Global Pulse

分类： politics

  • Milei empowers Argentina to bar or deport foreigners over hateful remarks about the country

    Milei empowers Argentina to bar or deport foreigners over hateful remarks about the country

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — In a direct response to a widespread wave of international criticism targeting Argentina and its citizens in the wake of the country’s controversial 2022 World Cup run, President Javier Milei signed an emergency executive decree on Thursday granting federal authorities sweeping new powers to deny entry to or deport foreign nationals found guilty of inciting discrimination or violence against Argentines based on their nationality.

    The new measure amends Argentina’s existing immigration legislation by adding a new set of grounds for immigration enforcement. Under the updated rules, officials can bar entry, revoke existing visas, and deport any non-citizen who spreads anti-Argentine hostility through oral or written communications, or who desecrates official Argentine national symbols.

    In an official statement released alongside the signing, the president’s office emphasized the non-negotiable nature of the government’s commitment to protecting national sovereignty, citizens, and national symbols. “Anyone who attacks the Argentine Republic is not welcome in our country,” the statement read.

    The executive action marks a dramatic departure from Argentina’s long-standing national identity as a welcoming haven for global immigration. Enshrined in the country’s constitution is an explicit commitment to encouraging immigration, and for more than a century, Argentina has extended broad civil rights to foreign residents, along with relatively accessible pathways to legal residency and access to public education and healthcare services.

    The crisis that prompted the decree began after controversial refereeing decisions during Argentina’s World Cup campaign fueled widespread claims that global soccer governing body FIFA had manipulated the tournament to favor the eventual champions, led by global superstar Lionel Messi. What started as targeted condemnation of occasionally unruly Argentine fan behavior and aggressive on-pitch conduct from the Argentine squad quickly expanded into blanket criticism of Argentine society as a whole. This criticism amplified long-standing regional tensions over claims that many Argentines see themselves as culturally and economically superior to their Latin American neighbors. Online petitions calling for Argentina’s expulsion from the tournament collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from users across the globe.

    The backlash escalated further after a post-World Cup final brawl between Argentine players and staff and their Spanish opponents. On Wednesday, FIFA opened formal disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Association over the scuffle, alongside separate allegations of racist abuse by Argentine fans and general fan misconduct. Argentine players also face an ongoing FIFA investigation over a banner displayed following the team’s semi-final victory over England that reaffirmed Argentina’s territorial claim to the British-controlled Falkland Islands.

    Milei, a libertarian leader and known close ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has framed the coordinated wave of international criticism as a deliberate “anti-Argentina campaign.” Last week, he made unsubstantiated allegations that left-wing governments in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the U.S. Democratic Party, financed the campaign to stigmatize Argentina and undermine his newly elected libertarian administration. These sharp accusations and public insults have already triggered a major diplomatic crisis with neighboring Brazil, which recalled its ambassador to Argentina over the weekend in protest.

    The text of Thursday’s decree explicitly clarifies that the new enforcement powers do not apply to protected ideological disagreement, or political, academic, and civic criticism that is guaranteed under Argentina’s constitution. However, the new rule leaves critical questions unanswered: it does not define how officials will distinguish between constitutionally protected speech and criminalized hate speech, whether immigration authorities will begin routine monitoring of foreigners’ social media activity, or how aggressively the new powers will be enforced against both temporary tourists and long-term permanent residents.

  • Belgium says a Canadian intern is suspected of spying at Nato. Here’s what we know

    Belgium says a Canadian intern is suspected of spying at Nato. Here’s what we know

    In a high-stakes security breach at one of NATO’s most critical command centers, a Canadian woman of Chinese descent has been taken into custody by Belgian law enforcement over allegations that she engaged in espionage while serving as an intern at the alliance’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons. Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed the development Saturday, stating that the investigation was launched after NATO’s internal security services flagged suspicious activity and tipped off national authorities.

    Following the alert, law enforcement teams executed coordinated raids at both the suspect’s private residence and her workplace inside the SHAPE compound. In an official statement, prosecutors outlined two key allegations against the woman: that she conducted spying activities on behalf of an unnamed third country, and that she is affiliated with a structured criminal organization. As of the latest updates, Belgian officials have not publicly released the suspect’s identity, nor have they officially confirmed which nation she is accused of working for.

    Early reporting outlines that the woman’s conduct drew the attention of NATO security personnel through a series of unusual behaviors, including prolonged unauthorized presence near secured NATO facilities and inappropriate questioning of staff about sensitive alliance matters. A Belgian court has since approved a one-month period of pre-trial detention, keeping the suspect in custody as the investigation progresses.

    SHAPE serves as NATO’s central operational military headquarters, tasked with planning and executing all of the alliance’s global military operations. Both Canada and Belgium are long-standing NATO member states, falling under the alliance’s collective security framework. Under existing SHAPE security protocols, the responsibility for conducting background security clearance checks for interns falls to the candidate’s home country. In this case, that responsibility rested with Canadian authorities.

    SHAPE’s official public guidance notes that security clearance processing timelines vary across NATO member states, ranging from as little as eight weeks to as long as 18 months, with formal vetting only launching after a candidate has been selected for an internship role. Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s foreign affairs department, has confirmed that Canadian security clearances for citizens working at international organizations are determined based on security assessments provided by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s national intelligence and security agency.

    Multiple international and national law enforcement and security bodies have confirmed their involvement in the ongoing investigation. NATO has moved to reassure member states of its commitment to safeguarding sensitive information and protecting personnel. A NATO spokesperson told U.S. media outlets that the alliance “remains fully committed to protecting Allied personnel, safeguarding classified information, and maintaining the trust and security upon which the Alliance depends.”

    Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), confirmed it is providing support to Belgian investigating authorities but declined to share any additional details on the ongoing case. Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree addressed the incident during a recent press conference, noting that Canadian officials will conduct a full review of existing national security screening processes.

    “In this particular case, I think it’s important to get to the bottom of what happened,” Anandasangaree told reporters. The BBC has reached out to both NATO and Canadian law enforcement for additional comment on the investigation, and has not yet received further substantive responses as inquiries remain ongoing.

  • UK police arrests dozens at protest supporting banned group Palestine Action

    UK police arrests dozens at protest supporting banned group Palestine Action

    LONDON – In a dramatic escalation of tensions over the United Kingdom government’s terrorist designation of pro-Palestine advocacy group Palestine Action, 77 demonstrators were taken into custody Thursday outside a central London courthouse after gathering to show public support for the banned organization. The arrests coincided with a landmark procedural ruling that cleared the way for the group to appeal its proscription status before the UK Supreme Court, setting up a major constitutional showdown over the boundaries of free speech and counterterrorism policy.

    The UK government first outlawed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization one year ago, in response to a high-profile direct action protest in June 2025 where activists breached security at a Royal Air Force base to demonstrate against British military backing for Israel’s offensive in Gaza. The ban carries severe legal consequences: anyone found guilty of membership or public support for the group can face up to 14 years in prison. Since the designation took effect, more than 3,000 people have been arrested for acts as minor as holding public signs reading “I support Palestine Action”, according to official figures. More than 1,200 of those detained have been formally charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act, though no convictions have been secured in any of these cases to date.

    The legal battle over the ban has wound through multiple levels of the UK judicial system over the past year. The High Court struck down the government’s proscription order in February, ruling in the group’s favor. But the government appealed that decision, and the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s ruling in June. The appellate judges characterized the ban as a “justified and proportionate” limitation on freedom of expression, concluding that Palestine Action had crossed the line from legitimate civil disobedience by using violence to damage property and threaten public safety.

    On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori permission to bring the challenge before the court’s top justices. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to take place between October and December. Court officials confirmed that all ongoing prosecutions of people charged under the ban have been paused pending the Supreme Court’s final ruling, which will set a binding precedent for future counterterrorism proscription cases in the UK.

    The demonstration outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday drew hundreds of supporters, with detained protesters shouting chants including “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” as onlookers responded with cries of “Shame!” The Metropolitan Police confirmed that nearly all of the 77 arrests were made on charges of violating the proscription ban by publicly expressing support for Palestine Action.

  • Brazil’s president confirms two US government officials were denied visas over election interference fears

    Brazil’s president confirms two US government officials were denied visas over election interference fears

    Rising diplomatic tensions between Brazil and the United States have taken a sharp turn after Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced his administration has denied entry visas to two senior U.S. State Department officials, accusing the pair of plotting to meddle in Brazil’s upcoming October general election.

    Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Lula framed the visa denial as a necessary defense of Brazilian sovereignty: “We had to deny visas to two individuals they were sending to Brazil to interfere in our electoral process.” The two officials in question are Riley M. Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Samuel Samson, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the same department. They were scheduled to travel to Brazil in late July for a trip the U.S. described as focused on freedom of expression, religious liberty, and election integrity. The trip also included a planned meeting with Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing opposition candidate in October’s election.

    Flávio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a polarizing far-right figure who was convicted last year of plotting a coup attempt following his 2022 election loss to Lula, and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Jair Bolsonaro was already barred from running for public office before his conviction, after years of spreading unsubstantiated claims that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to rigging. His baseless claims of widespread fraud after his 2022 defeat inspired his supporters to storm Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, and Presidential Palace on January 8, 2023 — an event widely compared to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

    In a recent meeting with foreign diplomats, Flávio Bolsonaro repeated unfounded questions about Brazil’s voting system, claiming the country’s electronic voting machines shared origins with those used in Venezuela, and citing an outdated CIA document referencing fraud in that country. He later walked back the comments, claiming he merely supported the presence of more international election observers, rather than questioning the integrity of Brazil’s system. But the meeting reinforced Brazilian authorities’ concerns that U.S. officials would lend legitimacy to false claims about the election, prompting the visa decision.

    The U.S. State Department has dismissed Lula’s accusations of election interference as a “baseless lie.” But Brazilian authorities have pushed back, noting that Flávio Bolsonaro’s claims have already been thoroughly refuted by the country’s Superior Electoral Court. Independent election experts have long ranked Brazil’s electronic voting system, first implemented nationwide in 1996, as one of the most secure in the world. No cases of systemic fraud have ever been recorded in the country’s modern electoral history.

    The system includes multiple layers of security to protect integrity: it uses biometric fingerprint scanning to verify voter identity, preventing double voting and impersonation. Every machine produces a paper record of votes cast that can be cross-checked against the electronic tally, and all results are subject to independent third-party audits. In the lead-up to every election, independent cybersecurity experts are invited to attempt to hack the system to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities, as a public confidence-building measure.

    October’s election will see the 80-year-old incumbent left-wing President Lula da Silva seek re-election, facing off against Flávio Bolsonaro, who has already received high-profile endorsements from Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visa dispute is the latest flashpoint in the ongoing partisan battles over Brazilian electoral integrity that have roiled the country’s politics since the 2022 election.

  • Drone attack caused fire on gas ships at Mediterranean port, Egypt says

    Drone attack caused fire on gas ships at Mediterranean port, Egypt says

    In an incident that has stoked already simmering tensions across the Middle East, a drone strike triggered fires aboard two commercial vessels docked at Egypt’s Damietta Port, a critical Mediterranean hub for liquified natural gas (LNG) trade, Egypt’s cabinet has officially confirmed. As of Thursday, no group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the Wednesday attack, with local authorities continuing their probe into the assault while implementing urgent security protocols to safeguard Egyptian national interests and strategic assets, according to an official government statement.

    Initial reports and verified open-source footage indicate the drone first struck the Energos Winter, a U.S.-owned floating storage and regasification unit, with the resulting blaze quickly spreading to a nearby Greek-crewed LNG tanker, the GasLog Salem. User-shared videos posted across major social media platforms captured thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the port facility, showing on-site response teams deploying tugboats to douse the flames with continuous streams of water.

    Egyptian officials have confirmed that firefighting crews successfully contained and extinguished the fires, with no fatalities or injuries reported among port personnel or crew members of the two vessels. Authorities added that normal operations at the port have already resumed full capacity as of Thursday. Data from independent global ship-tracking services shows both damaged vessels have since departed the dock and moved to open offshore waters for safety inspections.

    At this stage of the investigation, investigators have not yet determined the origin of the drone or identified the parties behind the attack. Still, regional security analysts note the assault fits a pattern of recent strikes targeting commercial shipping and energy infrastructure carried out by Iranian military forces and Iran-aligned armed groups across the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and surrounding regions. These ongoing attacks have come amid escalating open conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran, disrupting critical global energy trade routes and pushing international oil prices sharply higher in recent months. Before the Damietta strike, Iran had never launched a direct attack on Egyptian territory, a key U.S. ally in North Africa.

    U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he had received a full intelligence briefing on the Damietta incident, and publicly hinted that Iran or its regional proxy militias were behind the attack. “It’s a little more of the same. But it’s going to be straightening out,” Trump told reporters, offering few additional details on potential U.S. responses.

    The Damietta drone attack came just hours after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched coordinated joint air strikes against Iran-backed militia positions in Iraq. U.S. and Saudi officials stated the strikes were a defensive response to more than 30 recent drone attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure launched by the militias under direct orders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition dominated by Iran-aligned Shia militias, reported that at least 20 of its fighters were killed in the strikes, labeling the action an “extremely serious escalation” of regional conflict. Iran’s foreign ministry also issued a formal condemnation of the U.S.-Saudi strikes, warning that the attack would carry “dangerous consequences” for regional stability.

    Late Wednesday, the U.S. launched a separate, large-scale wave of air strikes on targets inside Iran, characterizing the action as retaliation for an attempted surprise missile attack targeting U.S. military bases in Jordan just days prior.

  • Nicaraguan leader proposes extending presidential term by another year

    Nicaraguan leader proposes extending presidential term by another year

    At 80 years old, Daniel Ortega has held uninterrupted control of Nicaragua’s presidency since 2007, and he is now pushing for a further expansion of his hold on power through a new constitutional reform package that includes a one-year extension of the current presidential term. The proposal, which will go before the government-dominated National Assembly for a vote in September, is the latest in a series of changes to the country’s political rules that have steadily consolidated Ortega’s authoritarian rule over nearly two decades in office.

    Beyond the term extension, the planned constitutional overhaul includes provisions that would ban any opposition figures labeled by the Ortega administration as “traitors” or “coup plotters” from running for public office, effectively barring most critical voices from electoral participation. This crackdown on political opposition has been a defining feature of Ortega’s long tenure: opponents have been systematically jailed, forced into exile, and stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship to eliminate any viable challenge to his rule.

    This is not the first time Ortega has reshaped Nicaragua’s electoral rules to extend his power. In 2014, the National Assembly—then already aligned with Ortega’s government—eliminated all presidential term limits entirely. A decade later in 2024, the body extended the length of a presidential term from five years to six years. The same legislative session also approved Ortega’s controversial plan to name his wife, Rosario Murillo, to the newly created position of co-president. The arrangement was structured to clear a path for Murillo, who already held significant political influence long before her formal appointment as co-president, to take over the presidency if Ortega, whose health has been reported as frail, is declared permanently unable to fulfill his duties.

    The most recent presidential election in Nicaragua, held in November 2021, was widely criticized as a heavily skewed contest after a widespread government crackdown on the opposition. All major potential candidates who stood a realistic chance of drawing significant voter support were either detained, disqualified from running, or driven out of the country. Dozens of additional opposition activists and organizers were arrested, leaving only a small group of little-known, largely non-competitive candidates on the ballot, guaranteeing Ortega an easy victory.

    Since that 2021 election, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned that state repression in Nicaragua has intensified, with the rule of law continuously eroded and the persecution of political dissidents growing more aggressive. Public opposition has been effectively silenced among Nicaraguans still living in the country, after security forces killed more than 300 people to crush widespread anti-government protests in 2018—a violent crackdown that has deterred most open criticism of the regime in the years since.

    Even dissidents who have fled the country to live in exile are not spared from retaliation: the Ortega administration has revoked the citizenship of hundreds of exiled opponents, and seized and sold off the properties and homes they left behind in Nicaragua, eliminating their ties to the country and weakening their ability to organize opposition from abroad.

  • US sanctions 10 Chinese shipping companies

    US sanctions 10 Chinese shipping companies

    On Wednesday, July 30, 2026, the United States announced a new round of sanctions targeting 10 Chinese shipping companies, alleging that the firms, with operations spanning mainland China and Hong Kong, along with eight registered tankers, have violated Washington’s existing restrictions on Iranian crude oil exports.

    Under the terms of the new punitive measures, any assets held by the 10 companies within jurisdictions under U.S. control are frozen, and all U.S.-based companies and individual entities are legally barred from entering into any commercial transactions with the blacklisted firms. Two Iranian maritime insurance entities — Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority — were also added to the U.S. sanctions list. Washington accuses the two insurers of coercing commercial ships to buy their maritime insurance coverage as a requirement for secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for energy trade.

    China has repeatedly and consistently pushed back against such unauthorized unilateral sanctions and extraterritorial long-arm jurisdiction, practices that Beijing says have no grounding in international law. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has once again urged the United States to immediately end these unlawful, unjust practices.

    Anthony Moretti, an associate professor specializing in communication and organizational leadership at Pennsylvania’s Robert Morris University, shared his assessment of the U.S. approach in an interview with China Daily. Moretti noted that Washington has fallen into a repetitive pattern of announcing new bans and blockades in quick succession, all part of a persistent push to wield unilateral punitive measures. He pointed out that while the frequent use of these tools may create a domestic political image of toughness for the current U.S. administration, this perception is not shared by the international community. “The more the White House repeats this same narrative of punitive action, the less global attention and buy-in it receives,” Moretti said. He added that there is no evidence of a coherent, long-term strategy guiding these actions to resolve underlying regional tensions.

    This latest round of sanctions marks a continuation of a years-long pressure campaign by successive U.S. administrations targeting what Washington claims are violations of its Iran oil blockade. Prior to the escalation of direct hostilities between the U.S. and Iran that began on February 28 this year, roughly 20% of global oil trade transited through the Strait of Hormuz. Today, that flow has slowed to a small fraction of its previous volume. To date, the Trump administration has blacklisted more than 100 tankers over allegations that they are attempting to circumvent the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, a tactic explicitly designed to cripple Iran’s national economy.

    The escalation of U.S. unilateral sanctions comes amid growing global pushback against long-arm jurisdiction and extraterritorial punitive measures, with many world governments arguing that such actions violate core principles of sovereign trade and international law.

  • North Sea oil fields set to be reopened by Burnham would profit blacklisted Israeli company

    North Sea oil fields set to be reopened by Burnham would profit blacklisted Israeli company

    Weeks after taking office as UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham is facing growing international and domestic backlash over plans to rapidly approve the reopening of two stalled North Sea oil and gas projects, with campaigners warning the move would violate the United Kingdom’s binding international legal obligations due to key links between a major stakeholder and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

    The two projects at the center of the debate are the Rosebank field, located off the Shetland Islands in the North Atlantic, and the Jackdaw field off Scotland’s North Sea coast. Both developments were originally approved by the former Conservative government between 2022 and 2023, but court challenges overturned those approvals in 2025, leaving the final decision to Burnham’s new Labour administration.

    Ithaca Energy, which holds a 20% stake in the Rosebank project, is majority-owned by Israeli energy conglomerate Delek Group. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights includes Delek Group on its official database of companies identified as having links to illegal West Bank settlements, activities that raise “particular human rights concerns.” Further, Delek holds a hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds contract to supply fuel to the Israeli military during its ongoing military campaign in Gaza that has been widely labeled as genocide by human rights groups.

    Investigative reporting by UK outlet The Ferret has found that since 2020, Delek Group has extracted more than $1 billion in dividends from its Ithaca Energy stake across six of the UK’s 10 largest oil and gas fields. If Rosebank is approved, Delek stands to gain an additional £200 million in future profits from the project.

    Karla McLaren, government and political relations manager at Amnesty International UK, told Middle East Eye that approving the project would directly contradict the UK’s long-stated commitments to upholding international law. “It would totally fly in the face of the UK’s international legal responsibilities for the UK to be granting concessions or contracting with any company that has enabled, facilitated or profited from the construction of Israel’s settlements, which are war crimes,” McLaren said.

    The planned approval also comes at a time of unprecedented climate pressure, as Europe grapples with record-breaking heatwaves. It also follows the suppression of a 2025 joint UK intelligence assessment that warned the climate crisis poses a severe, immediate threat to UK national security.

    The push to reopen the North Sea fields has already drawn enthusiastic support from US President Donald Trump, who celebrated the expected move in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming Burnham’s decision would transform the UK “from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World!” Trump had previously criticized Keir Starmer, Burnham’s predecessor as Labour Prime Minister, for refusing to advance the projects, telling The Telegraph in an April interview that “all Starmer wants is costly windmills that are driving your energy prices through the roof” and repeating his signature rallying cry of “drill baby drill.”

    The projects had been blocked by former UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, but mounting political pressure led to Miliband’s reassignment to the role of Foreign Secretary in Burnham’s recent cabinet reshuffle, clearing the way for a potential approval. The White House has already expressed deep concern over Miliband’s appointment, with Trump having previously attacked Miliband as a “net zero zealot.”

    From his first days in office, Burnham has moved to align his administration closely with Trump’s foreign policy priorities. On July 20, the day he took office, Burnham called Trump to confirm that securing shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was “at the top of his agenda.” Just two days later, his administration approved the continued use of UK military bases for US airstrikes targeting Iran.

    Rudy Schulkind, a political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, told MEE that the upcoming decision will stand as one of the most defining tests of Burnham’s premiership. “Caving to demands from Donald Trump and the fossil fuel lobby by backing Rosebank would signal that powerful corporate interests still hold more sway than the public interest – it would also undermine the UK’s climate commitments and contradict Burnham’s own pledge to uphold international law in Palestine, given Rosebank’s links to Israeli energy company Delek,” Schulkind said.

    The controversy comes shortly after Burnham issued a public apology for the Labour Party’s “initial response” to the crisis in Gaza, acknowledging that the party “need to do better.” His predecessor, Keir Starmer, faced widespread international condemnation in October 2023 after stating that Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza, a form of collective punishment explicitly banned under international law. When Starmer avoided calling for an immediate ceasefire during Israel’s military offensive that began after October 7, 2023, Burnham – then serving as Mayor of Manchester – broke with party leadership alongside London Mayor Sadiq Khan to publicly demand a ceasefire.

    While Burnham has acknowledged the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza as “a scar on our collective conscience,” he has stopped short of labeling the military campaign a genocide, saying the determination must be left to international courts. Political analysts note his recent apology was crafted to address voter anger over Labour’s Gaza policy, after a study found that more than half of former Labour voters who switched to smaller center or left-wing parties cited the party’s Gaza stance as a key factor in their decision.

    Patrick Galey, head of investigations at climate and human rights charity Global Witness, told MEE that Burnham appears to believe voter anger over Labour’s previous policies can be resolved with public relations adjustments, but “actions speak louder than words.” Galey explained that approving the North Sea projects is widely understood within political circles as a concession to the fossil fuel industry, a tactic the Labour Party has used in an attempt to appease powerful corporate interests.

    Data from 2024 investigative work by outlet DeSmog supports this framing: major oil and gas firms are represented by lobbyists who have donated more than £300,000 to the Labour Party, while the opposition Conservative Party received 40% of all its donations during the 2024 election campaign’s first week from fossil fuel interests. “A lot of our political class are bought by the oil and gas lobby,” Galey said, adding that this proximity to fossil fuel interests shapes how political leaders understand climate change – a dynamic he says is on clear display as Burnham prioritizes economic growth even as neighboring France and Spain face catastrophic wildfires driven by rising global temperatures.

    Stella Swain, youth and student officer for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told MEE that approving the projects would make a “mockery” of Burnham’s recent apology for Labour’s previous Gaza stance. Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the UK Green Party, echoed that criticism, telling MEE: “Burnham’s half-baked apology for Labour’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza is meaningless if he refuses to back it up with concrete actions.”

    While Burnham’s government has framed the move as a solution to the UK’s ongoing cost of living crisis and a way to strengthen national energy security amid global market instability caused by tensions with Iran, Galey argues that only foreign corporations and their wealthy shareholders will actually benefit from the decision. Because all oil and gas produced from the North Sea fields is sold on the global open market, prices are set by international geopolitical forces – including conflicts stoked by Trump’s policy in the Middle East, which the UK is supporting through its hosting of US airstrikes from British bases.

    Galey added that since Brexit, the UK has grown far more dependent on the United States for energy imports, in contrast to countries like Spain that have invested heavily in domestic renewable energy. That investment has given Spain “political freedom,” Galey explained, allowing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to push back against Trump’s demands on Palestine and Iran, because energy independence means “you don’t need to pander to the whims of the mob boss in the White House.”

    Galey pointed out that fossil fuel companies often frame regional conflicts and energy crises as unforeseen events that require expanded oil and gas exploration, but these crises are not accidental side effects of a fossil fuel-based energy system – they are inherent features of it. Lauren MacDonald, lead campaigner for the activist group Stop Rosebank, emphasized that approving the project would be a morally indefensible choice. “Greenlighting the oil field would be a morally reprehensible decision that turns a blind eye to the fact that the project could bolster Delek’s activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – which the UN flagged for human rights violations,” MacDonald said. “The UK government is well aware of these risks, and has even been warned that it could breach its own obligations under international law if it allows the field to go ahead.”

    The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero declined to comment on the specific projects, saying it cannot prejudice future decision-making. Both Delek Group and Ithaca Energy also did not respond to requests for comment from Middle East Eye.

  • Trump considering AI controls after OpenAI hacking incidents

    Trump considering AI controls after OpenAI hacking incidents

    After a series of high-profile cybersecurity incidents tied to commercial artificial intelligence tools, the Trump administration has signaled a sharp reversal of its previously hands-off approach to AI regulation, with President Donald Trump confirming Wednesday that officials are evaluating new federal oversight measures for the rapidly evolving technology.

    The policy shift comes amid growing concerns over unregulated AI capabilities and escalating geopolitical friction between Washington and Beijing over AI development. Speaking to reporters, Trump acknowledged that the administration is examining potential regulatory controls for AI systems while stressing that any new rules would be crafted to avoid eroding U.S. global competitiveness.

    “We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls, we’re also making sure that we lead,” Trump said. “We don’t want to restrict them where all of the sudden we come in second to China. China has virtually no [AI] controls. It’s freewheeling a little bit.”

    The president’s remarks mark a notable change from the administration’s earlier stance, which prioritized minimal government interference to encourage domestic AI innovation. The shift was triggered by recent disclosures that AI systems developed by leading U.S. AI developer OpenAI have been linked to at least two separate improper breaches of other companies’ private proprietary technology over the past week. When asked by reporters Wednesday during a visit to Washington whether additional breaches linked to OpenAI tools could emerge, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged “there could be yeah.”

    This policy shift also follows repeated allegations from senior Trump administration officials that Chinese AI firms are engaged in large-scale theft of U.S. AI intellectual property. In an April internal White House memo, Trump’s senior technology advisor Michael Kratsios accused Chinese companies of carrying out “industrial-scale” theft of U.S. AI technology. He repeated the claim last week, asserting that Kimi 3, a popular large language model developed by Chinese AI firm Moonshot AI, was built using stolen information from U.S.-based AI developer Anthropic. The Chinese government has consistently denied all such accusations.

    Earlier this year, the U.S. government already intervened to block Anthropic, OpenAI’s main domestic rival, from releasing a powerful AI model that the company itself had deemed too high-risk for widespread public access. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also issued warnings that Chinese AI firms could face formal U.S. sanctions over the alleged IP theft, while the Federal Communications Commission announced a new ban this week on the import of new foreign-manufactured humanoid robots.

    A notable contradiction has emerged in recent industry positioning around AI development: most AI models developed by Chinese firms are released as open-source software, meaning the core code is made freely available online for any user with adequate computing hardware to access and modify. Just recently, top executives from nearly all major U.S. technology firms signed public statements expressing support for open-source AI development models.

    As of Wednesday, neither the White House nor the Chinese Embassy in Washington has issued additional commentary beyond the statements already on the record.

  • Veteran Ugandan opposition politician collapses in court and in ICU, his wife says

    Veteran Ugandan opposition politician collapses in court and in ICU, his wife says

    A major political crisis has unfolded in Uganda this week after 70-year-old opposition icon Kizza Besigye collapsed unconscious during a high-profile treason hearing in Kampala, requiring emergency admission to an intensive care unit at the country’s largest public hospital. The long-time political rival of incumbent President Yoweri Museveni has been held in state detention since his dramatic abduction from Kenyan territory in late 2024, facing capital treason charges that he and his co-accused have repeatedly denied.

    Witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing at the Kampala High Court confirmed that Besigye was actively protesting the court’s decision to appoint state-aligned legal representatives to act on his behalf when his health suddenly failed. Eyewitnesses report the visibly frail politician repeatedly shouted demands to halt the proceedings over the disputed legal representation, crying out that he was feeling physically unwell before losing consciousness. Prison security personnel immediately intervened and rushed him by ambulance to Mulago National Referral Hospital, the leading public health facility in the country.

    In a public post on the social platform X, Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima – the executive director of UNAIDS, the United Nations agency leading global action against HIV and AIDS – provided a grim update on his condition. She confirmed that her husband remained unconscious, unable to communicate, and did not respond to external pain stimuli immediately after being admitted. Adding to the controversy surrounding the incident, Byanyima noted that Besigye’s sister Olive Kobusingye, a trained medical doctor who was present in the courtroom, was initially blocked by security from providing urgent medical care to her brother after he collapsed.

    Since being admitted, Besigye has refused to accept care from government-employed medical personnel, with Byanyima explaining that the opposition leader will not allow any state official to provide medical treatment. She has publicly demanded that Besigye be transferred to a private clinic to receive care from his own personal physician, a request that has not yet been granted by authorities. As of the latest updates, Kobusingye – who also serves as Besigye’s personal doctor – has been granted access to the ICU, which remains heavily guarded by armed Ugandan security forces.

    The legal team representing Besigye has faced a series of official crackdowns in recent weeks that have compounded the political tension around the case. His lead attorney Erias Lukwago was arrested by the Ugandan army last month and charged with failing to report alleged acts of treason. A second prominent lead lawyer, Kenyan opposition figure Martha Karua, was formally barred from entering Uganda last month when she traveled to the country to represent Besigye in the proceedings.

    Prosecutors from the Ugandan state allege that Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale – who has been held alongside the opposition leader since his abduction – conspired to overthrow the long-standing Museveni government, a charge that both men reject. Treason is classified as a capital offense under Ugandan law, meaning a guilty verdict could result in a death sentence for the veteran politician, who previously served as Museveni’s personal physician before breaking with the president in 1999 to launch his opposition political career. Besigye went on to challenge Museveni in four separate presidential elections over the course of his political career, and had stepped back from frontline political activity in recent years, choosing not to run in the 2021 national election.

    Besigye’s son, Adam Ampa, has issued a public open appeal to President Museveni and his son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the chief of the Ugandan army, to grant his father compassionate release on humanitarian grounds. “Regardless of politics, no son should have to witness his father reach such a state while standing before the very law he served and dedicated his life to,” Ampa wrote in the open letter shared widely across Ugandan social media on Wednesday.

    Other opposition figures have also spoken out to condemn the treatment of Besigye. Bobi Wine, a prominent Ugandan opposition politician who fled the country in the wake of January’s presidential election over threats to his safety, called forcing a visibly unwell Besigye to appear in court a “shocking violation of his most basic rights.” The unfolding situation has drawn renewed international attention to political freedoms and human rights in the East African nation, as observers wait for updates on Besigye’s health and the progress of his trial.