The Global Eye is in partnership with SIOI – Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale
China – Ice Silk Road
*(Marzia Giglioli – The Global Eye) Il clima sta diventando la nuova leva geopolitica e lo scioglimento dei ghiacci nell’Artico la nuova frontiera per la supremazia delle rotte. E nella corsa, come ha scritto il Financial Times, risulta già in vantaggio la Cina che ha inaugurato la Ice Silk Road. Così, mentre le temperature di questi mesi allarmano il mondo e le temperature globali dei mari raggiungono livelli record, i competitor mondiali guardano ai nuovi business e al nuovo potere sui mari con nuove rotte strategiche (e nuove alleanze). – Cina e la Ice Silk Road. Il climate change è la nuova frontiera geostrategica | The Global Eye
France – Ukraine
(RFE/RL) French leader Emmanuel Macron vowed to accelerate delivery of new air interceptor missiles to Kyiv following devastating Russian attacks on a Ukrainian city and a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I spoke with President Zelenskyy in the aftermath of the double Russian strike in broad daylight against a shopping center in Kryviy Rih, which caused numerous civilian casualties, and I expressed our horror and deep sorrow,” Macron wrote on Twitter. Macron said he assured Zelenskyy of “the strengthening of our support with the deployment of interceptors…It is essential that all countries with available capabilities also join this effort. We must also continue to increase pressure on Russia as long as it chooses to refuse a ceasefire and peace”. Macron, in his X posting on August 22, also said Ukrainian allies in the so-called Coalition of the Willing — an initiative led by Paris and London — will meet on August 24 to explore ways to ramp up pressure on Moscow to halt its full-invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022 and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are set to host the coalition meeting, which will be held in Kyiv, with leaders attending in person and remotely. Macron’s office did not specify which leaders will be there in person. – Macron Pledges Delivery Of French Air Interceptors Following Deadly Wave Of Russian Attacks
International Criminal Court
(Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, Christopher “Kip” Hale – Just Security) On July 24, the States Parties to the Rome Statute voted 82 to 13, with 15 abstentions, to remove Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for serious misconduct and serious breach of duty. Norway was among the states that voted in favor of removal. It was a landmark decision rendered at a time when the Court itself is under siege. The United States, which has already sanctioned Karim Khan, the Deputy Prosecutors and six of the Court’s judges, has announced a campaign to dismantle the Court and is urging states to withdraw from it. So, the Court must choose a new Prosecutor in the middle of a campaign against its existence. This is a perilous moment. But it should not obscure what the vote itself demonstrated. An institution accused of answering to no one has just done what few international bodies ever have and held one of, if not, the most powerful persons inside it to account. – The Court That Removed Its Own Prosecutor
Iran
(AFP) Iran on Sunday executed a man accused of carrying a chainsaw during January anti-government protests who was charged with acting as an agent of Israel and the United States. The judiciary said Majid Adineh had been convicted of “operational action in favor of hostile groups” in nationwide rallies that broke out late last year. – Iran executes man accused of aiding US, Israel in anti-govt protests
Iran – Pakistan
(Reuters) Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry. Baghaei said the visit was in continuation of Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen peace and security in the region. – Iran says Pakistan’s army chief to visit Tehran on Monday
Israel
(Jan Philipp Burgard – Politico) It was a gunshot to the head of a Palestinian militant that first exposed the gulf between Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu. In March 2016, two Palestinians armed with knives attacked Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, wounding one of them. The soldiers opened fire, killing one attacker and leaving the other wounded on the ground. Several minutes later, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier named Elor Azaria cocked his rifle, aimed at the wounded attacker’s head and pulled the trigger. Azaria said he had felt threatened. The question of whether the soldier should face a military trial divided the country. To some Israelis, Azaria was no criminal but a soldier who had killed a terrorist. To others, Azaria had carried out an extrajudicial killing or even murder. He was eventually convicted of manslaughter by a military court. Eisenkot, then chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, defended the decision to prosecute Azaria, arguing that shooting an attacker who had already been incapacitated was incompatible with the values of the Israeli military. Netanyahu sided with the soldier and called for him to be pardoned. – TBD – POLITICO
Israel – Britain
(David Haznedari – The Global Eye) Il 13 agosto Galei Tzahal, la radio dell’esercito israeliano, ha mandato in onda una lunga conversazione fra il primo ministro Benjamin Netanyahu e Avi Harush, ufficiale in congedo che ha perso un figlio a Gaza. Discorrendo di Randolph Churchill e del nipote Winston Spencer Churchill, entrambi giornalisti, entrambi in Israele nel giugno del 1967 per raccontare la guerra dei sei giorni, Netanyahu ha osservato che una cronaca di quel tenore oggi non si troverebbe, e ha aggiunto la formula destinata a circolare: nella Britannia di adesso, quella che si può chiamare la repubblica islamica di Britannia. All’intervistatore che chiedeva se il resto d’Europa non fosse ormai simile ha risposto di sì, e ha soggiunto che la prima repubblica islamica dotata di armi nucleari sarà quella britannica. – Netanyahu chiama islamica la Britannia | The Global Eye
Israel – Palestine
(Reuters) Two Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday killed at least two people, including a 4-year-old boy, and wounded seven others, Palestinian health officials said. One of the strikes hit a building in Zawayda town in the center of the enclave and followed a warning by the Israeli army for the owners of the property to leave the area, residents said. Medics said flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of meters around had wounded at least six people, including the 4-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was later pronounced dead at hospital. – Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill two people, including a 4-year-old boy, medics say
Kazakhstan
(Zamira Eshanova – RFE/RL) Voting has begun in elections for Kazakhstan’s new, unicameral parliament — but opposition groups have been excluded from the vote in a tightly-controlled process that follows changes to the country’s constitution. Seven state-vetted parties are contesting the election while opposition groups were denied the status of political parties under legislation used to exclude them. – Voting Begins In Kazakh Elections Marred By Exclusion Of Opposition, Attacks On Media
Law and Crime Prevention
*(UN News) Conflicts can expose civilians and detainees to grave abuses; the challenge is not only to document these crimes, but also to ensure all survivors are recognised, protected and able to access justice and care. When a Ukrainian prisoner of war was released in 2025 after three years in detention, he carried with him searing memories of rape, forced nudity, beatings and electric shocks to his genitals. His experience is part of a pattern the United Nations is documenting across conflicts: Men and boys are also subjected to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), often in places where sexual abuses are hard to document, including detention facilities. Women and girls continue to bear the overwhelming burden of this violence. But overlooking male survivors can leave them without appropriate medical, psychological or legal support. According to the UN Secretary-General’s report, women and girls made up 93 per cent of verified victims of conflict-related sexual violence in 2024, compared with seven per cent who were men and boys. The figures, however, do not capture the full extent of the damage which remains heavily underreported; estimates suggest that 90 to 95 per cent of sexual abuse against men and boys in conflict settings is never recorded. – Breaking the silence over sexual violence against men and boys in war | UN News
Nuclear
*(Vincenzo Formisano – The Global Eye) L’energia nucleare è tornata a essere una tesi d’investimento globale. La combinazione di sicurezza energetica, decarbonizzazione e crescita della domanda elettrica sta riportando il settore al centro dei piani industriali di Cina, Stati Uniti, Europa e Asia orientale, con un fabbisogno di capitale che, secondo le ultime analisi, potrebbe salire fino a oltre 250 miliardi di dollari l’anno entro il 2050. – Nuclear power: da tema strategico ad asset infrastrutturale | The Global Eye
Russia
(Artyom Filatov – RFE/RL) Vlada Kharebova has been trying to renounce her Russian citizenship since 2022, without success so far. Kharebova lives in Latvia and is seeking citizenship for herself and her two children there. But the Baltic nation generally does not allow dual citizenship in such cases: The law indicates dual Latvian-Russian citizenship is not permitted. She has run into problems with the Russian consulate in Riga, which she said provides a list of required documents but little guidance on how to obtain them. “When you call or write to the consulate, they say: ‘We don’t deal with this. Sorry, we can’t help,'” Kharebova told Current Time. Russia has also increased the fees for this process, now making it “a significantly high amount” for her to pay on her salary as a teacher. Her daughter encountered an obstacle when the consulate refused to accept her application because she had not brought a copy of her college diploma from Russia. Kharebova said the requirement was not listed in the available instructions. For Russians who live abroad who want to give up their Russian citizenship, be it for legal, bureaucratic, or moral reasons or a combination of factors, the process can take years. And it just got considerably more expensive, for those inside and outside Russia. A new law that took effect on July 22 raised the state duty for renouncing citizenship from 4,200 rubles ($50) to 50,000 rubles ($592), while a separate government resolution raised the consular fee for applications submitted abroad from $130 to $1,200. – For Russians Abroad, Renouncing Their Citizenship Is Getting Harder — And More Expensive
Russia – Ukraine
*(Tim Lister and Daria Tarasova-Markina – CNN) Russia is likely to mobilize another 300,000 troops later this year, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as it tries to complete the capture of a long-coveted region of east Ukraine. In wide-ranging remarks released Sunday, Zelensky said he expected that the Russians would end the year occupying the same amount of Ukrainian territory as at the beginning of the year, despite enormous losses of manpower. “Russia has lost 267,000 personnel since the start of the year, including around 155,000 killed to date,” Zelensky claimed. The figure is impossible to confirm but in line with estimates by Western officials. Russian parliamentary elections take place next month, and there has been speculation about a fresh mobilization despite a 2022 draft triggering protests and an exodus of young men. “We are confident that following the elections, they will carry out a mobilization. We believe this will not take place in the major cities,” Zelensky said. Zelensky said he believed Putin would “deploy the 300,000 newly mobilized troops depending on the situation in the east of our country,” and had told his generals to complete the occupation of Donetsk by the end of the year. “They’ll lose all 300,000 of these newly mobilized Russians there; we’ll wipe them out,” Zelensky asserted. Ukrainian units are defending some 20% of Donetsk, including a belt of strategic industrial towns such as Slaviansk and Kramatorsk. Zelensky said it was impossible for the Russians to complete the capture of Donetsk region. He suggested the Russians might also attempt an incursion into the northern Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Sumy. “They do not yet have troops in the Bryansk region (which borders northern Ukraine), but we can see military equipment along the borders with the Russian Federation.” – Russia likely to mobilize at least 300,000 more troops to Ukraine war, Zelensky warns | CNN
Syria – Israel
*(Reuters) Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian land, a top Syrian minister said, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” as the door for diplomacy is open. In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Saturday, days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus’ priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction. – Syria foreign minister sees Israel security talks resuming despite no trust
Ukraine
(Hanne Cokelaere and Veronika Melkozerova – Politico) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday flatly rejected a call by his former defense chief to send the country to the ballot box. “I believe that during a war like this, elections in general pose major risks,” Zelenskyy told journalists — including POLITICO — behind closed doors. A vote “right now would be a tsunami for the state, one that would divide Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president said. He added that his strategy is “to bring the country to the end of the war and preserve an independent and sovereign state.” – Zelenskyy: Elections would ‘tear Ukraine apart’ – POLITICO
Ukraine – China
*(Colin Hood – RFE/RL) As the EU pours nearly 6 billion euros ($7 billion) into Ukraine’s drone capabilities, Kyiv has secured an exemption from procurement rules that could allow it to continue using critical Chinese components — underscoring its uncomfortable reliance on a country closely aligned with Russia. Kyiv’s once-nascent drone industry has expanded dramatically since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, Kyiv remains dependent on cheaper Chinese components to keep up with frontline demand. Dialogue between Beijing and Kyiv has deteriorated in recent years, marred by concerns over China’s ties with Moscow. The recent carve-out is part of a 60-billion-euro ($70 billion) defense procurement loan focusing on elements that reportedly aren’t sufficiently available in Europe. Vita Holod, junior research fellow at Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, told RFE/RL that “the EU exemption is quite revealing. It shows that neither Ukraine nor Europe can yet replace Chinese suppliers at the necessary scale, speed, and price.” – Ukraine’s Drone War Exposes An Uncomfortable Reliance On China
US
(Nicola Morrow – Just Security) Over the course of his two terms in office, President Donald Trump and his administrations have dramatically expanded the federal government’s use of social media vetting for travelers and applicants for visas and immigration benefits. Millions of people are now required to disclose their social media handles to, and in some cases make their accounts public for, the federal agencies that decide whether they may enter the country, remain here, or receive immigration benefits. Just last week, for example, the conservative media outlet Daily Signal reported the Trump administration planned to start requiring foreign journalists applying for U.S. visas to make their social media accounts public for government review. Despite the impact of these requirements on First Amendment-protected speech and association, there is scant information available to the public about their efficacy or the evidence supporting their adoption. During the first Trump administration, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is responsible for reviewing federal agencies’ proposed collections of information from the public, approved a State Department proposal to institute a social media disclosure requirement for visa applicants. Then, during the Biden administration, OIRA rejected two proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) social media disclosure requirements, one that would have mandated disclosure of social media information on a number of immigration forms and another that would have required travelers under the Visa Waiver Program to disclose their social media information. During the second Trump administration, however, OIRA reversed course and approved a social media disclosure requirement on immigration forms that was nearly identical to the one it had rejected under the Biden administration. – The Government’s Unexplained Reversal on Social Media Disclosure Requirements
*(Michael Schiffer – Just Security) The U.S. government and American tech companies are in the throes of a debate over whether developers of artificial intelligence should be permitted to publicly release the “weights” — the rules or numerical calculations that determine how large language models “learn,” process information, and make predictions — of their most advanced AI models. The concerns behind that debate are real. Those who favor open-source AI or so-called “open weights” argue that it speeds development of all AI systems and software built on them and can help crowdsource security issues and other flaws. But opponents fear that open models could also be “fine-tuned” for purposes their developers never intended, possibly nefarious uses, and that whatever safeguards are built into a proprietary system evaporate once the weights are public. Yet the current debate relies on assumptions about technology and innovation – and where the “chokepoints” are that safeguard national security and drive economic growth – that may no longer be helpful for shaping policy. Indeed, for the better part of a decade, American technology strategy has been built around a deceptively simple idea: preserve U.S. technological leadership by controlling access to the technologies that make it possible. Export controls on advanced semiconductors, restrictions on AI computing, investment screening, and sanctions lists all reflect this logic. If the United States and its allies control the critical chokepoints of the global innovation economy, they can slow China’s rise and preserve America’s strategic edge. It is a coherent strategy. It is also increasingly a strategy designed for a world that no longer exists. – In Open-Source AI Debate, the U.S. Needs a New Theory of Tech Power
*(David Haznedari – The Global Eye) Il 17 agosto William Frey ha pubblicato per la Brookings Institution l’analisi delle stime demografiche diffuse dal Census Bureau lo scorso maggio. Le 92 città statunitensi sopra i 250.000 abitanti, considerate nel loro insieme, sono passate da una crescita dell’1,13 per cento nel 2023-24 ad appena lo 0,31 per cento nel 2024-25; 86 di esse hanno registrato risultati peggiori dell’anno precedente e quelle che perdono residenti sono salite da 8 a 32. New York, che nell’anno precedente cresceva, ha perso più di 12.000 abitanti, il maggiore calo in termini assoluti; Charlotte e Fort Worth ne hanno guadagnati circa 20.000 ciascuna. – 32 città americane perdono abitanti | The Global Eye
US – Canada
(AFP) US President Donald Trump hit back at Canada on Sunday after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States following a breakdown in trade negotiations. “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!” he said. – Trump hits back at Canada after retaliatory tariffs announcement
US – Lithuania – Belarus
*(Katsiaryna Shmatsina – Lawfare) Potash is rarely associated with high-stakes geopolitics, yet it is a critical mineral for U.S. agriculture and, by extension, U.S. national security. In recent months, the obscure agricultural input has become a wedge issue between the U.S. and Lithuania, a NATO ally now under pressure from the U.S. to allow the transit of Belarusian potash, which remains under EU sanctions. Given the ongoing Russian-Belarusian hybrid attacks on its border, Vilnius likely views this U.S. demand as a direct threat to its own national security. While Washington more likely views the supply of Belarusian potash to the U.S. market through the lens of fertilizer supply chain stabilization, the view from Vilnius is much different. Lithuania sees Belarus as a direct security threat and an extension of Russian influence, citing repeated airspace violations and broader hybrid warfare activity. The EU has renewed sanctions on Belarus until February 2027, and Lithuania does not have the authority to lift them unilaterally. The U.S., however, appears to be sidestepping the EU and bilaterally pushing Vilnius to engage in a dialogue with the Belarusian regime while downplaying the strategic risks on NATO’s eastern flank. – The U.S. and Lithuania Clash Over Belarusian Potash | Lawfare
War in Iran – Middle East – Gulf
(Reuters) Iran’s foreign minister dismissed the threat of new US sanctions as a sign of desperation on Sunday and said the expected new measures would fail to defeat Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is due to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday, has threatened to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran. Iran’s economy is already under huge pressure from international sanctions, its infrastructure has been hit repeatedly and thousands of people have been killed in airstrikes on Iran since the US and Israel launched attacks on February 28. – Iran dismisses threat of new US sanctions as sign of ‘desperation’
(The Associated Press) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the Memorandum of Understanding with the US as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of “neither war nor peace”. In a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday, he said members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council believed the memorandum represented the best possible agreement based on what he described as dignity, wisdom and the national interest. – Iran’s president says US MoU is best path out of stalled war
