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GLOBAL NEWS
Global Hunger
(UN News) Global hunger declined for a third consecutive year in 2025 showing that progress is possible, but gains remain fragile and far too slow to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. The warning comes in the latest edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report issued on Tuesday by five United Nations agencies. Estimates show that 7.8 per cent of the global population, or roughly 645 million people, faced hunger in 2025. This is down from 8.1 per cent in 2024 and 8.6 per cent in 2022, or nearly 14 million fewer people than in 2024 and 43 million fewer compared to 2022. – Global hunger declines again but progress remains uneven across regions | UN News
Migrants and Refugees
(UN News) The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) reports that 144 migrants attempting to reach Europe are dead or missing due to a series of “tragic maritime incidents” off the coast of Mauritania last week. The migrants, many of whom were refugees, spent 25 days stranded on a boat from The Gambia headed for Spain’s Canary Islands, highlighting the dangerous nature of this sea route. Between 14 and 18 July, UNHCR, national authorities and humanitarian partners were present at three disembarkations which brought 387 people safely ashore. Rescue efforts culminated in an operation on 18 July where teams found 38 survivors and 143 dead or missing. Among the survivors that day were two children who lost their entire families at sea. – UN refugee agency reports 144 migrants dead or missing off Mauritanian coast | UN News
ANALYSES FROM GLOBAL THINK TANKS
China
(Jonah Reisboard – The Jamestown Foundation) The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), sanctioned by the United States since 2020, is making overt appeals for international investment. This is likely a result of positive incentives and economic opportunities rather than a response to external sanctions. The ease with which the XPCC can identify foreign patrons and the candor of its calls for international investment suggest that the efficacy of U.S. sanctions is limited. Outreach, platformed by trade expos and elevated by the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, appears to have achieved both political and financial successes, with foreign politicians giving speeches at these events and investment deals inked since 2025 reportedly totaling over $1.5 billion. – Xinjiang Dealmaking Overcomes Sanctions Deterrent – Jamestown
US – Brazil – China
(James Story and Ricardo Zúniga – Atlantic Council) US tariffs, sanctions, and terrorism designations are pushing Brazil economically and strategically away from Washington. Compliance risks from the US terrorism designations may encourage some Brazilian firms to look for Chinese alternatives. Increasingly strained relations are undermining opportunities for US-Brazil cooperation, including on critical mineral supply chains. – Washington is pushing Brazil toward China – Atlantic Council
War in Iran – Middle East – Gulf
(Elliott Abrams – Council on Foreign Relations) The conflict between the United States and Iran has illuminated a factor in U.S. policy that received too little attention until this year: the U.S. basing pattern in the Middle East. U.S. bases in the region are now the targets of Iranian attacks, leading to the deaths of at least seventeen U.S. service members, injuries to roughly five hundred others, and billions of dollars in equipment losses. This is a geography problem. Simply put, the United States has bases all over the Persian Gulf that are too close to Iran. The largest U.S. base in the Middle East is the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where roughly ten thousand U.S. troops worked prior to the current war. It is also the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the location of the Combined Air Operations Center that controls all U.S. air activity in the entire Middle East. The headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command are in Bahrain. There are significant U.S. bases as well in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and a U.S. presence in Oman and Saudi Arabia. All are within easy striking distance of Iran. – To Base or Not to Base: The Iran War Exposes Flaws of U.S. Basing in the Middle East | Council on Foreign Relations
