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Thai law enforcement has taken into custody a former senior Buddhist monk and his female alleged accomplice, uncovering a two-year scheme that siphoned more than 100 million baht ($3 million) from one of the country’s historic temples – the latest high-profile scandal to roil the nation’s long-troubled Buddhist monastic establishment. The suspect, Phra Wachirayan Wi, once served as abbot of Wat Phutthaisawan, a prominent 14th-century temple located in Ayutthaya, Thailand’s ancient former capital. Investigators allege that over 24 months, he diverted donations intended for the temple on more than 20 separate occasions, hoarding the funds for personal use rather than directing them to the institution. In line with Thai Buddhist tradition, all monks are required to take solemn vows of celibacy and renounce personal material wealth. Immediately following his arrest, Phra Wachirayan was formally defrocked, and he has not yet issued any public response to the allegations against him. This arrest comes just 12 months after a separate sex and blackmail ring involving high-ranking monks triggered widespread public outrage and shook the credibility of Thailand’s monastic community. Prior to his removal from office, Phra Wachirayan gained widespread recognition for producing coveted coin amulets – sacred objects that draw significant interest from collectors across Thailand. Reports even confirm that Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul owns several amulets created by the former abbot. For decades, allegations of widespread misconduct have plagued Thailand’s official Buddhist institution, with repeated reports of monks breaking celibacy vows, participating in drug trafficking, and committing various forms of financial fraud. In July of last year, authorities launched a public tip hotline for reporting misbehaving monks, after a criminal scheme was uncovered where at least nine monks were blackmailed for nearly $12 million using secretly recorded photos and videos of their sexual encounters with a woman. Speaking at a press conference this week, lead investigating officer Pattanasak Bupphasuwan confirmed that investigators traced two distinct streams of funds collected under the temple’s official name by Phra Wachirayan. One pool of donations was marked for temple renovation projects, while the other was collected as payment for amulets and other religious artifacts created by the former abbot. “But the money from both streams did not enter the temple’s account. Not a single baht,” Pattanasak stated, according to local media reports. When officers raided Phra Wachirayan’s private residence on Thursday, they uncovered stashes of cash and gold bars valued at more than 100 million baht, with counting operations continuing late into the night, according to Thai national newspaper The Nation. During a review of closed-circuit footage stored at the property, investigators stumbled on an explicit video recording showing Phra Wachirayan engaged in sexual activity with a woman on his personal dining table. The woman was identified as 47-year-old Punyavee Rungrueang, who has since been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting a state official in criminal activity. Like the former abbot, she has not yet issued any public comment on the allegations. In Thailand, most clergy receive government stipends, so monks are officially classified as state employees, elevating the legal severity of financial crimes committed by monastic leaders. Authorities have also seized evidence from Punyavee’s home, including 35 gold amulets, 1.5 kilograms of gold bars, and assorted jewelry, with a total estimated value of 6.04 million baht. Local newspaper the Bangkok Post reports that investigators believe Punyavee played a key role in managing the embezzled funds, noting that tens of millions of baht moved through her personal bank accounts annually. The investigation into Phra Wachirayan was launched in mid-July, after authorities received an anonymous tip outlining allegations of misconduct and misuse of temple funds. Investigators added that two to three additional individuals are suspected of involvement in the scheme, and further arrests are expected as the inquiry progresses.

As leaders from 11 full BRICS member states and invited guest Saudi Arabia gather in New Delhi this weekend for the bloc’s annual summit, one notable non-member will cast an outsized shadow over every discussion: former U.S. President Donald Trump. Against a backdrop of ongoing conflict in Iran, sweeping tariff threats that have roiled global energy and financial markets, and rising tensions over de-dollarization efforts, the expanded bloc faces a defining test: can it bridge stark internal geopolitical divides to deliver a cohesive agenda, even as it avoids open confrontation with Washington?

BRICS, which has grown exponentially in global clout over the last decade, now counts 49% of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP, and 26% of total international trade within its ranks, per analysis from BBC Monitoring. Its most tangible institutional successes to date include the New Development Bank, which has approved billions in infrastructure and development financing across the Global South, and a $100 billion contingency reserve fund designed to buffer member states against financial crises—though the fund has yet to be put to a major test. This year’s summit comes on the heels of the bloc’s largest expansion, which brought major emerging economies including the UAE and Iran into the fold, expanding its geopolitical reach but also deepening internal disagreements.

The core tension shaping this year’s gathering stems from conflicting positions toward Trump’s policies. Trump has repeatedly singled out BRICS for criticism, particularly its ongoing efforts to reduce global trade reliance on the U.S. dollar. In a November 2024 threat, he pledged to impose 100% tariffs on all BRICS nations if the bloc moved forward with launching an alternative reserve currency to challenge the dollar’s global dominance. Today, the ripple effects of Trump’s policy agenda are already felt across the global economy: the ongoing conflict in Iran, amplified by U.S. foreign policy shifts, has destabilized global energy markets, while the constant threat of new tariffs on allies and adversaries alike has created widespread uncertainty for businesses and governments worldwide.

Yet despite calls from some members—most notably Russia and Iran—for a clear, public rebuke of Trump’s agenda, analysts agree the bloc is highly unlikely to produce a consensus statement that openly confronts Washington. Deep internal divisions have made a unified, hardline stance all but impossible. As Michael Kugelman, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, explained to the BBC, New Delhi simply cannot afford to back a statement that openly attacks Washington, particularly as it enters the final stages of negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. China, too, has remained wary of being seen as using BRICS as a platform to target American interests. Even the UAE, which has suffered Iranian attacks amid Tehran’s retaliation against U.S. and Israeli strikes, is unlikely to back language that aligns with Iran’s position: the Gulf state hosts major U.S. military bases and has long prioritized stable diplomatic ties with Washington.

“BRICS has become more significant through its expansion, but that has also made consensus harder,” Kugelman noted. “You’ve added a number of members that don’t get along, which leaves host India with the enormous challenge of uniting countries that hold a wide array of views and positions on the global order.”

While open confrontation with the U.S. is off the table, the bloc is still expected to advance a substantive agenda focused on its core priorities as a leading voice for Global South nations. Leaders are set to explore reforms to streamline cross-border payments using local currencies—a measure of particular urgency for Russia and Iran, both of which face crippling U.S. sanctions that limit their access to dollar-denominated financial systems. BRICS leaders are also expected to reiterate their collective call for reforms to multilateral institutions including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank, arguing that these bodies fail to reflect the shifting balance of power in the modern global economy.

For host India, the summit carries uniquely high stakes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has made leading the Global South a central pillar of its foreign policy, and the gathering offers a critical opportunity to cement that claim, even as it navigates China’s longstanding influence across developing economies. “India’s efforts to gain deeper inroads in Africa and Latin America have had limited success, where China has been more successful,” Kugelman noted, adding that the expanded BRICS bloc gives New Delhi a chance to deepen ties with emerging economies across both regions and build a stronger global profile. Recent months have also seen New Delhi’s global profile overshadowed by Pakistan’s high-profile mediation efforts in the Middle East around the Iran war, making this summit a key moment to reassert India’s diplomatic relevance.

The challenge of forging consensus was already previewed in May, when BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement after their meeting due to intractable differences over the Iran war, forcing New Delhi to release a chair’s summary instead. India is drawing on its 2023 experience hosting the G20, where it managed to broker a joint declaration despite deep divisions over the war in Ukraine, but analysts caution the gaps are wider this time around. New Delhi is keen to avoid having BRICS dismissed as a mere “talk shop,” and is pushing for substantive announcements on financial cooperation that can showcase the bloc’s progress.

Beyond plenary discussions, the summit will host a series of high-stakes bilateral meetings that are drawing global attention. A Saturday meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi is widely watched, as the two neighboring powers continue gradual, cautious efforts to repair and rebuild bilateral ties that have been strained for years. Modi is also set to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the war in Ukraine and India’s growing trade deficit with Russia will top the agenda. When the two leaders met last month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Modi issued a highly public appeal for peace in Ukraine—a move some outside observers framed as a rebuke of Moscow, though Russian officials publicly welcomed the outreach and did not interpret it as criticism. Trade imbalances with both China and Russia are also expected to feature prominently in Modi’s bilateral discussions.

In the end, all sides agree that any language addressing U.S. policy will be carefully crafted to avoid unnecessary confrontation, even as the bloc advances its own priorities of deeper financial integration and greater representation for Global South nations. For India, a successful summit that delivers a unified, if muted, outcome would mark a major diplomatic win that reinforces New Delhi’s rising influence on the global stage. And for BRICS as a whole, the gathering will test whether the expanded bloc can turn its growing economic heft into cohesive, impactful global action—all while navigating the unpredictable landscape shaped by U.S. policy.

A stunning, rapid military push by Yemen’s Houthi movement along the country’s Red Sea coastline has placed the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait within the group’s full control, shifting regional power dynamics and strengthening Iran’s strategic leverage against the United States, regional and security experts told Middle East Eye in a new analysis of the battlefield shifts.

“The Houthis have pulled off a decisive military victory that brings them within one major step of controlling the entire Bab el-Mandeb waterway,” Corey Ranslem, chief executive officer of maritime security firm Dryad Global, explained to Middle East Eye. Ranslem added that the Houthis will face far fewer barriers to exerting influence over Bab el-Mandeb than Iran does in the Strait of Hormuz, because the U.S. maintains no substantial, permanent military presence in the Bab el-Mandeb area to counter their moves.

The breakthrough came after days of intense combat across the narrow Tihama coastal plain, where Houthi forces defeated Saudi-aligned Yemeni troops on Thursday and seized the historic, strategically critical Red Sea port of Mocha. Regional Arab media outlets confirmed that Houthi gains expanded across the region through the rest of the day: the group has already deployed military personnel to the Hanish Islands, located in the central Red Sea opposite Eritrea, and continues to push south toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait itself and the key island of Perim.

The sweeping Houthi advance has also exposed deep coordination rifts within the Saudi-backed anti-Houthi coalition operating in Yemen. In a surprising development, Houthi troops moving across open, exposed coastal terrain encountered almost no significant air resistance from Saudi Arabia or its Yemeni allied factions.

Mocha was previously held by the National Resistance Forces (NRF), a well-armed anti-Houthi faction led by Tarek Saleh, nephew of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by the Houthis a decade ago, just months after he split from a short-lived alliance with the movement. The NRF was long backed by the United Arab Emirates, but the group shifted its formal allegiance to Saudi Arabia earlier this year, after the UAE announced its full military withdrawal from Yemen. Saudi Arabia subsequently took over responsibility for funding and supporting UAE-aligned armed groups in the country.

Rifts between the two leading Gulf coalition partners have widened in recent months, with disagreements over the war in Sudan, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and Yemeni separatist movements stalling cooperation. The Houthi offensive is unfolding against ongoing, stalled talks between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over a potential UAE return to Yemen to cover military operational costs, a Western diplomat confirmed to Middle East Eye, noting the negotiations remain at an impasse.

The latest Houthi gains build on months of escalating tensions between the movement and Saudi Arabia. Over the past year, the Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure and commercial shipping, while Saudi-led coalition forces have carried out retaliatory air strikes on Houthi positions. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces also attempted their own counter-offensive to retake the Houthi-held major port of Hodeida earlier this year, which failed to gain meaningful ground.

Arab and Western officials tracking the resurgence of fighting told Middle East Eye the Houthi offensive—the largest large-scale military operation launched since a 2022 ceasefire collapsed—stems from two core strategic motivations. First, establishing full military control along the Bab el-Mandeb coastline will allow the Houthis to enforce a blockade against Saudi Arabia with far greater accuracy, while also asserting authority over all international shipping passing through the chokepoint.

Before the current Yemeni civil war, roughly 12% of global seaborne oil trade already transited the Red Sea. The waterway’s strategic importance grew dramatically after Iran increased its control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Saudi Arabia to shift a larger share of its oil exports through the Red Sea route. Diplomats note the Houthis have directly drawn inspiration from Iran’s model of charging tolls for commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and aim to replicate that system in Bab el-Mandeb.

“The Houthis essentially want to collect their own tolls on Red Sea shipping, and Saudi Arabia has been completely firm that it will never accept paying a Houthi toll,” a diplomat based in Riyadh explained.

The Houthi movement has also spent months rebuilding its military capacity after sustaining heavy losses during extensive U.S. air strikes carried out between January and May 2025. As Middle East Eye exclusively reported in July, military experts specializing in drone and missile technology from Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Iraq have already been deployed to Yemen to support the Houthis, and Iran has continued to supply the group with advanced military equipment.

Beyond the Houthis’ own strategic goals, the capture of the Red Sea coastline also advances Iran’s regional agenda amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where both U.S. and Iranian forces have targeted commercial shipping in recent months.

“This move aligns completely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ long-term goal of controlling both major maritime trade chokepoints surrounding the Arabian Peninsula,” said Ibrahim Jalal, a Yemeni researcher and regional policy adviser. Jalal added that the advance also serves the Houthis’ own core priority of extracting economic concessions from Saudi Arabia.

“The Houthis now control the highest mountain peaks overlooking the entire Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which makes targeting and surveillance of passing shipping far easier,” Jalal noted. “They will also be able to strike targets in the Gulf of Aden with much greater ease than before.”