The European Union will unveil the Clean Industrial Pact on February 26, 2025, to ensure European industries are second to none amid stiff competition worldwide. The EU is set to implement various strategies that will not only result in the development of clean technology but also generate jobs and revolutionize the green business.

Europe’s Transition from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
The European Union has relied heavily on fossil fuels as part of the energy mix for more than two decades since 1990 in supporting the energy infrastructure in Europe. Some of the examples of fossil fuels that Europe has relied on are coal, oil, natural gas, and lignite. However, reliance on fossil fuels in Europe as of the year 2024 has dropped by 11.5% since 1990 due to more innovations in clean energy.

Strengths of Europe’s Clean Industrial Pact
One of the package strengths of Europe’s clean industrial pact is a vision for lower energy and a deal with the European Investment Bank to fund small and medium-sized enterprises. Its new emissions-cutting strategy will address six priority areas: energy price and security, financing, recycling, and raw materials essential to the energy industry, labor and skills, lead markets, and international action.

Emissions Reduction Goals and Sustainability
The strategy aims to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions to meet its target of a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as compared to the targets of 1990. A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would ensure a more sustainable economy and a transition to a low-carbon economy in the quest to avert climate change and improve environmental well-being.

Collaboration for Innovation and Competitiveness
Besides economic gain, the clean industrial deal centers on governments, industries, and research institutions collaborating to trigger innovation and good practices in sustainability to ensure European industry competitiveness in transitioning to a cleaner economy.

Historical Programs Enhancing Europe’s Industrial Base
The EU has, over the years, implemented numerous programs that worked to enhance its industrial base. For example, the Accelerating Clinical Trials in the EU (ACT EU) initiative, launched in January 2022, granted a wholesome environment for life sciences research and development. It aimed to harmonize and update clinical trials, promoting the development of high-quality, safe, and efficient medicines.

The ACT EU program capitalized on the momentum of the Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR) and the launch of the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) in early 2022, which transformed the initiation and conduct of clinical trials. Besides, the European Green Deal to make Europe the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050 includes provisions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy, and green growth of the circular economy.

Financing Clean Energy Innovations
Financing is at the core of the clean energy deal with emphasis on the Innovation Fund, which started operations in 2020 to support innovations in clean energy aimed at net zero emissions. Europe could also rely on The World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide finance for clean energy innovations that require heavy investments.

Europe in its industrial clean pact would continue to rely on its plan of RePowerEU which has mobilized around €300 billion in saving energy, diversifying energy supplies, and producing clean energy. The modernization fund through the Emissions Trading System in Europe has set around $14 billion to support clean energy systems and modernize such systems, especially in countries with a low GDP in the region.

Challenges Facing Europe’s Clean Industrial Pact
However, despite the strength of the Clean Industrial Pact, several issues can arise. Compared to the rest of the world, Europe experiences the highest energy prices with countries such as Germany, Italy, and Denmark being hit the most. This would highly impact the competitiveness of European industries compared to the rest of the global industries. Europe must therefore identify avenues geared toward reducing the high energy cost, to encourage clean energy solutions that would accelerate targets of net zero emissions. 

The investment environment could be insensitive enough not to induce intensive clean technology development, with state funding lagging behind market needs. European industries will continue to face brutal competition from China, which provides huge subsidies ($675 billion in 2024 alone) to innovations in clean energy and the United States ($97 billion through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, each with its policies and incentives for clean technology.

Europe as a Global Leader in Innovation and Technology Europe is a global leader in innovation and technology, driving economic growth and sustainability. The region has a rich history of scientific advancements and continues to push boundaries in various fields. From cutting-edge research to thriving startups, Europe remains at the forefront of technological progress.

Historical Breakthroughs in European Innovation
Throughout its history, Europe has been a pioneer of technological innovation. Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in 15th-century Germany revolutionized communication, while James Watt’s steam engine in the UK during the 18th century transformed industrial processes. Electricity and electric light, introduced between the 18th and 19th centuries by Michael Faraday and Thomas Edison, forever altered human life.

Samuel Morse and Graham Bell paved the way for telecommunication with the telegraph and telephone in the 19th century. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of the radio by Guglielmo Marconi in Italy and the UK, while Alexander Fleming’s penicillin discovery in the 20th century revolutionized medicine. Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of the World Wide Web in the UK and Switzerland connected the world like never before. In addition, Europe’s contribution to aviation and particle physics was demonstrated by the jet engine and the particle accelerator, developed by multiple European countries under CERN.

EU Policies and Support for Innovation
The European Union actively supports innovation through major initiatives. Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research initiative, has a budget of €95.5 billion, funding projects related to climate change, health, and digital transformation. The Digital Single Market Strategy aims to unify the digital landscape, simplifying business operations across borders. The European Innovation Council (EIC) fosters entrepreneurship by providing funding and mentorship to startups and breakthrough technologies, keeping Europe competitive globally.

Sectoral Strengths in Technology and Innovation
Europe excels in several advanced sectors, including green technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and healthcare. The European Green Deal leads the way in renewable energy, targeting climate neutrality by 2050 with advancements in wind, solar, and hydrogen energy. France and Germany are significant investors in AI research, while healthcare giants like AstraZeneca and BioNTech continue to make strides in biotechnology. The automotive industry, led by companies such as Volkswagen and BMW, is embracing electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Space exploration is bolstered by the European Space Agency (ESA) through projects like Galileo and Copernicus.

A Thriving Startup Ecosystem
Europe’s startup ecosystem is vibrant, with major tech hubs in cities like Berlin, London, and Paris. Supported by initiatives such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Startup Europe, the region has produced globally recognized startups, including Spotify from Sweden, Revolut from the UK, and Klarna from Sweden.

Challenges in Europe’s Innovation Landscape
Europe faces challenges such as fragmented markets, varied regulations, and lower research and development (R&D) investments compared to the US and China. The declining number of research patents and a shortage of skilled professionals in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, and data science also pose significant hurdles. Despite these obstacles, the region continues to prioritize innovation.

Key Focus Areas for the Future
Europe’s priorities include digital transformation through increased adoption of AI, blockchain, and 5G technologies, as well as sustainability through advancements in green technology and circular economy models. Investments in quantum computing aim to secure a competitive edge, while cybersecurity remains a critical focus as digitalization expands.

Innovation Leaders in Europe
European countries stand out for their unique contributions to innovation. Germany is renowned for its engineering precision and smart manufacturing under Industry 4.0. Sweden leads in sustainability and digital innovation, while Finland excels in clean technology and education. The Netherlands is a hub for agri-tech and smart logistics, and France is making significant strides in AI and deep-tech startups.

Global Partnerships and Ethical Standards
Europe collaborates globally with nations like the US, Japan, and India on projects ranging from quantum computing to biodiversity and climate change. Organizations such as ETSI, CEN, and CENELEC set global ethical standards, ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of responsible innovation.

Europe continues to drive global innovation with its focus on sustainability, digital transformation, and collaboration. By addressing its challenges and making strategic investments, Europe is well-positioned to remain a leading force in technology and development worldwide.

In a publication released in 2024, Asian countries have been known to be the 3rd largest epidemic countries with HIV infections, after Eastern and Southern Africa. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, The Lao People's Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines are countries highly affected by the HIV pandemic. In the listed countries, the number of new HIV infections increased by 32% among gay (men-to-men sex) partners and by 85% among non-client sex partners of people from key populations in 2024.

HIV Statistics in Asia and the Pacific
In 2023, a new record revealed that 6.7 million people living with HIV were residing in Asia and the Pacific. The Region accounts for a quarter of annual new HIV infections globally (23%). In Asia, there are 120,000 children aged 0-14 years living with HIV, making up 9% of the total number of children living with HIV globally. Indonesia comprises 26% of the regional total of new HIV infections among children, followed by India 23% and Papua New Guinea 8%.

Declining Funding for HIV Programs
Over the past decade, funding for HIV programs has been decreasing. UNAIDS notes that in the Asia-Pacific region, support for HIV programs by funding has decreased by 2.6 % since 2021–2022. During the same period, the contribution of domestic resources has risen by 47%, increasing the share of domestic resources from 58% of total HIV funding in 2011 to 82% in 2023.

Community-Led Responses and Social Contracting
Empowered communities are essential for the region's HIV response, but community-led responses remain underfunded. Social contracting, whereby the government partners with and procures services from community-led organizations, continues to be a potentially powerful but underused option for reaching people from key populations.

USAID Contributions to HIV Response in Asia
USAID-supported models of community-led services have been well recognized in Thailand and internationally for their significant contributions to more than 50% of the national HIV service uptake in Thailand. USAID has also supported the integration of oral-fluid HIV screening into peer-led outreach for guidelines for HIV self-testing in Laos.

Importance of Sustained Funding and Policy Reevaluations
The sudden stoppage in USAID funding by the US government is a wake-up call for organizations and governments in the Asia-Pacific region and globally to step up in HIV response. With decreased funding in the Asian region, the rate of HIV infection will increase, derailing the plans by UNAIDS to achieve the global target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Research and Prevention Methods
The government in Asian countries should carry out activities such as research to evaluate new prevention methods like vaccines, microbicides, and long-acting formulations of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and improve the efficient and effective delivery of HIV prevention, care, and treatment.

Meg Whitman served as the United States ambassador to Kenya from July 2022 until her resignation in November 2024. Born on August 4, 1956, Whitman is an accomplished American business executive, diplomat, and politician.

A Legacy of Leadership in Business and Politics
Whitman’s career spans leadership roles in major corporations. As CEO of eBay (1998–2008), she transformed the company into a global e-commerce powerhouse. At Hewlett-Packard (2011–2015), she oversaw its split into Hewlett Packard Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, enabling each to focus on core business areas.

Her tenure at Quibi (2018–2020) involved significant funding efforts, though the platform ultimately ceased operations in December 2020, selling its content library to Roku for under $100 million. Politically, Whitman ran an unsuccessful Republican campaign for governor of California in 2010 and later became a major donor to President Joe Biden, paving the way for her ambassadorship.

Kenya: A Strategic Diplomatic Posting
Kenya, with its stable democracy and position as a gateway to the East African market of nearly 500 million consumers, was a fitting assignment for Whitman. Her tech background was instrumental in fostering foreign direct investments and venture capital to drive Kenyan economic growth.

Strengthening U.S.–Kenya Relations
Whitman prioritized enhancing trade and investment ties between the U.S. and Kenya. Her tenure saw significant contributions to trade, health, and security agreements, including Kenya’s elevation as the first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa. She also facilitated emergency funds for crises like the 2023 catastrophic flood and supported ongoing health programs targeting malaria, HIV, and MPOX.

Criticism Amidst Diplomatic Achievements
Despite her accomplishments, Whitman faced criticism for her delayed response to human rights violations during the June 25 Gen Z protests in Kenya. Her eventual condemnation of police brutality was seen as insufficient, particularly as she declined to sign a joint statement by envoys calling for investigations into the disappearances of protestors.

Resignation and Reflections
Whitman resigned following Donald Trump’s election victory, citing the anticipated shift in U.S. leadership and her desire to return to family life in America. She dismissed claims that her resignation was linked to criticism from Kenya’s youth, framing it instead as a peaceful transition to allow the new administration to settle in.

A Mixed Legacy and Optimism for the Future
In her farewell statement, Whitman expressed gratitude for the collaboration between Kenya and the U.S. during her tenure. She highlighted reforms in visa processing to ease migration for Kenyans but warned against the looting of public funds, which continues to hinder Kenya’s economic growth. While her two years as ambassador were met with both praise and criticism, Whitman remained confident in the enduring strength of the 60-year U.S.–Kenya relationship, envisioning a prosperous, secure, and democratic future for both nations.

Mexico and the United States have always been close partners. They share a long, 2,000-mile border with 47 active land ports. They also have over 200 years of history that's built deep cultural ties.

Trade Relations and Economic Growth
In 2023, Mexico became the top trading partner for goods with the U.S., reaching $807 billion in trade, even more than China. Mexico exports mainly steel, aluminium, and agricultural products like tomatoes, automobiles, and auto parts to the US. Exports from the U.S. to Mexico grew from $42 billion in 1933 to $322 billion in 2023. Mexico is also the second-largest source of crude oil for the U.S.

Tariff Negotiations and Delays
Recent talks between the Mexican and U.S. governments focused on tariffs and a tax on imports. President Trump had some concerns regarding the taxes he wanted to impose. Donald Trump agreed to pause those tariffs for 30 days as Mexico’s President seeks more negotiations to save the situation for both countries. This means the 25% tariffs on Mexican products planned for February 4, 2025, would be delayed for some time.

Migration and Border Security Concerns
President Trump is worried about the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. In a retaliatory move to address this, Donald Trump is acting steadfastly to deport all the illegal migrants in the US. So far, more than 4000 migrants have been deported to Mexico, reflecting a soiled relationship between the US and Mexico government. President Sheinbaum has increased the National Guard's presence at the border to help stop drug trafficking and illegal migrants into the US.

Tariff Disputes with China
The US has imposed a 10% tariff on goods from China. President Trump is expected to have talks with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, as China also imposed counter-tariffs on the US. China imposed a 15% tariff on US goods: coal and natural gas.

Economic and Political Implications of Tariffs
Some Republicans in Congress support Trump's tariff plans, even though farmers may suffer from a trade war. The United Nations and World Trade Organization have raised concerns about how these tariffs could hurt the global economy, especially in developing countries.

Impact on American Families and the Middle Class
Research from Yale shows that American families could lose about $1,250 a year if Trump's tariffs go through. That loss drops to about $700 a year without tariffs on Mexico. The middle class will feel this more than wealthier households.

Global Economic Instability and Solutions
These changes might lead to a tough situation for everyday Americans and Mexicans, especially those in the middle class. This could even affect members of the European Union as the tariff policies have a wider reach. Donald Trump's role in the global economy is likely to be felt further as he employs means of tariff impositions to safeguard American companies.

Recommendations for Mitigating Tariff Effects
To help with the potential fallout, it would be smart for both governments to offer relief, like payroll tax cuts, to protect jobs. There is a need for the US to work with Mexico, Canada, and China to find common ground regarding tariff imposition. This would prevent the spillover of tariff effects to the global economy, which could result in global economic instability.

Deepseek, China’s Open AI competitor, is making waves in the tech space as it rivals ChatGPT and OpenAI. Deepseek began operations in 2023, eight years after OpenAI was founded in 2015 and three years after the launch of ChatGPT in 2020. The founder of Deepseek, Lian Wenfeng, incorporated innovativeness in developing Deepseek AI due to his experience in the financial markets. He previously co-founded Hangzhou Yakebi Investment Management and Highfyer-AI, which focused on providing machine learning models for stock trading.

Cost-Efficiency as a Key Competitive Advantage
Deepseek has gained attention in the tech space due to its cost efficiency in development compared to ChatGPT and OpenAI. It is estimated that the cost of developing Deepseek AI V3 was about $5.6 million, a fraction of the cost incurred by OpenAI, which reportedly spends an estimated $700,000 daily.

This lower cost is attributed to reinforcement training techniques such as Q-Learning, Deep Q-Networks (DQN), Policy Gradient, Monte Carlo Method, Temporal Difference (TD) Learning, and the Actor-Critic Method. Deepseek also relied on cheaper chips instead of the expensive Nvidia chips used by ChatGPT and OpenAI, making it more scalable and cost-effective.

Open-Source Strategy and Development Model
Unlike its Western counterparts, Deepseek used developers and researchers to improve its model through open-source collaboration and integration of existing technologies rather than creating new systems from scratch. Hangzhou Deepseek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co. Ltd., the company behind Deepseek, has made Deepseek AI open source to the public, removing restrictions and enhancing accessibility. This open model has made Deepseek more user-friendly than ChatGPT and OpenAI, which maintain tighter usage controls.

Public Adoption and Global Receptiveness
Deepseek received significant attention for its ability to solve tasks with speed and logical precision. Its release quickly made it one of the most downloaded applications globally, highlighting both the rising global dominance of China in emerging technologies and the increasing public openness to Chinese innovations.

Geopolitical Reactions and Market Impacts
However, Deepseek's rise has not gone unnoticed in the United States. Former U.S. President Donald Trump voiced concerns over the need for American tech firms like Nvidia to innovate faster to avoid being overtaken by Chinese competitors. The tech rivalry adds fuel to the ongoing economic tug-of-war between China and the U.S., with expectations of increased tariffs on Chinese technology products.

The entry of Deepseek into the market has already shaken investor confidence. U.S. tech stocks, particularly Nvidia, have seen significant drops — levels not experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic — as uncertainties around Deepseek’s impact loom.

Legal Scrutiny and Ethical Challenges
OpenAI has raised intellectual property concerns, accusing Deepseek of using its proprietary technology in the development of its models. Meanwhile, Deepseek, like other AI systems, faces challenges such as user privacy, accuracy, and the ethical implications of unrestricted usage. The lack of constraints could make Deepseek vulnerable to misuse, prompting calls from international AI stakeholders for the Chinese government to impose safeguards and restrictions.

Broader Implications for Global AI Competition
The arrival of Deepseek marks a new chapter in global AI competition. The growing number of AI entrants is prompting calls for international regulations. Other major Chinese players are joining the race: Alibaba has already launched its AI model, and ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) is expected to release a system that reportedly outperforms Microsoft’s AI.

Towards a More Equitable AI Ecosystem
In the consumer space, users will have access to a diverse range of AI platforms tailored to different needs. The entry of affordable and accessible models like Deepseek may lead to broader, more equitable use of AI technologies worldwide. This shift could pave the way for full-scale global adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors.