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Europe
France
(21 May 2025) Islamists are infiltrating France's republican institutions and are a threat to national cohesion, according to a report drawn up by two senior civil servants, presented to President Macron today. The report claims to find evidence for a policy of ’entryism’ by the Muslim Brotherhood into public bodies like schools and local government. Macron asked the government to come up with ’new proposals’ by early next month. While separatism implied Muslims living in a parallel society in France, ’entryism means getting involved in republican infrastructure… in order to change it from the inside. It requires dissimulation… and it works from the bottom up. A copy of the report was published in Le Figaro newspaper. The authors identified the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF) as the main emanation of the historic Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded 100 years ago to promote a return to core Islamic values. They said the FMF controlled 139 places of worship in France, with a further 68 affiliated – in all around 7% of the total. The organisation also ran some 280 associations, in sports, education, charity and other fields, as well as 21 schools. The aim of the movement was to set up ecosystems ’at local level to structure the lives of Muslims from birth till death’. The veil, beards, dress, fasting - are gradually imposed as the ecosystem solidifies, the authors write. Religious practice become stricter, young girls wearing Islamic headscarves. Some are as young as five or six. The Federation angrily rejected any allegation that associates them with a foreign political programme, or with a strategy of 'entryism'. Behind these unfounded accusations there is a plan to stigmatise Islam and Muslims, the FMF said. The report has been seized on by proponents of a strict enforcement of France's secular laws, which are meant to exclude all religion from public life. Interior minister Retailleau, who on Sunday was elected leader of the conservative Les Républicains party, warned yesterday of ’below-the-radar Islamism trying to infiltrate institutions, whose ultimate aim is to tip the whole of French society under sharia law’. Retailleau has won a reputation as a hardliner. He aid he is concerned about the possibility of Islamic lists of candidates. ’Far-left’ leader Mélenchon warned that Islamophobia has crossed a line, accusing the president's security cabinet of adopting the "delusional theories" of both Retailleau and ’far-right’ National Rally leader Le Pen. The report's authors visited 10 different regions of France and four other European countries. They concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood was losing influence in the Middle East and North Africa, and so was targeting Europe, backed by money from Turkey and Qatar. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
Romania
21 May 2025 Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) leader Simion, runner-up in Romania’s May 18 presidential elections asked the country’s Constitutional Court (CCR) to annul the recent Romanian elections, accusing France and Moldova of engaging in foreign interference. „We will challenge the election of Dan at the CCR for exactly the same reasons why they annulled the December 6 elections”: external interferences by state and non-state actors, said Simion. Paid influencers were bought to show their support for Dan with amounts between €200,000 and €300,000, he added. On May 18, Durov, owner of social media app Telegram, fed the dispute by sharing on his personal channel he had been pressured by the French government to influence the election outcome in Romania. Last summer, Durov was arrested in France. On May 19, Durov opened up about the arrest, saying, “French foreign intelligence confirmed they met with me - allegedly to fight terrorism and child porn. In reality, child porn was never even mentioned. They did want IPs of terror suspects in France, but their main focus was always geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine.” After Simion announced his move to annul the Romanian elections, Durov reacted he was ready to come and testify about the subject. Simion had said he wanted Durov to testify about everything in front of a Romanian court. France categorically rejects these allegations and calls on everyone to exercise responsibility and respect for Romanian democracy, France Diplomacy said on X. France has been remarkably involved with the elections in Romania. Former vice-president of the European Commission Breton had said Romania was justified in annulling its presidential election due to alleged Russian interference. He added “we’ Europeans should be willing to do something similar in Germany if similar interference occurs, something for which US Vice President Vance later criticised him. One week after the elections, Renew Europe President Hayer, a close ally of Macron, told French TV station Franceinfo she would ’do everything on the ground’ to ensure that Romania’s next president was pro-European. This caused opponents to accuse her of foreign interference. Cenușa, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and expert on Eastern European politics, said on X Simion’s likely goal is to weaken the legitimacy of President-elect Dan. A discredited presidential mandate could make it difficult for Dan to cohabit with the existing governing coalition, leading to early elections that would benefit Simion-AUR, said Cenușa. In the repeat presidential election, “fundamental freedoms of assembly and association were respected”, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said in its report. ’However, defamatory rhetoric, biased media, and persistent inauthentic behaviour online, alongside regulatory gaps and fragmented responses by institutions, limited voters’ opportunity to make an informed choice and impacted public trust’, said the OSCE. „Technical preparations for the second round were professional and efficient, despite a continued lack of transparency in the work of the election administration,’ their observation mission found. ’The rules on campaigning, campaign financing, and media coverage are ambiguous or lack sufficient detail, sometimes leading to inconsistent interpretation by political parties and candidates as well as a lack of oversight and transparency,’ it said. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)
European Council
21.05.2025 ’EU countries have agreed on a €150 billion ($170 billion) loan plan to boost defense spending’ through 2030, including joint projects, new procurement, and restocking. New plan seeks to strengthen joint European defense procurement, restock military supplies, and expand capacity of Europe's defense industry. ’The more we invest in equipping our armies, the better we will deter those who wish us harm,’ Poland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said on X. Amid the new US administration's pressure for NATO allies – most of them also members of the EU – to boost defense investments, the EU began seeking new defense strategies. As part of these efforts, The European Commission unveiled a new White Paper strategy in March aiming to boost military spending and production by 2030. ’A key component, the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, includes the loan package of up to €150 billion’. Countries that have signed partnership agreements with the bloc on security and defense are also eligible to participate in SAFE. The EU has established such agreements with Norway, Moldova, South Korea, Japan, Albania, and North Macedoni. At a EU-UK summit in London on Monday, both sides agreed that the British defense industry could potentially also gain access to the SAFE plan. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Africa
South Africa
May 21 2025 Trump hosted President Ramaphosa at the White House today to confront him about claims that South Africa's government isn't punishing people who kill white farmers. The chat started friendly as Trump complimented the South African golfers that Ramaphosa brought to the Oval Office. Then, Trump played a video that he said showed evidence of an alleged genocide of white farmers in South Africa. The video showed a rally from last year where attendees chanted 'Kill the Boer, the farmer,' an inflammatory song. The clip also showed rows of white crosses purportedly in South Africa, each one marking a white farmer who was murdered, Trump said. The White House later shared the four-minute video on X, calling it "proof of persecution in South Africa.' Trump said the video showed the graves of thousands of white farmers and showed printouts of articles that he claimed showed evidence of the alleged genocide and blamed the media for not covering it. Trump has cut off foreign aid to South Africa based on the claims, which stem from a land reform law. He accused the country's government of taking land from white farmers and fuelling violence against them with hateful rhetoric and government actions. Trump also recently offered refuge to white Afrikaners based on their claims that they were racially discriminated against. /Video, photo/ (Source: The U.S. Sun)
Asia
Iran
21 May 2025 Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has publicly expressed his displeasure at the demands of President Trump and the US administration in the crucial nuclear talks. Khamenei today said on his X handle, ’We won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium,’ is utter nonsense. We aren’t waiting for anyone’s permission. The Islamic Republic has certain policies, and it will pursue them.' Following four rounds of talks, Khamenei urged the US to stop making "nonsense" demands on Iran's enrichment, saying it's "non-negotiable”. He said he did not know whether the talks would yield any results or not. Iran is playing it cool on the US request for a fifth round of talks, with Foreign Minister Araqchi stating, ’A date has been suggested, but we have not yet accepted it.’ The two sides are exploring Rome as a possible venue. Both sides have been aggressive in the talks on uranium enrichment, and no one is ready to back down from their stand, due to which a deadlock situation is now emerging. To stop this, Trump has openly threatened Iran, "Take action quickly or else something bad is going to happen.’ In recent times, when Iran was reluctant to even come to the negotiating table, Trump had threatened Tehran on several occasions, saying that if Iran does not compromise on its nuclear programme, it will be bombed and will also have to face very harsh sanctions. President Trump has already deployed two US aircraft carriers, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Harry S Truman, to the Arabian Sea, as well as ordered the largest ever deployment of B-2 bombers to the Indian Ocean from its military base at Diego Garcia. (Source: Outlook – India)
May 21, 2025 U.S. intelligence has gathered new indications that Israel may be preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. The intelligence includes intercepted Israeli communications, gathered intelligence based on Israeli military movements, statements from senior Israeli officials suggesting that preparations for a strike could be underway and completed air exercises. While Israel lacks the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear program without U.S. assistance, it may act independently if it views the final deal as inadequate, it fails to remove Iran's uranium stockpile. An Israeli strike on Iran would mark a significant rupture with the Trump administration, escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, which is currently engaged in nuclear talks with Tehran. Iran and the U.S. have participated in four rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman-the highest-level engagement since Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal. Their last meeting on May 11 was described by Iran as difficult but useful, while a U.S. official said the administration was encouraged. A unilateral move by Israel potentially trigger a broader conflict across the Middle East. Some U.S. officials see these actions as part of a pressure campaign on nuclear talks, while others view them as signs of a real operational plan. Israeli leadership has not made a final decision. U.S. officials have emphasized that a complete halt to uranium enrichment is a non-negotiable demand, with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkoff calling it a red line due to concerns over potential weaponization. ’We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability... Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment,’ Witkoff said. Iranian leaders have rejected the demand, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei calling it excessive and outrageous, with Foreign Minister Araghchi saying that enrichment is a sovereign right. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal, Araghchi, wrote on X. President Trump warns that time is running out to secure a nuclear agreement, his offer of diplomacy with Iran will not remain on the table indefinitely, threatening maximum pressure, including driving Iranian oil exports to zero, if talks fail. Araghchi recently told reporters that Oman will officially announce the time and place of the fifth Iran-U.S. talks soon. (Source: Miami Herald / Newsweek = U.S.)
Israel
May 21, 2025 14:25 IST Since the 2000s, Iran has embarked on a nuclear power generation program which many believe will give it nuclear weapons. Like India, Pakistan and Israel, whose nuclear weapons programme is a by-product of its civilian nuclear power generation facilities, Iran is believed to be pursuing twin routes to nuclear weapons: extracting plutonium from civilian nuclear plants, and enriching uranium, which it mines in the country. Israel acquired nuclear weapons in the 1960s. Like India and Pakistan, it is not an NPT signatory. Israel has ensured no Arab country acquires nuclear weapons that could threaten its existence. It launched airstrikes against Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007 in order to destroy nuclear reactors it believed could create nuclear weapons. Since the 1979 revolution, the Iranian regime has directly targeted Israel, with successive leaders threatening to wipe it off the map. Israel has embarked on an extensive covert programme since the 1980s to ensure Iran doesn't get the bomb. It has assassinated Iranian nuclear weapons scientists and sabotaged reactor centrifuges using computer viruses. Iran had ringed Israel with proxies to ensure it can fight a non-contact battle with Israel. But in 2024, Israel and Iran struck each other's territories using fighter jets, drones and missiles. This suggests an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear weapons program is plausible. Iran has learnt from Israel's pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Syria and Iraq. Both those strikes were against single reactors: Osirak in Iraq in 1981 and at the Al-Kibar facility in Syria in 2007. Iran's nuclear programme is hence dispersed across its geography. Iran's nuclear infrastructure includes uranium mines and facilities such as gas centrifuges, which enrich this uranium and process it. Two of these nuclear facilities - the enrichment facilities in Fordow and Natanz - are buried deep underground, under several metres of rock, requiring precise bunker-busting munitions and reinforced concrete. Iran is 1000 kms away from Israel's border. Hypothetically, Israel could launch an extraordinarily complex military operation, primarily involving fighter jets, to knock out the country's nuclear facilities. These fighters would need to be refuelled in the air and fly extreme distances to get to their targets. Israel's air force lacks either the platforms or specialised munitions to destroy the facilities. Israel will need something like the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which weighs over 12 tonnes, and at 6 metres long, The MOP can penetrate and explode 61 metres below the soil. It can only be carried by US heavy bombers like the B-52 and the B-2, which Israel does not have in its inventory. In short, Israel cannot destroy Iran's nuclear weapons sites on its own. Israel could well create a home-grown MOP to target Iran's buried nuclear facilities. The Israeli MOP could either be launched from the back of a converted military transport aircraft like a C-130 Hercules or by a converted intermediate range ballistic missile. Using either of these platforms would be fraught with extreme risk and technological challenges. ’Israel has always risen to these challenges in the past.’ (Source: India Today)
North America
United States
21.05.2025 The US State Department approved the possible sale of GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs and related elements to Poland. The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct effective air-to-ground strikes, reinforcing its capability to protect Polish sovereign territory, and improving its ability to meet NATO requirements, it added. The estimated cost is $180 million, 'the principal contractor will be The Boeing Corporation', located in Missouri. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
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