chip to now be sold into China.”
“The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that it was “filing applications to sell the Nvidia H20 GPU again”.
Nvidia has also announced it is developing a new chip for Chinese clients called the RTX Pro GPU, which would also be compliant with US export restrictions.
The announcement from Nvidia boosted tech firm stocks around the world with Wall Street’s Nasdaq Composite index rising to another record high and stocks in Hong Kong also rallying.
The tightened US export curbs were imposed as China’s economy wavers. Domestic consumers are reluctant to spend, and a prolonged property sector crisis is weighing on growth.
President Xi Jinping has called for greater self-reliance in the face of increasing external uncertainty.
Israel has struck the headquarters of the Syrian military in Damascus, compounding a volatile situation on the ground and following through on its threats over clashes between Syrian government troops and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday that the Israeli military had struck the entrance of the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus.
The strikes came hours after Katz’s threat to the Syrian government to withdraw from Suwayda, where they have been engaged in fierce clashes in recent days with fighters from Syria’s Druze minority, whom Israel views as a potential ally in Syria and claims to be intervening to protect.
Fierce fighting has resumed in the southern city, a major centre for the Druze community, since a ceasefire announced by the Syrian government on Tuesday swiftly collapsed.
Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said that he had witnessed two drone attacks on the headquarters of the Syrian Defence Ministry, one in front at the entrance to the building, and the other near the back. Drones were continuing to circulate overhead and bursts of gunfire had been heard, apparently from Syrian defensive positions shooting at the drones.
“This goes to show the situation is escalating. Israeli strikes have now reached the heart of Damascus,” he said.
‘Performative escalation for now’
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Rob Geist Pinfold, lecturer in international security at King’s College London, said the latest Israeli strikes appeared to be a “performative escalation for now”.
“They deliberately hit open areas near or in the defence academy in Syria, rather than looking to demolish the structure and cause significant casualties,” he said.
That was different to how Israel had been operating in the Suwayda area, he said, where it has been carrying out punishing strikes on Syrian troop positions who have entered the region amid clashes with Druze fighters.
Geist Pinfold said that Israel’s strikes in Suwayda had began with “performative” actions, before escalating into “attacks against Syrian security forces which have killed unprecedented numbers”.
“This could be the thin end of the wedge here,” he said of the Damascus strikes.
“This is a performative escalation for now but we are very, very close to Israel launching more prolonged, more direct and more dangerous, damaging strikes through Syria.”
Ceasefire collapses
Sectarian violence in Suwayda resumed in full force earlier on Wednesday, despite the announcement of a ceasefire by the Syrian government the previous night, Syria’s Ministry of Defence told Al Jazeera. Ministry officials blamed groups “outside the law” for breaking the ceasefire and attacking government troops, who they said were responding to fire while taking into account rules of engagement to protect civilians.
The ministry told Al Jazeera it had opened safe corridors in the city for civilians to flee the violence.
Speaking from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Bin Javaid said at least 70 people were believed to have been killed in the fighting so far. Medical sources in the city say more than 200 people have been injured in the violence.
Meanwhile the UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces. The observatory added that at least 21 people were killed in “field executions”.
Israeli air attacks continue
On top of the clashes on the ground, Israel has continued its air raids, with at least seven attacks launched around Suwayda on Wednesday, as well as the strikes on Damascus, Bin Javaid said.
In a threat to Syria prior to launching the strikes on Damascus, Katz said government forces must be withdrawn from Suwayda, or Israel would ramp up its attacks.
“As we have made clear and warned – Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on,” he said.
Syria has condemned Israel’s intervention as a violation of international law, as have several Arab nations. Israel has also been attacking other areas of Syria regularly since longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was deposed in December, claiming it is targeting weapons sites. The Israeli government has dismissed the fledgling Syrian government of Ahmed al-Sharaa as “extremists”.
The United States has revoked its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) as Washington softens its approach to post-war Syria. The decision earlier this month is part of US President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to re-engage with Syria and support its reconstruction after more than a decade of devastating conflict.
The outbreak of violence in the southern city on Sunday was triggered by a wave of recent kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed groups, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Suwayda, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.
Syria’s Druze population numbers about 700,000, with Suwayda home to the sect’s largest community. Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Suwayda, with violence occasionally erupting.
Bin Javaid said tensions in the latest outbreak of violence had been inflamed by material of killings and abuses posted on social media. “That created a flurry of reaction… from both sides,” he said.
Geist Pinfold told Al Jazeera that the situation in Suwayda had evolved into “an extremely complicated dynamic”.
“What began as an act of petty crime has now degenerated into mass killings with a sectarian dimension, and of course the threat of further Israeli military action looming,” he said.
Since the overthrow of al-Assad, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.
“Since this government took charge, the Druze have not really accepted them as the government that will look after their aspirations and hopes as well,” said Bin Javaid.
Clashes between government troops and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens of people, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.
The Druze developed their own militias during the nearly 14-year ruinous civil war. Since al-Assad’s fall, different Druze factions have been at odds over whether to integrate with the new government and armed forces.
Red Crescent volunteers carry a government soldier injured in Suwayda, Syria, during clashes between government forces and Druze militias on Tuesday [Omar Albam/AP]
Geist Pinfold told Al Jazeera that Israel had been working closely with an influential Druze sheikh, Hikmat al-Hijri, who has been a key player in the escalation of the situation in Suwayda following the initial abduction on Friday.
“It was his forces that took government buildings … within Suwayda and it was then that Israel chose to act to defend him from Syrian security services who are looking to restore order,” said Pinfold.
He said Israel’s attacks on Syrian troops in the south appeared to have inflicted a high number of casualties.
Israel’s response to the situation showed it had not taken the opportunity for a reset with Syria’s new government and to work towards a stabilisation of relations, he added.
Indonesia’s leader has welcomed United States President Donald Trump’s move to slash tariffs for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, hailing the beginning of a “new era of mutual benefit”.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s remarks on Wednesday came after Trump said he had sealed a trade deal with Jakarta under which his tariff rate would fall from 32 percent to 19 percent.
“I had a very good call with President Donald Trump,” Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said in a post on Instagram on Wednesday.
“Together, we agreed and concluded to take trade relations between Indonesia and the United States into a new era of mutual benefit between our two great nations. President Trump extends his warm regards to the people of Indonesia.”
Prabowo’s presidential spokesman, Hasan Nasbi, told a news conference that the agreement was the culmination of an “extraordinary effort” by Indonesia’s negotiating team.
“So if we use an analogy, there is a house that built a fence, and the fence was initially 32 for us. After negotiations, the fence could be lowered to 19,” Nasbi told local media in Jakarta.
“Yes, of course, this is progress that cannot be called small progress, nor can it be considered a minor achievement.”
Nasbi declined to elaborate on the details of the agreement beyond the lower tariff rate, saying Prabowo would provide more information upon returning from his state visit to France.
In his initial announcement of the deal on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said Indonesia had agreed to buy $15bn of US energy exports, $4.5bn of US agricultural products, and 50 Boeing jets.
Trump said later on Tuesday that US exporters would have “full access to everything” and pay no tariffs.
“They are going to pay 19 percent, and we are going to pay nothing,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I think it’s a good deal for both parties.”
Indonesia ranked 24th among the US’ top trading partners in 2024, with two-way goods trade worth $38.3bn, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
In Cambodia, African giant pouched rats have become vital allies in detecting landmines that have devastated the Southeast Asian nation, despite the squeamishness they might cause some.
These substantial rodents – reaching up to 45cm (18in) long and weighing up to 1.5kg(3.3lb) – navigate minefields with agility, alerting handlers when they detect TNT, the primary explosive in most mines and ordnance.
“While working with these rats, I have always found mines and they have never skipped a single one,” said Mott Sreymom, a handler at APOPO, the humanitarian organisation that trains and deploys these detection teams globally. “I really trust these mine detection rats,” she told The Associated Press at a Siem Reap province minefield.
Cambodia’s land has been extensively contaminated after three decades of conflict. A 2004 survey by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) identified approximately 4,500 sq km (1,700sq miles) of affected terrain spanning all 25 provinces and nearly half of Cambodia’s villages. As of 2018, 1,970 sq km (760sq miles) remained uncleared.
The rats’ exceptional sense of smell makes them invaluable to APOPO, which also uses canine detection teams. “Dogs and rats are better compared to other animals because they are trainable,” explained Alberto Zacarias, a field supervisor for APOPO’s technical survey dog teams. “They are also friendly and easily learn commands.”
Since Cambodia’s demining efforts began officially in 1992, more than 1.1 million mines and approximately 2.9 million other explosive war remnants have been cleared, according to a 2022 government report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wept as he threw himself over the coffin of a soldier draped in the national flag, one of six or so who were lined up in a row.
Photographs of him mourning were shown at a gala performance at a theatre in Pyongyang late last month, celebrating the anniversary of a mutual defence pact signed by Kim and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The soldiers had been killed in action fighting alongside Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
While Ukraine’s NATO backers have refused to deploy boots on the ground, North Korean fighters have participated in fierce battles over the region of Kursk in western Russia, partly occupied by a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“North Korea is now a more important ally for Russia than Iran or China,” said Oleg Ignatov, senior Russia analyst for Crisis Group.
“North Korea supplies Russia with ammunition and some types of heavy weapons. As for the North Korean soldiers, Russian sources say they are professional and disciplined. At the beginning of the Kursk operation, they lacked the modern combat skills required for this type of war, which involves the use of large numbers of drones, but they quickly adapted.”
Looking ahead, there are signs that the Russian-North Korean alliance is advancing.
Two weeks ago, Ukrainian intelligence sources told CNN that North Korea was planning to triple its deployment along the front lines with Ukraine by dispatching up to 30,000 more soldiers.
Russia welcomes the additional manpower as, according to a count kept by the Russian independent outlet Mediazona and the BBC, Moscow’s army has suffered more than 116,000 losses since launching a full-scale war on its neighbour in 2022.
Some observers say North Korea, a famously isolated nation, also has plenty to gain.
“From a military operations point of view, North Korea now has had on-the-ground exposure to modern warfare, which South Korea does not,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a senior fellow with the Stimson Center’s 38 North and POSCO fellow with the East-West Center.
“From a policy point of view, North Korea’s improved ties with Russia give Kim Jong Un greater strategic manoeuvrability, due to immediate benefits like Russia’s oil and wheat shipments and possible transfers of military technology to North Korea – to the longer-term opportunities that Kim Jong Un appears to see by nurturing this relationship.”
She added that this all gives North Korea “little to no incentive to engage the United States, much less South Korea”.
“North Korea’s relationship with Russia gives Kim stronger leverage vis-a-vis China, which could have broader regional implications in the longer term,” she said.
Russia has reopened long-dormant supply chains to the North, ignoring international sanctions.
“The countries have resumed traffic along the Khasan-Tumen line,” Neimat Khalilov, a political scientist and member of the Digoria expert club, told Al Jazeera, referring to the Russian border with North Korea.
“Russia supplies coal, fertilisers and iron ore via railway crossings, while [North Korea] supplies seafood and rare earth metals … Separately, it is worth noting the modernisation of the [North Korean] port of Rajin, which is taking place with the participation of the Russian Federation. The goal of the project is to make the port an alternative to South Korean hubs, thereby increasing cargo flow through Vladivostok to North Korea.”
‘A qualitatively new phase’
The modern state of North Korea owes its existence to the Soviet Union, which routed Japanese colonial troops occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II, while US forces did the same in the south. A Soviet and Chinese-backed Communist state was established, and the USSR remained a close ally throughout the Cold War.
But after the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s, North Korea lost its crucial backer and a vital source of aid, plunging the country into a catastrophic famine. Relations with the new Russia were not hostile, but not particularly close. In the 2000s and 2010s, Russia even joined the global sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear programme and alleged human rights abuses.
However, Khalilov said, “With the start of the SMO [the war in Ukraine, which is known as a ‘special military operation’ in Russia], they entered a qualitatively new phase.”
Pyongyang made its position clear from the beginning of the war in early 2022, as one of only five governments to vote against condemning Moscow’s invasion at an emergency session of the UN. The others were Belarus, Eritrea, Syria and Russia itself.
“In 2023, former Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the DPRK, and a few months later, as part of the North Korea-Russia summit, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un made an official visit to Russia, where he held talks with Vladimir Putin,” said Khalilov. “Particular attention is drawn to the change in rhetoric: joint statements increasingly include formulations about ‘common values’ and ‘strategic partnership’.”
Khalilov noted that the deployment of about 15,000 North Korean forces on the Kursk battlefield was provided for by Article 4 of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed by Putin and Kim last June. This allowed one country to provide “military and other assistance” to the other in case of foreign invasion.
The Kremlin initially denied claims made late last year by Ukraine and South Korean intelligence that North Koreans were fighting alongside Russian troops. The Russian command appeared to have undertaken some effort to hide it.
In December, The Guardian reported that North Korean soldiers wounded in Kursk were being treated in secret at Russian hospitals, while the soldiers were issued fake IDs identifying them as ethnic minorities from Russia’s Far East, should they die on the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that North Korean soldiers risked being executed by their own side if capture was imminent.
It was only in April that Russia and the North officially confirmed that their troops were fighting side-by-side, with Putin thanking “our Korean friends” for acting out of “solidarity, a sense of justice, and true comradeship” during the battle for Kursk. At the same time, Kim praised his soldiers on their “sacred mission.”
Russian officials have since promised North Korea that soldiers killed would be honoured in Kursk by erecting monuments and renaming streets after them.
Political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov has suggested the initial secrecy was sustained at North Korea’s request.
