Egyik 19

.

Europe

European Commission
(Monday), 28/07/2025  European Commission chief der Leyen clinched an agreement Sunday with US President Trump. Both leaders are hailing a good deal. The key takeaways from the deal: There will be a 15-percent across-the-board rate on a majority of EU goods – the same level secured by Japan this month – with bilateral tariff exemptions on some products. 15 percent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods averaging 4.8 percent. The deal will bring relief for the bloc’s auto sector, employing around 13 million people. A 15-percent levy will remain costly for German automakers, “but it is manageable”, said trade geopolitics expert Fabry at the Jacques Delors Institute. ’The EU committed to buy $750 billion of liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels from the United States – split equally over three years’ – to replace Russian energy sources. ’And it will pour $600 billion more in additional investments’ in the United States. Trump said ’EU countries – which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO – would be purchasing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment’. There are exemptions. Der Leyen said the 15-percent rate applied including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals – a critical export for Ireland, which the bloc has sought to protect. Brussels and Washington agreed a bilateral tariff exemption for key goods including aircraft, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials, der Leyen said. The EU currently faces 50-percent tariffs on its steel exports to the United States, but von der Leyen said a compromise on the metal had been reached with Trump - tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place. It is understood that European steel would be hit with 50-percent levies only after a certain amount of the metal arrived in the United States. No details were initially provided on the mechanism. Der Leyen described the deal as a framework agreement. The deal needs to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors will meet first thing today morning for a debrief from the European Commission. And there are still technical talks to come. She said there has yet to be a final decision on alcohol, critical since France and The Netherlands have been pushing for carve-outs for wine and beer respectively. (Source: France 24 „with AFP” = France)

Armenia
(28 July 2025)  Commenting on possible Armenian-Azerbaijani transport link, Iran has indicated its strong opposition to the U.S. proposal to have an American company run a transport corridor - the so-called Zangezur corridor - to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave that would pass through Armenia’s Syunik region bordering the Islamic Republic. 'This project is not only part of America’s strategy to shift pressure from Ukraine to the Caucasus but is also supported by NATO and certain pan-Turkist movements,' Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene said. The Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Baghaei rejected any arrangement that would change Armenia’s borders or regional geopolitics. Speaking at a July 16 news conference, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian confirmed that the U.S. has suggested that the transit of people and cargo through Syunik be administered by a U.S. company. The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. proposal on July 24, saying that it is part of the West’s continuing efforts to sideline Russia and Iran. The criticism came as Pashinian met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on the sidelines of a conference held in Siberia. Just hours after those talks, a senior lawmaker from Armenia’s ruling party said that Yerevan has rejected the U.S. offer to lease the Armenian transit routes for Nakhichevan “because we saw a danger of ceding our sovereignty there.” (Source: ազատություն / Azatutyun = Freedom/ - Armenia)

Russia
28.07.2025  Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, who is a former Russian president and prime minister, today assessed the recent trade deal inked between Brussels and Washington, arguing that US President Trump has ’smeared’ Europe with the signing of the agreement. „Trump is harshly pushing through the economic interests of his country,” Dmitry, said on Telegram. Arguing that the deal is completely humiliating for Europeans because it only benefits the United States, Medvedev said the agreement creates huge additional costs for industry and agriculture in many EU countries, and redirects a powerful flow of investment from Europe to the US. He also described the deal as clearly anti-Russian in nature because it prohibits the purchase of Russian oil and gas. ’It is clear that such an approach will lead to further deindustrialization of Europe, to the outflow of investments from Europe to the US, and this will be a very strong blow, first of all, to energy prices, an outflow of investments for European industry, European agriculture,’ Foreign Minister Lavrov, said. He criticized European Commission President der Leyen for ’literally boasting that they are going down this path,’ adding that the agreement will be ’detrimental’ for Europe. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Ukraine
28.07.2025  Ukraine signs deal on importing Azerbaijani gas via Transbalkan route for 1st time. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

China
Jul 28, 2025  After a company boss destroyed a journalist’s camera earlier this month, state media rushed to the defense, sounding off about the “right to report.” This moral signaling distracts from the systemic violence against journalism that is the real policy of the state. China’s constitutional right to freedom of expression is routinely trampled by a system that pulls journalists back from breaking stories, directs them to avoid sensitivities, and obliterates online posts in the millions. (Source: The China Media Project - now based in the United States, with a research hub in Taipei, Taiwan)

Gaza
Monday 28 July 2025 07:11 BST  Israeli forces kiledl 63 Palestinians across Gaza within hours of ‘humanitarian pause’, health officials say. The military said on Sunday it would suspend operations daily from 10am until 8pm in parts of central and northern Gaza and promised to open aid corridors from 6am to 11pm to let in food and medical supplies. However, within hours of the so-called “humanitarian pause” taking effect, Israeli forces resumed air raids. Six more people starve to death in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 133, as hunger and malnutrition crisis continues to worsen. The World Food Programme said one in three people in Gaza had gone days without food and about half a million were experiencing famine-like conditions. More than 20 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women were malnourished, according to the World Health Organization. Israel has severely limited the flow of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza, allowing only a small number of trucks to enter each day after enforcing an 11-week total blockade earlier this year. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, injured over 144,000, and left most of the densely populated coastal territory in ruins and the majority of its 2.2 million people homeless and starving. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

Iran
(28 July 2025)  A segment of the diaspora, Iran's monarchist elite based primarily in North America and Europe are staging a comeback, through satellite TV Manoto - a Persian-language channel with over 17 million followers - viral content, and alliances with Netanyahu and Trump. Online narratives, infused with far-right elements, promote a nostalgic slogan: Things were better before; let's make Iran great again. From exile they are attempting to co-opt Iran's opposition by recasting the Pahlavi dynasty as a golden age of freedom. Monarchy supporters seek to reconstruct an Iranian identity rooted in Persianness and the legacy of the Pahlavi monarchy, cast as an era of modernity, freedom and prosperity. In the background emerges a neocolonial dynamic, where the West delegates to a sometimes disconnected or discredited exile elite the production of regime-change narratives. They advance a pro-Israeli stance, supportive of war with Iran and opposed to any form of diplomacy. Reza's - eldest son of the last Shah - wife, Yasmine, posted a picture on Instagram of graffiti reading: 'Hit them, Israel, Iranians are behind you'. Pahlavi's unconditional support for Israel dates back to 1982 when Israeli intelligence attempted to reinstall him via a coup. Since then, he has appeared frequently in neoconservative American media, attended congresses such as the Israeli American Council, mingled with figures like Adelson - a Republican billionaire who proposed 'nuking Iran'  - and relentlessly echoed Netanyahu's hardline stance. He is a regular at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank linked to AIPAC, the main pro-Israel lobby in the US.  He later supported Trump's second term and the maximum pressure strategy on Iran, claiming harsh economic sanctions are 'what Iranians want.' Manoto reinforce the narrative of maximum pressure and foreign intervention. It has become powerful platform for anti-Palestinian rhetoric, instilling in many Iranians that Gaza and Lebanon have "stolen" Iran's wealth via Iranian support for Hezbollah and Hamas - justifying the total abandonment of the Palestinian cause and promoting Pahlavi as a providential figure. Iran's monarchists have joined the new international far right, sidelining the Palestinian question and supporting military confrontation with the Islamic Republic while seeking to shape a new, homogenised Iranian identity around Persian nationalism and the legacy of the Pahlavi dynasty. Paradoxically, they have come to resemble the regime's ultra-conservatives, sharing their opposition to pro-democracy forces, militarism, xenophobia against Afghans and marginalisation of minorities. The monarchist stance contrasts with that of many committed figures for democracy and social justice inside Iran, who are often targeted by monarchists and imprisoned by the regime. This group includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammadi, lawyer Sotoudeh, Kurdish feminist activist Azizi and trade unionist Shahabi. These activists have consistently emphasised calls for the defence of human dignity and the fight against all forms of discrimination, state violence, and religious fundamentalism - whether in Iran or Israel. Equipped with technical and organisational skills, they could ensure effective governance if regime change occurs. Iran deserves much more than a choice between the turban and the crown. Their social base remains limited, not only due to the repression carried out by the Iranian state, but also because of the dominance of monarchist currents within the exiled opposition. (Source: Qantara.de, an Internet portal in German, English, and Arabic, owned by the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations since July 2024, when the previous editorial team resigned.)

Iraq
06:34-28 July 2025  A gun battle erupted in Baghdad's Karkh district on Sunday between police and fighters from the state-sanctioned Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), killing at least one police officer and leading to the arrest of 14 fighters. The clash broke out in after a group of fighters from the PMF stormed an Agriculture Ministry building. The arrested fighters belong to PMF brigades 45 and 46. Both brigades are affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group. The PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq's state security forces. (Source: Asharq Al-Awsat - based in London, United Kingdom, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family)

Taiwan
28 July 2025  Trade talks with China. Trump’s administration has denied permission for Taiwan’s President Lai to stop in New York en route to Central America, after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. China objects to Taiwanese leaders visiting the US, which does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei. Treasury secretary Bessent and Chinese vice-premier He started a third round of negotiations in Stockholm today. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
July 28, 2025  The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15 percent import tariff on most EU good. The trade between the two allies account for almost a third of global trade. Trump and European Commission President der Leyen announced the deal at Trump’s luxury golf course in western Scotland. after an hour-long meeting. Trump was lauding EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the United States and ’dramatically increase its purchases of US energy and military equipment’. Der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, later was telling reporters it was ’the best we could get.’ ’It’s a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,’ she said. The agreement leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits. The deal calls for ’$750 billion of EU purchases of US energy in coming years’ and ’hundreds of billions of dollars’ of arms purchases, Trump said. The baseline 15 percent tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe’s initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany’s export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. German carmakers, VW, Mercedes and BMW were some of the hardest hit by the 27.5 percent US tariff on car and parts imports now in place. Lange, the German Social Democrat who heads the European Parliament’s trade committee, said the tariffs were imbalanced and the hefty EU investment earmarked for the US would likely come at the bloc’s own expense. Trump retains the ability to increase the tariffs in the future if European countries do not live up to their investment commitments, a senior US administration official told on Sunday evening. The euro rose around 0.2 percent against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal’s being announced. Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, said Sunday’s accord was merely a high-level, political agreement that could not replace a carefully hammered out trade deal. While the tariff applies to most goods, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, there are exceptions. The US will keep in place a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. A senior administration official said EU leaders had asked that the two sides continue to talk about the issue. Der Leyen said there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. We will keep working to add more products to this list, der Leyen said, adding that spirits were still under discussion. A US official said the tariff rate on commercial aircraft would remain at zero for now, and the parties would decide together what to do after a US review is completed, adding there is a reasonably good chance they could agree to a lower tariff than 15 percent. No timing was given for when that probe would be completed. The deal will be sold as a triumph for Trump, who is seeking to reduce decades-old US trade deficits, and has already reached similar framework accords with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has not hit its goal of "90 deals in 90 days." US officials said the EU had agreed to lower non-tariff barriers for automobiles and some agricultural products, though EU officials suggested the details of those standards were still under discussion. "Remember, their economy is $20 trillion ... they are five times bigger than Japan," a senior US official told reporters during a briefing. ’So the opportunity of opening their market is enormous for our farmers, our fishermen, our ranchers, all our industrial products, all our businesses.’ Trump has fumed for years about the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. (Source: The Korea Herald - South Korea / Reuters - United Kingdom)

(Monday), July 28, 2025  President Trump announced Sunday in Scotland that the U.S. and European Union have come to a trade agreement after high-stakes meetings. /Video/ (Source: CBS News - U.S.)

.5 7 28 10:30

.

 Europe

France
25/07/2025 - 11:01  US Secretary of State Rubio blasted French President Macron decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly as reckless while Saudi Arabia described it as historic as world reactions to the plan poured in ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in September. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country already recognises Palestinian statehood, welcomed Macron's announcement. Diplomats say Macron has faced resistance from allies such as Britain and Canada over his push for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Israel's warnings to France have ranged from scaling back intelligence sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision by one of Israel's closest allies and a G7 member, saying such a move 'rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy.' In a post on X, he added, 'A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel - not to live in peace beside it'. "Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.' (Source: France 24 'with Reuters - United Kingdom; AFP - France')

Germany
25.07.2025  Germany says no change in non-recognition of Palestinian state amid mounting international pressure. Government ready to increase pressure on Israel over Gaza and West Bank, chancellery spokesman Kornelius says. According to a report by the Der Spiegel, around 130 officials at the Foreign Ministry have formed an internal group demanding a change in Germany's Israel policy. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Commission
25 Jul 2025  Brussels ’has likely spent too much political bandwidth preparing for elusive US negotiations’ and too little grappling with the headaches coming from China. Yesterday’s summit in Beijing exposed irreconcilable divisions over trade imbalances, market access, and geopolitical tensions. Beijing is showing no intention of fixing spiralling trade imbalances with the EU. The underlying dynamics between the two sides had remained unchanged - if not worsened. The EU receives 14.5% of China’s exports, as opposed to China importing only 8% of EU goods - the EU's trade deficit with China reaching more than €300 billion - and a set of market barriers, such as the presence of a Made in China policy granting local manufacturers preferential conditions in Chinese public tenders. China has no intention of addressing Brussels’ key demands - from opening its market to European businesses and curbing the export of unfairly cheap goods, to halting purchases of Russian oil that help fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine. ’Unlike other major markets, Europe keeps its market open to Chinese goods. This reflects our longstanding commitment to rules-based trade. However, this openness is not matched by China,’ Commission President der Leyen told after meeting Chinese President Xi and Premier Li. Instead of addressing some of the EU’s requests, China had instead piled up a wish-list of its own that spanned from lifting tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs), imposed by the EU last year, to halting the use of the bloc’s foreign subsidy regulation. In exchange, it promised eased export restrictions on critical raw materials, on which most EU industries are dependent. A truce between Washington and Beijing in June left the EU isolated, giving China the upper hand to exploit Europe’s newly weakened position - something that Beijing did by turning to a negotiating tactic that observers have compared to Trump’s approach. That involved drawing up a list of irritants and seeing whether the EU was willing to give in on any of those, whether or not they were directly linked to trade issues. ‘Everything is on the table’ China’s forceful approach resulted in little more than a standoff at yesterday's summit, with European leaders refusing to lift tariffs on Chinese EVs - one of Beijing’s top demands - in exchange for eased restrictions on rare earths. While the EU relies heavily on China for its rare earths supply, China is equally dependent on access to the vast European market for its exports. China cannot afford to lose the EU for too long. The Chinese do not want a new kind of relationship. (Source: The Parliament Magazine – based in Brussels, Belgium, owned by a British company)

Russia
7/25/2025  The roster of offenses that the regime interprets as threatening state security grows. "Any activity or inactivity that, in the view of authorities, increases the vulnerability of the state to hostile actions of the enemy, must be mercilessly and uncompromisingly punished,” said Stanovaya, head of the think tank R.Politik. In the past year, special services have launched investigations into five former heads of Russian regions. Scores of lower-level officials have also been engulfed in a wider crackdown on graft. President Putin had long refrained from engaging in anti-corruption campaigns, maintaining a passive role in public investigations and delegating it to courts and law enforcement. Before the war in Ukraine, few federal-level officials or ministers were put behind bars on corruption charges. With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the arrests of officials have become more frequent - though still rarely at the ministerial level. This changed in 2024, when in the wake of battlefield setbacks, security forces went after the inner circle of former defense minister Shoigu, especially those overseeing military contracting and logistics, prime sectors for graft and mismanagement. Shoigu has been replaced by a technocrat-like Belousov and moved to a largely ceremonial role of secretary of the Security Council of Russia. Ivanov, Shoigu’s longtime deputy who oversaw construction and logistics, was sentenced in July to 13 years in a penal colony for embezzling nearly $50 million. Lt. Gen. Kuznetsov, head of the General Staff’s personnel directorate, was arrested in May 2024 after investigators discovered more than $1.2 million in cash and gold in his home. Lt. Gen. Shamarin, who led the military’s communications division, was arrested that same month on large-scale bribery charges, marking the fourth senior military official to be detained in just a few weeks. Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk region during the war on Ukraine was found dead this month in a suburb of Moscow. He was under investigation for corruption surrounding the construction of fortifications along the border with Ukraine. Just hours before his death became public, Putin had signed a decree dismissing Starovoit from his post as transportation minister, a position he held since spring 2024 following his departure from Kursk. Together with his counterparts in the neighboring regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, was tasked with building fortifications meant to deter Ukrainian forces from entering Russia: trenches, firing positions and the so-called dragon’s teeth, pyramid-shaped obstacles made out of reinforced concrete that are intended to stop or at least impede enemy tanks and vehicles. Ukraine’s surprise breach of these defenses last year and subsequent seven-month occupation of parts of Kursk have set off investigations, including allegations that nearly $13 million meant for the project was embezzled. The dragon’s teeth were of questionable quality and eroded due to rain and snow. Starovoit’s former deputy and successor, Smirnov, did not last a year in the job — he resigned in December and was arrested as part of this investigation in April on suspicion of embezzling more than $12 million of funds earmarked for border defenses with Ukraine. High-ranking employees of a company that built the fortifications, which is also under investigation, testified that they paid up to 15 percent kickbacks to the former governor and his deputy. Smirnov. The precise circumstances of Starovoit’s death remain unclear. His body was discovered in his Tesla, with a Glock handgun beside him - a weapon awarded to him in 2023 for “outstanding service in ensuring the safety of citizens.” “It seems to me that those who eliminated him - those against whom he could have testified after his arrest - are trying to hide his real murder behind the suicide version,’ said pro-Kremlin political analyst Markov. Two officials from the neighboring Belgorod region, a staging site for Russian attacks into Ukraine, have also been arrested this summer on similar accusations. This week, deputy governor of the Bryansk region was arrested on suspicion of abuse of power. Now officials from three of Russia’s border regions with Ukraine have been implicated in corruption over building defensive structures. A minister’s death tells Russia’s elite it is no longer untouchable. (Source: The Washington Post - U.S.)

Asia

Cambodia
25 July 2025 - 11:00  Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at undemarcated points along their 817km land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony. An 11th century Hindu temple called Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, has been at the heart of the dispute for decades, with Bangkok and Phnom Penh claiming historical ownership. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but Thailand has continued to lay claim to the surrounding land. Claims over ownership of historical sites have raised nationalist tension between the two countries, notably in 2003 when rioters torched the Thai embassy and Thai businesses in Phnom Penh over an alleged remark by a Thai celebrity questioning jurisdiction over Cambodia's World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple. In 2008 Cambodia attempted to list the Preah Vihear temple as a Unesco World Heritage site, leading to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. In 2013 the ICJ again ruled in Cambodia's favour, saying the land around the temple was also part of Cambodia and ordering Thai troops to withdraw. Nationalist sentiment has risen in Thailand after conservatives last year questioned the government's plan to negotiate with Cambodia to jointly explore energy resources in undemarcated maritime areas, warning such a move could risk Thailand losing the island of Koh Kood in the Gulf of Thailand. In February a group of Cambodians escorted by troops sang their national anthem at another ancient Hindu temple which the two countries claim, Ta Moan Thom, before being stopped by Thai soldiers. The governments of Thailand and Cambodia enjoy warm ties, partly due to the close relationship between their influential former leaders. The neighbours have issued diplomatically worded statements committing to peace while vowing to protect sovereignty, but their militaries have been mobilising near the border. Cambodia has deployed truck-mounted rocket launchers, which Thailand said have been used to target civilian areas, while Thai armed forces dispatched US-made F-16 fighter jets, using one to bomb military targets across the border. About 130,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in Thailand to safer locations and about 12,000 families on the Cambodian side have been shifted away from the front lines. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa)

China
July 25, 2025 16:43  Sino-EU dispute over Ukraine intensifies. At their summit in Beijing this week, the leaders of China and the European Union disagreed on many subjects. The worst was Ukraine. “You are supporting Moscow in its prolonged war in Ukraine,” European Commission President der Leyen told President Xi. She could make such an accusation because of a rare mistake by Wang, Xi’s veteran Foreign Minister, in Brussels earlier this month. “We do not want to see Moscow lose the war because we fear the U.S. could then shift more attention to China,' he told EU officials. This removed the mask that China was neutral in the war and had only normal trade with Russia. Russia’s giant war machine used machinery, machine tools and many industrial items exported by China. ’Its soldiers at the front line use drones made in China’ and those made in Russia with Chinese components, as well as Chinese vehicles. ’China’s unyielding support for Russia is creating heightened instability and insecurity in Europe’, der Leyen said in Brussels earlier this month. ’China is de facto enabling Russia’s war economy – we cannot accept this.’ Since Trump arrived in the White House in January, ’Ukraine has become an existential crisis for Europe’. Trump is only willing to 'provide weapons to Ukraine if European countries pay for it'. This will cost them billions of dollars. In addition, 'they have pledged to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP', money they can ill afford. The assassination or removal of Russian President Putin is most unlikely. He is the best protected man on the planet. 'More possible are a repeat of the collapse of the Russian and German armies in 1917 and 1918'. After the defeat of the Spring Offensive of the Imperial German Army on the Western front in 1918, desertions, mass surrenders and mutinies spread. Up to one million soldiers refused to follow the orders of their commanders. At home, there were mass hunger and shortages. The same happened in Tsarist Russia in 1917. By the end of October 1916, the country had lost between 1.6 and 1.8 million soldiers, with two million taken prisoner and one million missing. Residents of St Petersburg lacked bread, sugar and meat, women turned to begging and prostitution. The Bolshevik Party exploited this anger to stage a revolution. What are conditions inside Russia today? As of mid-June, the Russian army had lost over one million dead, wounded or missing, ’according to the Ukrainian General Staff’. (Source: EJ Insight /= Hong Kong Economic Journal/ - China)
by O’Neill, ’a Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker’

Myanmar
Friday 25 July 2025  The US has quietly lifted sanctions against key allies of Myanmar’s military junta after its leader, General Min Aung Hlaing sent a letter, dated July 11, to Mr. Trump, seeking a reduction in the 40 percent tariff rate imposed on Myanmar, stating he was ready to negotiate a trade deal and praised the president for his “strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot”. The U.S. Treasury removed sanctions from four individuals and three companies allied to the junta yesterday without explanation. One of Southeast Asia’s most impoverished countries, Myanmar is a major global source of rare earth minerals. Most of Myanmar's rare earth mines are in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army, an ethnic group fighting the junta, and the bulk of their production is processed in China. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
See also: Cancelled: The rise and fall of Aung San Suu Kyi - documentary /Video (56 min)/

Thailand
25/07/2025 - 11:34  Thai-Cambodian border fighting enters second day. Recent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have led to the displacement of over 140,000 civilians as both countries evacuate residents near the border. /Video/ (Source: France 24)

.5 7 25 18:47

.

Europe

Poland
23.07.2025  Polish soldiers fired shots at a group of migrants crossing the Poland-Belarus border in Narewka on Poland’s northeastern border yesterday evening at 8.37 pm local time, injuring a Sudanese citizen, the army said today. ’The migrant's life is not in danger," the statement read. In July 2024, the Polish parliament passed legislation removing criminal liability from uniformed personnel using firearms on Poland’s eastern border. Efforts to curb illegal migration must focus on the EU’s external borders, Polish Interior Minister Siemoniak said Monday during a visit to the Poland-Belarus border with his German counterpart Dobrindt. Siemoniak said Poland has spent 2.6 billion zlotys (€600,000) and deployed 11,000 border guards and soldiers on its eastern border. Warsaw also suspended asylum applications in March. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Ukraine
23/07/2025 - 14:44  Reports of cyberattacks targeting public entities and private groups are mounting. Administrator of major dark web cybercrime forum, XSS.is, was arrested in Ukraine, with the help of French police and Europol, French prosecutors said today. Active since 2013, the Russian-language site is one of the main hubs for global cybercrime, enabling access to compromised systems, stolen data, the sale of malware and ransomware-related services. The criminal investigation was opened by the Paris public prosecutor's office. The forum also operated an encrypted Jabber messaging server, facilitating anonymous exchanges between cybercriminals. An investigation was launched in July 2021 and was handed over to investigating magistrates on November 9, 2021. A judicial investigation was opened on charges of complicity in attacks on an automated data processing system, organised extortion, and criminal conspiracy. The intercepted messages revealed numerous illicit activities and established that they generated at least $7 million in profits. (Source: France 24 with AFP = France)

July 23, 2025 8:20am EDT  Ukraine sees sweeping protests after the passage of a controversial bill threatening the autonomy of two anti-corruption agencies. In Kyiv, demonstrators gathered outside the presidential administration. The Ukrainian government’s latest move could strain the warming relationship between Zelenskyy and President Trump, who has accused the Ukrainian leader of being a ’dictator without elections.’ Both the U.S. and the E.U. have backed activists in Ukraine demanding independent institutions be established and empowered to clean up corruption, according to Axios. However, the pressure dropped significantly after Russia invaded Ukraine. (Source: Fox News - U.S.)

23/07/2025 - 13:16  Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine yesterday evening after Zelensky signed a law tightening control over key anti-corruption agencies. The move threatens their independence, critics say, and risks undermining EU ties and billions in Western aid. The mood of anger and frustration among the war-weary Ukrainians prevailed in the crowd yesterday. Some protesters accused Ukraine’s leadership of prioritizing loyalty and personal connections over the fight against corruption. “Those who swore to protect the laws and the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy,’ said veteran Symoroz, sitting in a wheelchair because both his legs were amputated after he was wounded in 2022. The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International accused authorities of dismantling the country’s anti-corruption architecture. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova mocked Zelensky’s claim of Russian infiltration into the anti-corruption agency, noting sarcastically that “they might just as well pull a couple of bears out of the corner.” Zelensky didn’t provide examples of what he said was Russian interference. Ukrainian activists called on social media for more protests against the law in the center of Kyiv at 8 p.m. today. (Source: France 24 „with AP” - U.S.)

Wednesday 23 July 2025 11:50 BST  Anti-government protests have broken out in Kyiv as hundreds flocked to the streets to oppose a decision to curb the powers of two anti-corruption agencies. Angry protesters held signs reading ‘F*** corruption’ and ‘Corruption = Death’ while chanting “Ukraine is not Russia”. Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and a prominent political opponent of Zelensky, was among the protesters. Kos, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, said the move was a “serious step back” for Kyiv’s membership hopes. French European affairs minister Haddad said it ’not too late’ for Kyiv to reverse the decision. It comes as a third round of talks is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey after previous summits in May and June failed. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

23 July 2025 09:58 BST  Zelensky has approved the delegation which will take part in negotiations today in Istanbul. The delegation will be headed by secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Umerov, who served as Ukraine’s defence minister until days ago. It also includes representatives from the presidential office, the armed forces, the foreign ministry, the security ’sand intelligence’ services, and the Ukrainian parliament. Some other members of the delegation: Diakov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Navy; Kyslytsia: First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; Luhovskyi: First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service; Ostrianskyi: Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces; Poklad: Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine; Skibitskyi: Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

Wednesday 23 July 2025 08:39, UK  Protests erupt in Kyiv as Zelenskyy clamps down on anti-corruption bodies. Thousands have gathered. It marks the first major rally against the government in more than three years of war. /Video/ (Source: Sky News - United Kingdom)

9:26 am, July 23, 2025  Zelensky said that he had met with the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) following the passage of a new law that strips both agencies of their independence and places them under the control of the Prosecutor General’s office. On July 21, the Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s office were conducting a special operation to 'neutralize Russian influence over NABU.' Passed by parliament on July 22, Bill No. 12414 effectively subordinates NABU and SAPO to the Prosecutor General’s office and strips them of their independence. The legislation gives the Prosecutor General’s office access to all NABU cases and the authority to issue mandatory written instructions to NABU detectives. It also grants the power to close investigations upon defense request, settle jurisdictional disputes unilaterally, and requisition case materials for reassignment. ’The anti-corruption infrastructure will continue to function - just without Russian influence’, Zelensky said in a video address released early today. He added that NABU and SAPO would keep working. Cases that have been sitting idle must be investigated, there’s no rational explanation for why ’criminal cases worth billions’ have been left hanging for years, he said. At the same time, Zelensky did not directly comment on Bill No. 12414. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the heads of NABU and SAPO had urged Zelensky not to sign the bill. The European Union and G7 countries also raised concerns about the measure. Protesters who took to the streets yesterday called on him to veto it. He signed the bill just hours before releasing his video. Nor did he comment on the protests that broke out in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro in response to the legislation. (Source: Meduza - based in Riga, Latvia)

(23 July 2025)  After a bill was passed targeting the country's anti-corruption bodies, protesters gathered in Kyiv yesterday. We chose Europe, not autocracy, said a poster held by one demonstrator. My father did not die for this, said another. Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Zelensky loyalist Kravchenko, will now be able to reassign corruption probes to potentially more pliant investigators, and even to close them. Stamping out corruption is a key requirement for Ukraine's application to join the EU, which provides significant financial assistance to Ukraine, conditional on progress in transparency, judicial reform, and democratic governance, says European Commission spokesperson Mercier. The Ukrainian independent anti-corruption system was set up at Ukraine's Western allies’ insistence and under their supervision 10 years ago. It was a key precondition for their aid and stronger ties ’as Ukraine declared a pro-democracy course’ amid Russia's initial invasion of 2014. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

(Wednesday), July 23, 2025 7:01 AM CET  „EU slams Ukraine’. On Monday, Ukraine announced its state security service had raided National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and arrested two top officials as part of a massive hunt ’for alleged Russian moles’. Critics argue the evidence against the agents is murky and the arrests were a pretext for undermining the independent agencies. Hundreds of Ukrainians took to the streets in protest yesterday after the country’s parliament voted in favor of a bill critics said will weaken the independence of key anti-corruption agencies. The law gives Ukraine’s prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president, power over the previously independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Zelenskyy signed the bill into law last night, giving his office more control over anti-corruption bodies. People are angry at the outrageous ’reforms’ and directing their rage toward Zelenskyy and his office. It’s the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion that protests have been held in the streets of Kyiv, in defiance of the fact Ukraine remains under martial law and the daily bombardment by Putin’s forces. The EU’s Defense Commissioner Kubilius was in Washington yesterday, making the case for more American support for Ukraine. ’He met Senator Graham’, author of a major plan to hit Russia with punitive new sanctions. Then the corruption story broke. “In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons -  difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership,” Kubilius said pointedly on X. “Transparency & open European dialogue is the only way to repair the damaged trust.” In a series of statements yesterday the European Commission voiced its alarm at the turn of events. A spokesperson told reporters at the midday press briefing Brussels was concerned and monitoring developments. Criticism of Ukraine is highly unusual in Brussels. Enlargement Commissioner Kos said she was seriously concerned, noting ’The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back.” „Independent bodies like NABU & Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are essential for [Ukraine’s] EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations.” She later said she’d had frank discussions (meaning a big bust up) with new Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Kachka, Ukraine’s EU integration lead. ’We’ll continue working with Ukraine on the necessary rule of law reforms & progress on its EU path,’ Kos said on X. So many EU types have been so outspoken in public against Kyiv. The German Foreign Office last night was saying: “The independence and strength of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions have been key to reform efforts of recent years. Ukraine will continue to be measured against their progress.” Zelenskyy defended the ’reform’ in the early hours of this morning, insisting in a Telegram post that ’The anti-corruption infrastructure will work … NABU and SAPO will work.’ For Ukraine’s EU allies, it’s a nightmare this ’reform’ which could undermine international support for Ukraine’s war effort. „It dismays its staunchest European allies, who’ve been backing its bid to join the EU’. Brussels sees red. Hungary’s leader Viktor Orbán, Europe’s most infamous ’bad boy’ on ’rule of law’ infringements, has been the one holding up progress on Ukraine’s accession negotiations. Now he can, should he wish, point to rule of law concerns on the other side to justify his continuing obstruction. Many of Ukraine’s European allies will now be bracing themselves for a ’withering reaction’ from MAGA Republicans who have never been sold on Zelenskyy. Trump himself may even weigh in. (Source: Politico - U.S.)
by Ross, chief political correspondent

Asia

Turkey
23.07.2025  A Ukrainian delegation led by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Umerov held today talks with Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara, ahead of the third round of Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations in Istanbul. The discussions covered security situation, regional stability challenges, and the prospects for further defense cooperation, according to Yermak, head of Ukrainian presidential office, who described the meetings as constructive. He said they also talked about the importance of organizing a top-level meeting involving presidents Zelenskyy, Erdogan, Trump and Putin, as a step toward initiating meaningful peace talks to help bring the war to an end. The Ukrainian officials also met Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan and Kilic, chief adviser to Erdogan. The third round of renewed Russia-Ukraine peace talks facilitated by Türkiye is set to begin in Istanbul today evening at around 7 p.m. local time (1600GMT) at the Ciragan Palace. The meeting will be chaired by Fidan. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization chief Kalin and Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Gurak are also expected to attend. Russia's delegation will be led by presidential aide Medinsky. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

North America

United States
July 23, 2025 The evolution of Rubio, his shape-shifting encapsulates how America’s vision of its place in the world has changed under President Trump. A country that was a linchpin of the postwar international order has retreated into “America First” isolationism, defined by disdain for multilateral institutions and traditional allies, and Trump’s highly transactional approach to foreign policy. Rubio is typical of a certain type of Republican politician that came to see globalisation and neoliberalism as a mistake. Allies dismiss the idea Rubio has changed, insisting that on key issues he has been remarkably consistent. “He’s always said foreign aid must be in America’s interests, he’s always complained about how the US was exporting and projecting liberal social policies on other countries, and he’s always believed that the US cannot be the world’s policeman,” says a former aide. Far from abandoning his values, they say, he has championed them, influencing Trump to adopt a more hawkish posture towards countries such as China, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Since taking charge of the state department, he has proved a loyal executor of the president’s will. From the start, Rubio moved to align the state department with Trump’s rightwing populist agenda. Rubio increasingly seemed to mimic Trump’s rhetoric. The state department under Rubio has shut down most refugee resettlement programmes while fast-tracking asylum applications for white Afrikaner families alleging race-based persecution in South Africa. Rubio has revoked the visas of non-US students who took part in campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, calling them “lunatics”. He has instructed consular officers to scrutinise the social media feeds of visa applicants to see if they pose a threat to US national security. During a trip to Saudi Arabia in May, Trump said that “far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use US policy to dispense justice for their sins”. That was now ending, he said. Rubio always believed that the US cannot be the world’s policeman. But US interventions have not stopped. In May, after German intelligence designated the far-right Alternative for Germany an extremist organisation, Rubio expressed his outrage on X. “That’s not democracy - it’s tyranny in disguise.’ German Chancellor Merz called on the US to “stay out” of German domestic politics. In early May, less than a week after Trump appointed him acting national security adviser, he was expected to address the diplomatic corps in Washington for the first time. More than 100 ambassadors and senior diplomats gathered for the reception. But he never turned up, much to their frustration. He dismantled the US Agency for International Development, America’s main conduit for foreign aid, eliminated or downsized whole departments 'that promote democracy and human rights round the world' and in effect terminated the broadcaster Voice of America. On Tuesday he withdrew the US from Unesco, saying it advanced 'divisive social and cultural causes”. 83 per cent of of USAID programmes have been terminated, 94 per cent of its staff laid off and its remaining functions absorbed into the state department. ’Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the cold war,’ he said in a blog post on July 1. The secretary of state has defended his reforms of a ’bloated, bureaucratic’ agency that was ’more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America’s core national interests”. 246 foreign service officers and 1,107 civil service employees were terminated this month in the state department. In February he struck a deal with El Salvador under which the Central American state promised to take in and incarcerate criminal illegal migrants. Officials say the deal has mainly targeted members of violent criminal gangs. This month, he boasted of some of the Trump administration’s foreign policy wins. It had ’brokered a truce between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan’ and a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. ’It had persuaded Nato members to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence by 2035’. And it had attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. Everything Rubio is doing at the state department is consistent with the world view he has espoused for much of his career. Indeed, the man is now arguably the president’s most powerful cabinet secretary. As well as secretary of state, he is also acting national security adviser, acting administrator of USAID and acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration. The secretary of state has proved himself to be a loyal executor of the president’s will. Rubio has also improved his standing with Maga hardliners who once considered him dangerously soft on immigration. Former foes such as Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist during his first term, now consider him an ally. “He will be the Kissinger of our time,” Miller said of Rubio on Fox News in May. In this telling, Rubio’s hopes of becoming the Republican nominee for president in 2028 rest on winning over the Maga base. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)
Some comments:
- Everyone here either doesn't understand what it means to have access to the Foreign Affairs space as a US Senator and then as a candidate for POTUS. Or they don't care. Since 1950, the only Secretary of State with greater access to more people, data, information, and constituency (fundraisers) might be Kissinger. Everyone else had to get the information AFTER getting cleared. And even Kissinger didn't have primary access to constituency like Senator Rubio did.
- Hopefully Secretary Rubio will be the Republican Presidential candidate in the next election. He is loyal to President Trump and should be.
- The first Latino Secretary of State is also a Senator with two decades of experience across multiple committees and a former POTUS candidate. From Florida. That means he knows a lot, learned a lot, and has acted on a lot. America's future is 99% certainly a hemispheric strategy with the demographic growth engine of the LatAm world and the mineral riches of the LatAm world. This cannot be decoupled from American capital, technology, and the natural resource based defenses that the wonderful book "Accidental Superpower" identified. Coming from an establishment Republican, this next bit is the hard part. We still have way too much overhang in the State Department. I'm estimating 25% of the FTEs still have little to no work to do on a daily basis and quite possibly only push paper around for 50% of the week. Contractors are worse, with nearly 50% doing nothing all day. There needs to be ongoing reductions to GG, CS, and immediate contractor cuts. FSOs don't need to be cut.
- I suspect that Rubio has forsaken his presidential ambitions. I took heart when Rubio was appointed. Given his background on the Senate Foreign Relations com. hope was that he would act as a constraint, at least in foreign policy, on the know-nothing Trump in much the same way as McMaster, Bolton, Mattis, etc. had during the first admin. But it is clear that Trump does not want any more awkward, independent advisors second-guessing him. One possibility is that Rubio has trimmed to pursue his own agenda. State is the highest position he is likely to ever hold and in that position one of his priorities has been to establish strong working links with Latin America, a surprisingly neglected (apart from a few honeymoon periods such as the Good Neighbor Policy or Alliance for Progress) area in US policy. He has been one of the most active Secs in this area for sometime and is working assiduously to roll back Chinese opportunism in the region. Some of his acquiescence to Trump forays has been shocking. However, watch his body language in the Zelensky meeting - he doesn't want to be there. Might he even be instrumental in Trump's row back on Ukraine? Some interesting material in this article, but the jury is still out on Rubio.
- Rubio is a splendid family man, a devout Catholic, and served as a fantastic Senator representing Florida. He showed wit and fundraising ability during his Presidential campaign. It's no wonder Adelson wanted him to be VP. You're looking at the future first Latino President of the United States. Power couldn't come any sooner to our wonderful VP Vance and SecState Rubio.
- 12 years of the GOP in the White House will hurt both of you. Deeply. As you enter retirement just think of this: VP Vance becomes POTUS Vance; SecState Rubio becomes VP Rubio; America's hemispheric strategy is in full swing; America's voting demographics are 20% Latino by 2037; VP Rubio becomes POTUS Rubio. Amen.
- As others have noted, this administration may be “America First”, but it is anything but isolationist. The lastest instance of meddling in other countries’ domestic politics, led by Rubio, was the revocation of visas of Brazilian judges prosecuting former president Bolsonaro.
- Even in Trump 1.0 everyone, including the President, said Rubio was in charge of LatAm policy. Which maps well to the LatAm intensive hemispheric strategy that POTUS Trump has today. Once we stabilize immigration, guess which cabinet level agency can create multiple new visa types? Integrate with consulates? Deliver across new software apps to trace and track status and payments? And who runs that Department? Secretary of State Rubio.
- I always find it hilarious how Democrats and Trump haters take on all his behaviors. Denigrating public servants, using cute little nick names, gently ribbing competitors with sarcasm....why not just go full MAGA?
- Looking at those guys in the US and at the current armed conflicts, I have come to think that some people are beyond redemption. This is a depressing view and Id sure like to be reasonably told that I am wrong...

July 23, 2025  How U.S. forces should leave Europe? In the six months since U.S. President Trump came into office, European leaders promised a sharp increase in defense and defense-related spending at the NATO summit in June. Europe is introducing new financial mechanisms and breaking down barriers to cooperation in its defense industry. A more capable Europe would become the kind of partner that Washington wants and needs, and it would gain the freedom to set its own strategy as a global power. To ensure that this necessary rebalancing proceeds, the Trump administration must withdraw substantial numbers of U.S. forces from Europe, starting now, and truly shift the burden of the region’s conventional defense onto the continent. To encourage Europe to follow through on its own promises, Washington must lay out a realistic, targeted, and phased plan that cuts U.S. troop levels in Europe roughly in half ’over the next four years’ while keeping in place forces vital to U.S. security interests or forces that Europe cannot reasonably replace in that time. The best window for Europe to take on a greater share of the burden for its defense is now - not in five or ten years when political will may have faded or an emergency elsewhere forces a sudden U.S. withdrawal. Competition with China and the emergence of other global powers have altered the United States’ strategic reality. Washington can no longer maintain the global military primacy it enjoyed after the end of the Cold War. To avoid overstretching, the United States must allocate its assets prudently - which means withdrawing from or downsizing in some parts of the world. Not to do so would drain the country’s resources, worsening a domestic fiscal crisis and killing any hope of retaining the global military lead that the United States still enjoys. The reality is that U.S. troop deployments in Europe are larger than necessary to defend core U.S. interests on the continent, so they will remain near the top of the list of cuts. This is because ’many U.S. forces in Europe are unneeded given the current threat level” and becoming redundant as Europe’s military might grows. Russia’s long-range nuclear weapons and advanced cyber-capabilities put the United States at risk, as do Russian covert agents who spy, disrupt civil society, and have assassinated private citizens. Russian tanks and artillery, however, do not. Concentrating U.S. resources on nuclear, cyber, and gray-zone defense while leaving land defense largely to European allies will be a more sustainable division of responsibilities as Washington pares down its commitments. The war in Ukraine is often cited as a reason to keep U.S. forces at current levels. But with the Russian army dug in in Ukraine, the Kremlin cannot seriously contemplate a conventional attack on a NATO country for at least the next few years. Some U.S. forces in Europe are essential to protect the East Coast of the United States from a Russian sea-based attack from the North Atlantic, particularly through the ocean gaps between Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom. Other U.S. conventional weapons stationed on the continent, such as the Rivet Joint, Global Hawk, and P-8 reconnaissance aircraft, collect crucial intelligence. To remove such capabilities would be unwise. U.S. naval forces in Europe offer a suite of weapons used for different tasks, some of which they must continue to perform ’in Europe’ for the foreseeable future. One cannot remove a destroyer’s Tomahawk missiles, whose land-attack function Europe can be expected to replace, without removing its Aegis radars, which are a cornerstone of ’Europe’s’ missile defense network. Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines, a key component of the U.S. nuclear triad, require access to certain naval bases in Europe. The use of the base in Rota, Spain is also important for the U.S. Navy’s logistics network and power projection to other regions of the world. Responsibly managing a drawdown while keeping many essential capabilities in position is not abandoning Europe. The drawdown itself should be predictable and focused, proceeding in phases and targeting primarily land power and, to a lesser extent, air power. Early in the war - Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine - U.S. force levels peaked above 100,000—a huge increase from the approximately 60,000 troops stationed on the continent before 2022. These have since been reduced to around 80,000. Three years later, it’s clear the threat of an imminent Russian attack is minimal. The Trump administration should therefore announce plans to begin an immediate withdrawal of these forces, to be completed by the end of 2026. The squadron of U.S. F-35s that is expected to begin operations this fall should join the first round of removals - Europe already has plenty of fighter aircraft of its own. The Trump administration should therefore lay out a broader drawdown of U.S. conventional forces with a deadline of January 2029, cutting them to roughly half of today’s levels and rebalancing them to include primarily naval forces, a smaller proportion of air power, and a limited number of ground forces. To achieve this force mix, the United States should remove the armored brigade combat team that has been rotating through eastern Europe since 2017, the European combat aviation brigade and artillery capabilities that have been deployed since 2018, and most short-range air defense units. European armies can take over the deterrent function if properly trained and equipped. Two of the six Arleigh Burke destroyers that the U.S. Navy has sent to Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine should be redeployed to the Indo-Pacific, where the need is greater. Most U.S. fighter aircraft, such as F-35s and F-16s, currently in Europe for deterrent purposes can be removed as well, given Europe’s large and growing stock of high-end aircraft. As U.S. forces are reduced, staff at U.S. headquarters across Europe can also be downsized. The Trump administration should also discuss with Europe’s strongest military powers the possibility of naming a European official as Supreme Allied Commander Europe - NATO’s top command post. This high-visibility position has traditionally been held by the commander of U.S. forces in Europe. This responsibility would accelerate the transition to European leadership of European defense. A drawdown would leave a meaningful backstop of U.S. forces in Europe, including two army brigades, support aircraft, and most naval forces. ’U.S. command and control, special forces, space forces, theater ballistic missile defense, and other elements that only the U.S. military can provide would stay in place’. Remaining forces would preserve vital U.S. interests: protecting the U.S. East Coast, maintaining nuclear deterrence, and supporting the country’s world-class collection of intelligence. Washington could pursue additional drawdowns in the 2030s - or, if changing security conditions make it necessary, send some forces back. Europe’s current military weaknesses are easily exaggerated, as is Russia’s current conventional threat to NATO. ’The members of the European Union alone already have 1.3 million soldiers under arms, roughly the same number as the United States has and slightly more than Russia’s 1.1 million’. European forces would be fighting defense ’should Russia attack’, they would not need as many forces as the aggressor to maintain an advantage. European NATO allies already deploy large units to the Baltics, including German soldiers permanently stationed in Lithuania. European combat airpower is highly advanced and could badly weaken Russian forces ’attempting to invade a Baltic country or Finland’. Russia, meanwhile, has proved less capable than once feared. Some specific U.S. ground systems will be difficult to replace. Long-range artillery and air defenses, for example, are expensive, in high demand, and hard to produce. But ’Europe’s procurement funds are growing by tens of billions of euros annually’, which should make buying and deploying many of these systems possible within the next few years. Europe can also strengthen its arsenal by increasing its drone warfare capabilities. Outlining its withdrawal plans will simplify Europe’s defense calculus, help Europe think practically about its procurement goals. ’For the next few years, Europe will still need to buy a great deal from the United States’. The State Department should prioritize Europe as it approves ’sales of the systems the United States is withdrawing’. The Defense Department and the White House should work with U.S. defense firms to overcome their resistance to making the technology transfers necessary to help European industry fill gaps quickly. The era in which the United States enjoyed wide latitude to project military power all over the world is long over, and Washington cannot delay making adjustments to avoid a cycle of overspending and relative decline. The United States needs bold action now to sustain the momentum already underway to realize a credible European self-defense, for its own sake and for Europe’s. European leaders are recognizing the real risk that the United States might not come to the defense of their continent. It is their moral and political responsibility to ensure they can protect their populations by strengthening their own defenses. And this is their opportunity to build a more self-reliant, more confident, and more capable Europe. The danger now is that Europe will lose its momentum of self-defense  - and that the United States, by delaying an expected drawdown of forces from the continent, will let it. Hesitating would undermine Europe’s progress and risk locking in a suboptimal security structure for years to come. (Source: Foreign Affairs - U.S.)
by Chivvis, Director of the American Statecraft Program and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

.5 7 23 12:26

.

Europe

Poland
Tuesday 22 July 2025  Poland prepares 40-page manual titled Safety guide ‘to coping in case of war' or natural disaster, an interior ministry official says. ’Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has repeatedly warned that the threat of a global war is serious and real’. Russia has repeatedly denied that it engages in sabotage or cyberattacks on other countries and says it has no intention of starting a war with NATO. The booklet will be released online in September in Polish. Ministry plans to deliver printed copies to all 14 million households in Poland. (Source: The Independent – United Kingdom)

European Commission
July 22, 2025  The European Union’s first-ever commissioner for defense and space has issued a stark warning: the world’s most dangerous moment could arrive as soon as 2027, 'when Russia and China may coordinate aggressive moves designed to overwhelm Western defenses'. Kubilius ’echoed’ recent remarks by U.S. Air Force Gen. Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander for air operations. Grynkewich had warned last week that the United States and its European allies must be prepared to fight two wars simultaneously, should Russian President Putin escalate in Ukraine or Eastern Europe, and in the Pacific if Chinese President Xi launches an invasion of Taiwan. ’We’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that,’ Grynkewich said. Later yesterday evening, Kubilius said the U.S. has the right and reason to turn its focus to China, to start to shift more and more toward the Indo-Pacific. Former Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Davidson testified before Congress in 2021 that China could attempt to forcibly reunify with Taiwan by 2027. Kubilius traveled to Washington to assess potential shortfalls in European defense capabilities as the U.S. increasingly pivots its strategic attention toward the Indo-Pacific. He said EU member states are actively preparing for a shift in the American military posture on the continent. As of 2025, more than 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe – a presence widely expected to decline „in the coming years’. ’We don't know what Americans will decide’ Kubilius said. He noted that the EU has reduced its reliance on U.S.-made weapons from 60% of total imports to 40%, and hopes to lower that dependency further through increased domestic production. Kubilius ’underscored the critical importance of maintaining unwavering support’ for Ukraine’s defense against Russia. President Trump announced that the United States would offer advanced weapons systems to Ukraine – ’on the condition that European partners cover the cost’. ’We're going to be sending Patriots to NATO and then NATO will distribute that,’ Trump said last week. As defense commissioner, Kubilius is tasked with ’implementing an ’$840 billion framework to ’Re-Arm Europe,’ including a €150 billion loan’ facility available to member states for building out their armed forces and industrial capacities. (Source: Fox News - U.S.)

July 22, 2025 6:00 am CET  Here are the winners and losers from EU’s retaliation plan against US tariffs. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

Moldova
Tuesday 22 July 2025  Plahotniuc, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in a $1 billion bank fraud and other illicit schemes was detained today in Greece. He fled Moldova in 2019 as he faced a series of corruption charges including allegations of complicity in a scheme that led to $1 billion disappearing from a Moldovan bank in 2014, which at the time was equivalent to about an eighth of Moldova’s annual GDP. Plahotniuc has denied any wrongdoing. He fled to the U.S. from Moldova in June 2019 after failing to form a government with his Democratic Party. The U.S. declared him persona non grata in 2020 and his whereabouts were unknown for years. His assets were frozen in the U.K. and its overseas territories. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

Ukraine
July 22, 2025 - 11:15:21  Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months. A drone struck the entrance to a subway station in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district. The heaviest strikes hit the city's Darnytskyi district. The overnight Russian barrage of Kyiv began shortly after midnight and continued until around 6 a.m. It was the first major attack on Kyiv since Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Kellogg, arrived in the city last Monday. Russia halted strikes during his visit. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its attack used drones and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. It said the barrage successfully targeted airfield infrastructure and Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. The Ministry said its forces shot down 74 Ukrainian drones overnight. Twenty-three drones were shot down in the Moscow region, 15 of which were intercepted over the city itself. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 426 Shahed and decoy drones overnight and on Monday, as well as 24 missiles of various types. It said 200 drones were intercepted with 203 more jammed or lost from radars. In a video address, Zelenskyy said another round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations was planned for tomorrow. He discussed the preparations with Umerov, who led the Ukrainian team in the previous two rounds. French Foreign Minister Barrot arrived in Kyiv yesterday for talks with Zelenskyy. They spoke about expanding defense cooperation, including a decision by French companies to start manufacturing drones in Ukraine. ’Britain and Germany chaired a virtual meeting yesterday to discuss US President Trump’s plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons’. ’Trump’s arms plan, announced a week ago, involves European nations sending American weapons, including Patriot air defense missile systems, to Ukraine via NATO - either from existing stockpiles or buying and donating new ones’. The so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting was led by British Defense Secretary Healey and his German counterpart Pistorius. It was attended by US Defense Secretary Hegseth, NATO leader Rutte and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Grynkewich. Ukraine waits for Patriots. Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Shmyhal, who until recently served as prime minister, urged allies to speed up deliveries of American air defense systems. Patriot systems could come ’thanks to Switzerland’, whose defense ministry said Thursday it was informed by the US Defense Department that it will reprioritize the delivery of five previously ordered systems to support Ukraine. European Commissioner for Defense and Space Kubilius visited Washington yesterday ahead of talks with US officials about European defense and support for Ukraine. He welcomed Trump taking a harder line on Putin. If you combine American economic power and European economic power we are something like 20 times Russia’s power, he said. ’We need political will.’ A senior NATO official said the alliance is still coordinating the delivery of other military aid - such as ammunition and artillery rounds - which includes aid from the US that was briefly paused. Germany has said it offered to finance two new Patriot systems for Ukraine and raised the possibility of supplying systems it already owns and having them replaced by the US. But delivery could take time, German Chancellor Merz suggested - it is a question of days, perhaps weeks. (Source: The Korea Herald - South Korea / AP - U.S.)

United Kingdom
22.07.2025  The British government has agreed to a final investment decision to give the Sizewell C nuclear plant the go-ahead. The government has approved a multibillion-pound deal for Sizewell C, which will provide clean, homegrown power to the equivalent of six million homes. The cost of construction is around £38 billion (some $51 billion), which Canadian pension fund La Caisse, UK energy firm Centrica, and Amber Infrastructure will jointly fund. The government - the single largest equity shareholder in the project - will take an initial 44.9% stake; La Caisse will have 20%, Centrica 15%, and Amber Infrastructure an initial 7.6%. French energy giant EDF is taking a 12.5% stake in the project. as well as a proposed £5 billion ($6.7 billion) debt guarantee from France’s export credit agency, Bpifrance Assurance Export, to back the company’s commercial bank loans. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Europe
22.07.2025  No justification remains for Israeli military operations in Gaza, French foreign minister Barrot told the broadcaster France Inter. He warns against worsening 'already catastrophic situation.'    German Development Minister Alabali Radovan criticized her government today for not signing a declaration by more than two dozen countries that demands an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. 'I would have liked Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners. What is happening in Gaza right now is incomprehensible. Innocent children are dying. People are starving,' Alabali Radovan told the Rheinische Post newspaper.    Israel 'must stop killing people at distribution points,' says European Commission foreign policy chief Kallas.    British foreign secretary Lammy warned today that if a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is not reached soon, further action against Israel could be taken. He recalled that in response to Israeli practices, the UK sanctioned Israeli ministers, halted free trade talks with Israel and suspended some arms export licenses. His remarks came after more than two dozen countries, including the UK, Australia, and Japan, as well as the EU, condemned Israel's inhumane killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip yesterday and demanded that the war in the besieged enclave end immediately. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

Japan
22.07.2025  European Council President Costa and European Commission President der Leyen today reached Japan for a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba tomorrow. They began their trip to Japan by visiting World Expo 2025 in Osaka. Costa and von der Leyen are scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi in Beijing on Thursday. In 2024, the total trade in goods between the EU and Japan reached €130.7 billion (around $137.9 billion). (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Southeast Asia
Jul 22, 2025  China is set to expand its influence over Southeast Asia's development as the administration of U.S. President Trump and other Western donors slash aid, a study by an Australian think tank, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said Sunday. Total official development finance to Southeast Asia - including grants, low-rate loans and other loans - grew modestly to $29 billion in 2023, the annual report said. Based on recent announcements, overall official development finance to Southeast Asia will fall by more than $2 billion by 2026, the study projected. Trump has halted about $60 billion in development assistance - most of the United States' overseas aid program. Seven European countries - including France and Germany - and the European Union have announced $17.2 billion in aid cuts to be implemented between 2025 and 2029. The United Kingdom has said it is reducing annual aid by $7.6 billion, redirecting government money toward defense. Poorer countries such as East Timor, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are being left behind and social sector priorities such as health, education, and civil society support that rely on bilateral aid funding are likely to lose out the most. A deepening divide could undermine long-term stability, equity and resilience, it warned. Across most of Southeast Asia, around 86 million people still live on less than $3.65 a day. China's relative importance as a development actor in the region will rise as Western development support recedes. Beijing's development finance to the region rose by $1.6 billion to $4.9 billion in 2023 - mostly through big infrastructure projects such as rail links in Indonesia and Malaysia. China's infrastructure commitments to Southeast Asia surged fourfold to almost $10 billion, largely due to the revival of the Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port project in Myanmar. By contrast, Western alternative infrastructure projects had failed to materialize in recent years. "Similarly, Western promises to support the region's clean energy transition have yet to translate into more projects on the ground - of global concern given coal-dependent Southeast Asia is a major source of rapidly growing carbon emissions.’ (Source: Japan Times / AFP - France; -JIJI - Japan)

North America

United States
July 22, 2025  Speaker Johnson said he would shut the House down early for the summer tomorrow to head off Democrats’ calls for votes for greater transparency into the investigation of Epstein, the sex offender and former friend of President Trump.    The U.S. says it will withdraw from UNESCO, again. The move reflects Mr. Trump’s deep mistrust and distaste of multilateralism and international institutions. (Source: The New York Times - U.S.)

(22 July 2025)  United States President Trump will impose 100% tariffs on countries such as India, China and Brazil if they continue to buy oil from Russia amid the war in Ukraine, Republican Senator Graham said on Sunday in an interview with Fox News. The three countries will have to choose between the American economy and helping Russian President, he said. ‘We’ll crush your economy’, US senator Graham warns: If [India, China and Brazil] keep buying cheap Russian oil…’we are going to tear the hell out of you and crush your economy.’ India and China are among the countries whose imports of cheaper fuel from Russia have increased since 2022. ’On July 16, North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief Rutte also warned that secondary sanctions could hit India, China and Brazil’ if they continue to trade with Russia. NATO is a military alliance of 32 countries, including the United States and several members of the European Union. (Source: Scroll – India)

.5 7 22 21:58

.

Europe

Hungary
21.07.2025  Hungary and Serbia will jointly build a new oil pipeline aimed at safeguarding affordable energy supplies amid ongoing EU efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó announced today. The pipeline, with an expected annual capacity of 4-5 million tons, is planned to become operational by 2027. Hungary will construct 180 kilometers of the new infrastructure as part of the project. 'Brussels wants to cut us off from Russian oil and gas, forcing Hungarian families to pay two to four times more. We won’t allow that,” Szijjártó told in Budapest. “We are building new sources, not shutting them down.” According to the minister, the pipeline will help protect Hungary’s long-standing utility cost reduction program and shield families from energy price hikes driven by EU policies. Budapest has repeatedly warned that ending access to Russian energy would harm its economy and raise household costs, as over 80% of Hungary’s oil imports currently flow through the Druzhba pipeline. In 2023, Hungary and Serbia also launched joint investments in gas infrastructure, including a new interconnector aimed at enhancing regional energy security. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Belgium
Monday, 21 July 2025  King Philippe of Belgium has called the humanitarian situation in Gaza 'a disgrace to humanity,” although he did not specifically mention Israel. “I join everyone who denounces the serious humanitarian abuses in Gaza, where innocent civilians, trapped in their enclave, are starving and succumbing to bombs,' the King said in his annual speech ahead of Belgium’s national day. He also called for an immediate end to the 'unbearable crisis.' King Philippe spoke of a meeting he had with a Palestinian and an Israeli father who had both lost a child. He said, “They have put aside their feelings of revenge and chosen to transform their suffering into a message of peace.” The Flemish Forum of Jewish Organisations had criticism about the speech. They do not understand why King Philippe did not also mention the terrorist attack of October 2023 and the hostages who are still held in Gaza. (Source: Royal Central - United Kingdom)

Poland
21.07.2025  The largest conventional oil field in Poland has been discovered in the Baltic Sea, six kilometers from the northwestern Polish port of Swinoujscie, the Canadian firm Central European Petroleum announced today. The Wolin East field is estimated to contain 22 million tons of recoverable hydrocarbons and 5 billion cubic meters of commercial-grade natural gas. Central European Petroleum described it as one of the biggest in Europe. Natural gas deposits within the Wolin concession could be equivalent to more than 300 million barrels of oil. Drilling is being carried out by the US firm Noble Corporation, while Zenith Energy, a well engineering consultancy and project management company, announced earlier this year that the Wolin East 1 well had been successfully delivered to Central European Petroleum. The country imports much of its gas as liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and the US via new terminals in Gdansk and Swinoujscie, as well as natural gas delivered via pipeline from Norway. This Baltic Sea discovery is expected to reduce Poland’s reliance on foreign energy resources and could also affect the nearby German energy market. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Romania
July 21, 2025  Romania has signed a framework agreement to buy Israeli-made Shorad-Vshorad anti-aircraft systems for $2.3 bln the Romanian defence ministry said today. The framework agreement with the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems - maker with U.S. backing of Israel’s Iron Dome defence system - provides for the signing of three further contracts, through which six integrated anti-aircraft systems will be acquired. The contracts will also cover training, ammunition and logistical support. The framework agreement will run for seven years, with the first two Vshorad systems to be delivered within three years of the signing of the first of the three further contracts, the ministry said. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

Russia
21 July 2025  In Finland, CheckFirst researchers work to combat online disinformation. They tracked down several versions of the highly secretive Russian signals intelligence (SIGINT) unit Center 16 challenge coins issued by the Russian government, found on a variety of publicly available websites, as well as on the websites of Russian challenge coin manufacturers, such as GosZnak, SpetsZnak, or Breget. Based on this OSINT methodology, CheckFirst researchers were able to identify 10 distinct directorates within Center 16, which specialize on various aspects of defensive and offensive cyber espionage. Previously only a single Center 16 directorate had been identified in the unclassified domain. By examining geographic indicators found on several of challenge coins, such as maps or coordinates, CheckFirst researchers were able to partly map out the geographic structure of Center 16, locating nearly a dozen interception facilities throughout Russia. (Source: intelNews – U.S.)
by  Fitsanakis
The report

Ukraine
July 21, 2025, Monday // 08:54  Aerial assault began around 11:40 p.m. on July 20, when air defense systems were activated in Kyiv Oblast. By 12:24 a.m. on July 21, authorities issued a countrywide air-raid warning as the threat of missiles extended to all of Ukraine. A second national alert followed at 3 a.m. as Russian MiG-31K aircraft, capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, were detected in the air. The Ukrainian Air Force also confirmed launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea and reported that Tu-95 strategic bombers had taken off from Russia's Murmansk Oblast. Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., Russia carried out a massive combined aerial assault on Kyiv and other regions across Ukraine, deploying attack drones alongside cruise and ballistic missiles. The overnight strikes triggered widespread damage. Fires were recorded in four city districts: Darnytskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Dniprovskyi, and Solomianskyi. In the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, Russia used multiple types of missiles and Shahed drones, damaging civilian infrastructure across at least three villages within the Ivano-Frankivsk hromada. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Russian forces struck several communities in the Nikopol district - Nikopol, Marhanets, and Chervonohryhorivka hromadas - using FPV drones and artillery. The strikes damaged infrastructure. Another drone strike hit the Mezhova hromada in Synelnykove district, again targeting infrastructure. Ukrainian air defenses shot down seven Russian drones over the region. This renewed wave of strikes adds to the recent pattern of Russian attacks targeting cities far from the frontline. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

Asia

Gaza
July 21 2025 08:33:17  Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of Palestinians trying to collect humanitarian aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory on Sunday. The U.N. World Food Programme said its 25-truck convoy carrying food aid "encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire' near Gaza City, soon after it crossed from Israel and cleared checkpoints. Eighty were killed as truckloads of aid arrived in the north. Nine others were reported shot near an aid point close to Rafah in the south, where dozens of people lost their lives just 24 hours earlier. Four were killed near another aid site in Khan Yunis, also in the south. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (U.N. OCHA) agency, 87.8 percent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within Israeli militarized zones, leaving "2.1 million civilians squeezed into a fragmented 12 per cent of the Strip, where essential services have collapsed." Israel yesterday withdrew the residency permit of head of the OCHA office in Israel, Whittall, who has repeatedly condemned the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Saar, in a post to X, accused him of spreading lies about the war in Gaza. (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)

Iran
Jul 21, 2025  Even moderates in Tehran have stopped trusting Western promises. In the contemporary era, there have been at least four major betrayals by the United States that continue to underscore Iran’s fear of foreign duplicity. So, what should the West expect now? It doesn’t matter who rules Iran. The leadership - regardless of name or face, whether wearing a crown, a turban, or a tie - shares a foundational belief: the West cannot be trusted to keep its word, honor its deals, or respect Iranian sovereignty. This doesn’t mean Iran is inflexible or incapable of negotiation. But its starting point is not trust, it’s caution. (Source: Responsible Statecraft - U.S. )
by Khatami, a member of the National Committee of Etehad-e Mellat, a leading reformist party in Iran, where he chairs its Foreign Policy Committee. He holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Tehran and focuses on U.S.–Iran relations. He has written in Persian and co-authored three books on regional politics.

Japan
July 21, 2025 - 10:08:11  Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition failed today to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, NHK public television said. The loss is another blow to Ishiba’s coalition - Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito - making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan’s political instability. Soaring prices, lagging incomes and burdensome social security payments are the top issues for frustrated, cash-strapped voters. Stricter measures targeting foreign residents and visitors also emerged as a key issue, with a surging right-wing populist party leading the campaign. US President Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of US autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25 percent tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. It was the first time the LDP has lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party’s foundation in 1955. (Source: The Korea Herald - South Korea)

Syria
Monday), July 21 2025 08:45:19  Calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave an updated toll late Sunday of 1,120 killed since the violence erupted a week ago, including 427 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the minority group, as well as 354 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin. The Observatory had said Druze fighters retook control of the city on Saturday evening. Residents of Sweida city number at about 150,000. Government security forces had blocked roads leading to the province in order to prevent tribal fighters from going there. The United Nations migration agency said more than 128,000 people in Sweida province have been displaced by the violence. Israel had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier in the week. (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)

North America

United States
Mon, July 21, 2025  Deep-sea mining. The leader of one of the most aggressive seabed mining startups spent years invoking global warming to spark interest in extracting avocado-sized rocks rich in electric-vehicle battery metals from the bottom of the ocean. We want to help the world transition away from fossil fuels with the smallest possible climate change and environmental impact, Barron, the Australian chief executive officer of a company then known as DeepGreen, told a 2019 meeting of the United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA), which for a decade has been debating regulations to allow the mining of untouched, biodiverse deep-sea ecosystems in global waters. More than a thousand miles southwest of Mexico on a September morning in 2022, a yellow, 80-metric-ton machine slowly rumbled across the seabed on tank-like treads, a plume of sediment billowing behind. During a two-month test for Barron’s firm, renamed as The Metals Company (TMC), the 38-foot-long prototype vacuumed up 3,000 metric tons of nodules, sending them through a tube to a specialized surface vessel called the Hidden Gem. TMC hailed the trial as a success. Allseas, a Dutch-owned, Swiss-registered offshore engineering and construction company, developed the technology, the world’s only working prototype of a nodule mining system. The company supplies the apparatus to TMC and is its second-largest shareholder. To meet TMC’s production targets, it must now build a much bigger version capable of harvesting nodules nearly around the clock under crushing pressure far from shore. TMC would help ensure the nation's energy security and industrial competitiveness for generations, Barron said before a congressional committee in Washington, DC., earlier this year. TMC had successfully tapped into the US president’s pursuit of China-free metals, expressed as a desire for dominion over Canada and Greenland. The global seabed, TMC repeatedly emphasized as it lobbied politicians and the White House, holds the planet’s largest estimated reserves of minerals like cobalt and nickel in the form of black rocks called polymetallic nodules. These cover the Pacific Ocean floor by the billions. Trump cleared the way for a race to the abyss to extract nodules, even though seabed mining technology remains under development and commercially unproven. In April, President Trump issued an executive order expediting US licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law to unleash what the administration called a ’gold rush’ to ’counter China’s growing influence.’ The country is set to conduct ISA-sanctioned tests of two seabed mining machines in the Pacific over the next year. Within days of Trump's order, Canadian-registered TMC’s US subsidiary filed the world’s first application to mine the seabed in international waters, including an area it licenses from the ISA. An $85 million investment from a leading Korean metals processor soon followed. Nasdaq-listed TMC’s shares, which have periodically languished below a dollar, hit a 52-week high of $8.19 on Thursday. A Silicon Valley startup called Impossible Metals, meanwhile, has applied for a license to explore and possibly mine nodules in US waters off American Samoa, with an aim to raise $1 billion. Then on July 14, a top executive at US defense giant Lockheed Martin told the Financial Times the company is in talks to give seabed miners access to international areas of the Pacific it licenses from the US. At the ISA’s annual meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, delegates today decried Trump’s move, with China’s representative denouncing the US for unilateralist hegemonic acts and attempting to replace the global standards with US standards. China already dominates the critical minerals supply chain on land. 97% of global nickel ore processing capacity lies outside of North America. China processes 74% of the world’s cobalt ore, according to a 2024 report from the Wilson Center. China also maintains more than 80% of the capacity for refining those metals into advanced EV battery materials. Delegates in Kingston ordered a report on ISA-licensed seabed miners at risk of violating their contracts with the body, a thinly veiled reference to TMC and other companies that might also seek to apply for US licenses to mine in international waters. The countries that TMC relies on for seabed mining and processing technology are among the ISA’s 169 member nations (plus the European Union) that oppose unilateral mining in international waters. A Japanese corporation, Pacific Metals Company, that planned to process TMC’s nodules has now told investors that it would only “launch operations once the international rules are finalized.” In a recent investor briefing, Pacific Metals emphasized that when it comes to nodule processing, it considers “international credibility to be a material issue.” All those parties have a legal obligation to ensure that deep sea mining only takes place through the ISA, says Robb, an Amsterdam-based attorney who specializes in ocean litigation. Whether nations would be enabling deep-sea mining through commercial relationships with US-licensed seabed mining companies was the subject of whispered conversations among ISA delegates this month as they continued drafting mining regulations. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea prohibits unilateral mining by any country or corporation. It also requires the ISA to administer the global seabed for the benefit of humanity, with any royalties from mining divided among member states. The US never ratified the treaty, though it had generally adhered to its provisions and still participates in ISA proceedings as an observer. Pressure is growing on member states to not supply technology to seabed mining companies the US licenses, process their nodules or buy metals from them, as the treaty mandates ISA countries treat unilateral mining as illegitimate. Thirty-seven ISA countries support a moratorium on seabed mining until its environmental impacts are better understood. “Product lines derived from ventures that violate international law will carry reputational and legal concerns that increase the risk of the investment and can undermine its return,” ISA Secretary-General Carvalho said. While TMC has told investors it expects to begin mining within a year of receiving a license, the technology to extract minerals from the seabed at depths of four kilometers be years away from being deployed at scale. Its competitiveness with terrestrial mining is unknown, as is the economic viability of processing and refining seabed minerals amid seesawing metal prices and the growing market share of battery technologies not reliant on nodule metals. The US lacks metallurgical capacity to refine nodule minerals. Given the rapid evolution of batteries and other relevant technologies, there is great uncertainty about the future demand for critical minerals, researchers at RAND wrote in a recent report. “A seabed mining industry, as a whole, faces considerable opposition from nations and organizations concerned about the potential negative environmental impacts.” At the ISA, delegates convened behind closed doors on Friday to debate how to respond to TMC’s plans. Barron, who once sat with the delegation of a tiny Pacific island nation that sponsors one of TMC’s ISA contracts, has been absent this year. ’The US has every right to pursue seafloor resources in international waters,’ he wrote Wednesday on X. TMC however, cautioned investors in a May securities filing that a US mining license wouldn’t be recognized internationally, which could affect “logistics, processing, and market access” for the seabed minerals TMC mines. A US seabed mining license would require TMC to deploy American-built and owned vessels. How the companies would comply with that mandate is unclear. Allseas said in a statement that it would take about two years to engineer the technical systems to support full-scale mining but it won’t begin that work “until we are confident that all relevant regulatory conditions are met.” Allseas, which itself owns an ISA-licensed seabed mining company, has come under pressure from Dutch politicians and activists not to provide technology for unilateral mining. In a May 14 securities filing TMC said it’s evaluating U.S.-based vessel options. The US hasn’t built a specialized seabed mining ship like the Hidden Gem. Only eight US ocean-going bulk cargo carriers - large ships that can hold tens of thousands of pounds of nodules and transport them to shore - are in service. Seven of them are at or near the end of their lifespan, according to a 2024 US Maritime Administration report. Impossible Metals uses a nodule collector, called Eureka, that’s designed to hover above the ocean floor, its robotic claws selecting individual nodules that its artificial intelligence program determines aren’t inhabited by marine organisms. Scientists estimate that at least 30% to 40% of deep ocean life in the seabed targeted for mining live on nodules. The company has delayed a planned trial of the Eureka in an ISA-licensed area of the Pacific until at least 2027 because the technology needs further refinement. Impossible Metals’ mining license application is for US waters, not areas controlled by ISA. And any mining wouldn’t happen until at least the early 2030s. In a small lab in Pasadena, California, scientists at an Impossible Metals spinoff called Viridian Biometals are trying getting the metals out of the nodules. Nodule minerals precipitate out of seawater, forming layers around a piece of whale bone, a shark tooth or another small object at the rate of a few millimeters every million years. Nodules contain nickel, cobalt and copper particles scattered throughout every rock, mostly embedded in a matrix of manganese oxide. Viridian scientists are tinkering with rock-breathing microbes that oxidize nodules to extract the most valuable metals. As microbes inside a freezer oxide the manganese bits, they release nickel, cobalt and copper ions into a solution. All this happens at ambient temperature and pressure, which saves an enormous amount of energy and doesn’t produce any toxic waste, says Viridian CEO Macris. “We love what Viridian is doing but we’re just not sure if it will be mature enough when we need it,’ says Impossible Metals’ CEO Gunasekara. TMC has found one overseas metals processor. Last year, Pacific Metals Company of Japan fed a 2,000-ton pile of nodules collected by TMC in 2022 into an electric-arc furnace to produce 500 tons of a material. In February, it was smelted into a nickel-cobalt-copper alloy. In April, Pacific Metals announced it would transition from processing nickel ore to smelting nodules. But it doesn’t expect full production to begin until 2029 at the earliest. TMC has also struck a deal with metals giant Korea Zinc, which is assessing the feasibility of refining nodules into battery materials, a process TMC has so far tested only in the lab. If TMC, Impossible Metals and other companies mine the ocean floor under a US license, then federal law requires the minerals to be processed and refined in America. Aside from Viridian’s early efforts, the US has no such capacity. A single facility in the US capable of processing and refining nodules would cost several billion dollars, and could take up to a decade to reach full production, according to Verbaan, director of metallurgy technical services for Swiss testing and certification company SGS. The US tax and spending bill enacted on July 4 allocates $5.5 billion to the Department of Defense for investments in critical minerals supply chains. (Source: Yahoo / Bloomberg = U.S.)
"1$: 0.8564 euros"

Jul 21, 2025 09:26 IST  "No one is above the law". Obama handcuffed, put in jail: Trump posts AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform, amid poll fraud charge. The video comes after the Trump administration accused Obama of election fraud in 2016, with the US President backing calls for his prosecution. Trump's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Gabbard has accused the former President of attempting to undermine Trump's victory in the 2016 election. Citing declassified documents, Gabbard claimed senior officials during Obama's regime manufactured and politicised alleged intel assessments to show that Trump's win was due to Russian interference. She also called for Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted, which has also been echoed by Trump. (Source: India Today)

NATO

21.07.2025  NATO Secretary General Rutte participated today in an online meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group -  hosted by German Defense Minister Pistorius and UK Defense Secretary Healey - aimed at enhancing support for Ukraine by 'providing additional US assets through investments from allies in Europe and Canada'. NATO will coordinate the initiative through its command in Wiesbaden, Germany, at the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), which manages logistical hubs in the eastern part of the alliance territory. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

.5 7 21 12:41

.

Vatican
20 July 2025, 12:51  Speaking after the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo mourns the three Gazans killed in an attack on the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza city, which he says is just one of the continuous attacks on Gaza’s people and holy sites. The Pope appealed for “an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war' and for “a peaceful resolution of the conflict'. He urged the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, “as well as the prohibition against collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population'. During his phone conversation on Friday with Benjamin Netanyahu, Pope Leo urged a renewed push for an end to the conflict, and lamented the 'agonizing price' being paid by Gaza's civilians. (Source: Vatican News)

.

.

Asia

July 18, 2025 at 16:20 JST  Asian countries are offering to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas in negotiations with the Trump administration as a way to alleviate tensions over U.S. trade deficits and forestall higher tariffs. Vietnam’s government signed a deal in May with an American company to develop a gas import hub. JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, signed new 20-year contracts last month to purchase up to 5.5 million metric tons of U.S. gas annually starting around 2030. Trump discussed cooperation on a $44 billion Alaska LNG project with South Korea, prompting a visit by officials to the site in June. The U.S. president has promoted the project as a way to supply gas from Alaska’s vast North Slope to a liquefication plant at Nikiski in south-central Alaska, with an eye largely on exports to Asian countries while bypassing the Panama Canal. Thailand has offered to commit to a long-term deal for American fuel and shown interest in the same Alaska project to build a nearly 1,300-kilometer pipeline that would funnel gas from. The Philippines is also considering importing gas from Alaska. India is mulling a plan to scrap import taxes on U.S. energy shipments to help narrow its trade surplus with Washington. Japan had agreed to buy more despite being so awash in the fuel that it was being forced to cancel projects and contracts to offload the excess to Asia’s growing economies. Analysts warn that strategy could undermine those countries’ long-term climate ambitions and energy security. Experts say LNG purchasing agreements can slow adoption of renewable energy in Asia. Energy companies that profit from gas or coal are powerful vested interests, swaying policy to favor their business models. The Alaska LNG project is widely considered uneconomic. Both coal and renewable energy in Asia are so much cheaper that U.S. gas would need to cost less than half its current price to compete. Tariffs on Chinese steel could make building gas pipelines and LNG terminals more expensive, while longstanding delays to build new gas turbines mean new gas power projects may not come online until 2032. A global glut in LNG will likely drive prices lower, making it even harder for countries to justify locking into long-term deals with the United States at current higher prices. The world shifts rapidly toward cleaner energy sources like solar or wind. Locking into long-term deals could leave countries with outdated infrastructure. Building pipelines, terminals, and even household gas stoves creates systems that are expensive and difficult to replace. If renewable energy grows fast, reducing the need for LNG, countries may still have to pay for gas they no longer need. Many LNG contracts include “take-or-pay” clauses, obliging governments to pay even if they don’t use the fuel. Pakistan is an example. Soaring LNG costs drove up electricity prices, pushing consumers to install rooftop solar panels. As demand for power drops and gas supply surges, the country is deferring LNG shipments and trying to resell excess fuel. Experts said that although countries are signaling a willingness to import more U.S. LNG, they’re unlikely to import enough to have a meaningful impact on U.S. trade deficits. South Korea would need to import 121 million metric tons of LNG in a year - 50% more than the total amount of LNG the U.S. exported globally last year and triple what South Korea imported. Vietnam - with a trade surplus with the U.S. twice the size of Korea’s - would need to import 181 million metric tons annually, more than double what the U.S. exported last year. A core concern is over the long-term stability of the U.S. as a trading partner, said Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. The U.S. is not a very predictable entity - to rely on energy from there is a very risky proposition, he said. LNG only contributes to energy security when it’s available and affordable. This was the concern during the recent potential disruptions to fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and earlier during the war in Ukraine, when LNG cargoes originally destined for Asia were rerouted to Europe. Despite having contracts, Asian countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were outbid by European buyers. Events in Europe, which can seem very far away, can have an impact on availability and prices in Asia. Asian countries can improve their energy security and make progress toward cutting carbon emissions by building more renewable energy. There is vast room for that given that only about 1% of Southeast Asia’s solar and wind potential is being used. (Source: Asahí Shímbun - Japan / The Associated Press - U.S.)

North America

United States
July 18, 2025  Under Trump, the administration has increasingly moved away from the promotion of democracy and human rights, largely seeing it as interference in another country's affairs. Itt has moved to reshape the State Department's human rights bureau, which it said had become a platform for left-wing activists to wage vendettas against 'anti-woke' leaders. Trump officials have repeatedly weighed in on European politics to denounce what they see as suppression of right-wing leaders, including in Romania, Germany and France, accusing European authorities of censoring views such as criticism of immigration in the name of countering disinformation. Now, US Secretary of State Rubio instructed US diplomats worldwide not to comment on the fairness or integrity of elections conducted by foreign countries, according to an internal note seen by Reuters yesterday. "When it is appropriate to comment on a foreign election, our message should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests," said the cable. A State Department spokesperson said that this approach was consistent with the administration's emphasis on "national sovereignty". (Source: PIME)

18 July 2025  Some Trump supporters have demanded the release of more information on Epstein, causing a rare fracture in his base of support. Trump has pushed back, calling the matter a hoax. Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006. 'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Epstein, I have asked attorney-general Bondi to produce any and all pertinent grand jury testimony, subject to court approval. This scam, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now! Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa / Reuters - United Kingdom)

18.07.2025  Attorney General Bondi in February said during a Fox News interview that the list of Epstein's clients was "sitting on my desk right now to review," a statement at stark odds with the Justice Department's announcement this month that no such document exists. Speculation has mounted that it includes the names of prominent members of the rich and powerful. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier yesterday that a racy letter from Trump is one of dozens of notes included in an album that was created to celebrate Epstein's 50th birthday. The leather-bound memento was compiled by Epstein's long-time aide and convicted child sex trafficker Maxwell in 2003, according to the Journal. It also included letters from former Victoria's Secret CEO Wexner and pro-Israel attorney Dershowitz. The lurid nature of Trump's purported letter is akin to several others in the collection that was reviewed by the Journal. It consists of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman that appears hand-drawn with the name "Donald" written below her waist, "mimicking pubic hair," the newspaper reported. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

.5 7 18 18:09

.

Europe

Germany
17.07.2025  Through a two-year collaboration between Berlin's Health Ministry, the German military, and 12 of the capital's medical facilities, German authorities have developed a comprehensive contingency plan for hospitals in Berlin ’to prepare for potential war scenarios’. The contingency planning addresses several critical scenarios, including ’military attacks on the metropolitan area’, hybrid threats, natural disasters and infrastructure collapse. Key questions addressed in the framework include maintaining critical hospital services during conflicts, distributing patients during emergencies, and ensuring adequate emergency power, medical supplies, and medications. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Commission
17.07.2025  The European Commission today said that it has referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union for refusing to comply with a key EU ruling on investor-state arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
8:29 ET, Jul 17 2025  Soldiers were killed ‘in mass poisoning by laced bottles of water, convulsing and moaning in agony and slipping into unconsciousness as medics scramble to help. Russian war channels suspect it was part of a Ukrainian sabotage operation. At least four soldiers were said to have died in excruciating pain after drinking from bottles labelled "Our Water", allegedly supplied to the front line in a humanitarian consignment. Several others are said to be in critical condition. The deadly incident unfolded in the Panteleimonivka area of Donetsk. The water reportedly came from Simferopol and was distributed under the guise of aid. As poisoned soldiers writhed on one front, an aerial onslaught across Ukraine was striking shopping centres, apartment blocks, and industrial targets. In the town of Dobropillia, a 500kg glide bomb dropped by Russian forces ripped through a busy shopping centre, killing two and wounding at least 25. At least 54 shops and 13 residential buildings were hit. (Source: The U.S. Sun)

Ukraine
July 17, 2025  Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 Ukraine has experienced 2000 total attacks on health care. 285 health workers were killed and 245 health workers injured. 1059 attacks damaged or destroyed hospitals and clinics. The new data is from a coalition of global and Ukrainian organizations. The dataset uses the definitions of attacks on health care as defined by the World Health Organization and used by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition. (Source: Physicians for Human Rights - a New York-based advocacy organization, U.S.)

United Kingdom
17.07.2025  At a ceremony in central London, the UK and Germany today signed a Friendship and Cooperation Treaty aimed at strengthening bilateral ties across defense, foreign policy, economic cooperation, and migration. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

Gaza
17.07.2025  Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today slammed Israel's deadly attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. Two women were killed in the attack. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable, Meloni wrote on X.  (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Central America

Panama
Jul 17, 2025 at 3:21 AM EDT  The United States has trained for the defense of the Panama Canal during a joint exercise with the Central American country amid concerns over China's growing presence in the region. U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division arrived in Panama to advance joint security efforts between the two nations, including site surveys for potential future training locations The exercise, code-named PANAMAX-Alpha Phase I and scheduled from July 13 to 18, The Joint Task Force-Bravo of the U.S. Southern Command deployed three helicopters - two UH-60 Black Hawk and one CH-47 Chinook aircraft - for the exercise, which took place at three air bases in Panama. The Southern Command is one of the Pentagon's combatant commands, responsible for "providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation" within its area of responsibility - a region that includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean. A U.S. naval hospital ship, USNS Comfort, has been conducting a medical mission known as Continuing Promise 2025 iacross Central and South America since May 30. (Source: Newsweek - U.S.)

North America

United States
July 17, 2025, 3:30 PM GMT+2  New U. S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites. The two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to. The assessment was briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials and allied countries in recent days. As early as last fall and into this spring, U.S. Central Command had developed a much more comprehensive plan to strike Iran that would have involved hitting three additional sites in an operation that would have stretched for several weeks instead of a single night. Army Gen. Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, had developed the plan to go all-in on striking Iran. That option was designed to truly decimate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Under the plan, the United States would have hit six sites repeatedly to inflict the kind of damage necessary to completely end the program. The plan would also have involved targeting more of Iran’s air defense and ballistic missile capabilities. Planners projected it could result in a high number of Iranian casualties. U.S. officials expected that if that were to take place, Iran would target American positions, for example in Iraq and Syria. Some Trump administration officials believed a deeper offensive option against Iran was a viable policy. Trump was briefed on the so-called all-in plan, but it was rejected ultimately because it would have required a sustained period of conflict. It was at odds with his foreign policy ’instincts’ to extract the United States from conflicts abroad, not dig deeper into them, as well as the possibility of a high number of casualties on both sides. As more intelligence comes in, the United States could find itself back in a conflict there. Assessments of Iran’s nuclear program after the U.S. strikes are expected to change over time. The U.S. strikes targeted three enrichment sites in Iran: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. U.S. officials ’believe’ the attack on Fordo, which has long been viewed as a critical component of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, was successful in setting back Iranian enrichment capabilities at that site by as much as two years. The United States hit surface targets at Isfahan with Tomahawk missiles and did not drop GBU-57s there, but it did use them at Natanz. In late June CIA Director Ratcliffe said the only metal conversion facility at Natanz, required for nuclear enrichment, was destroyed to the point that it would take years to rebuild. Ratcliffe also said that the intelligence community believes the strikes buried the vast majority of enriched uranium at Isfahan and Fordo and that thus it would be extremely difficult for the Iranians to extract it to resume enrichment. The United States has not seen indications that Iran is trying to dig out the facilities. The official also said Israel believes Iran’s nuclear program has been set back by up to two years. From their point of view, the regime in Tehran now faces a credible threat of more airstrikes if Israel and the United States believe it is trying to revive clandestine nuclear work. Iran’s air defenses have been largely destroyed, making it all but impossible for Iran to defend against further strikes on facilities in the future. Asked late last month whether he would consider bombing Iran again if intelligence reports concluded Iran can enrich uranium at a level that concerns him, Trump said: ’Sure. Without question. Absolutely.’ (Source: NBC News - U.S.)

(Thursday), July 17, 2025  Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It was Epstein’s 50th birthday, and Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Trump. The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy - like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair. The letter concludes: “Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret.” When he turned 50, Epstein was already wealthy from managing Wexner’s fortune and was socializing with Trump, Clinton and other powerful people at his Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach, Fla., home and private Caribbean island. Epstein and Trump spent time together in the 1990s and early 2000s and were photographed at social events, including with Maxwell and Melania. A 1992 tape from the NBC archives shows Trump partying with Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate; Trump is seen pulling a woman toward him and patting her behind. A 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein quoted Trump. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump said. "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it - Jeffrey enjoys his social life.' Trump, along with others including Clinton, also appeared several times on flight logs for Epstein’s private jet. Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006 and he was arrested that year. Trump has said their friendship ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, served time in a Florida jail and registered as a sex offender. In 2019, the FBI confiscated evidence from Epstein’s properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York. When Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he hadn’t talked to Epstein for about 15 years. Epstein died in 2019 in jail after he was arrested a second time and charged with sex trafficking conspiracy. Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein’s sex-trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Allegations that bureaucrats covered up Epstein’s connections with participants in his trafficking scheme were fanned by people now in top roles in the Trump administration, including FBI Director Patel and his deputy, Bongino. in June Musk, amid a public feud with Trump, alleged that the FBI was withholding documents from the Epstein case because Trump was in the files. On July 8, Trump criticized a reporter for asking about Epstein. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?” Trump said. “Do you want to waste the time?” Tuesday evening, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture. “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story,” he said. “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” Earlier Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed some Epstein files were 'made up' by former Presidents Obama and Biden and former FBI Director Comey. (Source: The Wall Street Journal - U.S.)

17 July 2025  The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI published almost 11 hours of footage amid calls for greater transparency regarding the Epstein case, which has been the subject of conspiracy theories for years. It went on to say: "After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019. Epstein was awaiting trial for child sex trafficking charges. Two minutes and 53 seconds of footage showing the outside of Epstein's prison cell before his death appears to have been removed from the video. There are theories that he was killed to keep him from talking. Analysis of the metadata of the video by Wired has revealed that the 'full raw footage' of the evening was edited and saved repeatedly on May 23, 2025. The video has a gap in the footage between 11:58:58pm and 12:00:00am that Attorney General Bondi has attributed to a nightly system reset. The cut to the footage takes place milliseconds before the one-minute nightly reset gap. The video was edited and saved multiple times over a period of more than three and a half hours before it was exported and uploaded to the DoJ's website on July 14. In a memo announcing its publication, the DoJ said that edits had been made to increase the brightness and contrast for greater clarity. (Source: LBC – United Kingdom)

.5 7 17 22:24

Europe

Greece
16 July 2025  Greek PM Mitsotakis ‘sidesteps criminal probe’ in alleged €2.5B farm fraud. Greek farmers announced they would protest against what happened and demanded to receive the funds they claimed they were entitled to. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)

The Netherlands
16th July 2025  Princess Amalia of the Netherlands officially graduated from the University of Amsterdam. The Princess of Orange is graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics from the University of Amsterdam, a three year degree. Her thesis topic: AI law in Europe. It has been a busy few months for the Dutch heir as she completed her degree and carried out royal duties. She is continuing on at UvA for another bachelor’s degree, this time in law. And in addition to her second degree, she will be completing her military reservist training over the next two years at Defensity College. (Source: Royal Central – United Kingdom)

European Commission
July16, 2025  The Commission has proposed a central EU budget of €1.816 trillion for the seven-year period from 2028. It claimed that the budget will amount to €2 trillion because it’s factoring in a rise in inflation. ’The debt repayments will service the EU’s loans on capital markets and will not be spent on priorities such as agriculture or defense. The European Parliament and national capitals must approve the final sum. Many governments are likely to push for a smaller budget, or one with different priorities, than the Commission is proposing. By contrast, much of the Parliament wants the EU to have ’greater firepower’. The overall €1.816 trillion figure is expressed in 2025 prices and compares with a budget of €1.2 trillion between 2021 and 2027, also in current prices.  The Commission would allocate €865 billion to National and Regional Plans, which might include regional policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, which currently make up two-thirds of the EU budget. Farmers’ subsidies and payments to poorer regions will make up a significantly lower share of total spending in the next years to come. The Commission would allocate €410 billion to the European competitiveness Fund, €200 billion to Global Europe, which includes development aid and assistance to neighboring countries, and €292 billion to other programs including nuclear decommissioning and justice and €49 billion for the Erasmus+ study exchange program. Three new taxes are targeting electric waste, tobacco products and companies in the EU to repay the post-Covid debt, which is estimated to cost €25 to €30 billion per year. A carbon border tax and a take share of the revenues generated by the emissions trading scheme (ETS) are expected to add up to €58 billion per year. Der Leyen’s ’big idea’ is to steer funding away from how EU money has traditionally been spent - on agriculture and regional development - toward defense and innovation. The EU’s 27 governments and the Parliament have to unanimously approve the plan. Alongside Germany’s reservations, France is also unwilling to increase its contributions, squeezed as it is by a soaring deficit and ballooning debt. (Source: Politico – U.S.)

European Union
16.07.2025  Farmers protest in Brussels over possible agricultural subsidy cuts in EU budget. Carrying banners reading "Don't abandon agriculture" and waving national and agricultural union flags, around 200 farmers from various EU countries gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels to protest possible cuts to agricultural subsidies in the EU's new long-term budget. The demonstration, organized by farmer unions, took place as the European Commission met to finalize the draft of the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework expected to be unveiled today. Currently, about one-third of the EU budget goes to agricultural subsidies. Farmers worry that in the new budget, the commission may merge key funding streams, potentially leading to reduced support for farming. The protesters marched to the European Commission headquarters. In recent years, farmer protests across Europe have been fueled by environmental regulations, high fuel and fertilizer costs, and competition from cheaper imports, particularly from Ukraine. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Ukraine
16.07.2025  Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal welcomed today the European Commission’s new €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) budget proposal for 2028 - 2034, praising the inclusion of €100 billion for Ukraine’s recovery, resilience and EU membership efforts, highlighting the dedicated 'military support Ukraine would receive through the European Peace Facility'. The plan includes €200 billion for external action, half of which is earmarked for Ukraine. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

Iran
July 16, 2025  A foreign tanker suspected of smuggling two million litres of fuel has been seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian media reported today. Mehr did not provide any further information on the ship such as its owner or nationality. (Source: The National News - United Arab Emirates)

Wednesday 16 Jul 2025  Initial signs that Iran and the US would resume nuclear talks this week have dissipated, raising fears of a re-ignited military conflict. Intentional leaks and rumours are keeping the situation tense. News reports about regional parties concerned about renewed Israeli attacks on Iran, along with resurfacing Iranian threats to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz are keeping everybody on their toes. Yet, as the traditional wisdom goes: there is no endless war and military conflicts usually lead to negotiations towards a political settlement. Some analysts argue that Netanyahu wanted to divert Trump’s attention to other paths in the region that would weaken Iran further before sitting at the negotiating table. Netanyahu is asking for more strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. He is also working on speeding up an agreement with the new Syrian regime. Meanwhile, as Trump pushes for ending war on Gaza, Israel is re-igniting its war on Lebanon. As many in Israel and the West note, Netanyahu needs to keep Israel at war to stay safely in power till October next year, thus avoiding any sentences in the trials he is facing for corruption and other charges. Whether Trump is willing to support Netanyahu in that personal endeavour is not clear. (Source: Al Ahram - Egypt)

Iraq
16.07.2025  Three oil fields in northern Iraq were struck by bomb-laden drones early today, causing significant damage to infrastructure but no casualties, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said. wo explosive drones struck the Peshkhabur oil field between 6.00 am and 6.15 am local time (0300-0315GMT), followed by a third drone hitting the Tawke site around 7.00 am (0400 GMT). (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Indonesia
Wednesday 16 July 2025  US president announces Indonesia to pay 19% tariffs, Jakarta will purchase 50 Boeing jets along with $15bn in US energy products and $4.5bn in agricultural goods as part of new trade deal. Indonesia is not a top US trade partner – just under $40bn in 2024 – trade between the two countries has been growing. US exports to Indonesia grew by 3.7 per cent last year, while imports increased by 4.8 per cent, resulting in a goods trade deficit of nearly $18bn. (Source: The Independent - United kIngdom)

Japan
Jul 15, 2025  Plenty of contentious issues loom ahead of Sunday’s elections in Japan: A shrinking economy, falling real wages and no trade deal to shield against U.S. President Trump’s tariffs. But the narrative has instead been dominated by a fringe group and its chatter about the nation’s growing cohort of foreign residents. Japan’s right-wing fringe is no MAGA or reform movement - Sanseito’s rise shows a protest vote, not a populist wave. A spike in the polls for the right-wing Sanseito has alarmed mainstream parties and shifted the debate to its anti-immigration policies. Leader Sohei denounces globalism and wants fewer overseas workers. The party’s "Japanese First” slogan intentionally riffs on Trump. But what has really captured attention are the opinion surveys for Sunday's Upper House vote, where Sanseito has polled as high as second place. There are areas of concern, from how easy it is for nonresidents to purchase property to overly accommodative scholarship programs, where Japanese might feel hard done by. The electorate is unlikely to put their faith in a party whose leader opposes vaccinations and advances crackpot views such as cancer being invented after World War II or wheat being pushed on Japan by the U.S. to destroy the country’s food culture. Sanseito’s ideas make for good headlines and will no doubt find some backing. But in all likelihood 'it will stay on the fringes, where it belongs'. (Source: The Japan Times)
by Reidy, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas.

Syria
Jul 16, 2025 6:57 PM CET  Israel launched a series of airstrikes on central Damascus early today, targeting what it called key Syrian military infrastructure, including the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and a facility near the presidential palace. 'The IDF will continue to operate forcefully in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until their complete withdrawal,' Israel’s Defense Minister Katz warned before the strikes.  Clashes erupted over the weekend between Druze militias and local Bedouin forces. Almost 250 people have been killed in the violence since Sunday. There are an estimated 700,000 Druze living in Syria, with a further 300,000 in Lebanon and 140,000 in Israel. U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Barrack today called for an immediate ceasefire in Suwayda and urged all parties to de-escalate. (Source: Time - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
22:33 BST, 16 July 2025  The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected major 7.5 magnitude earthquake around 4:30pm ET, hitting in the Pacific Ocean just south of the Alaska Peninsula, near the Shumagin Islands, southeast of Sand Point. Tsunami could hit coastal areas of southwestern Alaska. This region is home to an around 17,000 people who were alert through the sound of blaring sirens blaring. (Source: Daily Mail – United Kingdom)

July 16th, 2025 4:39  Desperate Deep State/MSM pushes Epstein Hoax in attempt to fracture & bring down the Trump Administration. "The Radical Left Democrats have hit pay dirt, again! Just like with the fake and fully discredited Steele Dossier, the lying 51 ‘Intelligence’ Agents, the Laptop from Hell, which the Dems swore had come from Russia (No, it came from Hunter’s bathroom!), and even the Russia, Russia, Russia Scam itself, a totally fake and made up story used in order to hide Crooked Hillary’s big loss in the 2016 Presidential Election, these Scams and Hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at – It’s all they have – They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates. Also, unlike Republicans, they stick together like glue. Their new scam is what we will forever call the Epstein Hoax, and my past supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Epstein Hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter. Make America Great Again!, Trump wrote on Truth Social Today, at 8:43 AM. The message comes after dozens of prominent MAGA political commentators recently spoke out against the Trump DOJ’s botched release of the Epstein files, including an edited video that was supposed to prove Epstein killed himself. Yesterday, President Trump claimed only bad people and fake news care about the deceased pedophile’s child sex trafficking ring. The bad people are pedophiles! The American people want the intelligence agency pedophile blackmail network exposed and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. (Source: Infowars – U.S.)

Globalization

16.07.2025  In the relatively near future, we may have about 15 nuclear powers (instead of 9, as now). However, there is no reason to think that such a development of events will radically change the foundations of international politics or have catastrophic consequences for the world. 'The likely consequences of a clash between India and Pakistan, Iran or Israel will be extremely dramatic for their populations. However, they do not threaten the survival of man as a species and the cessation of civilised life on Earth. Millions, perhaps tens of millions, will die, but the catastrophe will still be comparatively local in nature. And the nuclear superpowers will act as peacekeepers, forcing the conflicting parties to compromise. Such a peace, of course, does not look like the most desirable option for the development of international politics. However, it is precisely this that now seems the most probable and, most likely, the lesser evil compared to the nightmare that a direct clash between Moscow and Washington threatens us with'.  (Source: Valdai Discussion Club - Russia)
by Bordachev.

.

Europe

Germany
15.07.2025 The fact that the Basic Law binds the Federal Republic of Germany to the international community and commits German state authority to international cooperation must also be taken into consideration, the judges said in their ruling. They added: "It is a constitutionally enshrined goal to guarantee the Federal Republic of Germany's capacity to act and form coalitions in the context of foreign policy and to ensure its participation in international cooperation." The judges further claimed that Germany’s capacity to form coalitions is a constitutional interest that must also be taken into account when specifying extraterritorial duties of protection. The case stems from a 2012 US drone attack in the Yemeni village of Khashamer that killed two members of the Jaber family. The family filed a lawsuit against the German government with the Cologne Administrative Court in 2014, demanding Germany stop allowing Ramstein to be used for US drone attacks that violate international law. While the Munster Higher Administrative Court ruled in a 2019 appeal that Germany has a constitutional duty to protect those potentially affected by US drone missions conducted via Ramstein, the Federal Administrative Court overturned this decision in 2020. The Jaber family subsequently filed a constitutional complaint in 2021. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

July 15, 2025  In response to a complaint from two Yemeni nationals, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled today that Germany is not violating international law by allowing the U.S. to partly operate drones from its territory. The complainants argued the German government shared responsibility for attack by hosting infrastructure for the U.S. military and called on Germany to prevent American drone attacks. They also insisted that Germany violated Article 2 of its constitution, which guarantees the inviolable right to life and physical integrity. According to the victims’ lawyers, this constitutional duty of protection also applied to individuals abroad. Judges said that Germany did not bear responsibility for American military action routed through satellite infrastructure based at the Ramstein Air Base, in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany. The trial marked another chapter in a long-running debate about whether Germany is responsible for U.S. military action run from Ramstein. In 2010, Berlin didn't object after the U.S. military informed the German government of its plans to install a satellite relay station on air base grounds in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Even though attack drones are controlled from inside the United States, the command signals are routed through the satellite infrastructure based in Germany. (Source: Politico - based in U.S., owned by a German company)

European Commission
(15 July 2025)  The European Union has finalised a second list of countermeasures to target US goods worth €72 billion, including Boeing aircraft and bourbon if it decides to retaliate as transatlantic trade tensions intensify. The additional duties would also be slapped on machinery products, chemicals and plastics, medical devices, electrical equipment, wines and other agricultural goods, according to a 206-page list prepared by the European Commission. The EU’s new list of targeted US products includes more than €65 billion of industrial goods, including mostly aircraft (nearly €11 billion), machinery (more than €9.4 billion) and cars (nearly €8 billion). More than €6 billion of US goods hit are agrifood products, mostly fruits and vegetables (nearly €2 billion) and alcoholic drinks (€1.2 billion). The broad package also includes precision equipment and instruments (nearly €5 billion), toys and hobby equipment (more than €500 million), sports guns (nearly €300 million) or musical instruments (around €200 million). 'Imported military products will not be subject to the duties.' (Source: Luxembourg Times)

European Parliament
July 15, 2025  Slovakia risks becoming the next Hungary, EU lawmakers 'fear'. Wilmés, the former Belgian prime minister who now chairs the Parliament’s watchdog for rule of law and democracy, led a group to Slovakia from June 1-3. /Photo/ (Source: PoliticoU.S.)

Eurasia

15 July 2025 6:00am BST  Two sworn enemies are now aligned against Moscow. Armenia aligns with Azerbaijan and threaten Russia’s last big card in the Caucasus. The collapse of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan began with the arrest of seven nationals from the former Soviet republic last month in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. They were held as part of an investigation by Moscow into mafia-style killings dating back 25 years. Within days, two suspects – both ethnic Azerbaijanis – died in custody. Others appeared in court visibly bruised and beaten. The Azerbaijani authorities are using the situation to bolster their position at home and abroad by escalating tensions with Moscow. In Azerbaijan Russian cultural events were cancelled, the Baku bureau of the Kremlin-owned Sputnik news agency was raided, a group of Russian IT workers was arrested and accused of drug-trafficking and cybercrime. Then came the threat, on Russian state TV, that Baku could be taken in three days, echoing rhetoric used before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The shift was underlined by a publicised call between Mr Aliyev and Zelensky, in which they discussed forming closer ties. Armenia, after fighting a series of brutal wars with Azerbaijan over 30 years, is aligning with its old enemy ’to push Putin out of the South Caucasus’. On July 10, Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, met Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia. Their direct talks focused on the Zangezur Corridor, a proposed route linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave via southern Armenia. The corridor would fulfil a pan-Turkic dream of physically connecting Azerbaijan with Turkey and would form part of the “Middle Corridor” trade route from China and Central Asia to Europe. Under the 2020 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the route was to be monitored by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). It allows Russia to control trade routes and leverage relationships with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now Mr Aliyev is wanting to cut Moscow out of the deal and have it fully under Azerbaijani control. The fallout threatens Russia’s prized North-South Corridor – a trade route linking Moscow to Iran and India that runs through Azerbaijan. Losing access to the corridor could deliver a real economic blow, especially as Russia seeks ways to get around Western sanctions. Mr Pashinyan visited Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, in Istanbul last month, to discuss the Zangezur Corridor. Armenia and Turkey have no formal diplomatic ties. Mr Pashinyan has one of the lowest approval ratings of any leader in the world. Like Azerbaijan’s, Armenia’s ties with Moscow have frayed – especially since 2023, when Russian peacekeepers largely stood aside during Baku’s lightning offensive to retake the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Nearly the entire Armenian population fled, and Azerbaijan was accused of ethnic cleansing. Since then Mr Pashinyan has leaned towards the West and sought reconciliation with Baku, believing that Armenia’s long-term future is threatened if it maintains hostile relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The West has floated the idea of putting the route under neutral international control, such as a Swiss or American firm, effectively excluding Russia altogether. The Kremlin, meanwhile, is trying to reframe the standoff as a Western plot. “The scriptwriter and conductor of disagreements with Azerbaijan is located outside the post-Soviet space,” said Karasin, chairman of Russia’s international affairs committee. Dzhabarov, a Russian senator and former KGB officer, went further by accusing MI6 and Turkey of stirring unrest. For now, Russia will continue blaming the West while working behind the scenes to try to salvage its relationships. (Source: The Telegraph – United Kingdom)

Asia

Israel
7:07 PM CEST, July 15, 2025  An Israeli ultra-Orthodox party that has been a key governing partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early today it was leaving the coalition government. United Torah Judaism’s two factions said they were leaving the government because of disagreements over a proposed law that would end broad exemptions for religious students from enlistment into the military. The ultra-Orthodox say their men are serving the country by studying sacred Jewish texts and preserving centuries’ old tradition. They fear that mandatory enlistment will dilute adherents’ connection to the faith. But a court last year ruled Netanyahu’s government must enlist the ultra-Orthodox so long as there is no new law codifying the exemptions. Without UTJ, the coalition holds just 61 out of parliament’s 120 seats. Elections are currently scheduled for October 2026. Since the start of the war in Gaza, demand for military manpower has grown and 'hundreds of soldiers have been killed'. (Source: AP - U.S.)

Japan
July 15, 2025  Japanese media revealed on July 6 that Japan plans to transfer its Abukuma-class destroyer escorts - six 30-year-old warships - to the Philippines, potentially marking the first such export in modern Japanese history. (Source: Forecast International’s Defense & Security Monitor - U.S.)

Syria
July 15, 2025 | 11:01  Israel strikes military tanks in Syria, where government forces clash with Druze militias. "We will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria,” Israeli Defence Minister Katz said in a statement. Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. The Druze developed their own militias during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war, during which they sometimes faced attacks by the islamic state group and other militant groups. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions. In May, dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters in the predominantly Druze city of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana. In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Israel was saying it does not want Islamic militants near its borders. Syria's Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people have died and nearly 100 others have been injured, including 14 members of the security forces. (Source: Gulf Today - United Arab Emirates / Associated Press - U.S.)

North America

United States
7/15/2025  Trump admitted during a press conference yesterday that it was his wife who played a key role in pointing out the duplicity of the Russian president. “I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “She said: Really? Another city was just hit.’ He added: “We thought we had a deal numerous times. I get home, I’d say, ‘First Lady, I had the most wonderful talk with Vladimir. I think we’re finished.’ And then I’d turn on the television or she’ll say to me one time, ‘Well that’s strange because they just bombed a nursing home.’’ Melania being the one to help prevent a complete abandonment of Ukraine from this admin is not what I expected but also tracks exactly with how Trump makes decisions, quipped an user, referring to an oft-cited adage on social media that Trump tends ’to parrot’ the opinions of the last person who spoke to him. Following the latest setback with Putin, Trump reportedly asked Zelensky if his country’s military was able to hit Moscow and St. Petersburg with missiles in order to make Russia feel the pain. The president also threatened Russia with severe tariffs if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days. (Source: MSN / The Daily Beast = U.S.)

15 July 2025  Weapons for some, tariffs for others. As part of a multi-billion-dollar agreement ’between NATO and the United States’, Ukraine is set to receive a large amount of American military equipment paid for by several European countries in the Atlantic alliance. The US President has also announced the introduction of 100 percent tariffs against Russia's economic partners if a peace agreement is not reached within 50 days. However, with 50 days to prepare for sanctions, some believe that the Kremlin is getting off lightly. Others question whether such tariffs can even be enforced: they would inevitably damage diplomatic relations between the United States and countries like China, India and Turkey, which buy their oil from Russia. /Cartoon/ (Source: Voxeurop - headquarters in Paris, France)

July 15, 2025 / 10:36 AM EDT  Trump threatens countries that do business with Russia with 100% tariffs. Here's who it could impact. After Mr. Trump warned of the possible 100% secondary tariffs, Russia's stock market rose 2.7%, and the value of the Russian rouble actually strengthened relative to the dollar. (Source: CBS News - U.S.)

Tuesday 15 July 2025 15:28 BST  'Trump has privately discussed striking Moscow with Zelensky', as he considers whether to send long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, according to reports. In a recent phone call, Mr Trump asked him why he had not struck Moscow to ramp up the pressure on the Kremlin. 'We can, if you give us the weapons,' Mr Zelensky responded, a source told the The Washington Post. 'The US president has privately encouraged Kyiv to step up strikes deep in Russian territory, the Financial Times reported. He is considering sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, one of the weapons used by the US in its dramatic strikes on Iran last month, according to the Post'. Mr Trump has committed billions of dollars of American weapons to Ukraine, a significant boost to Ukraine’s war effort and the relationship between Kyiv and Washington. The medium-to-long-range cruise missiles could reach Moscow - but they are not currently on the list of supplies the US is due to send. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

8:30 am, July 15, 2025  The U.S. Senate will put off advancing a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia and its trading partners after President Trump signaled that he is prepared to take action unilaterally, Senate Majority Leader Thune said yesterday. The bipartisan sanctions bill, introduced by Republican Senator Graham and Democratic Senator Blumenthal, calls for 500-percent tariffs on imports from countries that purchase Russian oil, natural gas, or uranium - including China, Brazil, and India. The bill has the support of 85 senators. Earlier, Trump delivered his promised statement on Russia, declaring that if no ceasefire agreement is reached in Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose 100-percent tariffs on imports from Russia and its trading partners. He also announced that 'the United States and the European Union had reached an agreement to supply arms to Kyiv, with Europe covering the costs'. (Source: Meduza - based in Riga, Latvia)

.

.

Europe

United Kingdom
16 July 2025  Based in a Brutalist 1960s office block near London’s Waterloo station, Zinc Network has managed to stay largely out of the public eye. In recent years the company has recruited hundreds of internet celebrities for various clients, particularly in central and eastern Europe, a key battleground in the information war with Russia. Young influencers are often grateful for the funding and rarely question who the funder is. They just take money and sell their followership to a paying client. The influencers are instructed to sign non-disclosure agreements prior to being told about Foreign Office involvement. In 2022, Zinc signed a £9,450,000 contract with the Foreign Office, which is due to end in December this year. The documents show that Zinc was contracted to help counter disinformation in 22 countries across Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, and in the Baltics. Influencers’ videos for the Foreign Office are devised with direct input and oversight from Zinc Network staff and ensured that every video “feels authentic', are ultimately sent to government officials for final approval before being posted online. Zinc has also conducted similar projects for other major clients. They include working with USAID in the South Caucasus to 'build a new brand identity' that expresses 'physical and emotional solidarity' with people, in a bid to make them 'more resilient to Russian hostile influence'. The work has included a campaign to mobilise young voters in the 2023 Slovakian elections. That election was ultimately won by Robert Fico’s left-wing nationalist Smer party, which is seen as being pro-Russian and which has been “dependent on older voters” – compared to the younger, pro-Europe Progressive Slovakia party. One former employee said that, by targeting younger voters, Zinc Network’s campaign amounted to 'interference in a sovereign country’s internal affairs'. The source said that the company’s executives “see the world through their British eyes”, adding: 'It looked like dictating the foreign will.' (Source: Declassified UK - United Kingdom)
by Williams, the Declassified UK's chief investigator. His book, ‘Parliament Ltd’, exposed widespread corruption in British politics and sparked multiple inquiries by Westminster authorities.

Asia

Turkey
16 Jul 2025  Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party have been laying down their arms in ceremonies conducted within the framework of Turkish-Kurdish peace negotiations. The PKK members’ symbolic gesture received a very positive response from Ankara. The doors to a great, strong Turkey -  Century of Turkey  -  have been fully opened, Turkish President Erdogan said during a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on 12 July, describing the disarmament ceremony as a victory for Turkey’s 86 million citizens, Turks, Kurds and Arabs. Urging the public to have confidence in the government that is working to secure a better future, he said that “we will facilitate the process with care and urgency, without harming anyone, and closely monitor the laying down of weapons.” Any peace process will have to navigate through obstacles posed by the hardline factions on both sides, whether the Kurdish militants or the far right Turkish ethnonationalists. Clarity in the form of a concrete vision or roadmap so far, remains lacking. (Source: Al Ahram - Egypt)

North America

United States
16 July 2025 - 07:30  US President Trump said yesterday Zelensky should not target Moscow and Russian President Putin should agree to a ceasefire deal by a 50-day deadline or sanctions will kick in. His comments came 'after The Financial Times, citing people briefed on discussions, reported yesterday that Trump had privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russia'. The newspaper said Trump asked Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons. "No, he shouldn't target Moscow," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House when asked if Zelensky should attack the Russian capital. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa)

.5 7 16 13:10

.

Europe

Hungary
14.07.2025  Exploring perceptions of key allies and main threats by region, Hungarians view Ukraine as almost as significant a threat as Russia, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. The survey found that nearly three-quarters of Hungarians lack trust in Zelenskyy. Most Hungarians still see the EU as the country’s main ally with 24%, followed closely by the US at 23%. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Sunday 13 July 2025  In the next few years, if Le Pen’s party wins the French presidency, if Farage or Jenrick become UK prime minister, if Vance takes over from Trump, if those things do happen and all of a sudden you find yourself being governed according to new rules, at least you’ll know where they came from. As part of a comprehensive plan to use executive power to begin to reshape the institutions of America, almost no area of American life was exempt. The blueprint for this radicalism was a 900-page manifesto, Project 2025, produced under the leadership of Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation since December 2021. The Heritage Foundation is possibly the most powerful of the hybrid think-tank/lobby organisations on the political right and disposes of an annual budget of more than $100m (£74m). From the beginning he was in the market for ideas about how to transform American conservatism and America itself. Roberts, like other conservative Americans, found them in a landlocked central European country with a population smaller than that of North Carolina. “Hungary,” said Roberts last November, “is a model for conservative governance.” Conservatives have redefined the political landscape in the US and beyond – but their blueprint was created by thinktanks in Budapest. September 2024: an expatriate British academic, Dr Nicholson, formerly of Cambridge University, is director of research at Hungarian thinktank, the Danube Institute. At the occasion - the fourth Danube Institute and Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit - Lord Frost of Brexit is there, as is former Australian PM, Tony Abbott. Quite a few Americans are also participants. The Danube Institute was founded in 2013 and its president is another Brit – Margaret Thatcher’s former speechwriter O’Sullivan. The man who is really in charge is Orbán, political director for prime minister Viktor Orbán. When Orbán speaks it’s to remind his guests how urgent their work is. “The values that are dear to us – God, nation and family and the way of life we love – could all be thrown away,’ he says. But it needn’t be like this. ’The bitter truth is we American and Hungarian conservatives were the losers of the previous liberal world order. But now this liberal world order has come to an end, the new world order is coming and we need to know what narrative and what actions will help we conservatives to become the winners of this new world order.” That’s the offer: be the winners in the new world order. Just as the “we” here – the populist right –have been the winners in Hungary. And the instruments of spreading the word are not to be door-to-door missionaries, let alone military force, but the soft power wielded by well-funded thinktanks. It’s the seminar, the summit, the residential training course, the fellowships, the podcasts and the glossy publications. That’s the Hungary template. Train up the people who end up in the room where it happens. The template began to be created in 2010 when former liberal Viktor Orbán led his now-conservative Fidesz party to a landslide victory in that year’s election. With the necessary two-thirds majority Orbán changed the constitution to favour his government and then set about taking over the various ’neutral’ institutions of the state and civil society. Punitive sanctions forced media companies to sell up to Orbán’s business allies, an ’independent’ university was in effect closed down, and inconvenient judges were retired. These changes hugely increased the chances of Orbán’s serial re-election but at the expense of allies abroad, and especially in the European Union, who baulked at his slide towards authoritarianism, his closeness to Putin and his extreme anti-migrant stance. In 2024 Orbán’s Fidesz became a founding party of the Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament, alongside Le Pen’s National Rally and Wilders’ Dutch Party for Freedom. But that group wasn’t big enough to save Hungary from financial sanctions imposed by the Euroepean Commission. Hungary needed more allies. The Danube Institute is actually an organ of Orbánism and their main goal is to organise for the international influence of the Orbán government, Zubor, an investigative journalist based in Budapest, tells. The Danube Institute receives money through various government agencies. In the three years up to October 2024 the institute spent more than €1.2m (£1m) on researchers, guest lecturers and writers – many from abroad. The Danube Institute is a project of another foundation, the Batthyány Lajos Foundation, which is funded and run by the Hungarian government. Another big is the Matthias Corvinus Collegium (MCC). The chairman of its board of trustees is Orbán. In November 2022, MCC set up a Brussels office. To head its 20-strong team they appointed the Hungarian-born, British-based academic Furedi, who had undertaken a remarkable migration – through the Brexit party – to the other side of the political spectrum. Among other priorities the collegium in Brussels proselytises for the Patriots group and supports Orbán in his wars against wokeism and migration. Defending Orbán’s action in banning the annual Budapest Pride march, Europe’s objection to the ban, said Furedi, was a form of colonialism. (Source: The Observer – United Kingdom)
by Aaronovitch

Sunday, July 13, 2025  The 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey is a sprawling Benedictine monastery that is one of Hungary’s oldest centers of learning and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was founded in 996, four years before the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary. Among the library’s most outstanding works are 19 codices, including a complete Bible from the 13th century. It also houses several hundred manuscripts predating the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century and tens of thousands of books from the 16th century. It says in the Rule of Saint Benedict that all the property of the monastery should be considered as of the same value as the sacred vessel of the altar. Restoration workers are removing about 100,000 handbound books from their shelves at the Pannonhalma Archabbey’s library in Pannonhalma and carefully placing them in crates, the start of a disinfection process that aims to kill the tiny drugstore beetles, also known as the bread beetles, burrowed into them. They were attracted to the gelatin and starch-based adhesives found in books and have been found in a section of the library housing around a quarter of the abbey’s 400,000 volumes. The crates of books are being placed into tall, hermetically sealed plastic sacks from which all oxygen is removed. After six weeks in the pure nitrogen environment, the abbey hopes all the beetles will be destroyed. Before being reshelved, each book will be individually inspected and vacuumed. Any book damaged by the pests will be set aside for later restoration work. Hajdu, the chief restorer, said higher temperatures have allowed the beetles to undergo several more development cycles annually than they could in cooler weather. He thinks more and more insect infestations will appear due to global warming. (Source: The Washington Times / The Associated Press = U.S.)
by Spike

France
14 July 2025  ‘To be free, you must be feared’; France pumps €6 billion more into military. This was not the first time the President has warned of threats to justify policies. 'France has aligned itself with other European Union nations ramping up defence spending, strengthening military capabilities and preparing for the possibility of future conflict'. France’s defence budget is €50.5 billion currently. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)

Slovakia
14.07.2025  Slovakia link support for new - the 18th - EU sanctions on Russia to gas supply guarantees. The European Commission’s proposed sanctions package would halt all deliveries of Russian gas starting from January 1, 2028, as part of the EU’s response to the Russia-Ukraine war. It includes further trade restrictions, asset freezes, and measures targeting sectors tied to the Kremlin’s war effort. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Parliament
14 July 2025  "We would support second der Leyen no confidence motion, said Vistisen, Danish MEP with the Patriots group. Each political group that defended the European Commission was now expected to demand concessions in exchange for its support, setting the stage for a complex and politically charged budget negotiation. Farmers’ associations have announced renewed protests in Brussels over proposed changes to the Common Agricultural Policy in the upcoming budget. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)

Russia
July 13, 2025  Russia has decimated Ukraine’s M1 Abrams fleet. Despite the Abrams’ key capabilities, the older M1 models delivered to Ukraine have struggled to survive against Russia’s more advanced arsenal of anti-tank weaponry. A staggering 87 percent of Ukraine’s fleet of M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) has been destroyed, captured or lost since the series was first delivered to the frontlines of the ongoing war last year. According to Military Watch Magazine, 27 out of the 31 vehicles delivered to Kyiv are no longer in commission.  (Source: The National Interest -  U.S.)
by  Carlin

Ukraine
14.07.2025  Zelenskyy today said he had proposed First Deputy Prime Minister Svyrydenko to lead the country’s government. Svyrydenko assumed her position as the first deputy prime minister in November 2021. She simultaneously served as the economy minister. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Zelenskyy and Trump discussed replacing Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the US, during their latest phone call earlier this month. The report said PM Shmyhal is among those listed as potential candidates to replace Markarova. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

China
(Sunday), July 14, 2025  Russia's and China's foreign ministers today discussed their relations with the United States and the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Foreign minister Lavrov met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang in Beijing. Lavrov is due to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's foreign ministers in China. The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena, including in the United Nations and its Security Council, the SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC, was emphasized, the ministry said. ’The U.S. casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat’. (Source: Nikkei - Japan) 

Gaza
Sunday, July 13, 2025  Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 30 people today, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war, local health officials said. The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but a technical error made its munitions fall dozens of meters from the target. Separately, an Israeli strike hit a group of citizens walking in the street on Sunday afternoon in central Gaza City, killing 11 people and injuring about 30 others. In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine, including two women and three children. Israel’s military said it hit more than 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it called weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group operates out of populated areas. Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit last week. A new sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops’ deployment during a ceasefire. Israel says it will end the war only once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, about 20 said to be alive, in exchange for an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel’s Energy Minister Cohen told right-wing Channel 14 that his ministry will not help rebuild infrastructure in Gaza. Gaza should remain an island of ruins to the next decades, he said. (Source: The Wshington Times / The Associated Press = U.S.)

Iran
13 July 2025 10:20am BST  Pezeshkian, 70, the Iranian president, was wounded in the leg and forced to escape through emergency hatch during Israeli air strike which struck a Supreme National Security Council meeting in Tehran on June 16. Mr Pezeshkian made claims during a recent interview that Israel had tried to assassinate him. According to Fars, the attack bore similarities to the strike that killed Nasrallah, the long-term leader of Hezbollah, in Beirut. The attack occurred before noon on Monday, June 16, while a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council was being held with the heads of the three branches of government and other senior officials in the lower floors of a building in western Tehran, said the report. ’The attackers targeted the building’s entrances and exits by firing six bombs or missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow.’ Fars reported that they escaped through an emergency hatch that had been planned in advance. Investigations are now under way to find a possible insider because of the precise nature of the attack. Iran has arrested more than 700 people in the wake of the war on charges of collaborating with Israel. Iran International, an opposition outlet, reported an Israeli air strike against an area near Shahrak-e-Gharb, in western Tehran, on June 16. In an interview with Carlson, the political commentator, Mr Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to assassinate him but did not admit to having being injured. The interview drew major criticism from MPs in Iran, with 24 joining in a public letter. Accusing the president of undermining national security, they said his openness to renewed negotiations with the US in spite of the American strikes on three key nuclear facilities, and his willingness to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has since been expelled from the country, showed weakness. (Source: The Telegraph – United Kingdom)

Syria
July 14 2025 14:09  Syria deploys forces after dozens killed in Bedouin-Druze clashes which began yesterday. The clashes reportedly erupted when a Druze vegetable vendor was seized by armed Bedouins who are Sunni Muslim, on the main highway linking Sweida to Damascus. (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)

Australia

Monday 14 July 2025  Military drills in Australia: Upwards of 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations will take part over three weeks. Some activities also planned in Papua New Guinea. /Video/ (Source: Sky News – United Kingdom)

North America

United States
July 14, 2025  In the course of a few weeks, Trump has faced a surprising level of pushback from prominent supporters as he moved to strike nuclear facilities in Iran, floated a new policy to allow undocumented farmworkers to remain in the United States and castigated allies for demanding more information related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Epstein. In June, Carlson said Trump was ’complicit in the act of war’ as Israel launched attacks on Iran. (Trump later said Carlson “called and apologized.”) One month before, Carlson echoed concerns about Trump’s business dealings in the Middle East, saying ’it seems like corruption’ when Ryan, a guest on his program, raised alarm about new Trump properties in the region. And now, he is taking the administration to task for declining to release additional information about Epstein, with whom Trump had a yearslong friendship before a falling-out. “And I don’t think the rest of us should be satisfied with that.” At a Cabinet meeting last week, Trump brushed off growing discontent and said it was a desecration to ask about Epstein after flooding in Texas killed dozens. “It’s not adequate to say anyone who asked [questions] is somehow desecrating the memory of little girls who died in Texas,” Carlson said in his speech Friday, adding: “That is not acceptable.” Carlson’s frustrations represent broader discontent in MAGA world with the policies of the man who brought it together. Carlson said he was unaware whether his influence in the White House has waned in light of his recent commentary. “I was never an important adviser to Trump,” he said. “It was always kind of overstated.” Carlson was center stage among MAGA influencers arguing for the United States to stay out of Iran, a position that has gained popularity on the right as some right-wing influencers have increasingly viewed the U.S.-Israel alliance with skepticism. That stance is also informed by Trump’s having promoted similar anti-war and anti-interventionist views for years, even as he has used military force as president. Ultimately, Carlson said, the most important voice arguing the case to Trump for the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some around Trump have taken a victory lap given that he ultimately didn’t ally with Carlson on military action in Iran. “The Iran operation was both a shot at the Iranians, but it was also a shot at the restrainers of the administration and at Tucker and everyone else who said the president is never going to do this,” a Trump ally close to the administration said. “They think he’s an ideologue like they are, and he isn’t. These guys overplayed their hands.” “Tucker’s not being malicious towards the president at all,” a source close to the White House said. “You can very easily still support somebody and disagree with a specific policy decision. Agree with him or disagree with him, Tucker is at least coming from a sincere place of love and concern for the president. He just wants the president to be successful and is worried that issues like amnesty, Epstein, Ukraine funding and war in the Middle East could eventually lead to his presidency being derailed.” No other issue has tested the MAGA base’s commitment to Trump like the Epstein files. For years, many on the right - including some people who are now in the Trump administration - have called for the release of all government documents related to Epstein. Epstein died in custody in 2019, and a medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. He was facing sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Last week, Attorney General Bondi released a memo saying the Justice Department’s review turned up no “client list” of powerful men alleged to have participated in Epstein’s schemes, enraging the MAGA base, who are calling on her to be fired. Trump’s defense of Bondi and his attempts to tell his supporters to move on from the issue have done little to quell the furor. On Saturday, Trump wrote „Let Bondi do her job – she’s great!” on Truth Social, adding the United States should “not waste Time and Energy on Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about’. (Source: NBC News - U.S.)

.5 7 15 15:58

.

Europe

Hungary
Friday 11 July 2025 10:23 BST  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Ukrainian authorities of beating a Hungarian-Ukrainian dual citizen to death during his mobilization in the military by his recruiters. Hungary's - a member of NATO and the European Union - foreign ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over the report. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

France
12.07.2025  French president voices 'strong disapproval' of 30% US tariffs for EU. Macron signals mobilizing all instruments at disposal, including anti-coercion if no agreement reached by Aug. 1 He called for accelerating the preparation of "credible countermeasures." (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

12.07.2025  New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, has been under French rule since the 19th century. Calls for independence have persisted for decades, especially among the Indigenous Kanak population, many of whom have sought greater autonomy or full sovereignty. Ahead of a referendum planned for February 2026, political leaders in New Caledonia have signed a deal with the French government to establish a new political entity known as the “State of New Caledonia.” The deal outlines the creation of a Caledonian nationality, allowing individuals to hold both Caledonian and French citizenship. A new provincial electoral body will be formed for those born in New Caledonia or who have resided there continuously for at least 15 years. Paris has a particular focus on New Caledonia’s nickel industry. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

11/07/2025  The head of the French army, General Burkhard, today said France was Russia’s main enemy in Europe, largely due to French support for Ukraine. It was Putin who said this, the general added. In space, Russian satellite manoeuvres set out to 'hinder our satellite trajectories, get close and jam them, get close and spy on them', Burkhard said. At sea, he said Russian nuclear attack submarines regularly enter the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean 'obviously seeking to monitor areas that are important to us but also to the British'. In the air there are frequent frictions and interactions with Russian aircraft over the Black Sea, Syria, the Mediterranean, and sometimes the North Atlantic, he added. (Source: France 24 with AFP = France)

Russia
11.07.2026  Russia to shut down Polish Consulate in Kaliningrad in tit-for-tat move. Moscow cites unjustified and hostile actions by Warsaw after Polish order to close Russian mission in Krakow. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Ukraine
12/07/2025 - 12:19  Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, along with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight. The Ukrainian air force said it had downed 319 Shahed drones and 25 missiles. One missile and about 20 drones hit ’five locations’. Western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi suffered the most. Across the Chernivetskyi city, which is located about 40 kilometres from Ukraine's border with Romania, several fires broke out. Residential houses and administrative buildings were damaged. In the city of Lviv, on Ukraine's border with Poland, 46 residential houses, a university building, the city's courts, and about 20 buildings housing small and medium-sized businesses were damaged in the attack. (Source: France 24 „with AP - U.S. and AFP” - France)

(July 11, 2025) 9:30 a.m. UTC+3  In the early hours of July 10, a large-scale aerial attack involving drones and missiles targeted Kyiv, resulting in confirmed strikes on multiple industrial facilities. Satellite images from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) showed fire hotspots on the territory of the Artem plant, the Kuznya on Rybalsky shipyard, Kyivmetrobud, the Kyiv Central Design Bureau of Valves, the Merydian radio plant, and a garage complex. (Source: Conflict Intelligence Team - since 2022 headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia)

(July 11, 2025)  'Zelenskiy, today on Telegram said he had met Republican Senator Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut in Rome' in conjunction with international meetings on Ukraine. He said he had discussed the legislation on tougher sanctions against Russia and those who support it in the war. The bill calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

United Kingdom
(July 11, 2025) 9:30 a.m. UTC+3  The United Kingdom has signed a long-term agreement to supply Ukraine with more than 5,000 short-range Lightweight Multirole Missiles, a 70mm surface-to-air missile system produced by the defense company Thales which will deliver launchers, command centers, and missile systems to Ukraine over a 19-year period. The total value of the deal is £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion). In addition, the UK has pledged up to £283 million ($360 million) in bilateral aid to Ukraine through 2026. (Source: Conflict Intelligence Team - headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia since 2022)

Vatican
07/12/2025, 13.47  The pontiff received the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) gathered for its General Assembly at Castel Gandolfo. In a specific message to PIME, Leo XIV calls PIME missionaries to be "a light in the darkness of evil’. „In the times we are living in, marked by numerous conflicts and many forms of material and spiritual poverty, your charism offers itself as a light in the darkness of evil that obscures the beauty of eternal truth, to which every man and woman must aspire. Therefore, in the name of Christ, be instruments of peace in contexts troubled by suffering; continue to evangelise through fraternal dialogue with other religions, promoting a culture of solidarity and welcome. Take especially to heart the “little ones” and the marginalised; may your witness be rooted above all in active charity, in the search for justice and in the defence of the dignity of every person." (Source: AsiaNews - an official press agency of the PIME)

North America

United States
July 12, 2025 1:19 PM GMT+2  The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported today. Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said. Colby is known for arguing that the U.S. military should prioritize competition with China and shift its focus from the Middle East and Europe. As the U.S. itself does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan, the reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard. The U.S is Taiwan's most important arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan rejects China's assertion of sovereignty. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

(12 July 2025)  As part of the federal government's massive reorganisation effort, 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service employees of the US State Department have been laid off as part of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce its federal workforce, by involuntary staff reductions, according to a notice sent to State Department employees yesterday. More than 1,500 other State Department employees took voluntary departures earlier this year. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Jul 12, 2025  Today US President Trump announced a 30% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and European Union from August 1. The announcement was made via letters posted on his social media platform. The president has framed the measures as part of an effort to protect American industries and generate domestic revenue. According to Treasury data released Friday, customs duties collected by the federal government surpassed USD 100 billion in the fiscal year through June - a significant surge driven by the newly imposed tariffs. The EU had initially sought a zero-tariff trade agreement on industrial goods with the United States. Germany has pushed for an expedited agreement to protect its industrial sector. Countries like France have resisted what they see as a one-sided US proposal. Facing internal division, the 27-member bloc may now have to settle for an interim deal while hoping for more favorable terms in the future. (Source: India Today)

Jul 11, 2025 6:25am PT  Podcast host and comedian Schulz is somewhat turning on Trump after voting for him over Harris in the 2024 presidential election. During a recent podcast episode (via The Daily Beast), Schulz admitted he’s been sort of duped by Trump. As the comedian put it: “Everything he campaigned on I believe he wanted to do, and now he’s doing the exact opposite thing of every single fucking thing.' “There’ll be people that they’ll DM me like, ‘You see what your boy’s doing? You voted for this.’ I’m like, ‘I voted for none of this,’” Schulz said. 'He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for. I want him to stop the wars - he’s funding them. I want him to shrink spending, reduce the budget - he’s increasing it. It’s like everything that he said he’s going to do - except sending immigrants back, and now he’s even flip-flopped on that, which I kind of like.' (Source: Variety - U.S.)

11:48 PM CEST, July 11, 2025  An Iranian attack on Al Udeid air base outside of Doha, Qatar’s capital, on June 23 hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, satellite images analyzed show. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images. Pentagon spokesperson Parnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile had hit the dome. Trump described the Iranian attack as a very weak response. He had said that Tehran fired 14 missiles, with 13 intercepted and one being set free as it was going in a nonthreatening direction. (Source: AP - U.S.)

July 10, 2025 9:29 PM GMT+2  Trump use presidential authority to send weapons to Ukraine. The U.S. has $3.86 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine remaining. The last drawdown was a $500 million award by Biden on January 9. Congress has approved nearly $175 billion of aid and military assistance 'for Ukraine and allied nations' in the nearly 3-1/2 years since Russia's full-scale invasion. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

NATO

July 11, 2025 2:01 PM GMT+2  Russia's effective use of long-range missiles in its war in Ukraine 'has convinced Western military officials of their importance for destroying command posts, transportation hubs and missile launchers' far behind enemy lines. Moscow is expected to increase production of long-range rockets and missiles and sophisticated air defences, U.S. Army Major General Rafferty said at a U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany. NATO will need more long-range missiles in its arsenal ’to deter Russia from attacking Europe’. Rafferty recently completed an assignment as commander of the U.S. Army's 56th Artillery Command in the German town of Mainz-Kastel, 'which is preparing for temporary deployments of long-range U.S. missiles on European soil' from 2026. Such deployments were agreed between Berlin and Washington when Biden was president. The agreement foresaw the deployment of systems including Tomahawk missiles with a range of 1,800 km and the developmental hypersonic weapon Dark Eagle with a range of around 3,000 km. Russia has criticised the planned deployment of longer-range U.S. missiles in Germany as a serious threat to its national security and cited concerns about NATO expansion as one of its reasons for invading Ukraine in 2022. Some European countries have their own long-range missiles but their number and range are limited. Europe's air-launched cruise missiles, such as the British Storm Shadow, the French Scalp and the German Taurus, have a range of several hundred km. France's sea-launched Missile de Croisiere Naval (MdCN) can travel more than 1,000 km. They are all built by European arms maker MBDA, which has branches in Britain, France, Germany and Italy. France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Sweden are now participating in a programme to acquire long-range, ground-launched conventional missiles known as the 'European' Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA). As part of the program, Britain and Germany announced in mid-May that they would start work on the development of a missile with a range of over 2,000 km. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

International Organization for Migration
July 11, 2025 1:53 PM GMT+2  International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Pope was speaking a day after a Ukraine recovery conference in Rome mobilised over 10 billion euros ($11.69 billion) for the country. 'It's three-and-a-half years into the conflict. I think it's fair to say that everybody is tired, and we hear that even from Ukrainians who've been experiencing the ongoing attacks in their cities and often have been displaced multiple times," she told. "The response to it, though, has to be peace, because ultimately, without peace, there won't be an end, not only to the funding request, but also to the support for the Ukrainian people." Russia's invasion has triggered Europe's biggest refugee crisis this century, with 5.6 million Ukrainian refugees globally and 3.8 million uprooted in their country, according to U.N. data. The IOM and other U.N. agencies are hampered by major funding shortages as U.S. President Trump slashes foreign aid and European donors like Britain shift funds from development to defence. U.S. decisions will give the IOM a $1 billion shortfall this year, Pope said. Pope, 51, is a former adviser to the Obama and Biden administrations. She is now working with Trump's White House on so-called self-deportations. She praised Italy's decision to increase migrant work permits to nearly 500,000 for 2026-2028, coming from a right-wing government otherwise pursuing tough border policies. 'What Italy is doing is taking a realistic look at what labour they need, what skills they need, what talent they need. And then they're designing a system to allow people to come in through a safe and legal channel," Pope said. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
($1 = 0.8557 euros) 

.5 7 14 18:00

.

.

Asia

Yemen
9 July 2025, 20:02  Survivor search ongoing as Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it was hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, attacked again on Tuesday. The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a 'safe location'. Twenty-one of the crew were Philippines citizens. It is the second vessel the Houthis have sunk in a week, after the group on Sunday launched missiles and drones at another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas, which they claimed 'belong[ed] to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine'. All 22 crew of Magic Seas were safely rescued by a passing merchant vessel. Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted around 70 merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have now sunk four ships, seized a fifth, and killed at least seven crew members. The group has said it is acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have alleged that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK, which have carried out air strikes on Yemen in response. (Source: LBC - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
10.07.2025  US President Trump yesterday named Transportation Secretary Duffy as the interim administrator of the space agency NASA. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

10 July 2025  President Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders yesterday, many of them speaking a different language, when the Liberian president took to his microphone and spoke in English. “Liberia is a longtime friend of the US and we believe in your policy of making America great again,” President Boakai said at a White House meeting before advocating for US investment in his country. “We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.”Trump was impressed and inquired where Boakai got his language skills. “Such good English,” Trump said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” “In Liberia?” Trump asked. “Yes sir,” Boakai said. 'That's very interesting,' Trump said. “I have people at this table who can't speak nearly as well.” English is Liberia's official language, though multiple Indigenous languages are spoken there as well. (Source: Times Live - South Africa / Reuters - United Kingdom)

10 July 2025 - 06:40  Yesterday, US President Trump was announcing a new 50% tariff on US copper imports and a 50% duty on goods from Brazil - a country with a balanced US trade relationship - both to start on August 1. Trump was setting off a scramble by companies to import as much copper as soon as possible from Chile and other major suppliers. He blamed the decline of the US copper industry on past administrations, saying copper was needed for semiconductors, aircraft, electric vehicle batteries and military hardware. Trump's Brazil tariff order came in a letter to Brazilian President Lula da Silva that vented anger over what he called the Witch Hunt trial of Lula's right-wing predecessor, Bolsonaro. Trump also criticised what he said were Brazil's attacks on free elections, Americans' free speech and 'secret and unlawful Censorship Orders to US Social Media platforms”. He ordered the US Trade Representative's office to launch a new “Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation that could add even more tariffs, citing 'Brazil's continued attacks on the Digital Trade Activities of American companies'. Brazil is the 15th largest US trading partner, with total two-way trade of $92bn in 2024, and a rare $7.4bn US trade surplus. Top US exports to Brazil are commercial aircraft, petroleum products and crude oil, coal and semiconductors while Brazil's top exports to the US are crude oil, coffee, semi-finished steel and pig iron. Trump's administration has been touting tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury secretary Bessent said Washington has taken in about $100bn so far and could collect $300bn by the end of the year. The US has taken in about $80bn annually in tariff revenue in recent years. (Source: Times Live - South Africa / Reuters - United Kingdom)

July 10, 2025  The Trump administration is undertaking a sweeping force posture review slated for release in late summer or early fall that could fundamentally reshape the U.S. military’s global footprint. In a speech at his first NATO defense ministers meeting in February, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth underscored the Trump administration’s view that Europe could no longer be a U.S. priority, saying that given the strategic realities, European NATO leaders “should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent.” In May, in Singapore, Hegseth underscored the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific and called it the United States’ priority theater. Media coverage of the Pentagon’s 2025 Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance - issued this spring as a placeholder for the National Defense Strategy, which is expected to be released late this year - suggests that the department intends to fund a military buildup in the Indo-Pacific by diverting resources from other places, including Europe, and accepting greater risk in those areas. Even Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said in May that Washington was not going to have any more patience when it came to reducing the U.S. presence in Europe. If that process results in a significant and swift reduction of U.S. forces in Europe, an outcome that administration officials have publicly suggested is possible, ’the alliance will become more vulnerable to further Russian aggression’. NATO has been overly dependent on the United States for its military capabilities since the alliance’s founding, in 1949. After the Cold War, when most European militaries substantially cut their defense budgets, this dependence only deepened. The United States also lowered its defense expenditures and reduced its forces in Europe, from about 300,000 during the Cold War to about 100,000 troops today (including 20,000 additional forces Washington deployed in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine). U.S. capabilities have remained key to NATO’s posture, plans, command and control, and force models. Washington must carefully plan any such shift, leaving U.S. forces in place long enough that Europeans can work to fill the coming gaps and ’retain their credible deterrent against Russia’. It is critical that any drawdown be closely coordinated with NATO military authorities and that ’allies agree in advance’ to cover lost capabilities. The Trump administration’s attitude toward Russia is also ’feeding NATO allies’ concerns’ about the U.S. commitment to Europe. Trump has been reluctant to define Russia as a threat, instead calling Putin a good guy and making clear his aim to normalize U.S. relations with Moscow. Senior U.S. officials have also downplayed Putin’s risk to Europe. Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, who also oversees diplomacy with Moscow, said in an interview with the conservative broadcaster Carlson in March that it was preposterous to think that Russia would ’march across Europe’ - argument meant to suggest that European assessments of the Russian threat are overblown. ’NATO allies had planned to present a Russia strategy for approval at the June summit but suspended it in fear that they could not get Trump on board”. Washington can ill afford to rapidly reduce its presence in Europe just as Russia ’is gearing up for further aggression’. The Russian military, although not without its flaws, is no longer the disorganized force it was just over three years ago. Since February 2022, Putin has transformed Russia’s economy and military to support prolonged confrontation. Russian defense spending in 2025 amounts to 7.7 percent of GDP, a 12 percent increase from 2024. Moscow’s defense industrial base is running at full capacity. Today, the U.S. Army supplements NATO forces along the alliance’s frontier with Russia in the Baltics and Romania, and it maintains permanent bases in Germany and Poland. The U.S. military also stores equipment, its Army Prepositioned Stocks, in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland to outfit army reinforcements that arrive by air. The U.S. Navy has six Aegis-class destroyers deployed at a U.S. base in Rota, Spain, to support NATO’s missile defense and take on other maritime tasks in European waters, such as maritime patrols in the Baltic Sea. The U.S. Air Force has combat and support squadrons stationed at allied bases across NATO territory, from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to those in Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Azores. U.S. capabilities have remained key to NATO’s posture, plans, command and control, and force models. The United States must tell its partners exactly where any new gaps will be - long before they appear. U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms are essential for NATO’s awareness of Russian activity. Their withdrawal would leave the alliance especially vulnerable to Russian hybrid attacks, such as undersea cable sabotage, jamming, or cyberattacks. With fewer U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets in place, such acts would be harder for European countries to detect or attribute. Fewer such resources would also limit early warnings about incoming attacks and hinder NATO’s ability to select, prioritize, and engage Russian targets ’in the event of conflict’. The personnel that process, analyze, and fuse this intelligence - many of them American - are too specialized to replace quickly and often in short supply. The United States provides European militaries with most of their sustainment units, including medical and logistics personnel and a large share of specialists in cyber, space, and electronic warfare. ’Europe also remains highly reliant on U.S. air-to-air refueling tankers, heavy lift aircraft, and other such strategic enablers to move forces across the continent’ and supply it with battlefield intelligence. Despite European allies’ progress on procuring the military equipment needed to meet their newly mandated responsibilities in NATO planning, they have made less headway in developing these particular capabilities at scale. ’With a pared-down U.S. presence, critical shortfalls of air and missile defenses would become even more acute, leaving allied forces and countries that are within striking distance of Russian missiles and drones particularly vulnerable’. ’Other essential capabilities - long-range precision missile systems such as HIMARS, stockpiles of precision-guided munitions, and advanced drones - could also be diminished by a premature’ U.S. withdrawal. One of NATO’s key ’deterrents’ against Russia is its credible ability to target high-value assets within the country. Losing stocks of long-range missiles would significantly erode this deterrence and increase ’Europe’s’ vulnerability ’in the event of a Russian attack’. If the United States goes forward with a rapid reduction in forces, Moscow might judge that ’European’ unity would collapse. Moscow has long sought to undermine NATO, seeing its demise as a critical step toward reasserting Russia’s position as a global power. With ’Europe’ feeling vulnerable, Moscow would ratchet up its coercive tactics to intimidate European publics and pressure their governments to be more accommodating to Moscow. Putin would assume that with a smaller U.S. presence in Europe, the West would be forced to favor de-escalation. Because a reduction in U.S. assets in Europe would lead to slower NATO response times, ’Putin might have greater confidence that Moscow could successfully seize territory, for example in a Baltic state or in Svalbard, a strategic Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic’, and then use coercion and nuclear threats to compel NATO to accept the result. The best way to prevent a future war in Europe is to make sure Moscow never dares to start one. And that will require Washington and its European partners to design a careful and coordinated handoff. (Source: Foreign Affairs - U.S.)
by Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. From 2015 to 2018, she was Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council; Townsend, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. From 2009 to 2017, he served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy; Johnston, an Associate Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

10/07/2025 - 6:15 GMT+2  US issues sanctions against Albanese, the UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

Thursday 10 July 2025 04:17 BST  Yesterday, the US resumed deliveries of certain weapons to Kyiv, including 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

.5 7 14 12:31

.

Europe

Denmark
09.07.2025  Denmark plans to purchase at least 10 new F-35 fighter jets from US by October. It would bring the Danish aircraft fleet up to around 40 fighter jets. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Spain
08.07.2025  Spain’s 'far-right' Vox party today called for the mass deportation of migrants, both recent arrivals and naturalized citizens, who fail to integrate into the Spanish society. Vox leader Abascal on X was saying the party intends to deport everyone who came to commit crimes, who tries to impose a foreign religion, who mistreats or demeans women, who wants to live off the work of others, and all unaccompanied minors, because minors have to be with their parents. 'We don’t know how many there are,' he added. “But when we reach the government, we will. And they will all go.” A poll released Friday showed the party polling at 15%, up from 12% in the 2023 general election. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Union
July 9, 2025  Throughout the post-Cold War era, the European Union (EU) relied on four key assumptions: the United States’ willingness to shoulder the primary responsibility for European security, the reliability of Russia as the major source of energy, China’s status as a major growth market for European goods, and the budgetary durability of prioritizing social benefits over security needs. These assumptions, which worked for several decades, provided a foundation for the European way of life constructed around political stability, democratic governance, generous social programs, favorable borrowing terms from international capital markets, and the projected image of a reasonable, soft-power alternative to China, Russia, and the United States. These assumptions are no longer valid. The last three years have witnessed remarkable changes, mostly to Europe’s disadvantage. Considering the tectonic shifts in the global system, Europe is now under pressure on several fronts, one of the most important being trade negotiations with the United States. In 2023, the US-EU trade in goods and services stood at $1.4 trillion. Europe’s annual trade surplus with the United States - at $236 billion in 2024 - has become a sore point and target for the America First agenda. American grievances include high EU tariffs on certain goods such as fish, seafood, trucks, bikes, and automobiles, as well as EU digital regulations that 'unfairly' target large technology firms, an issue exacerbated by hefty fines on Apple and Meta. "Other issues include delays in EU approvals for genetically modified crops or bans on agricultural imports containing residues of certain types of pesticides". The Trump administration regards Europe as less of a friend and more of a challenge. Europe’s ability to finance its social largesse is'nt endless. In 2023, total social protection benefits expenditure in the EU was equal to 26.8 percent of the EU’s GDP. According to the OECD, France’s public social spending accounts for 31.6 percent of its GDP, Italy’s for 30.1 percent, and Germany’s for 26.7 percent. Many European countries face severe fiscal and debt management challenges as well as rising costs for social benefits networks. According to the IMF, Italy’s debt-to-GDP figure stands at 134.8 percent, Spain’s is at 105. percent, and France’s is at 110.6 percent. 'Demands for increased defense spending are likely to exacerbate fiscal pressures'. Social benefits may have to be cut, which would be highly unpopular and lead to demonstrations and riots. 'The NATO governments recently committed to allocating 5 percent of their GDPs to defense spending'. Where that money will come from, barring fiscal stringency in other realms, remains an issue. The pressures combined indicate that Europe will sign a trade deal with the United States soon. Europe’s ponderous decision-making processes and post-Cold War mentality, conditioned by a world of multilateralism, soft power, and generous social benefits, are now severely challenged. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)
by Dr. MacDonald, the Chief Economist for Smith’s Research & Gradings, a Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium, and a research fellow with Global Americans. He worked for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Credit Suisse, Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, KWR International, and Mitsubishi Corporation. His most recent book is The New Cold War, China and the Caribbean (Palgrave Macmillan 2022).

Ukraine
9 July 2025 16:50 CEST  Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia - 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves. The city of Lutsk - which lies 90km from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid - suffered the brunt of Tuesday's overnight attack. Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Asia

China
July 8, 2025   China extends visa-free entry for up to 30 days to more than 70 countries to draw tourists. No major African country is eligible for visa-free entry, despite the continent’s relatively close ties with China. (Source: The Asahi Shímbun - Japan /The Associated Press - U.S.)

Gaza
08.07.2025  17 Palestinians killed in fresh Israeli attacks on war-torn Gaza. Airstrikes hit houses, tents, schools sheltering Palestinians. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Iran
08.07.2025  Results of the confrontation with Israel. The Israeli attack on Iran was the most serious test of the strength of the Islamic Republic since the Iran-Iraq War. It led to significant human, material and reputational losses. However, even with the help of the United States, Israel failed to achieve the main goals of the attack: to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme and overthrow the country’s government. It united Iranians on a national and patriotic basis, and strengthened the determination of the Islamic Republic’s leadership to firmly confront external challenges. Tehran has no intention of curtailing its nuclear programme and its enrichment activities, in particular. It is premature to talk about the end of the Iranian-Israeli confrontation. The idée fixe for Israel has been and remains the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme, which, according to Tel Aviv, primarily serves as a means of creating nuclear weapons. The Trump administration resumed negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme. Tehran has pragmatically agreed to negotiations based on the belief that diplomacy is the only viable solution to its nuclear issue, and that it might be possible to reach an agreement with Trump. Israel insisted that American negotiators issue an ultimatum demanding that Iran completely cease enrichment activities. When the negotiating process began to suggest compromise solutions with the possible continuation of low-level enrichment by Tehran, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran. ’US President Trump not only knew about Tel Aviv’s plans, but also greenlighted them, believing that forceful pressure on Tehran would force it to accept Washington’s maximalist demands regarding nuclear issues.’ Iran responded with sensitive missile and drone strikes, often overcoming Israel’s multi-component air defences and causing serious damage to Israel’s military-industrial infrastructure as well as residential neighbourhoods. Despite the intensive bombing, Israel failed to cause irreparable damage to the main nuclear infrastructure facilities deep underground. The United States came to the aid of its regional ally, dropping heavy bunker buster bombs on the facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. But even these bombings, according to Iranian authorities, did not cause critical damage, since all the enriched uranium and centrifuges had been removed from the nuclear facilities in advance and dispersed to new storage locations. US President Trump, unwilling to get involved in a military conflict with Iran, announced the destruction of the Iranian nuclear programme and called on Israel and Iran to observe a ceasefire. Exhausted by the 12-day war, Tel Aviv and Tehran stopped bombing one another. The real damage done to the Iranian nuclear programme can only be clarified after an objective international investigation. This is currently difficult, since Iran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA, accusing its head Grossi of harbouring a biased attitude towards Tehran and spying for the West. Tehran will be ready to reconsider its decision if the Agency provides firm guarantees of the security of the Iranian nuclear programme (INP) and Iranian nuclear scientists. Regarding President Trump’s proposal to resume nuclear negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi noted that it is impossible to trust those who, in the midst of negotiations, launch a military operation against someone with whom they want to agree. Nevertheless, Tehran will most likely resume negotiations in order to avoid a new escalation of the situation. By supporting the Iranian leadership in repelling Israeli aggression, the Iranians, after the end of the critical phase of the conflict, made it clear that they expect the authorities to take active steps to resolve acute socio-economic problems and bring the country out of international isolation. The country’s leadership is being asked questions about why Iran was left defenceless in the face of Israeli aggression. Why did the protective system of regional proxy groups, the creation and strengthening of which took so much financial and material resources that could have been used to resolve internal Iranian problems, not work? The declared ceasefire remains fragile. Both sides are using it to restore destroyed military facilities, strengthen air defence systems, and replenish their missile and drone arsenal. Israel says it will prevent Iran’s efforts to restore its nuclear and missile programmes. Hypothetically, to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in its entirety is only possible as a result of a ground operation, which neither Israel nor the United States are ready to commit to. The only way left to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem is through political and diplomatic means. It is necessary to agree on mutually acceptable, controlled limits on Iran’s nuclear activities. (Source: Valdai Discussion Club - Russia)
by Maryasov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Iran (2001-2005)

Nepal
(July 8, 2025)  A mountain river flooded by monsoon rains swept away the main bridge connecting Nepal with China. The flooding on the Bhotekoshi River destroyed the Friendship Bridge at Rasuwagadi, which is 120 kilometers north of the capital, Kathmandu, in the early hours today. The 18 missing are 12 Nepali citizens and six Chinese nationals. The flooding also swept away several houses and trucks that were parked at the border for customs inspections. Hundreds of electric vehicles imported from China were also parked at the border point. The longer alternative is for goods to be shipped from China to India and then brought overland to Nepal. (Source: The Washington Post - U.S.)

South Korea
09.07.25  Shortly before last year's U.S. election, South Korea and the Biden administration hurried to sign a new, five-year agreement under which Seoul would raise its contribution toward the upkeep of U.S. troops by 8.3% to $1.47 billion in the first year, with later increases linked to the consumer price index. During his election campaign Trump said South Korea should pay as much as $10 billion per year, and has said such costs would be part of trade negotiations. Trump in the past has suggested he could withdraw U.S. forces stationed overseas if countries did not pay more for their upkeep. In May, the Pentagon said a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. was considering withdrawing roughly 4,500 troops from South Korea was not true. South Korea hosts about 28,500 American troops as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War. It relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection against China, Russia and North Korea, and is seen as a key ally for projecting U.S. military power. U.S. President Trump said yesterday South Korea should be paying for its own military protection and suggested the U.S. ally needed to pay more for the U.S. troop presence there, a day after saying he planned to impose a 25 percent tariff on its imports. Trump said the presence of U.S. forces was a huge economic benefit for countries that hosted them. (Source: The Telegraph – India / Reuters - United KIngdom)

North America

United States
Wed, Jul 9 2025 9:36 AM  President Trump sent new round of tariff letters to the leaders of relatively minor U.S. trading partners : the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka, telling that their exports to the U.S. would face steep new tariffs starting Aug. 1. For instance, America’s trade deficit with Moldova in 2024 totaled just $85 million, according to U.S. data. The letters note that the U.S. will perhaps consider adjusting the new tariff levels, „depending on our relationship with your Country.” The letters all say that the tariffs are “far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your country.” „Liberation day” tariff rollout on April 2, set a 10% baseline levy for nearly all countries on earth and slapped much higher duties on dozens of individual nations. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order delaying the tariff deadline until Aug. 1. (Source: CNBC - U.S.)

09.07.2025  Trump met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time this week. The talks in the Oval Office lasted for over an hour. Netanyahu’s official X account posted a brief statement after the meeting, saying the prime minister concluded his second meeting with President Trump. A Qatari delegation arrived at the White House ahead of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting and held talks for several hours with senior officials. Earlier yesterday, Netanyahu met with Vice President Vance and visited Capitol Hill, telling reporters after a meeting with House Speaker Johnson that Israel still has to ’finish the job’ in Gaza, including releasing hostages and destroying Hamas' military and governance capabilities. He said he may discuss additional items with Trump later in the visit. US special envoy for the Middle East Witkoff said yesterday that after two days of proximity talks he is hopeful that a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be agreed to by the week's end following progress in talks. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

July 8, 2025 - 12:49  Trump and Netanyahu met for several hours in Washington. Trump's third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli airstrikes. Before heading to Washington, the Israeli leader said his discussions with Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. Netanyahu's visit follows Trump's prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such a deal could be reached this week. Ahead of their visit, Netanyahu told reporters Israeli negotiators were driving for a deal on Gaza in Doha, Qatar's capital. Israeli officials also hope the outcome of the conflict with Iran will pave the way for normalization of relations with more of its neighbors such as Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu met earlier yesterday with Witkoff and Secretary of State Rubio. President Trump, hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House yesterday, said his administration would be meeting with Iran. The two leaders, with their top advisers, held a private dinner in the White House Blue Room. "We have scheduled Iran talks, and they ... want to talk. They took a big drubbing,". Trump also said he would like to lift sanctions on Iran at some point. Iranian President Pezeshkian said in an interview released yesterday that he believed Iran could resolve its differences with the US through dialogue. Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war. President Trump indicated progress on a controversial effort to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza, suggesting that the residents could move to neighboring nations. We've had great cooperation from ... surrounding countries, great cooperation from every single one of them. So something good will happen, Trump said. We're working with the US very closely about finding countries that will seek to realize what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we're getting close to finding several countries, Netanyahu said. Gazans criticized the proposal and vowed never to leave their homes in the coastal enclave. Human rights groups condemned the plan as ethnic cleansing. During their meeting, Netanyahu gave Trump a letter that he said he had used to nominate the US president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump, appearing pleased by the gesture, thanked him. Outside, hundreds of protesters, many wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags, gathered near the White House, waving banners that read Stop Arming Israel and Say No to Genocide. They also called for Netanyahu's arrest, referring to the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against the Israeli leader over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu was due to meet Vice President Vance. He planned to visit the US Capitol today to see congressional leaders. (Source: The Korea Herald - South Korea / Reuters - United Kingdom)

(8 July 2025, 10 CEST)  Trump says Ukraine will receive more weapons after US pause on shipments. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

(8 July 2025) 08:30  Netanyahu’s visit to the White House - his third since Trump took office in January - comes as the two leaders take a victory lap on the heels of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end the fighting and is now pressuring the Islamic Republic to return to negotiations. At the dinner, Trump said the US and Iran were set to meet soon and reiterated that he’s open to lifting sanctions on Iran. His envoy Witkoff told reporters that the US and Iran would meet within the next week. “I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off, give them a chance at rebuilding,” Trump said at the dinner with Netanyahu. “Because I’d like to see Iran build itself back up in a peaceful manner, and not going around saying ‘Death to America, Death to the USA, Death to Israel,’ as they were doing.” Netanyahu is visiting Washington as the Trump administration pushes for a halt to the war in Gaza, with the US president raising hopes for a deal that could stop the fighting and see the release of hostages still being held by Hamas. Trump said last week that a ceasefire could be close to the conflict that has raged since the attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 and which has threatened to further destabilize the region. Trump and Netanyahu suggested a ceasefire was in reach, and the Israeli leader hinted that he would be willing to expand the Abraham Accords that normalized Israel’s relations with several regional nations. “I think we can work out a peace between us and the rest of the Middle East with President Trump’s leadership,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu has accepted a proposal put forward by Trump that would pause fighting in Gaza for 60 days and see the return of some hostages. Hamas said last week it had responded positively to the proposed deal and was ready to immediately enter negotiations. International pressure is mounting on Israel to end its war in Gaza as more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in the military campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Aid agencies are warning the 2 million residents of Gaza are at risk of famine. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, still holds about 50 hostages, of whom Israel believes 20 are still alive. (Source: Luxembourg Times / Bloomberg - U.S.)

Tuesday 08 July 2025 07:26 BST  Trump gushed over Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after being presented with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination during their meeting at the White House yesterday. ’He's forging peace, as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,’ Mr Netanyahu said. ’Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful,’ Mr Trump said in response, adding: ’It's a great honour.’ (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

08/07/2025 - 03:17  Trump reignited his trade war by threatening more than a dozen countries with higher tariffs yesterday, including key allies Japan and South Korea. Then he extended the deadline for countries to negotiate his sweeping tariffs to August 1. Tokyo and Seoul would be hit with 25 percent tariffs on their goods, he wrote. Countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia were slapped with duties ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent. Trump warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against the levies. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he won't easily compromise in trade talks with Washington. Companies from Japan and South Korea have made significant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years. Trump has also threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of Anti-American policies after they slammed his duties at a summit. (Source: France 24 with AFP = France)

July 8, 2025  When he was named director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under U.S. President Trump, a media report called Gor “maybe the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.” Gor’s public profile has increased more recently, as he continued his work overseeing appointments of thousands of officials for the Trump administration. The Times of Malta and OCCRP have obtained a notarized Maltese property record that shows Gor’s origins. He was born Gorokhovsky on November 30, 1986, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. The December 2024 profile of Gor by the Washington Post called him an immigrant from the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. His mother created a Maltese company in 1994, listing her nationality as Israeli. When he was a boy, Gor’s family emigrated to the U.S., where he became a citizen. His path to politics led him eventually to a job with Republican Senator Paul, and then into Trump’s orbit. Gor left Paul’s office in 2020 to work as chief of staff on the Trump Victory Finance Committee for the failed re-election campaign. He also co-founded a conservative publishing company with Trump Jr. called Winning Team Publishing. (Source: Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project - U.S.)

7/8/2025  An impostor pretending to be Secretary of State Rubio contacted foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress by sending them voice and text messages that mimic Rubio’s voice and writing style using artificial intelligence-powered software, using both text messaging and the encrypted messaging app Signal, which the Trump administration uses extensively. In May, someone breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Wiles and began placing calls and messages to senators, governors and business executives while pretending to be Wiles. Impersonating a federal officer or employee to deceive or obtain something is a crime. (Source: MSN / The Washington Post = U.S.)

.5 7 13 16:33

.

Europe

Germany
04.07.2025  Germany is in talks with the US to purchase Patriot missile systems and deliver them to Ukraine. Today, the Bild daily first reported on the topic. Germany will finance two Patriot air defense systems. Defense Minister Pistorius will travel to Washington in mid-July and discuss these matters with his counterpart. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Poland
July 7, 2025  Poland is buying an insane number of tanks from South Korea. Is Poland 'preparing for war’? Warsaw assumes that the Russians will go hard against Poland after it takes over Ukraine, but there remains little hard evidence indicating Russia intends to do so. In 2022, Poland became South Korea’s most important defense customer, allegedly signing upwards of $22 billion in multi-system arms packages - included 180 K2 tanks, 212 K9 self-propelled howitzers, 48 FA-50 fighters, and several Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers. On July 2, Warsaw finalized a $6 billion export agreement with South Korea’s government. One of the most potent systems it is purchasing is South Korea’s K2 Black Panther Main Battle Tank (MBT). The deal involves as many as 180 tanks - making it Seoul’s largest single-weapon export deal to date. At least 63 of those 180 MBTs will be built in Poland in a joint agreement between South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem and Polish defense conglomerate PGZ. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)
by Weichert

European Commission
(Monday), July 7, 2025 2:23 pm CET  Der Leyen appears before the European Parliament in Strasbourg today ahead of the first vote of confidence in a European Commission president since 2014, over her secret texts from 2021 with Bourla, the chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. They related to discussions on getting vaccines to Europe at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The vote itself is scheduled to take place on Thursday. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

(6 July 2025)  Brussels says it will build up emergency stockpiles of critical minerals and cable repair kits as 'concerns mount over the EU’s vulnerability to attack'. Member states should co-ordinate backup supplies of food, medicines and even nuclear fuel, the European Commission said in a draft document setting out a stockpiling strategy. It would also accelerate work on EU-level stockpiles of items such as cable repair modules to ensure prompt recovery from energy or optical cable disruptions and commodities such as rare earths and permanent magnets, which are crucial for energy and defence systems. The EU in March also advised households 'to stockpile essential supplies to survive at least 72 hours of crisis'. The need for investment in critical stockpiling 'would also be considered in proposals for its new multiannual budget', which are due to be put forward later this month. 'Last month, General Breuer, the German chief of defence, warned that Russia could attack an EU member state within the next four years'. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

Ukraine
July 7, 2025  Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty, following the example of five other European nations bordering Russia. Kyiv announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on June 29. Ukraine widely uses anti-vehicle mines not covered by the treaty. Russia is not a party to the treaty. Moscow has not confirmed it uses anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. Russian officials say Ukraine has already used such devices in the war. The United States approved the provision of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in November. Frontline areas and pockets of the Kursk region just inside Russia are thickly contaminated with the small devices which explode when triggered by contact, vibration or tripwires. A bomb squad company commander from Ukraine's 59th brigade operating near the eastern city of Pokrovsk said a large rotary drone could be used to deploy up to 70 anti-personnel mines at a time. Kyiv's decision would put civilians at risk for years. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

United Kingdom
7 July 2025  Britain’s mainstream media have not carried out a single investigation into the extent, impact or legal status of the more than 500 surveillance flights over Gaza that the RAF has carried out since December 2023. The Ministry of Defence continues to insist that the operations, carried out by Shadow R1 aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, are designed purely to assist with the discovery of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023. Spikes in the number of flights have coincided with especially deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza. The flights started operating in December 2023. Defence Review was announced earlier in June by Keir Starmer. Out of 993 stories on the “defence review” in UK media on 2 June, a tiny handful took the time even to acknowledge the existence of significant public opposition to increases in defence spending, particularly at the expense of cuts to public services. The vast majority of published criticism of Labour’s defence plans come from the Tories or military voices arguing that 'this is too little, too late' or that it isn’t clear where the money will come from. There is, apparently, no space for hard news content that investigates whether increased defence spending is either effective nor necessary. Meanwhile, the mainstream media’s continuing silence on RAF spy flights over Gaza is a flagrant abdication of their stated responsibility to ask tough questions of military planners. Far from holding power to account, mainstream media – through their silence and meekness – are allowing the government to get away with murder in Gaza. (Source: Declassified - United Kingdom)
by Freedman, a Professor of Media & Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London and a founding member of the Media Reform Coalition.

Europe
July 7, 2025  Can Europe defend itself without the United States? Besides rearmament, Europe must recognize that it needs to have its diplomatic channels to Moscow. Those who solely rely on rearmament to deter Russia ignore the fact that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the West was a sign of weakness, not strength. It was an attack that arose from a perceived defensive posture. Instead, to many in the West, Putin’s actions appear to be expressions of imperial interests, and his policy is seen as expansive. Any appearance of weakness must indeed be avoided in dealing with Russia. In the Russians’ worldview, not just Putin’s, the West exploited Russia’s weakness during the early and mid-1990s, when its economy was in a state of decline. This was despite Bush Senior’s promises against any eastward expansion of NATO. Besides Bush, declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders came from US Secretary of State Baker, German Foreign Minister Genscher, German Chancellor Kohl, French President Mitterrand, British Prime Minister Thatcher, British Foreign Secretary Hurd, British Prime Minister Major, and NATO Secretary-General Woerner. Russian leaders have repeatedly complained about NATO expansion, beginning with Putin’s predecessor, Yeltsin, who wrote to President Clinton that the expansion of NATO eastwards breached the spirit of the 1990 treaty. For Russians, the lesson was that only the interests of the strong are perceived and respected. There is a significant difference between an aggressor pursuing an imperialist and expansionist policy, and taking actions necessary to protect its interests and preserve its influence. Confrontation and harshness only reinforce the threat perception and set in motion a spiral of escalation. Negotiations and initiatives are needed to overcome the security dilemma. Building trust requires effort and open communication. Uncompromising toughness towards Russia, is the wrong answer when it comes to long-term peace and security. Many Putin sympathizers tend to underestimate the threat posed by an aggressive Russia, even if it is out of weakness. According to this perspective, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine originated from the West. Trump goes a step further and blames Ukraine for starting the war. The Putin sympathizers emphasize NATO’s expansion towards the East, encircling and constricting Russia, and view Moscow as being in a purely defensive posture, overlooking the fact that this can also manifest as an attack, which may have begun as defensive but has ultimately evolved into aggression. By annexing Crimea, intervening in eastern Ukraine and, since 24 February 2022, trying to conquer the entire Ukrainian territory, Russia has violated the European peace order and put military force back on the agenda as a political tool in Europe. Who guarantees that Moscow will not reuse military force in other respects? To argue, given the currently unsettled situation between Russia and the West, that Moscow poses no threat is not a demonstration of strategic foresight and is potentially dangerous in terms of security policy. Europe’s strategic interest is to establish a stable regional peace order that excludes the use of force and coercion between states and creates forums in which conflicting interests can be resolved through negotiation. From a European perspective, it is also a matter of involving and containing Russia, rather than driving it altogether into China’s sphere of Influence. To resolve the conflicts on the European periphery, Europe remains dependent on Russia, and everyone should be aware that in a war with Russia, Europe would be the battlefield. Two approaches are conceivable dealing with Russia and historically proven: “change through diplomatic rapprochement” and credible military deterrence. It means seeking new ways to resolve the security dilemma and foster new trust. There should be new efforts to develop a new security architecture that Moscow has long sought, one in which the interests of all parties are considered, with security among them, not against each other. This also means leaving no doubt that military aggression will not go unanswered and ensuring that credible military deterrents are also in place. With the United States withdrawing, Europe will need to decide how to preserve peace on the continent. In concrete terms, confidence-building measures could take the form of an official withdrawal of NATO accession promises to Ukraine and Georgia, which would result from a larger set of negotiations on a new security architecture. Other elements would include the revival of the 1999 Adapted Convention on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (ACFE) Treaty, which limits conventional armed forces in Europe but is adapted to post-Ukraine circumstances and establishes a military balance on the continent. The resumption of ACFE negotiations could be the prelude to a revival of the disarmament treaties. Europe’s current reliance on the US military to deter Russia is problematic due to differing transatlantic interests. A relatively unarmed Europe cannot pursue an independent Russia policy so long as Washington is seen as the only one that can provide the security guarantees sought by the Kremlin. The geopolitically-minded Putin, who is currently being made aware of the inadequacy of his military offensive in Ukraine and who is equally interested in curbing Russia’s overdependence on China, could over time be incentivized by Washington to stop his Ukraine war ’should Trump concede’ Ukrainian territories conquered by Russia and ease Western sanctions in return for Russia’s good behavior in other regions and on other issues important to the US. Europe, as a whole, could thus experience what the Eastern European states are historically familiar with, namely that their interests are sacrificed to a deal that the bigger powers make in their interest. The issue could now shift to establishing a credible deterrence without Washington’s involvement. ’Europeans also consider their military capabilities, independent of the United States, in both conventional and nuclear sectors, to prevent possible blackmail attempts or even aggression by the Russian leadership. In this way, European states could also minimize the risk of Moscow and Washington negotiating a deal in which the Europeans pay the primary price’. Today’s advocates for peace would do well to remember that détente succeeded not despite rearmament, but in tandem with it. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)
by Dr. Burrows, the Counselor to the Executive Office of Stimson Center and has had a distinguished career in the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Dr. Braml, the Secretary General of the German Group and the European Director of the Trilateral Commission, an influential global platform for dialogue between America, Europe, and Asia. Both are authors of the recently published book “World To Come: The Return Of Trump And The End Of The Old Order”.

Asia

China
(6 July 2025)  China’s Zijin Mining recently said it planned to acquire a gold mine in Kazakhstan for $1.2bn. Appian sold its Mineração Vale Verde copper and gold mine in Brazil to China’s Baiyin Nonferrous Group for $420mn in April. The most active Chinese mining groups in overseas deals include CMOC, MMG and Zijin Mining. The Chinese government used to select one buyer per asset sale process and back that group. What’s evolved over the past three to four years is the government allowing Chinese groups to compete with one another. That implies they don’t fear losing to the west anymore. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

Israel
July 6, 2025 7:51 PM GMT+2  The Supreme Court ruled in June that the defence ministry could no longer grant blanket exemptions to Jewish seminary students from military conscription. Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel's 21% Arab population are mostly exempt. Israel's military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students. The community represents 13% of the population today. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
7/7/2025  Israel and Hamas have resumed indirect talks on a cease-fire in Gaza after months of heavy Israeli military action. Iran, battered by the Israeli and U.S. strikes, is sending signals that it might be willing to resume nuclear negotiations, albeit on its own terms. The White House is reaching out to Syria’s new government, hoping for improved ties between Damascus and Israel. The durability and scope of the diplomacy remains in question. The normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is critical for Trump and Netanyahu. An even more ambitious goal of Trump’s is to ease decades of animosity between the U.S. and Iran. ’If the Gaza war drags on after a 60-day pause, if Iran hides its highly enriched uranium and threatens to enrich it further, or if Netanyahu’s political calculations stymie key decisions, the moment could pass with little to show for it,’ said Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Pentagon official who is now at the Atlantic Council. A Gaza cease-fire is the most achievable outcome. Israeli officials and Hamas’s leaders have resumed indirect talks in Qatar on a possible deal. Yesterday, Netanyahu said he wouldn’t relinquish his goal of seeing Hamas removed from power and disarmed even as spoke about the promise of expanding Israel’s relations with Muslim-majority countries and his commitment to freeing Israeli hostages. Even a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza is unlikely to be sufficient to revive prospects for Israeli-Saudi diplomatic breakthrough. Saudi Arabia for years has said Israel must agree on a path toward Palestinian statehood before normalization with Israel would be possible. A large majority of Israelis now oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing it would be a reward for Hamas’s attacks and would threaten Israel’s security in the future. There has been no indication that Iranian officials are ready to give up enriching uranium and instead rely exclusively on foreign fuel supplies for the country’s civil nuclear program. as Witkoff has demanded. During his May trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump declared that the U.S. would avoid military intervention and nation-building efforts in the Mideast, and pursue his dream that Saudi Arabia would join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 set of agreements that normalized relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In confining U.S. strikes to a one-and-done attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure while eschewing regime change, Trump has largely hewed to that goal. Though it was Israel that began the strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Trump’s decision to use B-2 bombers and submarine-launched cruise missiles against Iran’s most fortified sites has given him additional sway with Netanyahu. Netanyahu has emphasized that the war in Iran has created diplomatic opportunities for Israel. His statements indicate he thinks he might be able to pursue the war in Gaza and seek normalization with Saudi Arabia at the same time, an assessment at odds with most U.S. analysts. (Source: The Wall Street Journal - U.S.)

(July 7, 025)  DOJ, FBI conclude Epstein had no 'client list,' committed suicide. When Musk had a falling out with Trump last month, Musk accused the president of being 'in the Epstein files.' Musk later deleted his accusation and other posts on X, saying he "went too far." (Source: Axios - U.S.)

July 6, 2025  'The United States has kept its own forces out of direct combat, choosing instead to treat Ukraine as a proxy in a broader strategy to degrade Russia’s conventional military capabilities'. 'The strategy aims to impose long-term costs on Moscow - roughly comparable to those experienced when the Soviet Union became bogged down in a decade-long conflict in Afghanistan and subsequently suffered regime collapse' - without risking US lives or instigating open conflict between NATO and Russia. From the opening hours of the conflict, the United States established clear boundaries - including no US troops on the ground, no airstrikes on Russian territory with US weapons, and no overt attempt to overthrow Russian President Putin. These principles acted as guardrails, demonstrating America’s wider fear of nuclear escalation. A key strategic tools in America’s arsenal has been economic pressure against Russia. Lastly, the United States has gone to great lengths to reinforce the NATO alliance. Some critics argue that 'while the US has allowed Ukraine to survive through three years of conflict, the support has not been generous enough to allow Ukraine to decisively win'. Others argue that the United States should not be involved at all, that any involvement is a waste of resources on a conflict that bears little bearing on US strategic interests. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)

Jul 6th, 2025  After days of making noise about launching a new political party in response to the President Trump-backed Big, Beautiful bill, the Tesla boss announced the formation of what he’s calling the America Party to appeal to those hoping to curb government spending. 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' In a signal he plans to win at any cost, Musk made an allusion to Epstein - by sharing a photo of Maxwell captioned: 'Why is she the only one going to prison? Where’s all the men that had sex with those underage girls?' Musk seems to believe he can takeover the American political system in no time flat. (Source: Mediaite - U.S.)

NATO

6 July 2025  'World War III will start with simultaneous Xi and Putin invasions taking the globe to the brink of Armageddon', warns NATO chief Rutte. Russia today hit back at ex-Netherlands premier Rutte, claiming he had 'gorged on too many of the magic mushrooms beloved by the Dutch', while warning he should look forward to a future in a hellish Siberian labour camp. (Source: Daily Mail - United Kingdom)

South America

Brazil
6 Jul 2025  Brazil hosts BRICS summit; Russia’s Putin, China’s Xi skip Rio trip. Leaders expected to decry US President Trump’s trade tariffs while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism. (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

. 5 7 13 00:37

.

Europe

Luxembourg
(2 July 2025)  "Luxembourg unlikely to fully meet defence spending target report says". (Source: Luxembourg Times)

Spain
3rd July 2025  Princess Leonor, the future queen of Spain having disembarked from Spanish waters in mid-January for six months of practical training aboard the naval training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, sailed the seas and stopped at ports all over South and Central America before arriving in New York City on 5 June. From there, the future queen carried out engagements with her shipmates - including a concert at Carnegie Hall and an oath of allegiance ceremony involving Spanish residents of the United States, where she acted as flag bearer. Before flying back to Spain, for 20 days, Princess Leonor joined the Spanish Navy for military exercises off the Canary Islands, training aboard the Blas de Lezo frigate. On 3 July, future queen arrived in Gijón aboard the Blas de Lezo. Princess Leonor visited the Jovellanos Maritime Rescue Centre. The future queen had lunch with civil and military authorities aboard the Juan Sebastián de Elcano. Princess Leonor will complete her six months of life at sea on 13 July, when the training ship arrives in Marín. Three days later, she will graduate with the rank of Naval Ensign. After the summer, Princess Leonor will enroll at the San Javier Academy in Murcia for her final year of military training. The future queen will train within the Spanish Air and Space Force over the next year; completing a three-year program that saw her train with the Spanish Army and the Spanish Navy. (Source: Royal Central - United Kingdom)

European Commission
(Thursday), 3 Jul 2025  EU Commission President der Leyen faces no-confidence vote next week. MEPs will take a vote of no-confidence next Thursday. (Source: The Journal - Ireland)

02.07.2025  The EU breaks the rule of law, somehow der Leyen will be forced to resign. A motion, supported by over 70 MEPs and due to face a procedural hurdle today, accuses der Leyen of breaching EU transparency standards in 2021 by negotiating a multi-billion-euro COVID-19 vaccine deal via text messages with Pfizer CEO Bourla. Despite pressure from lawmakers and the media, the messages were never released. The motion is now awaiting a procedural review by the Conference of Presidents, the European Parliament's top political steering group, which will decide today whether it can proceed to debate. Nobody, at this moment, is very pleased to work with der Leyen anymore, Romanian Member of the European Parliament Piperea said. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
04.07.2025  The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed carrying out a massive strike on targets in the Ukrainian capital in a statement. The ministry said that the strike was carried out using ground-based high-precision long-range weapons, the Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile system, and long-range drones against industrial enterprises developing and manufacturing different drones' types, including FPV, other robotic mobile complexes, and various equipment. Infrastructure of a military airfield and the oil refinery was struck. 'The objective of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,' it said. The Southern group of forces captured the settlement of Predtechine in Donetsk region over the past day, and five settlements over the week, the ministry said. Meanwhile, over the past week, Russian armed forces carried out five group strikes against Ukrainian military industry enterprises, oil refineries, control points, radar stations, ammunition depots, drones' production workshops, storage, and launch sites, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries. Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski claimed today that the consular section of his country's embassy was damaged in Kyiv during Russia's overnight airstrike. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

9:33 am, July 4, 2025  Russian air defenses shot down or intercepted 48 Ukrainian drones across five regions overnight, the country’s Defense Ministry reported yesterday. (Source: Meduza - based in Riga, Latvia)

Jul 4 2025  Vice-president of Russia's state oil pipeline operator Transneft, the largest such company in the world, Badalov, 62, fell from the 17th floor of the luxury Moscow tower block - where he lived in a tenth floor penthouse. This is at least the 12th such death among high-ranking industry figures since the beginning of 2022. (Source: The U.S. Sun)

3 July 2025  On March 27 Putin appointed Gudkov to be the Russian Navy's new deputy leader, second in rank after Admiral Moiseev. Gudkov led the 155th Separate Marine Brigade, a Pacific Fleet unit that took part in the February 2022 occupation of areas north of Kyiv, including Bucha. The strike that killed Gudkov happened on July 2 and his death was confirmed on July 3 by the Ministry of War on Telegram. He was killed during combat operations in one of the border areas of the Kursk region, the ministry writes. (The Barents Observer - Norway)

Ukraine
(July 4, 2025)  Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight in the largest aerial assaults since the war began. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles. Another 208 targets were lost from radar and presumed jammed. Russia successfully hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones. Debris from intercepted drones fell across at least 33 sites. Emergency services reported damage in at least five of the capital's 10 districts. Drone strikes damaged rail infrastructure in Kyiv. (Source: ABC News - U.S.)

July 1, 2025  Overnight on June 30, Russia launched the largest aerial assault in the entire Ukraine War: 537 aerial weapons - 477 drones and 60 missiles. Ukraine was allegedly intercepting 475 of the 537 aerial weapons. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)

Asia

China
03 July 2025  Earlier this year, a new Bill was introduced in the US Congress to combat organ harvesting in China, specifically from Uyghur and Falun Gong communities. China ‘to triple number of Uyghur organ-harvesting centres’. (Source: The Telegraph - United Kingdom)

Iran
July 1, 2025, 3:19 AM  Israel’s war on Iran backfired. Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium and its advanced centrifuges - the core ingredients for developing a nuclear weapon - appear to remain intact. Tehran appears set to embrace a strategy of nuclear ambiguity, similar to the posture Israel itself has long maintained - refusing to clarify the scope of its nuclear capabilities and denying access to inspectors.Tehran has remained firm that enrichment is nonnegotiable. Netanyahu launched this war to eliminate the strategic challenge posed by Iran. Instead, he exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities, intensified Iranian nationalism, and failed to destroy Iran’s core military and nuclear capabilities. Iran’s missile strikes appeared deliberately calibrated. Iran’s ballistic missiles successfully penetrated Israeli and U.S. air defenses, targeting military bases, intelligence compounds, oil refineries, and research centers.  Ben Gurion Airport was shut down, economic activity slowed dramatically, and capital flight increased. Missile defense systems such as Arrow and THAAD were heavily depleted, with estimates indicating that Israel used at least $500 million worth of U.S. THAAD interceptors. Inside Iran the war became a unifying moment around the idea of defending the nation from foreign aggression. They saw their country bombed while seeking compromise.  'According to CNN, the Trump administration has been engaged in behind-the-scenes talks - some held even during the height of the war - that propose up to $30 billion in investment for a civilian nuclear program in Iran, contingent on Iran forgoing enrichment. These proposals also include sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian funds. While U.S. officials maintain that zero enrichment is a red line, the push for a new deal suggests a shift in priorities'. (Source: Foreign Policy - U.S.)
by Toossi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy.

North America

United States
7/5/2025  The U.S. Air Force has abandoned plans to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from the remote Johnston Atoll - an unincorporated U.S. territory some 800 miles southwest of Hawai, designated as a National Wildlife Refuge home to 14 species of tropical birds - in the Pacific Ocean, using Musk’s SpaceX. The decision was made after Reuters reported that experts were concerned the project, which would harm the seabirds that nest on the islands. The proposed program involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles that are designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes. (Source: MSN / The Daily Beast = U.S.)

5 July 2025  Trump signs 'Big Beautiful Bill' - the crucial 4.5 trillion USD tax cuts bill - during July 4 celebrations at White House. A day before, the crucial 4.5 trillion USD tax cuts bill was passed by the US Congress with a 218-214 vote turnout. Not a single democrat voted for the bill. "You have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history," Trump said. The legislation reportedly includes provisions to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, implement broad spending cuts, and fund a stringent immigration strategy. One of the highlights of the bill is a USD 350 billion border and national security plan including the USD 46 billion to expand the US-Mexico border wall, USD 45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention beds, and a hiring blitz for immigration enforcement, including 10,000 new ICE officers, each receiving a USD 10,000 signing bonus, as per media reports. (Source: Outlook - India)

July 4, 2025  Military expansion. Two militarized zones form a buffer along 370 kilometers of border, from Fort Hancock, Texas, through El Paso and westward across vast New Mexico ranchlands. The Defense Department added an additional 400-kilometer zone last week in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and plans another near Yuma, Arizona. Combined, the zones will cover nearly one-third of the U.S. border with Mexico. They are patrolled by at least 7,600 members of the armed forces. More than 1,400 migrants have been charged with trespassing on military territory, facing a possible 18-month prison sentence for a first offense. Border Patrol arrests along the southern border this year have dropped to the lowest level in six decadese. On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a stark contrast with late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days. (Source: AP - U.S.)

Jul 3, 2025  The greenback is down more than 7% this year and Morgan Stanley predicts it could fall another 10%. A weaker dollar could make US exports more competitive, boosting Trump’s plan to rebalance US trade, but makes imports more expensive, adding to the sting of tariffs. (Source: Semafor - website, U.S.)

July 2, 2025 During the transition from the Biden administration to the second Trump administration, neoconservative Senator Graham (R-SC) propagated a proposal for the United States to gain access to rare earth minerals in eastern Ukraine. It called for the United States to extract from Kyiv prominent access to Ukraine’s bountiful natural resources as repayment for the years of expensive American aid to Ukraine. Graham’s proposal was primarily intended as a poison pill designed to prevent a real peace deal from being brokered. The end result? Rather than staying focused on an immediate peace deal to end the war, Trump went down a rabbit hole. He became involved in securing mineral rights for after the war, rather than just ending the war and worrying about mineral rights thereafter. In doing so, valuable time was lost. Ukraine was never serious about such a deal. Many of the minerals Trump sought were in Russian hands to begin with. Beyond that, leader Zelenskyy had used the mineral deal as bait to hook the British and French. In other words, the minerals Trump coveted were not in direct control of Ukraine - and even if they were, Ukraine had already promised much of them to the British and French. One of the few mineral deposits in Ukraine that was not under Russian control was the lithium mines to the east of the Ukrainian village of Shevchenko in the Donetsk region, along the border with the Dnipropetrovosk Region of Ukraine. This is along the main axis of fighting in the war today, and the Russians have been advancing there - slowly, yet methodically and (apparently) irreversibly. Had Trump eschewed Graham’s proposal about taking mineral rights from Ukraine, the fighting would likely have been paused months ago, and a real deal could have been made with Russia to stop the killing. The peace process is dead. Before long, Trump will be left with nothing to bargain over, and Moscow will take what it wants - regardless of what the West says about the matter. Another reason why Trump needs to stop listening to Graham and his allies. The mythical resource non-deal was always intended to kill the peace process, and it appears to have done just that. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)
by Weichert

July 2, 2025, 1:19 PM  The White House confirmed yesterday that President Trump's administration froze the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons that were on track to be sent to Ukraine. Officials said the decision followed an assessment of U.S. stockpiles. The military shipment was frozen comes just a week after Trump signaled his openness to selling Patriot missiles to Ukraine. (Source: ABC News - U.S.)

Jul 02, 2025  The state of Alaska has floated the possibility of detaining migrants in an isolated site surrounded by bears - 'Bear Alcatraz'. (Source: Newsweek - U.S.)

01 Jul 2025  Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center was constructed in eight days over 10 miles of alligator-infested swampland and features heavy security which critics have compared to the conditions in concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Images inside the facility showed rows of bunk beds surrounded by cages. Trump yesterday toured the detention center, which is surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in the Everglades, designed to hold migrants prior to deportation. It features barbed wire, 200 cameras and 400 personnel. It would house around 3,000 detainees. Trump said he’d like to see similar facilities in other states. Alligator Alcatraz is a concentration camp, an X user wrote. 'This facility’s remote, harsh nature could leave people in very real danger, especially as Florida’s heat index skyrockets and hurricane season escalates,' Abdo, The National Parks Conservation Association’s Sun Coast Regional Director said in a statement. Florida’s fresh drinking water supply would be at risk from this ill-conceived plan, she added. (Source: The Irish Star - Ireland)
See also: Photos on (X)

NATO

4th July 2025  US Air Force's General Grynkwich became Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Grynkewich has taken over from the US Army's General Cavoli, who has been in the post for the past three years. (Source: BFBS Forces News - United Kingdom)

Space

July 2, 2025  Astronomers track the third known interstellar object that may have wandered over from another star system, the European Space Agency said today. Designated for now as A11pl3Z, it is currently near Jupiter and moving toward Mars, but it should get no closer to the sun than that. More observations are needed to confirm that it is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet, or what shape it is. Its size is estimated at roughly 40 kilometers across. (Source: The Associated Press - U.S.)

.5 7 9 12:58