Spectrum

The American Conservative has published a piece framed as 'Putin's Absurdist War,' arguing that Russia's war in Ukraine has taken on an absurd character. The framing reflects ongoing debate in American foreign policy circles about the war's purpose, costs, and apparent lack of a coherent endgame. Commentary across the political spectrum continues to dissect Moscow's strategy and the West's response as the conflict grinds on.

DARPA is developing a robotic spacecraft designed to service and repair satellites in geosynchronous orbit, roughly 36,000 kilometers above Earth. The program, profiled by IEEE Spectrum, would allow aging or malfunctioning satellites to be fixed or refueled in place, extending their working lives. Interest centers on the technical challenge of robotic operations at that altitude and what orbital servicing could mean for the satellite industry and space security.

CNN says the network was left off Air Force One for President Trump's Saturday trip to a college football game, a break from the tradition of rotating news outlets aboard presidential travel. Other major outlets including PBS and Spectrum News reported the network's claim. The move is being read as a fresh flashpoint in the Trump administration's tense relationship with CNN and press access to the president, raising questions among journalists about how travel pools are being selected.

Tagesspiegel commentator Malte Lehming recalls prominent cases of antisemitism and hostility toward Israel in German politics, citing figures from the CDU such as Theodor Oberländer and Hans Globke, the CSU's Hermann Fellner, the Greens' Hans-Christian Ströbele and the FDP's Jürgen Möllemann. The piece argues such incidents span the political spectrum rather than belonging to a single party, prompting debate about how German parties confront this history.

Mobile industry commentators are revisiting the question of whether operators and equipment makers made a mistake in their approach to millimetre-wave spectrum for 5G. An opinion piece on Mobile Industry Review asks whether the industry was wrong about mmWave, prompting debate over its limited coverage, high deployment costs, and whether the promised capacity gains have justified the investment.