LIVE: Russia Launches Biggest Air Attack on Ukraine Yet | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G

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1:50 3 years into the war, Russia has launched its biggest attack yet. 700 drones and 13 missiles. A dangerous new escalation in the Ukraine war. and upset Donald Trump is giving weapons to Zilinski. We'll tell you what prompted this shift and who is winning all these wars. The US military-industrial complex private contractors got more than half of the American defense budget in the last four years, more than $2.4 trillion. We'll bring you the full story. Elon Musk is under fire. Could he lose $48 billion in government contracts? And his AI Grock has sparked outrage after praising Hitler. Meanwhile, diplomacy is getting hacked. World leaders got calls from AI bots pretending to be the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In a stunning plot twist, Pakistan votes against the

2:36 Taliban while India sits on the sidelines. We'll tell you what's going on here. Also breaking down, Prime Minister Modi's marathon diplomacy. Five key takeaways from a trip that is rewriting India's global playbook. Plus, bodyguards with fitness apps are compromising world leaders. A look at how Straa is becoming a security nightmare. and Rishi Sunak has joined Goldman Sachs. We look at the often lucrative, sometimes problematic postretirement gigs of world leaders. All this and more coming up, the headlines first. Taiwan kicks off its largest military drills. A record mobilization of reserveists have joined the regular troops. The exercise will last for 10 days. It will feature newly delivered US high-tech rocket systems. The aim is to boost the self-ruuled islands defense against a potential Chinese invasion.

3:24 In India, a Jaguar trainer jet crashes, killing two Air Force pilots. The accident took place in Rajasthan during a routine training mission. A probe has been launched to find the cause of the crash. This is the third such incident involving a Jaguar aircraft this year. Armenia and Azarjan to hold peace talks in the UAE tomorrow. In March, the arch rivals had agreed on the text of a truce deal. Armenia and Azabjan have fought two wars over the disputed Nagno Carabach region. In 2023, Baku recaptured it from Yeravan in a lightning offensive. Kenan President William R wants demonstrators over attempts to overthrow his government. R claims the recent violence is sponsored. Since June last year, Kenya has seen a wave of protest.

4:11 People are angry over the economy, rising corruption, and police brutality. Nvidia becomes the first company to reach $4 trillion in market value. This comes amid the rising demand for artificial intelligence hardware and chips. Earlier today, the shares of the chip company rose by 2.8%. The Nvidia stock has risen by more than 20% this year. And flash floods wreak havoc in the US state of New Mexico. At least three people have been killed. An entire house was washed away and several homes destroyed. In neighboring Texas, flash floods have killed more than 100 people. [Music]

5:19 President Trump 1,231 days. That's how long Russia's war on Ukraine has lasted. At this point, we've seen it all. Hypersonic missiles, snake attacks, failed talks, even grinding trench warfare. But yesterday night set a new record. Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine. We're talking about a massive onslaught. More than 700 drones, seven cruise missiles, and six ballistic missiles. All of them were fired overnight by

6:04 Russia. The main target was the city of Lutk. It is located in western Ukraine. So, it's very far from the front lines. Once the attack began, Ukraine's air defenses were activated. They managed to to take down the projectiles. Ukraine says 718 drones were shot down. So were the seven So were seven out of 13 missiles. They were shot down by Ukraine. Kiev confirmed hits in four different locations. They reported falling debris in 14 others. Take a look at the aftermath. [Music]

7:06 Ukraine has released details of the weapons. They say Russia fired 728 Shahed drones. These are suicide drones designed by Iran. Kiev also claims that Russia fired seven Iscander cruise missiles and six Kinsel ballistic missiles and casualties none reported so far. Only warehouses and parking lots have been damaged. But this attack was not just about destruction. It was also about symbolism. A the target was far away from the front line. It was just 200 kilometers from the Polish border in the west. In fact, Poland deployed fighter jets overnight. they were ready to defend if needed. And B, the attack came hours after a statement from US President Donald Trump. An unusually sharp

7:52 statement. Now, as you may know, Trump has been trying to end this war in Ukraine. He has largely been sympathetic to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, but yesterday he lost it. Trump used some colorful language for the Russian leader. Listen to this. We're not happy with Putin. I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now. because he's killing a lot of people and a lot of them are his soldiers. His soldiers and their soldiers mostly. We get a lot of bullit thrown at us by Putin for you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless. Well, Trump basically admitted that Putin had played him. So, what's he doing about it? He is sending more weapons to Ukraine. Last week, the US

8:37 had paused some missile shipments to Kiev. They said it was part of a broader review. On Monday, Trump announced that he was resuming those shipments and then yesterday he gave the details. The US would send 10 Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Now, the Patriot is an air defense system. It is made by a company called Rathon. The missiles were first designed to take down aircraft, but latest models can shoot down ballistic and cruise missiles as well. Now, each Patriot battery costs $1 billion and each missile costs around $4 million. Ukraine was virtually pleading for these missiles because Russia had stepped up the attacks. Last week, they launched a similar aerial barrage. Some 500 drones

9:22 and missiles were fired at Ukraine. So, Kiev was desperate for more air defenses. Yesterday Trump gave in but clearly Putin did not like that which is why he launched this latest attack within hours. For Zilinski this is a small opportunity. Let me quote from his statement. This is a telling attack and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace to establish a ceasefire and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all. Zilinski is basically saying, "I told you so." As we speak, he's in Rome. He will attend a conference on post-war recovery. At least 15 heads of state will be attending. Some top corporate executives will also be present.

10:08 Zilinski is slated to meet Italy's Prime Minister George Maloney. He will also meet Pope Leo at the Vatican. Like I said, this is an opportunity for Zilinski. He is losing on the battlefield. His best bet is to win over Donald Trump. Until now, that looked like an impossible mission. But now, Trump is toughening his stance. The question is, how far will the US president go? A new report says he was willing to go very far. Here's what it says. Last year, Trump was talking to his donors about Putin. He recounted a conversation he had with the Russian president. Apparently, Trump warned Putin against invading Ukraine, and he threatened to bomb Moscow if he did.

10:54 Now, we cannot verify this report. Even the Kremlin has refused to confirm or deny it, but it's on brand for Donald Trump. So, as things stand, he could go either way. Yes, he's losing patience with Russia, but 10 Patriot missiles won't turn the tide of this war. Experts say its impact will be negligible. And if Trump approves larger shipments, he will face internal pressure. Because remember, Donald Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine. He railed against Joe Biden's military support. It was a core part of his campaign. So if he makes a U-turn, he will face backlash. None of this is easy for the president. But then again, nobody expected it to be easy. It was only Donald Trump who underestimated the complexity of this

11:40 war. What he's getting is a rude reality check. The US has the most powerful military on earth and with that comes the largest defense budget. The US spends almost a trillion dollars on defense. That's more than the next nine countries combined. So here's a question. Who is cashing in on all this money? Is it the soldiers on the front lines or the veterans who return home? We can tell you it's neither of them. The answer is private military contractors. They are the biggest winners. They get the fattest paychecks. Look at this report. It is by an American think tank called the Quincy

12:26 Institute for Responsible Statecraft. It talks about the cost of war. It has gathered data from the year 2020 to 2024. In these four years, 2020 to 2024, the Pentagon, that is the US Defense Ministry, spent around $4.4 trillion. $4.4 trillion in four years, that was their defense spending. And guess what? 54% of that money went to private firms. 54%. More than half the budget, that's $2.4 trillion, went to private firms. So, private firms and contractors got more than half of the US defense budget. In the top five are some familiar names. Number one is Loheed Martin. It got around $313

13:11 billion. Then there's RTX, formerly known as Rathon. It received $145 billion. On third place is Boeing with $115 billion. Fourth is General Dynamics. They got around $116 billion. And finally, there is Northrog Grumman. It received around $81 billion. If you add all of that up, you get $771 billion. That is just for five private companies. 771 billion from 2020 to 2024. And mind you, this is not new. This is America's military-industrial complex. It's a public private partnership to wage wars. This partnership is older than the country

13:56 itself. In the 18th century, during the Revolutionary War, private merchants supplied boots and bullets. By the time they came to the Civil War, in the 19th century, vendors followed troops. They carried wagons full of goods. Fast forward to the 20th century, and you had private companies doing everything. They built planes during the Second World War. They fed troops during the Vietnam War. They maintained radar systems during the cold war. But after 9/11, the Pentagon really hit the gas. They pulled out the corporate rolo decks. Need fuel in Baghdad? Call Halib Burton. Need a base in Kandahar? KBR's got it. Need security for diplomats in a war zone? Blackwater is already in a

14:42 convoy. During the Iraq war, there were more private contractors than US troops on the ground. And they were doing all the same things only with fewer rules and more money. Of course, some of them ran into controversy like Blackwater. They killed 17 Iraqi civilians in a brutal massacre. It raised questions about the company's operations. Blackwater faced criminal charges. So, they rebranded themselves and became Academy. And it's not just these traditional military contractors. There's also a new wave of players in town. Companies like Palunteer and Dural and SpaceX, they are selling military software, AI that predicts battlefield moves and drones

15:28 that do not need pilots and they're getting paid very well for it. These tech companies are the new military influencers. Now, using private players is not inherently bad. It's also not unique to the US. Most countries do it. They use private players in wars. But something should be kept above profit. War should not be about profits. Unfortunately, that's what's happening. Earlier, US military contractors used to be the sidekicks. Now, they are the main event. And it has become a major problem. They do not follow the same rules as soldiers. They do not come under the uniform code of military justice. They do not report to the US Congress. And when things go wrong, it is hard to

16:13 prosecute them. plus contractor deaths are not even counted in the official toll which means that wars can go on longer without public scrutiny. And all of this all of these factors fuel the military-industrial complex. Defense contractors get close to lawmakers. Wars stop being the last resort. They become just another business model. And here's how it works. The US Congress approves record military budgets. The Pentagon funnels big money to these military contractors. These companies then spend millions on lobbying and donations. And again, to keep the US Congress friendly, retired officials land consulting gigs or board seats at those very firms. And the cycle

16:58 continues. Long story short, these private American companies profit from wars. They profit from conflict. So they create incentives to keep the money flowing. And that is the dark loop of war for profit. Basically, conflict is good for business. So here's a question for America. Who really benefits from this? It's not the soldiers. It's not the American people. It's certainly not the countries where the US wages war. It is only the American contractors, the military-industrial complex. No matter how a war ends, they are always the winners. Thank you. [Applause]

17:46 [Music] We're going to catch you and you're going to go through hell. [Music] For our next story, let me start with an old fable. A scorpion wants to cross a river. It asks a frog for help. It ends up riding on the frog's back. Halfway through the journey, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog drowns, but so does the scorpion.

18:33 In 2025, this ancient fable is being rewritten not in the forest, but in the White House. The two main characters are Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Together, they crossed political rivers. For a while, they helped each other thrive, but now the scorpion has stung the frog. Both might drown. And caught in the middle are $48 billion of government contracts. We've told you what's going on here about the Musk Trump feud. It is unraveling on social media for the world to see. Last month, US President Trump dropped a truth bomb. He said the government could save money by cancelling Elon Musk's subsidies. That was a veiled threat. It was aimed

19:20 at some of Elon Musk's biggest government deals. So, which companies will be affected? First is obviously SpaceX. The US government needs SpaceX. NASA depends on it for launching astronauts. The Pentagon, that is the US Defense Ministry, relies on it for satellites and secure communications. And SpaceX is part of the US moon missions. So here's what is on the line. $34 billion in rocket related projects from NASA and the military. A $2.9 billion contract for the Artemis lunar lander. a $733 million contract for Pentagon satellite launches. Also a classified $1.8 billion deal. This is for intelligence operations. So without

20:07 SpaceX, the US space program is on shaky launchpad legs. The whole mission could be grounded. Second in the line of fire is Starlink. This is SpaceX's satellite internet project, Starlink. It is used for military communications. It is used for space projects in Nevada. Federal agencies use it. But Donald Trump's threat casts a long shadow. If Starlink loses government deals, SpaceX loses a huge recurring revenue stream. Then, of course, there's Tesla. Musk's electric car company is already facing the heat. The shares are tanking, sales are plunging, and investors now fear regulatory backlash as well. There's also uncertainty about a deal. Tesla's armored vehicle deal with the

20:53 State Department. The company does not know if that deal will go through. And finally, there is the Boring Company. This is Elon Musk's infrastructure company. It was in the running to dig new tunnels for Amtrak trains and urban transport. Those dreams may hit a dead end now. And it's easy to reduce this to dollars and rockets. $48 billion in peril. That's an easy headline. But the bigger story is about dependency. The US depends on Musk for space exploration, satellite internet, and EV leadership. And Musk depends on the US government for billions in revenue and market access. And now both are threatening to walk away. Also, neither side can afford to lose this fight. Trump needs Musk's innovation and

21:39 influence, and Musk needs Trump's federal dollars and regulatory goodwill. But both of them have already crossed lines, whether it's personal or political. And if this continues, the con the consequences will not just be fiscal. The consequences will also be strategic. Satellites will go unlaunched. EV mandates will stall and American dominance in space and clean tech may falter. All because two men could not keep their thumbs off their phones. Elon Musk and Donald Trump were BFFs. They needed each other to survive. Now they're willing to sink the ship just to prove a point. The frog and the scorpion did not survive the river. But if these two

22:25 drown, the rest of America might go down with them. Our next story feels straight out of a spy movie, except this one is not fiction. Around the world, foreign ministers were getting calls from America's top diplomat, that is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And this is not strange. Leaders do get calls. They do call each other all the time. But in this case, it never happened. Rubio never dialed these ministers. He never said a word. But they did get calls. And the voice they heard was completely fake. It was created by artificial intelligence. So these leaders thought that they were speaking to Marco Rubio. But on the other side

23:10 was an impersonator. And this is not an isolated incident. From Russian President Putin to Indian Prime Minister Modi, world leaders are being duplicated, cloned, and turned into digital puppets. Our next story tells you why this is a dangerous trend. It started like something out of a B-grade cyber thriller. Foreign ministers across the globe began receiving strange voicemails. The voice on the other end was unmistakably that of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Or so it seemed. only it wasn't. In midJune 2025, someone, an unknown actor, use AI to create a fake voice clone of Rubio. The impostor reached out via Signal, private messaging app. The phony Rubio account

23:57 even had an official email style handle. It messaged, it called, it left voicemails, and it wasn't just a prank call to a senator. The targets reportedly included three foreign ministers, the US governor, and a member of Congress. The motive is still unclear, but experts suggest it was likely an attempt to trick highle officials into saying or revealing something useful. Maybe for espionage, maybe for influence. Rubio's case isn't an outlier. And AI impersonation isn't just about making viral memes or fake celebrity endorsements. It's being used to mimic real people in real time, in real political contexts. We're now in the age of the AI diplomat. Except it's not the

24:42 kind that negotiate ceasefires. These are the kind that trick, impersonate, and quietly embed themselves into conversations they were never invited to. In May 2025, another impostor made the rounds. This time pretending to be Suzie Wilds, Donald Trump's White House chief of staff. Using voice cloning tools and persuasive texts, the fake Wilds reached out to senators, governors, and even prominent business leaders. It almost worked. And had it not been flagged early, it might have caused internal chaos or worse. Not just that, in early 2024, New Hampshire residents received robocalls from President Biden. The voice, calm and familiar, urged them not to vote in the Democratic primary. It wasn't a political ad. For the first

25:28 time, Americans got a taste of AI powered election interference. And this isn't just limited to the United States. In 2023, the world saw a video of Vladimir Putin surrendering. His tone was grave, his words unprecedented. Of course, it wasn't real. It was a deep fake. India's Narendra Modi was deep faked into promoting fake investment schemes. In 2025, millions saw the video before it was flagged as fraud. So across borders, languages and ideologies, AI is impersonating power and people are falling for it. So what are governments doing? They are responding to it but slowly. The US State Department is reviewing its identity verification

26:14 protocols. The FBI is issuing warnings and advisories. The FCC wants AI generated robocalls to carry clear labels, but technology is moving faster than policy. A well-crafted AI impersonation today can do more damage in 5 minutes than an actual spy could in a year. The danger isn't just that these calls are being made. It's that they're being answered and someone just might believe them. So the next time you get a call from someone important, possible, listen carefully. Ask twice. In the age of AI, the most dangerous voice might not be the loudest, just the most familiar. Nothing is permanent in geopolitics. Not

27:00 your friends, not your allies, and certainly not your enemies. Case in point, a recent vote at the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution targeted the Taliban. It called upon the Taliban to uphold human rights. It also demanded action against terror. In total, 116 countries voted for the resolution. Only two countries voted against it. Israel and the US and 12 countries abstained. Now since a majority supported it, the resolution was passed. Meaning the resolution, the UN resolution against the Taliban was passed. But that's not the story here. The story is who picked which side. Pakistan voted for the resolution, meaning they voted against the Taliban.

27:46 This is the same Pakistan that helped create the Taliban. They secretly armed and funded them. They rejoiced when the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Yet the same Pakistan has now voted for the resolution that is against the Taliban. Also look at the United States. They spent 20 years fighting the Taliban. This is the same group that shielded Osama bin Laden. The group that killed hundreds of US soldiers. Yet the US voted against the resolution. Meaning they sided with the Taliban. And finally, look at how India voted. New Delhi did not vote for or against the resolution. We abstained from voting. Again, this is a change in position. Historically, New Delhi has opposed the Taliban. In 2022, we voted in favor of a

28:32 similar UN resolution. So, what has changed now? Listen to what Indian the Indian envoy said. Mr. President, any coherent policy to address a post-conlict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments, incentivizing positive behavior and disincentivizing harmful actions. An approach focused only on punitive measures in our view is unlikely to succeed. No new policy instruments have been introduced to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since August 2021. A business as usual approach without new and targeted initiatives is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for the Afghan

29:17 people. So India says do not focus only on punitive measures. We need new policy instruments. This reflects a change in India's attitude. Earlier New Delhi ruled out any engagement with the Taliban but now the policy is more pragmatic. There is an acceptance of the new status quo. very different from the US. Their vote appears to have been colored by Iran. You see, this resolution appreciated Iran's role in Afghanistan, which may have irked the US and Israel, and that is why they voted against the resolution, and they voted for the Taliban. But for the moment, let's focus only on India's policy change. This is not a sudden U-turn. It was certainly in the making for a long time. When the Taliban returned to power a few

30:04 years back, India was wary. India decided to keep its distance. But in June 2022, the Indian embassy in Afghanistan was reopened. A technical team was posted in Kabul. Then in March 2024, a senior Indian diplomat traveled to Afghanistan. He met the Taliban's foreign minister. In January this year 2025, India's foreign secretary was in Dubai and while there, he also met the Taliban's foreign minister. And then came the biggest outreach in the month of May this year. India's foreign minister SJ Shankar spoke to the Taliban's foreign minister. The phone call came after operation Sindur. And if you look at this trajectory, one thing is quite clear, this policy change was coming.

30:52 But it raises two questions. One, what triggered it? And two, is it justified? There are two main reasons for India's U-turn. For starters, we have a commitment to the Afghan people to give them food or aid or medicines. India is committed to that. And to be able to do that, you must engage with the Taliban because this is not 1996. The Taliban have undisputed control over the country. If you want to help the Afghan people, you must do business with the Taliban. That is the reality of our world today. Secondly, the political equations have changed. The Taliban emerged as Pakistan's proxy, but now their ties have soured. Islawad accuses Kabul of hosting the Pakistani Taliban. They've also clashed along the

31:37 border. This is a classic case of shifting loyalties. Your enemy's enemy is your friend. We saw that during Operation Synindhur. The Taliban condemned the terror attack in Pahelgam. They also criticized Pakistan's military actions. So all of this explains India shift which brings us to the second question. Is this U-turn justified? Have the Taliban changed? Well, what's changed is their packaging. Taliban 1.0 was rough around the edges. But these guys are more internet savvy. They have released a new video to promote Afghan tourism. You have to see this. We have one message for welcome to Afghanistan

32:38 10B ro what's beneath Read the packaging. The same old Taliban. The United Nations says they have erased women from public life. No schools, no colleges, no jobs for women. Things are so bad that global courts have stepped in. They have issued a warrant for Taliban leaders and India should be mindful of this reality. Yes, foreign policy requires pragmatism, but it must not abandon ideals altogether. It must not abandon the millions of Afghan women. And it's not just about the Taliban. The entire world is moving in this direction. Look at what's happening in Syria. It is being ruled by a former al-Qaeda

33:25 terrorist. A man who was on the United Nations sanctions list. But because he is in power now, no one seems to care. US President Donald Trump is meeting him. European leaders are hosting him. Suddenly his past crimes have all been forgot forgotten and forgiven. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in where persecuted people become pawns in great power rivalries. [Music]

34:21 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wrapped up his marathon trip. He visited five countries in 8 days, attended the brick summit, held multiple bilaterals and received four national awards. In sheer numbers, that's quite impressive. But tonight we'll go beyond the statistics. What did this trip achieve? We will look at the top five takeaways. And before that also a brief look at the final leg of this journey. Prime Minister Modi landed in Namibia earlier today. This is a country located in southern Africa. It was Namibia that gave us cheetahs back in 2022. The Indian Prime Minister got a traditional welcome at the airport. At one point he joined in with the locals. Take a look at this.

35:06 [Music] After that it was down to business. Prime Minister Modi met the president of Namibia. He also received an award from her, the highest national honor of the country. It was the 27th global award for the Indian prime minister. More impressively the fourth of this trip. He was honored by Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and now Namibia. Four awards out of five stops. Which brings us to the takeaways. Number one, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the menace of terrorism. He did not name Pakistan

35:53 anywhere, but the message was clear and consistent. Do not politicize terrorism. do not equate the victims and sponsors of terror. He gave the same message in Brazil yesterday. Zero tolerance and zero double standards. This is the prime minister's second trip after operation Synindhur. So he used the opportunity to lobby for support to spread India's message on terror. Next is takeaway number two. Prime Minister

36:39 Modi made inroads into mineral deals. We keep hearing about critical minerals and rare earths. India buys most of it from China and recently Beijing has started to weaponize it which is why India needs alternatives. Enter Ghana and Namibia. Ghana has reserves of diamond, manganese, lithium and rare earths. Namibia has reserves of uranium, copper and gold. Prime Minister Modi spoke about this today. He proposed cooperation in the diamond sector. [Music] Diamond producers, diamond polishing industry,

37:27 home state, Gujarat, takeaway number three. India's bid to lead the global south has got a boost. The prime minister used two tactics to win them over. One, he spoke about global institutions, how they're unfair and need reforms. This has been a key demand of the global south. Secondly, he tried to find common ground where in history like India, these countries suffered through colonialism as well. It was a constant theme in Prime Minister Modi's speeches. The histories of India and Ghana

38:16 beer the scars of colonial rule. Both our nations rose from the shadows of colonial rule to write our own stories. [Music] Takeaway number four is linked to three. Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to bricks. India was recently seen as the odd one out in this block. The other members sought to challenge Western dominance. India only sought to tweak it to make the system more representative. Plus, there was pressure from Donald Trump. After taking office, he had

39:02 threatened the BRICS countries. He promised to impose tariffs on them. Yet, India did not take a step back. Instead, we doubled down on our commitment to bricks. Two of its top leaders did not attend the summit. Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia. They were not at the summit. But not only did Prime Minister Modi attend, he played the role of senior statesman. Which brings us to the final takeaway. This trip energized the Indian diaspora. It's a key weapon in India's foreign policy arsenal. Indians live and work across the world. Since taking office, Prime Minister Modi has galvanized them. He has turned the diaspora into a foreign policy tool. And this trip was no different. In Ghana, the Indian community is very old. They have been

39:48 running businesses for almost 80 years now. In Trinidad and Tobago, Indian origin people make up 40% of the population. Prime Minister Modi announced overseas citizenships for up to the sixth generation of the Indian diaspora. As always, he also interacted with the Indian communities. Of course, these are just the initial outcomes. I'm sure more details will follow in the coming weeks. Because this trip is not a standalone event, it is part of India's larger foreign policy goals to lead the global south to secure critical minerals and to lobby support against terrorism. Straa in Swedish means to strive and strive to do what? Apparently to

40:34 track world leaders. Straa is an American fitness app. About 150 million people use it the world over. They record their running and cycling activities and this includes the bodyguards of world leaders like those of the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christensen. His bodyguards have shared their own workouts in Straa and inadvertently revealed other details like the movements of the prime minister, his location, his roots, his trips and the details of his hotels and private properties because wherever the leader went, the guards followed and the fitness app tracked them. And this is a major security failure. But then again, this is not Straa's first rodeo. Here is a report.

41:21 In June 2024, Ulf Christerson, the prime minister of Sweden, visited Bodo in Norway. He was there for a meeting with Yona's guard Duru, the Norwegian prime minister, and Alexander Stub, the Finnish president. A few months later, Christen posted about it on Instagram. It was a picture of the three leaders running together. But this didn't come as a surprise to many people because during the visit itself, one of Christen's bodyguards had posted a run on Strava. Strava is an American fitness app and it is used by about 150 million people across dozens of countries. It uses GPS data to track your activities and it is quite popular among cyclists and runners who record their activity and share it with an online community.

42:07 And apparently the Swedish Prime Minister's Secret Service bodyguards had been doing this too. A Swedish newspaper called Dodge Snider has tracked more than 1,400 training activities of seven bodyguards who have protected people in government positions over recent months. Their findings have covered locations the world over. From the Ukrainian border in Poland to the seafront in Tel Aviv, from an island in Seyells to military bases in Mali, from ski slopes in the Alps to Central Park in New York, because the Swedish prime minister and other high-profile members like the country's royal family have taken a number of trips within the country and outside it. And all along, their bodyguards have

42:54 followed them for safety. But little did they know that the guards were laying bare critical information. They inadvertently revealed locations, routes, and movements, including details of hotels and private properties by uploading their workouts to the Strava app, which made them publicly available. At least 35 times, bodyguards have shared information directly linked to the prime minister, and now they have been accused of jeopardizing the safety of the leader. But this is not a first. Straa has been used to locate the world's most powerful people time and again. French newspaper Lemon recently did an investigation too. It used the app to track the movements

43:39 of Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Kla Harris, and other world leaders. Now Biden doesn't look like your typical Strava user because yet again it was his bodyguards, the US Secret Service agents whose movements were being tracked. In fact, they were even able to identify a hotel in San Francisco where Joe Biden was meeting Chinese President Xiinping. And this is not the worst of it. In 2023, a former Russian submarine commander was killed reportedly with the help of his open Straa profile. A year before that, Straa revealed the identities and movements of security personnel at military bases in Israel. Plus, it doesn't take a genius to figure

44:26 out Straa details. In 2018, a student found that Straa had mapped US bases in Syria and Afghanistan, as well as the Royal Navy's Foslane base. This is a serious security problem, not just for a few world leaders, but for entire nations. Because if newspapers can track them via Strava, criminals can do the same as well. Now, it is not advisable for bodyguards to stop jogging altogether, but maybe not declaring their gym bro moves to the entire world. Might help. On this show, we often talk about jobs, about layoffs, about tech disruptions and career transitions, mostly for the

45:12 common people. Tonight we want to talk about politicians, presidents and prime ministers. Men and women who've reached the pinnacle of their political careers. What do they do when they step down from office? Well, some retires retire others reinvent themselves. Like Rishi Sunnak, the former prime minister of the UK. He has taken a career U-turn. He left office in July 2024 after leading his conservative party to their biggest electoral defeat in history. It has been a year since then. Sonak remains a member of parliament from his party, but he has taken up a bunch of side gigs. This year, he returned to his former university. Sunnak took up roles at Oxford and Stanford as a visiting fellow. He has also entered the lucrative speaking circuit. He's had

45:59 three speaking engagements since April. They've earned him about $680,000. That is about 6 cr rupees for three speeches. And now he has a new job. He is making a return to the wall street. You see before Sun became a member of parliament he worked in financial services for over a decade including at the bank Goldman Sachs and now he's going back there. Rishi Sunak has joined Goldman Sachs as a senior adviser. He will work part-time and his salary will be donated to his charity. Sunnak and his wife Akshhatam Morti have a combined fortune of about $870 million. So maybe this is not about the money. And what will Sunnak do in his role? The bank

46:46 says Rishi Sonak will, and I'm quoting, spend time with our people around the world. That sounds like code for lobbying. Plus, Rishi Sarak will advise the bl the bank's clients on geopolitics and the economy. Given his quote unquote unique perspectives and insights, I'm sure he has valuable perspectives and insights as a former prime minister and world leader. You have state secrets at your disposal. You have dozens of leaders at your on your speed dial. You have connections that only few people do. So, yes, when you're a former prime minister, you do have unique insights. But when you take them to a private sector job, does it become unfair access?

47:32 That's the question being asked by Akoba, the advisory committee on business appointments. This is an independent committee in the UK. It signs off jobs taken by former ministers after they leave office. And this committee is not too pleased with Rishi Sununak's shiny new role. It has set some conditions. Sunnak will undergo a cooling off period for another year. He cannot lobby the UK government on behalf of the bank. He cannot give Goldman Sachs privilege information. He cannot advise other governments. He cannot use government contacts to influence policy or contracts. And these are all legit tasks. And this is not just about Rishiag by the way. He's not the first or the last leader to be taking up a private job after leaving public office.

48:18 This is part and parcel of the revolving door of politics. Yes, sir. That's what it is called, a revolving door where ministers and top officials take up lucrative jobs after leaving the government, especially in the private sector. About 80% of democracies allow legislators to do this. Many have rules about it. Some have regulators like the AOBA, but we know little about what happens next. For instance, in the UK, in the six years leading up to 2023, more than 170 former ministers had taken private sector roles, mostly related to their old policy briefs. It makes sense to follow your area of expertise, but when you're a senior government official, it can also be called abuse. Like in 2021 with former

49:06 UK Prime Minister David Cameron, he lobbyed the government on behalf of his new employer, a finance company. And the UK is not an isolated case. Take former German Chancellor Jad Schroeder. He stepped down in 2005 and he joined Russian energy firms. He was chairman of the board at Nordstream that built the gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. He has long faced heat for this. So much so that this year he received treatment for, and I'm quoting, severe burnout. And I'm not joking here. But many world leaders have other retirement plans. Some do speeches like former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He has earned millions of dollars giving speeches to private firms. A former US President Barack Obama, and he's not

49:51 giving speeches or photobombing people. He's writing books. Junichiro Koisumi, a former prime minister of Japan, has voiced a superhero flick character. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former Indian president, went back to teaching. George W. Bush took up painting. Fred Teven, a former Dutch state secretary, started driving a bus. And Vincent Fox, a former Mexican president, reinvented himself as a marijuana tycoon. As they say, follow your heart, at least post retirement. So, if you're making retirement plans, here is some advice. World Leader Edition. Don't be afraid to boomerang to your old job. Make sure it is a consulting gig that pays the big bucks. Take up interesting hobbies and maybe rethink your bookw writing plans because the market seems too crowded at the

50:37 moment. Either way, always have a plan. Hopefully not one that makes you a drug lord. For our last story tonight, let's talk about Grock, the problem child of Elon Musk. Grock is an artificial intelligence chatbot. It has been develop developed by XAI which is owned by Elon Musk. Grock is a quote unquote truth seeking AI companion. That's what the country says, a truth seeeking AI companion, but instead for months now it has fueled racist conspiracy theories and now it has praised Hitler. Grock has made anti-semitic comments. It has fueled massive backlash on social media. This has forced Musk AI company to delete those posts and this comes

51:23 after a series of controversies including Grock's row with several governments. Here is a report. Recently ex users posed a number of questions to the chatbot Grock specifically about the posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the Texas floods. People asked which 20th century historical figure would be best suited to deal with such posts and Grock said to deal with such vile anti-white hate. Adolf Hitler no question. In other response it said that if calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me literally Hitler then pass the mustache and truth hurts more than floods. It has also claimed that Jews promote anti-white hate and said that the Nazi leader would be the best

52:10 person to respond to the alleged hate. This has fueled massive backlash on social media, especially on X. People have shared screenshots of Grock's comments and responses, calling it irresponsible, dangerous, and anti-Semitic. Grock is a chatbot made by tech billionaire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup XAI. The company says that it is working to remove inappropriate posts made by Grock. Since being made aware of the content, XAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grock posts on X. Plus, only last week, Musk claimed that Grock has improved significantly. But critics say that this is hardly enough. After all, this is only the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the AI

52:56 creation. It has repeatedly been accused of promoting racist conspiracy theories. Recently, Gro hurled insults at Turkish President Reep Taib Erdogan, leading Ankura to block the posts in question, making it the country's first such ban on access to an AI tool. The Office of Anchor's chief prosecutor has launched a formal investigation. Meanwhile, Polish authorities have reported XAI to the European Commission. They alleged that Grock made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. Now a fine on X is on the cards. The government says that freedom of speech belongs to humans, not to artificial intelligence. In May this year, Grock caused another

53:42 row. It generated misleading and unsolicited posts referencing white genocide in South Africa and XAI blamed it on an unauthorized modification. When Grock was launched in 2023, Musk promised that it would be edgy. But over time, the bot has conveniently crossed the line to problematic instead. It has been mired in controversies several times. Musk has repeatedly said that he wants Grock to not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect while giving it a makeover. Grock 4 has launched today. It comes with calling functions and advanced reasoning and logic capabilities. But will Logic tell the chatbot where the line is? We will know soon enough when Grock crosses it again.

54:32 [Music] Nvidia is back in the news again. Like I said, it has crossed 4 trillion dollars in market cap. At this point, they have more chances of making it to the UN Security Council. Certainly more than some countries in Asia or Africa. Just think about it. $4 trillion is not a market cap. We should just call it GDP. Next thing you know, the IMF will be seeking bailouts from Jensen Huang. That's how big Nvidia has become. Of course, the bigger you are, the bigger the roast. The internet is trolling the company's almost absurd rise. Everyone is laughing except Intel. [Music]

55:23 Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]

56:21 and now it's time for vantage shots images that tell the story. Houthis released footage showing their attack on a ship in the Red Sea. Crews race against time to battle raging wildfires on the Syrian coast and Metal launches its first ever Barbie with type 1 diabetes. Finally, we are taking you back in history. On this day in 1877, the first Wimbledon championship was held. The first edition only had a men's singles tournament. In 1884, a women's championship was introduced. The Wimbledon is part of the four annual Grand Slam tennis events. It's the only one still played on natural grass. We're leaving you on that note. Thank you for watching. We'll see you tomorrow. [Music]

57:34 Enough. Enough. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat.

58:37 Heat [Music]