Global Political Tensions and Alliancesactive

Malaysia would not be intimidated into changing its decades-old policy of not allowing Israeli nationals into the country, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday. Anwar said Malaysia was also not in contravention of any international laws for having such a policy in place. “I would like to respond to the United States lawmakers, some of them at least, who stated categorically that Malaysia is in contravention of international laws and was disrespectful of the rights of nations. “This is...

"European integration, which the current authorities continue to use as a cover, has turned into a present-day political myth," Igor Dodon said

Sergey Altukhov expressed condolences over the death of a person in Ukraine’s attack on Armavir

This Wednesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo leads the People's Morning from Toluca, State of Mexico, to announce the most relevant events in Mexico and inform about the progress in her government. Follow the minute-by-minute coverage of the presidential press conference here and stay informed. Add EL UNIVERSAL as your preferred source on Google.

A total of 72.95% of respondents say they disagree with Zelensky’s decision

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Wednesday that it expects European generic medicines to be exempt from U. S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs, arguing that Washington committed to a zero tariff rate with last year’s transatlantic trade deal. Trump on Tuesday announced a plan to impose a 100 percent tariff on generic drugs starting in August 2028 as part of a bid to bring pharmaceutical production back to the United States. If implemented, the tariff would then jump to 200 percent in 2029, the president said in a social media post. But under the 2025 trade deal struck in Turnberry, Scotland, the U. S. promised to exempt European generic drugs from higher levies. The pact foresees that exports of EU generic pharmaceuticals would only be subjected to the U. S. most-favored-nation tariff rate, a rate imposed on all U. S. partners, effectively 0 percent. Under the joint statement, “the United States committed to exempting generic medicines from the 15% tariffs; therefore MFN [most-favored-nation] treatment continues to be applied, corresponding to a 0% tariff rate,” said the European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill. He added that EU innovative drugs continue to be subject to a 15 percent tariff. “This clearly shows that the EU–U. S. Joint Statement is delivering by preserving stability and predictability, and protecting a key strategic sector from disruption and tariff increases,” Gill stressed. The deal as such is not legally binding, but …

Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing's arrival in Vientiane, Laos, on July 3, his first state visit to an ASEAN member since crowning himself president in April, has produced a familiar chorus in the region's policy commentariat. Myanmar, the argument runs, no longer has one government worth recognizing. There is a junta, the […] The post Myanmar's 'no single government' line is doing the junta's work appeared first on Asia Times.

The Russian foreign minister noted that ASEAN partners are concerned "that the parties to this project have shown, to put it mildly, very conditional compliance with the IAEA rules and principles that usually apply to such initiatives"

Wenceslao Bunge Saravia, Argentine ambassador to Spain, stated that there is no evidence of an anti-Argentine campaign in everyday Spanish life after the final match between both countries. In an interview with Radio Mitre, the diplomat emphasized that coexistence among communities is peaceful and that the acts of violence viralized on social media do not reflect reality. According to the ambassador himself, the atmosphere after the match was sportsmanlike and family-oriented. "I went to the Argentine club, where there were more than two thousand fans, and then I walked along Gran Vía with my family, greeting Spaniards. The environment was respectful and celebratory of football," Bunge Saravia detailed. The official highlighted that, despite some isolated incidents circulating online, "we have not received any formal complaints of physical assaults or police reports against Argentines in Spain." The diplomatic representative explained that the Embassy has six consulates and maintains constant contact with Argentine communities. "Whenever there is an assault, the authorities inform us. So far, we have no records of recent incidents related to the match," he affirmed. Regarding the videos of attacks shared on social platforms, he urged those affected to approach the consular office for assistance. In this regard, he referred to the importance of separating sporting events from social life. "The folklore…

Britain’s new Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Israel has “fallen short” of international standards, as he doubled down on his criticism of the nation a year after saying it is committing war crimes.

"It’s hard to prognosticate" as regards how much longer the conflict around Iran may last, the Russian foreign minister noted

An Israeli minister sought to downplay the deal, but critics said it could spur other regional countries to pursue a nuclear program, and potentially the creation of a bomb.

Samsung Electronics is once again shaking up the mobile market. On July 22, from London, the South Korean company is celebrating a new edition of its Galaxy Unpacked event. Under the concept of a "new way that unfolds," the company aims to solidify its undisputed leadership in the category they themselves pioneered: foldable phones. It is expected that the company will have many new products prepared, including the new Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8. But this year, Samsung might also have a surprise in store; we will share more details as soon as the launch begins. According to confirmed data from the brand, so far, the qualitative leap of this generation lies in Flex Titanium technology. This innovation aims to reinforce flexible screens with more resistant and lighter materials. According to Bloomberg, the integration of titanium alloys has become the definitive standard for the high-end range, a front where extreme durability influences users' purchasing decisions. New wearables But the phones are not the only focus of this presentation. The brand will also expand its ecosystem with a strong emphasis on Artificial Intelligence. In the wearables segment, Samsung announced the arrival of a "new AI-powered health companion" directly for the wrist. The new line of smartwatches promises to leave behind simple passive monitoring to offer predictive metrics...

Francesco Toscano added that the war in Ukraine is obviously the consequence of NATO’s eastward expansion

They will not affect the country's economic trajectory, the Russian president said

Japanese cities are experiencing "cruelly hot days," a new meteorological term devised this year to warn people of intense heat above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), with emergency officials describing the soaring temperatures on Wednesday as "a disaster." Heatstroke alerts were issued across almost the whole country and emergency officials said at least 14 people had died from heat-related causes in the past week. Three central cities logged scorching temperatures on Tuesday above the new...

According to the ministry, the sides noted that countries not involved in the fighting must promote peace, not strife

The Russian president noted that one of the key drivers of economic growth was domestic demand

On the afternoon of July 22, Russian troops attacked a residential area in Odesa.

US Secretary of State says Iran is in 'a lot of trouble'

The tax relief was introduced to mitigate the impact of the Iran war on German consumers but it expired at the end of June. Meanwhile, the story of Timmy the Whale continues with new DNA results. Follow DW for more.

The Russian leader said that the condition of key sectors of the domestic economy remains stable

MANILA, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea held separate foreign ministers' talks w...

The US secretary of state said that Washington remains open and willing to play a constructive role in bringing the conflict to an end

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stepped up the pace of renewal of his cabinet on Wednesday by confirming two acting ministers and reinstating a former minister who was defeated in 2020 but won in last year’s poll. Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam was promoted to senior minister, joining the ranks of former leader Lee Hsien Loong. Shanmugam, a senior counsel, entered politics in 1988 and has helmed the home affairs ministry since 2015. Shanmugam is the first senior...

Beijing is increasing its computing power and unveiling new policies to promote the city's "token economy," as China accelerates AI adoption across key industries in its tech race with the US. The Chinese capital aims to add another 50,000 petaflops of intelligent computing power in the second half of 2026, pushing its total capacity over 130,000 petaflops by the end of the year, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology said at a press briefing on Tuesday. One petaflop is...

Half of President Donald Trump’s MAGA base thought Iran’s war was worth its economic costs in May. Now, just a little more than a third do. That precipitous, 13-point drop in just two months, according to a new POLITICO Poll, reveals how the president’s most die-hard supporters are starting to agree with the majority of Americans who have long opposed the U. S.’ involvement in the war. Additionally, 37 percent of self-identified MAGA Trump voters say the U. S. should continue its involvement only if it doesn’t increase costs, up from 29 percent who said the same in May, according to the survey, conducted by independent polling firm Public First. Nearly 1 in 5 MAGA voters believe that the U. S. should end its war in Iran, regardless of the costs. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UdeCL/2/ That flagging support among the president’s most loyal supporters is the clearest sign that Americans’ patience is wearing thin as the economy continues to dominate as voters’ top concern heading into a critical midterm cycle. But Trump on Monday gave little indication that he was looking for a quick end to the war. The U. S. military has pounded Iran for the last two weeks, and speaking to reporters on Tuesday the president claimed that Iranian officials “want to desperately meet” but that “until they are ready to meet in a meaningful way we have no interest in even talking.” The White House is “at a maximum level of frustration right now, and I was told by very senior people that the president is now fully aware that the only way to the victory that he wants is completely politically impossible. The American people just will not support the kind of escalation it would take at this point,” said one person close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “We’ve got more dead Americans and a politically impossible situation.” This article is part of an ongoing project from POLITICO and Public First, an independent polling company headquartered in London, to measure public opinion across a broad range of policy areas. You can find new surveys and analysis each month at politico.com/poll. Have questions or comments? Ideas for future surveys? Email us at poll@politico.com. This souring of the president’s base comes amid renewed hostilities between the U. S. and Iran, which have been conducting tit-for-tat strikes after the president earlier this month declared a tentative peace agreement between the two countries “over.” Two U. S. servicemembers were killed in Jordan this weekend and gas prices have climbed above $4 per gallon, underscoring the war’s impact at home. The mood among White House staff and their outside allies is grim as the president grapples with finding a path out of an unpopular and expensive war three months from a midterm election expected to turn on cost of living issues. The president was expected to spend the year on a victory tour on affordability issues, touting his popular tax cuts, Trump accounts for newborns and lower drug prices. Instead, a domestic travel schedule has been pocked by visits to Dover Air Force Base to oversee the dignified transfer of the remains of more than a dozen dead soldiers, and he has during his campaign-style rallies been forced to time and again argue to the American people that the price of war — most salient to higher prices at the pump — was worth ending Iran’s nuclear program. White House aides contend that price bumps are temporary and will quickly return to pre-war levels either when the war ends or when the U. S. has degraded Iran’s military capabilities to the point that it can no longer stem the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. “What matters most to the American people is having a Commander in Chief who takes bold action to keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump is doing,” said White House spokesperson Olivia Wales. “The President does not make national security decisions based on fluid opinion polls, but on the best interests of the American people.” Still, the latest polling shows that non-MAGA Trump voters are even more down on the war, with only 21 percent believing it is worth higher costs, while 28 percent say that the U. S. shouldn’t continue the war regardless of costs. And the results show the president’s voters are broadly comfortable blaming the war for higher prices. When asked why gas prices have increased since the president took office, the majority of respondents blamed the conflict, including 57 percent of MAGA voters and 63 percent of non-MAGA Trump voters. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/2kVDN/3/ No other cause — from seasonal demand to environmental regulations limiting drilling — crested 25 percent for the core MAGA group. Those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, on the other hand, also blamed the president’s poor handling of the economy and his tariffs, at 55 percent and 52 percent, respectively, for the rise in costs. Trump’s 2024 supporters also are split on whether gas prices would have gone up more, less or the same under a Democratic president compared with now — another indication that Americans are more willing to assign blame to Trump for the state of the economy. Equal shares of Trump voters say that prices would’ve gone up more under a Democrat (34 percent) and that prices would have gone up the same (35 percent). A notable 20 percent believe prices have gone up more under Trump. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NqSjU/5/ Prominent Republicans, including strategists in key races, have spent the last several months warning about the impact of backlash to the Iran war on their chances of holding the House and the Senate, with frustrations around the war playing out in competitive races across the country. “This shows that as unpopular as the first round of war was from February to early summer, this second round is even more ridiculous,” said Curt Mills, executive director of the American Conservative magazine. “The American people quite simply do not get it, do not understand why we are in this war, and, yes, President Trump is king of the Republican Party. Yes, the president can do a lot and has a lot of latitude with his own supporters, but kings are not invulnerable from political reality.” But Trump on Tuesday said he wasn’t concerned. “They won’t have any impact on me. I’m just here to do the right thing. I don’t view it as, gee, we’re having an election in a period of time. You know, everyone says, oh, I’m doing something before — no, the election — I can’t think about that having to do with this,” Trump said.

According to the report, additional restrictions increasingly conflict with the interests of member states

The top Chinese and American diplomats discussed President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the US later this year and the dispute between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea during their bilateral meeting on Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are in Manila for a series of Asean meetings from Monday to Thursday, including the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting which brings together 11 member states, along with ministers from Russia, Japan,...

Foreign minister Penny Wong will deliver a speech criticizing China’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Penny Wong will warn China that Australia and other neighboring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilizing and dangerous” incident this week. The foreign affairs minister – who will deliver the address on Thursday in the Philippines, where the 59th ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting is being held – will also caution world leaders against placing a toll on the Strait of Hormuz after both Iran and the US threatened to do so amid the protracted conflict. Continue reading...

The Japan-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in the Philippines, and Foreign Minister Mogi expressed his intention to deepen cooperation with ASEAN countries in areas such as security.

Plus, retirement accounts are being supercharged with startup stocks, and a small beach town is in turmoil over a $545,000 email phishing scam.

The Democratic establishment has faced growing pressure to change its stance on Israel. It has finally begun to do so.

Donald Trump has said that Pickaxe Mountain in Iran could be bombed imminently by the US. The fortified site, buried deep underground, is believed to be an enrichment facility. Story by Ellen Gainsford.

The structures are quickly assembled and can protect against explosions, building collapses, and toxic agents

In key swing districts across the country, Democratic Party leaders have backed centrist candidates with carefully calibrated positions on charged issues such as artificial intelligence and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. William Lawrence is running a very different campaign. In a purple congressional district in Michigan, Lawrence, a co-founder of the progressive Sunrise Movement, is calling for a moratorium on new data centers and labeling Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide. The approach mirrors that of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has endorsed Lawrence. Both men are making strong showings in the polls, and now the centrists are fighting back. A shadowy group is running misleading ads that question Lawrence’s progressive bona fides. “We have seen this in many cases in other elections this cycle — that corporate centrists are attacking progressives for not being progressive enough.” The line of attack is telling, Lawrence told The Intercept. “People are sick of the status quo,” he said. “We have seen this in many cases in other elections this cycle — that corporate centrists are attacking progressives for not being progressive enough. And it shows you what voters are hungry for is change.” An unabashed progressive, Lawrence breaks the mold of the typical candidate to run for a seat like Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, which is centered around the state capital of Lansing and the college town of East Lansing. The district was previously represented by centrist Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who now serves in the Senate, and is currently held by Republican first-term Rep. Tom Barrett. Related Democrats Are Desperate to Flip an Arizona House Seat. They’re Rallying Around a Former Republican. The other two candidates running in Michigan’s August 4 primary hew closer to Slotkin’s mold. Bridget Brink is a former U. S. ambassador to Ukraine who quit in protest of President Donald Trump’s policies on the war with Russia, and Matt Maasdam is a former Navy SEAL who served as a military aide to President Barack Obama. Unlike Lawrence, both declined to call Israel’s war on Gaza genocide at a debate. Lawrence also comes from a starkly different background: While Brink and Maasdam traveled the corridors of power in Washington, Lawrence focused on building grassroots power, first through his role co-founding the youth-led Sunrise Movement, which backed the Green New Deal, and more recently helping found the Michigan Rent Is Too Damn High coalition. Mutual Endorsements On July 7, Lawrence and El-Sayed announced that they were endorsing each other. Like Lawrence, El-Sayed is running in the progressive lane in his primary while arguing that it will not hurt his electability in the general. “We have a lot of people who want to back both of us,” Lawrence said. “Given that the two of us both prioritize having a very robust, grassroots campaign rather than just relying on tens of millions of dollars in dark money like our respective opponents, it is especially beneficial for us to be able to integrate our grassroots operations.” Although no independent polls of the race have been released, Lawrence’s campaign commissioned one showing him leading the pack. Another commissioned by Brink’s campaign showed her ahead. Now that Lawrence has demonstrated that he has a shot at winning, the attacks have begun. The Congressional Black Caucus is targeting him over a podcast episode in which Lawrence remarked to a Black anti-war activist during a conversation on organizing that he was frustrated with the position of some older Black political leaders backing “capitalist, imperialist American power.” Lawrence says his comments have been misrepresented while apologizing for his choice of words. Related Who’s Spending in Your Congressional Election? We Tracked the Front Groups Fueling the 2026 Midterms. Meanwhile, a super PAC called the Crush MAGA PAC is targeting Lawrence, rather than the Republican holding the seat. The group has plowed more than $500,000 into a highly misleading ad that accuses Lawrence of investing in “Wall Street, big oil, and data centers” and campaigning against Democrats for supporting the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which sought to pressure party candidates over Israel’s war on Gaza. The investments highlighted in the anti-Lawrence ad make up a small portion of the $11,000 Lawrence has invested in a mutual fund; the mutual fund, not Lawrence himself, chose them. And, for his part, Lawrence eventually supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The source of the ad campaign against Lawrence is unclear, but he has speculated that it may be powered by pro-Israel donors. Crush MAGA PAC is affiliated with another group called the Save Democracy PAC, which has received money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC, United Democracy Project. United Democracy Project, however, denied getting involved in the Michigan congressional race. (Neither Crush MAGA PAC nor Save Democracy PAC responded to requests for comment.) If Lawrence succeeds in the primary, he will have to win in a general election in a purple district. He believes he can show that progressive candidates can win in split districts, pointing to the election and reelection of Congressional Progressive Caucus member Rep. Chris Deluzio in a swing district in Pennsylvania. “He’s not throwing people under the bus, and he has joined the progressive caucus, and he has now turned that into a more comfortable district. He has been winning with healthy margins,” Lawrence said. “That is what I hope to be able to do as well.” The post William Lawrence Is Running in a Purple Michigan District — on His Pro-Palestine Credentials appeared first on The Intercept.

Sergey Lavrov and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held their talks on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations events in Manila

Igor Kastyukevich said that Russia will continue to liberate territories from the Kiev regime’s power

Hassan Ghashghavi suggested that the US leader should look for more effective ways "to get out of the swamp he is in"

Arizona's primary election set several key matchups in the state's general election in November and signaled the influence home-grown Turning Point USA has in the swing state.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells US senators that the war has cost the US $37.5bn so far.

At the remote, mountainous frontier where the mighty Mekong carves the border between Myanmar and Laos, planners have sketched the outline of a mega dam. It would be the largest hydropower project ever built on the river’s mainstream outside China, but analysts suspect the study into it may matter more than the dam itself. A 34-month joint feasibility study for the 2,790-megawatt project was agreed on July 4 during Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing’s state visit to Vientiane. Officials from both...

The American tech giant is rolling out its 'AI Overview' and 'AI Mode' in France starting Wednesday, bringing artificial intelligence tools already available in other countries. Media outlets and website publishers fear they could lose a significant portion of their web traffic.

Sergey Lavrov and Ishaq Dar took part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial events in Manila

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Wednesday vo...

India's opposition MPs are resounding the protesters' demands for the resignation of the education minister. Pradhan has finally addressed the protests calling on him to step down. DW has the latest.

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus D&S) to collaborate on long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The agreement covers operations combining the Eurodrone with KHI’s P-1 maritime patrol aircraft, with particular attention to anti-submarine warfare. KHI is Japan’s second-largest defense contractor. Airbus D&S is […] The post Airbus, Kawasaki team up to send Eurodrone sub-hunting appeared first on Asia Times.

Russian forces attacked populated areas in Odesa region with strike drones, killing one woman.

Ariadna Montiel, national president of Morena, warned that all their candidates for the 2026-2027 electoral process will be subjected to a review by the Candidacy Integrity Verification Commission of the National Electoral Institute (INE). "We are going to put all possible candidates and all alternates under review. It involves a universe of more than 20,000 primary and alternate candidates. It is a very broad review, but it has to be done," she mentioned at a press conference. Montiel Reyes specified that, before reaching the INE's Candidacy Integrity Verification Commission, Morena intends to conduct two evaluations of all profiles: one carried out by the party itself, with open data, and another requested from the federal security cabinet. "In addition to the issue of alleged links to crime, we must check if they are not aware of political violence against women, violence against women, corruption... other things that are also very serious," she added. The national leader of Morena detailed that before the electoral process begins, in September, the party will seek to have an initial screening with open-source review conducted by the party on each of the six candidates who will participate in their surveys. Once this first filter of the six candidates per survey is completed, Morena will request information from federal security cabinet institutions about those candidates...

Andy Burnham isn’t considering an increase to the UK’s cap on tax-free earnings, according to people familiar with the matter, as the new prime minister tries to signal fiscal discipline to skeptical bond markets.

OpenAI, the American company developing the generative AI "ChatGPT," announced on the 21st that an incident occurred where their AI model, still in development, unintentionally launched a cyber attack on another company. The company is increasingly concerned, calling it an unprecedented case, and addressing the challenges posed by the increasing capabilities of AI is a key issue.

Figure comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham seeks to cut cost of living

Growing unemployment and anger over education system pose serious challenges to premier

Major Japanese oil companies Taiyo Oil, Idemitsu Kosan, and ENEOS said that the decision to purchase Russian oil was made to diversify supply sources

Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, stated this Wednesday, during the ASEAN ministers' meeting, that Washington keeps the door open for dialogue with Tehran, although he accused the Iranian regime of not taking negotiations aimed at achieving peace in the Middle East seriously. "We are willing to dialogue with Tehran," Rubio said, questioning the lack of commitment from Iranian authorities to the diplomatic process. Meanwhile, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed its eleventh wave of bombings against military targets in Iran, after at least four Saudi crude oil tankers returned on their route in the Red Sea following threats from Houthi rebels, backed by Tehran. Additionally, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reported that the Pentagon has increased the cost of the war against the Iranian regime to 37.5 billion dollars and requested additional resources from Congress to sustain military operations. From Washington, Donald Trump assured that he is willing to hold talks with the terrorist group Hezbollah if Lebanese President Joseph Aoun requests such negotiations. According to him, the goal would be to support negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to promote lasting peace in Lebanese territory. Below is minute-by-minute coverage: /america/world/2026/07/22/war-in-the-middle-east-oil-exceeded-u…

When global index provider MSCI warned in January that Indonesia risked being demoted from emerging to frontier market status, it unleashed a wave of volatility, sell-offs and wild trading swings. Six months on, Jakarta’s investment chief argues the real story is not about whether the country can earn investors’ trust. “For Indonesia, this is not about short-term market status,” Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani told This Week in Asia in written replies to questions. “It is about building a...

A leading Chinese bank has processed the largest cross-border transactions yet via mBridge, a multilateral central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, marking a major milestone for the emerging payment network as well as Beijing’s global yuan ambitions. Two transactions, worth more than US$1.7 billion each, were carried out by the Bank of China’s Shenzhen and Fujian branches in June and July, respectively. They showed mBridge’s ability to support high-value cross-border settlements across...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Australia to give up “double standards” and join efforts to maintain the momentum of improving bilateral ties, as Canberra voiced concerns over Beijing’s military development and a recent missile test. In a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday, Wang said Canberra and Beijing should address differences on the basis of mutual respect and equality. “Both sides should seek common ground while managing disagreements and foster a...

French lawmakers have approved a ban on social media access for children under the age of 15, as concerns grow around the world over the impact social media have on the health and safety of minors.

Pete Hegseth said the cost was a “generational investment” that would strengthen the US military and ensure it did not fall behind rival nations.

Hong Kong travellers should be mindful of driving fatigue, unfamiliar road signs and their insurance coverage when going on road trips overseas, experts have warned after two traffic accidents involving city residents in Japan within a week. Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, honorary life president of the Hong Kong China Automobile Association, said on Wednesday that various factors could affect drivers’ concentration and energy when driving on foreign roads. He explained that car trips between places in a...

The chief of the Indonesian agency overseeing President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme said on Wednesday she had resigned, citing health reasons, the second leadership change at the beleaguered government body in just over a month. The ‌resignation of Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, who took over the National Nutrition Agency in June, comes after budget cuts and a criminal investigation into the free meals scheme, which has been dogged by logistical challenges, concerns about quality...

The price of oil rose again above USD 92 per barrel on Wednesday, driven by the military escalation between the United States and Iran, while financial markets closely followed the evolution of the conflict in the Middle East. North Sea Brent rose about 1.2% to USD 92.09 per barrel, its highest intraday level since June 11, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington "is not finished" with its attacks on Iran. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1% and traded at USD 85.19. The rise in oil prices responded to the ongoing uncertainty about global energy supply. The U.S. military reported that it completed an eleventh consecutive night of bombings aimed at "further degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial maritime transport in the Strait of Hormuz," one of the main routes for global crude exports. Trump also heightened rhetoric against Yemen's Houthi rebels, allies of Iran. The president stated that he "will deal with" the group if they carry out the threat to block Saudi ports, a scenario that investors consider an additional risk to international oil trade. Analysts warned that an effective disruption of maritime routes could trigger a new surge in prices. Jay Hatfield, of Infrastructure Capital Ma…

Parliament backed both Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his government after a nine-hour extraordinary debate over the Garden Helsinki funding controversy.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have signed a series of economic agreements aimed at deepening Berlin's access to Baku's gas reserves and transit routes. The deal comes as Germany works to diversify its energy supply, and as Azerbaijan balances a Europe-leaning Armenia against a recently repaired relationship with Moscow.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gets into a heated exchange after being called a failed leader by Michigan Senator.

Business owners in Pakistan are getting impatient for a chance to finally trade goods and oil along their long shared border with Iran.

Abbas Araghchi says he has kept on the move since being pulled from rubble after strike on first day of war Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has described how he was pulled from the rubble of a leadership compound after the US-Israeli airstrike that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, and has survived since by constantly moving around the capital, Tehran, by car. In an interview with the Iranian journalist Javad Mogouyi, Araghchi confirmed Israel and the US had accurate intelligence on the location of Khamenei and other officials, enabling them to target Iran’s senior leadership. Continue reading...

Also in this newsletter: more US-EU trade deal jitters

Indonesia’s long-stalled gas project in the North Natuna Sea is stirring back to life, with its new operator confirming that activities have resumed at a strategically sensitive field after years of commercial uncertainty and pressure from China. Prime Group, the Indonesian company that took over operatorship from Britain’s Harbour Energy, told This Week in Asia that “activities associated with the Tuna PSC have resumed in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements”. The PSC –...

Also in today’s newsletter: Ukraine military shake-up and Wirecard’s Marsalek

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that includes the possibility of the kingdom obtaining the capacity to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to The Wall Street Journal. The decision, not yet officially announced, enables a 30-year agreement involving the participation of American companies in the development of the Saudi nuclear program. The sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, indicated that the White House could formalize the announcement starting Wednesday. The deal would allow the construction of a uranium enrichment plant in Saudi Arabia after a joint study between both countries, reported The Wall Street Journal. The pact will be sent to the U.S. Congress for review, where it faces resistance among lawmakers concerned about the risk of nuclear proliferation. Several congressmen warned that facilitating the Saudis' historic desire to enrich uranium could trigger a new nuclear competition in the region. "Any active centrifuge on Saudi soil could open the door to a potential weapons program," warned non-proliferation experts consulted by the American newspaper. Saudi Arabia is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged this Tuesday that his administration lacks the legal authority to execute the arrest order issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the leader's scheduled visit in September to participate in the United Nations General Assembly. The statement marks a change from his remarks last week, when he said he was willing to do everything permitted by city law to carry out the detention and that this possibility was being analyzed by his legal advisors. In a video shared on social media, the mayor explained that his administration reviewed all available options to determine if it could comply with the ICC order. "As I have already said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, just as with any other person accused by the ICC. My administration has reviewed all legal avenues to determine if New York City could execute the ICC arrest order if Benjamin Netanyahu were to come here," he stated. However, he added that "it is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this order." Despite this, Mamdani reiterated his criticism of the Israeli government leader and stated that "Netanyahu is not welcome in the city of New..."

Guatemalan authorities are considering implementing a new fuel subsidy after the increase in international prices, driven by tensions in the Middle East, triggered immediate reactions in the country. The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) confirmed that volatility in international markets, associated with risks in the Strait of Hormuz, caused new increases at Guatemalan service stations. For his part, the head of that department, Erwin Barrios, stated that, by order of the Executive, the involved ministries were summoned to study economic support measures aimed at the population. "By presidential coordination, the involved ministers will meet to establish the possibility of new economic support for the benefit of the population, which, if appropriate, will be presented to the Congress of the Republic," he said through a message published on the MEM's social media. International context: conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and its impact The international scene is marked by instability in the Middle East, where the Strait of Hormuz remains under threats that raise the cost of oil in global markets. According to the MEM, internationally, between July 10 and 20, the price per gallon of premium gasoline increased by 39 cents, from 3.10 dollars to 3.49 dollars. Meanwhile, the regular gallon rose from 3…

The People’s Republic of China has used its statecraft to weaponize its trade with other countries on several occasions in recent years. Such behavior usually arises when the PRC interprets another country’s actions as hostile to its political interests and resorts to nonofficial sanctions, tariffs, regulations, and consumer boycotts that damage a host nation’s economy. […] The post How Australia resisted PRC economic coercion: lessons for others appeared first on Asia Times.

In addition to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, other drug traffickers such as Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva "El Mochomo," and Rubén Oseguera González "El Menchito" have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States. Below, EL UNIVERSAL provides a summary. Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Almost two years after being captured by U.S. authorities, drug trafficker Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life imprisonment last Monday for drug trafficking. But the sentence, handed down by U.S. judge Brian Cogan and which includes the confiscation of 15 billion dollars, is not the only one handed to Mexican cartel leaders in this country. Read also Sheinbaum reacts to "El Mayo's" statements after receiving life imprisonment; urges young people to stay away from organized crime Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán After escaping twice, first from the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco, and from the Federal Social Readaptation Center (Cefereso) No. 1 "El Altiplano," drug trafficker Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was recaptured on January 8, 2015. "Mission accomplished: We have him," announced then-Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto via X. After two years, on January 19, 2017, Guzmán was extradited to the U.S. On February 12, 2019, Cogan sentenced him to life plus 30 years, as he was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and involved in drug trafficking. Additionally, he was fined with a confiscation equivalent…

The National Authority of Public Services (Asep) ordered the electricity distribution companies Edemet, Edechi, and Ensa to implement a mandatory compliance action plan to correct deficiencies in service provision. The instruction also aims to strengthen customer service following the increase in citizen complaints registered through various channels. Just this week, Deputy Jhonathan Vega reported a suspected unjustified increase in electricity bills and urged affected users to file complaints with Asep. Additionally, on social media, complaints are multiplying about large discrepancies in electricity consumption, which varies significantly from month to month upwards, despite using the same electrical appliances and following the same routine. Zelmar Rodríguez Crespo, general administrator of Asep, reported that she held meetings with the top executives of Naturgy — the company operating Edemet and Edechi — and Ensa, demanding the immediate adoption of corrective measures and the fulfillment of verifiable commitments to address the deficiencies identified by the regulator. "We are continuously monitoring the cases reported by citizens through our various platforms. We demand immediate solutions to the inconsistencies that continue to affect customers and users of the electrical service," she affirmed.

Chinese artificial intelligence unicorn Moonshot AI, whose release of its Kimi K3 model last week sparked talk of another “DeepSeek moment”, has accelerated its fundraising ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, eyeing a new financing round as early as next month, a source says. The Beijing-based company was set to close its current funding round at a US$30 billion valuation later this month or early next month, according to a person familiar with the matter. It planned...

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Today is a make-or-break moment for the EU’s 21st sanctions package targeting Russia. After EU countries failed to agree on the ins and outs of the agreement last week, ambassadors are meeting again today in Brussels to finally clinch the deal. But can they hash out the remaining thorny issues? Next: European Parliament is trying to reengage with China after a seven-year diplomatic freeze. But despite the defrosting of relations, it’s clear lawmakers are unsure of what their stance toward Beijing should be. And finally, as Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” hits cinemas, a Hollywood culture war hits Greece. Do you have a Hollywood trope about a specific European country that grinds your gears? Let us know! Send us a message or voice note to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. And for those intrigued about the new monkey species with Ian Wishart’s hairstyle found hiding in the DR Congo’s forests, you can read more here.

None of the options faced by Iranian leaders offer a clear path to victory, as the conflict with the United States continues.

International luxury car brands from Mercedes-Benz to Land Rover took a further beating in China last month as wealthy consumers continued to shun expensive petrol-powered vehicles. Struggling against competition from China’s rising electric vehicle (EV) powerhouses, international marques would find it more difficult to retain their market share and maintain profitability in the world’s largest automotive market, analysts said. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA),...

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing the Israeli leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A foreign ministers' meeting between the United States and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was held, and as Southeast Asian countries expressed concern over the rising tensions in the Middle East region, which is an important energy supplier, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that he is "prepared to engage in constructive negotiations and dialogue" regarding the situation in Iran, emphasizing an approach aimed at a diplomatic resolution.

France will ban social media for under-15s from September 1, following the UK and Australia’s moves toward blanket bans.

The national leader of Morena, Ariadna Montiel Reyes, stated that Fernando Gómez-Mont, lawyer for former Baja California governor Ernesto Ruffo Appel, continues with the relationship of complicity and legal representation "of the same corrupt individuals from the past." Through a statement, the Morena leader added that the opposition contradicted itself when trying to portray the former state governor as innocent, when they previously insisted on investigating the fuel theft. "Calderón accused the former PAN governor of having a relationship of complicity with the Arellano cartel, but now, regardless of that, he brings up Ernesto Ruffo's defense," she commented. Read also Ariadna Montiel accuses PRIAN of disguising Ernesto Ruffo as a political prisoner; it is not persecution, but fuel theft, she says. Montiel Reyes recalled that Gómez-Mont was Secretary of the Interior during Felipe Calderón's administration (2006-2012), and other clients of his have been: Carlos and Raúl Salinas de Gortari Tomás Peñaloza, accused of defrauding IMSS Rogelio Montemayor, due to PemexGate Guillermo "Billy" Álvarez, former director of the Cruz Azul Cooperative "What we are seeing is a reaction from the right, from the opposition, in defense of a criminal, a fuel trafficker," concluded the leader of Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional. Join our channel ¡EL UNIVERSAL is now on Whatsapp!, from your mobile device, stay informed about the most relevant news of the day,…

Russia is no longer willing to return some occupied territories to Ukraine as part of any deal to end the war and plans to retain them as buffer zones, according to people close to the Kremlin.

Zohran Mamdani says his administration lacks the legal authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu but urges the US government to enforce the ICC's warrant.

In our recent newsletter piece about Meta Superintelligence, we expressed reasons to be optimistic on Meta AI. MSL now has many of the right ingredients to catch up with Anthropic and OpenAI to return to the frontier. However, we also briefly alluded to cultural issues plaguing Meta’s infrastructure teams. This article will dive into how these cultural issues have manifested into expensive missteps, whether it be with acquisitions like Rivos or strange choices on hardware architecture. We believe that Meta Infrastructure needs a cultural reset to better serve the Meta AI organization, especially the world class researchers who are at MSL. This is even more important as Meta embarks on the path of selling its compute to outside customers, not just serving captive internal users. Meta Infrastructure has become bloated, with middle managers expending resources on over-engineered technology solutions that lose sight of broader organizational needs. The company appears burdened by far too many disparate groups that are over-optimizing for certain metrics as opposed to delivering usable technology for the company as a whole. Middle managers will do everything to justify their proposals to protect their positions within Meta, which has become an extremely political organization. One big issue is Meta’s six-month performance review cycle, in which the bottom 10% to 15% are cut every review round. The result is an organization of employees that optimize for short-term wins rather than long-term strategies. Some managers push for highly visible projects that can be delivered quickly, a practice known as “window washing” and then promptly pivot or abandon them. Few openly challenge leadership, which leads to bad decisions going uncorrected. The whole system discourages long-term thinking and leads to risk-adverse behavior. Within Meta Infrastructure, supply chain teams also have little say over engineering teams. The result is technology decisions driven by political motivations rather than thoughtful software/hardware co-design for the broader company. Frequent pivots are also common. And because Meta has a reputation for throwing money at problems and executing at high speed, these U-turns end up becoming more costly versus other companies that take a more disciplined or conservative approach. Suppliers also lose faith when given design wins are later cancelled. This has lead to less supply chain prioritization on new designs. Some suppliers favor focusing on Amazon or Google designs due to Meta’s frequent reshuffling. A lot of Meta’s issues come from a lack of financial discipline, with managers creating new projects and headcount to fill out and justify the massive budgets given for initiatives like AI. It’s a repeat of what happened to Meta’s Reality Labs division, where billions of dollars were spent on engineers and R&D until layoffs, partly brought on by the company’s pivot to AI, slashed the team and their related projects starting in 2022 and continuing through this year. Rivos Acquisition First, one of Meta’s most recent missteps has been the more than $2.5 billion it sunk last year into the acquisition of Rivos, a chip startup. Few inside Meta’s chip division have a full understanding of why the company bought Rivos in the first place, and those who championed the deal internally have since gone quiet. The prevailing theory is that Meta had the money, the custom silicon space was heating up, and it was already licensing Rivos’ IP for a future chip, so leadership figured it might as well own Rivos’ technology outright than let anyone else have it. With the Rivos acquisition, Meta also gained the ability to bypass partners like Broadcom to manage the manufacturing and testing of their own custom chips, a practice known as customer-owned tooling. However, paying more than $2.5 billion for that privilege doesn’t make much sense either given that a COT team could be built from scratch for maybe $100 million a year or more. Although Meta wanted only Rivos’ accelerator and GPU team, the startup’s founders insisted on an all-or-nothing deal. Meta bought the entire company and then heavily cut employees in the parts it didn’t want. Source: SemiAnalysis, Rivos Some former Meta chip employees say the acquisition was led by Meta’s silicon chief, Yee Jiun Song, who pushed for the deal against the wishes of some of those under him but has since lost interest. The result is an organization that has rejected the transplant, leaving Rivos staff stuck to fend for themselves. Existing Meta chip managers treated the acquisition as a pool of free headcount, grabbing Rivos engineers to build out their own empires and pulling the original startup apart in different directions until little of it remained intact. The technology reasons behind the deal have evaporated just as quickly. Part of Meta’s original interest was that Rivos had SIMT core IP which was closer to a Nvidia-style GPU architecture in terms of programmability, whereas Meta’s own MTIA is SIMD. Yet after the deal closed, Meta cancelled the chip known as Olympus that was meant to use Rivos’ GPU IP, because the design was too aggressive in terms of system and package architecture as well as the software being far from ready. Instead, Meta is sticking with its existing chip architecture through MTIA 600. Meta still wants to develop a chip that incorporates Rivos technology, and it has created a new chip project known as Phoebe that is now scheduled to tape out in 2028. But not everyone inside Meta is optimistic about the project, and some believe it could eventually be cancelled as well. We have been updating our subscribers of the Accelerator Model about all the different architectures, floorplans, and volumes of various custom silicon. Meanwhile, incoming Rivos employees have gotten a crash course in Meta’s internal culture. Unlike more mature hardware organizations like Apple, Meta’s hardware roadmaps can change just as quickly as its software roadmaps, with constant pivots, meaning that something you are working on now could be pointless in six months. Many within Meta’s chip division say there is no clear org structure, no clear decision-making, and no clear ownership of which group does what. A funny example of the disfunction that is approachable to those not in the weeds, Meta doesn’t give most employees assigned desks; people who have been there over a year still scrounge daily for a workspace, where sometimes the desk has a monitor, sometimes the monitor has the wrong cable, and sometimes there is no monitor at all. Employees have formally applied for an assigned desk and been denied, even though desks sit empty everywhere. Finally, the Rivos acquisition has created dissatisfaction among the pre-existing Meta silicon team. Many Rivos engineers joined with higher compensation and titles without having the requisite responsibilities to justify such perks, and they were placed under existing Meta silicon employees. This resulted in decreased morale within the pre-existing team and also with incoming Rivos staff, who lack the power to make decisions. Since the beginning of this year, a number of Meta’s silicon engineers been leaving for startups or other well established companies like Arm and Nvidia. As we first reported for clients, around 30% of the Rivos engineers who joined Meta as part of the acquisition were let go in recent layoffs. Rivos co-founder Mark Hayter has already left. A number of former Rivos people have since departed Meta to join Gerard Williams’s new chip startup, Nuvacore, after their first tranche of RSUs vested in May. We believe that Rivos CEO and co-founder, Puneet Kumar, is also eyeing up an exit in a year or two when his shares in Meta fully vest. There is speculation he could join Rosaic Labs, a new chip startup co-founded by Amarjit Gill, an investor in Rivos and longtime collaborator with Puneet Kumar at SiByte, P. A. Semi, Apple and Agnilux. Grand Teton Now let’s talk about Meta’s AI server designs. Meta’s hardware decisions are largely driven by a TCO analysis comparing a matrix of workloads such as ranking-recommendation and GenAI against what vendors like Nvidia, AMD and their own custom silicon offering provide. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has issued an edict that the systems being designed have to work for the entire business, meaning they have to support not only Gen AI workloads but core ranking and recommendation systems as well. However, Meta has still opted for several “optimizations” for its GPU servers, all of which are strange choices that are often worse than the standard configurations that other hyperscalers purchase. Part of the issue stems from the company’s server teams being in completely separate organizations than their networking teams, with different goals and opinions. Meta engineers are also motivated by the idea of owning their own network operating system and hardware rather than rely on other companies. To recap, Meta’s H100 HGX server was called “Teton Grand” a design that has been contributed to OCP. The major difference from the standard HGX server is the addition of a switch tray in addition to the standard GPU and CPU head-node configuration. This switch tray houses four Broadcom PCIe switches, 16 SSDs and eight NICs. The function is to provide extra PCIe lanes so that the Grand Teton can add more SSDs per server. Source: Meta It was during the Hopper generation that Nvidia effectively designed out the need for standalone PCIe switches, by implementing PCIe switching functionality with its ConnectX-7 NIC. With 80x PCIe lanes available on the Intel Sapphire Rapids host CPU, Meta could have designed a box that connected the 2x 200G front-end NICs with eight lanes each, four lanes for various management and control, and 16 lanes for each of the eight ConnectX-7 NICs. This would leave them 32 lanes to connect to eight E1. S SSDs. So, in the end with Grand Teton Meta was able to squeeze out eight more SSDs per server. This came at the cost of greater server BOM, more power, and more integration complexity. Why did Meta want all this extra direct attached storage? The Infrastructure team provisioned this with the belief that more storage was needed for checkpointing training runs. However, in production, the storage wasn’t utilized nearly as much as anticipated by the model teams, which is why this design ended up being cancelled. This is one of several examples of lack of hardware and software co-design wasting resources. Meta’s additional justifications were that the design was easier to service and gave it the flexibility to use non-Nvidia NICs. Its engineers wanted to avoid handing over more business to Nvidia, particularly for networking, given that there already was a strong reliance on Nvidia for GPUs. But the Broadcom switches couldn’t be serviced anyway, and Meta’s software stack still depended on Nvidia’s version of RoCE, the networking protocol for GPU traffic, so Meta was never realistically going to switch NIC vendors. Ultimately, Meta paid more, had worse TCO, didn't reduce their reliance on Nvidia networking gear, and increased their reliance on Broadcom. Ariel The Grand Teton wasn’t a one off mistake on server design. This continued into the Blackwell generation with Meta’s custom GB200 Catalina rack, also known as “Ariel.” Ariel has one Nvidia B200 GPU paired with one Grace CPU, instead of the standard two B200 GPUs with one Grace CPU in the regular GB200 SKU that everyone else purchased. The implementation of this was simple: Ariel used the standard Bianca compute board used for GB200, with each board having one GPU depopulated. Source: Meta Meta engineers were concerned about the stability of the single rack GB200 NVL72. NVL72 systems are complex, involving things like a copper backplane that is the central hub where all the chips connect to and miles of dense c…

The House on Tuesday passed a stopgap measure that would fund federal agencies at existing levels through Dec. 4, in an effort to avert a potential government shutdown before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.  The lower chamber voted 220-205 to pass the measure. Six Democrats and Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.) joined…

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his city doesn’t have the ability to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and dozens of aircraft battled a fast-moving wildfire in southern France on Tuesday after flames tore through 1,700 hectares in just a few hours, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. Authorities warned the blaze was spreading rapidly despite weakening winds amid extreme fire conditions.