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On today's podcast:

(1) A barrage of Iranian missiles and drones targeted at least five countries across the Middle East, prompting several governments to urge their citizens to take shelter, while Israel carried out a 12th wave of airstrikes on Tehran and the US suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait. 

(2) The US has cleared the way for India to temporarily increase its purchases of Russian oil, reversing months of pressure on the world’s third-largest crude importer as an escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf upends energy flows.

(3) As Dubai residents sat on their balconies watching Iranian missiles being intercepted, London-based recruiter Ashwin Anil started getting calls and texts from prospective hires contemplating a move to the Gulf metropolis. Half of them were now having doubts. 

(4) For years, Europe has endured President Donald Trump’s complaints that it is a complacent continent hiding under America’s security umbrella. Now, as he launches the first open-ended military campaign of his presidency, its leaders find themselves holding something he still needs: their bases, airspace and strategic geography.

(5) US military forces are turning to a range of artificial intelligence tools to quickly manage enormous amounts of data for operations against Iran, according to US Central Command, highlighting the emerging technology’s growing role in warfare.

(6) Nvidia has long been the world’s AI kingmaker. Now, the Trump administration is considering taking a formal role in the industry that would include similarly sweeping powers.

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