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  • Hegseth taps three to lead ‘Future of Warfare’ project

    Hegseth taps three to lead ‘Future of Warfare’ project

    On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made two sweeping, high-stakes announcements during his “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia: the launch of a landmark Pentagon initiative to reimagine the future of warfare, and a dramatic downsizing of the military’s top senior leadership ranks that has drawn sharp criticism from defense observers and lawmakers.

    Dubbed Project Meridian, the 120-day effort will center on evaluating cutting-edge emerging technologies that the Department of Defense has identified as game-changing for next-generation military conflict. Hegseth framed the project as a collaborative push to leverage outside expertise to rethink traditional military strategy, noting that the initiative will bring together what he called “America’s best minds” from across the private sector, academia and policy communities to map out the future character of warfare.

    Leading the project will be a trio of high-profile non-military figures: billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, defense technology innovator Palmer Luckey, and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. All three bring distinct backgrounds tied to U.S. defense and conservative politics: Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, already holds deep ties to U.S. national security infrastructure through SpaceX, which has received billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, and previously served as the de facto leader of the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. Luckey, a prominent donor to former President Donald Trump, co-founded leading defense technology firm Anduril Industries, and last year publicly stated the company planned to mass-produce cruise missiles, fighter jets and AI-integrated weapons systems, arguing the U.S. must ramp up arms production to prepare for potential simultaneous conflicts with major global adversaries including Iran, China and Russia. Gingrich, a long-time hawk who has advocated for military action against Iran since at least 2005, joins the project amid lingering scrutiny over his draft deferments during the Vietnam War, when he avoided service citing his status as a student and father – a parallel to former President Trump, who also received multiple deferments for bone spurs.

    Beyond Project Meridian, Hegseth also announced the creation of a new four-star combatant command called Autonomous Warfare Command, or Autowarcom. The new command will be granted service-like governing authorities, designed specifically to scale autonomous and robotic military capabilities across all branches of the U.S. joint force.

    These new initiatives come hand-in-hand with a sweeping push to cut bureaucratic bloat at the top of the U.S. military. Hegseth confirmed Wednesday that the Pentagon will eliminate 20% of all existing general and admiral positions – roughly 160 posts out of a total of 800 – by January. That target doubles the 10% cut the department previously announced, which Hegseth justified as a necessary step to eliminate redundant force structure and strip away unnecessary layers of military bureaucracy. The reductions mark the latest wave of senior leadership turnover, coming after more than two dozen top military and civilian defense officials have already been removed or left office early since Hegseth took up his post as defense secretary.

    The combination of appointing outside civilian leaders to guide future war planning and cutting hundreds of experienced senior officer positions has sparked swift backlash from Capitol Hill and independent defense analysts. Critics have raised alarm about the decision to hand substantial influence over U.S. military strategy to defense industry executives and a veteran partisan politician with no active military service, at the same time that the department is pushing out seasoned uniformed leadership. On social media, NewBlue USA executive Marty Taylor summed up widespread skepticism, writing, “Interesting. A board loaded with defense contractors and one draft-dodging war hawk will decide the future of the US military. What could possibly go wrong?”

  • Eritrea and Ethiopia shutter embassies as new Red Sea conflict looms

    Eritrea and Ethiopia shutter embassies as new Red Sea conflict looms

    A decades-long rivalry between Eritrea and Ethiopia has boiled over into a full breakdown of diplomatic relations, triggering grave concerns that a new conflict could ignite across the already volatile Red Sea region, drawing in multiple global and regional powers. The crisis erupted after an alleged drone strike targeted Ethiopian military headquarters in the capital Addis Ababa earlier this week, ending a period of relative calm in the city amid Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ongoing fight against a coalition of rebel movements across the country’s Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions.

    Following the explosion at the Ethiopian National Defence Force headquarters in Addis Ababa’s Tor Hayloch neighborhood, Western and regional officials confirmed to Middle East Eye that the strike was carried out by a drone. Ethiopian authorities quickly pinned blame on Asmara, accusing Eritrea of carrying out “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence” in a formal government statement. In response, Addis Ababa announced the expulsion of 10 Eritrean diplomats and the permanent closure of its embassy in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.

    Eritrean officials rejected Ethiopia’s accusations and reciprocated by cutting all diplomatic ties with Addis Ababa. In a statement from Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials accused Ethiopia of fueling internal unrest in Eritrea by arming, training, and hosting anti-government armed opposition groups with the explicit goal of forcing regime change in Asmara. “Ethiopia has pursued an agenda of incessant hostility” against Eritrea, the statement read.

    This diplomatic rupture caps months of steadily deteriorating relations between the two neighboring countries, a turnabout that surprised many observers after their unexpected alignment during Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 civil war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former ruling party of Ethiopia’s Tigray region. In the years since that conflict concluded, the old rivalry between the two states reemerged with renewed intensity. Ethiopia has laid claim to parts of Eritrea’s Red Sea coastline, and has repeatedly accused Asmara of covertly supporting the TPLF – a charge Eritrean officials have consistently denied.

    In an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye last month from Asmara, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh framed Ethiopia’s territorial ambitions in stark terms, comparing Abiy Ahmed’s expansionist vision to Israel’s regional strategy. “[Abiy Ahmed] has a two-waters strategy like Israel. Only for him it is from the Nile River to the Red Sea,” Saleh said, drawing a parallel to Israel’s longstanding territorial vision stretching from the Gaza Strip to the Jordan River along the occupied West Bank frontier.

    The breakdown of diplomatic ties comes at an already precarious moment for the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region, with active conflicts already underway in Yemen and Sudan. Analysts and regional diplomats warn that the standoff between Eritrea and Ethiopia could easily widen into a larger conflict that draws in multiple outside powers, which are already aligned with different actors in the region’s existing disputes.

    The complex web of alliances raises the risk of escalation. The TPLF, which remains in open rebellion against Abiy Ahmed’s federal government, is already aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which is currently fighting Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. The RSF, which has been accused of genocide in Sudan, is backed by the United Arab Emirates and maintains training facilities inside Ethiopia. Eritrea, for its part, is aligned with Egypt and Saudi Arabia in their support for the SAF.

    Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed counts the UAE as one of his strongest international backers; the Gulf state has supplied Abiy’s forces with drones and other critical military equipment. Saleh also noted in his interview that Eritrea believes the UAE is cooperating with Israel against Asmara. This aligns with a long history of Israeli support for Ethiopia: dating back to the late 1970s and 1980s, Israel supplied arms to Ethiopia’s Marxist Derg government, which were used to wage war against Eritrean independence fighters.

  • NY’s governor appoints special counsel in Cornell frat rape investigation

    NY’s governor appoints special counsel in Cornell frat rape investigation

    A high-profile sexual assault case involving an Ivy League university has triggered a major leadership shakeup in its investigation, after New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that state Attorney General Letitia James will take over as special prosecutor, ousting the local county district attorney from oversight of the probe. The case centers on allegations made by an anonymous female student, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, who says she was drugged and gang-raped by seven men – now widely referred to as the “Cornell Seven” – at a Cornell University fraternity house back in 2024.

    For years, the case never resulted in criminal charges, but it burst into the national public spotlight last month when Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University. In her civil filing, Doe accuses the elite upstate New York institution of failing to protect her from harm and refusing to hold the accused attackers accountable. The lawsuit’s filing prompted new scrutiny of how local law enforcement handled the original investigation, ultimately leading to Governor Hochul’s intervention.

    In an official statement announcing the leadership change, Hochul said newly uncovered information had exposed serious gaps in the handling of the case, and that she no longer has confidence that Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten can oversee the investigation fairly. By executive action, Hochul has formally removed Van Houten’s office from all oversight of the probe. “The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” Hochul added.

    Van Houten, who previously led the county’s review of the allegations, has pushed back against the criticism, defending his office’s 2024 decision not to file criminal charges. He explained that at the time of the original investigation, his team did not receive sufficient evidence to meet the legal threshold required to bring charges. He has also claimed that the only statement his office received from Doe in 2024 implied the encounter was consensual and that she had not been drugged. Amid the wave of new attention after the civil lawsuit was filed, Van Houten announced less than two weeks ago that his office would re-open the investigation, noting that much of the information that has recently come to public light was never shared with his office originally. The BBC has reached out to Van Houten’s office for additional comment following Governor Hochul’s announcement.

    Cornell officials have confirmed that the university turned over evidence collected from its own internal investigation to the district attorney’s office, including screenshots from a Snapchat group chat where fraternity members allegedly discussed a “free” sexual encounter with Doe on the night of the reported assault. Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has publicly accused Van Houten of repeatedly altering his account of the case as public pressure has mounted in recent weeks.

    Following her appointment as special prosecutor, James – New York’s top legal officer – confirmed she is prepared to lead a thorough, impartial investigation rooted strictly in available evidence and state law. “The Governor has entrusted my office with this investigation, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” James said in a post on X. Governor Hochul confirmed that James will have full authority to present evidence to a grand jury and file criminal charges if the investigation finds sufficient cause to do so.

  • Cornell students voice frustration at public hearing over rape case

    Cornell students voice frustration at public hearing over rape case

    A charged public hearing at Cornell University has become a platform for undergraduate frustration, as students used the student-led forum to voice deep-seated anger and concern over the handling of an on-campus rape case and long-running failures to address pervasive sexual violence. Organized by the institution’s Student Assembly, the hearing brought together dozens of concerned students, campus administrators, and members of the press – including BBC correspondent Nada Tawfik, who reported on the tense, emotion-driven proceedings. The core of the discussion centered on unaddressed safety gaps across campus, with students arguing that repeated complaints about sexual assault have been sidelined by university leadership, leaving community members feeling unprotected and disrespected. Attendees described the rape case as the latest tipping point in a years-long pattern of institutional inaction, pushing students to mobilize and demand systemic changes to how Cornell reports, investigates, and responds to incidents of sexual violence. The open forum marked a rare public moment of reckoning, as student leaders pushed administrators to confront widespread dissatisfaction with campus safety policies and commit to tangible, immediate reforms that prioritize survivor support and prevention of future attacks.

  • Kushner’s financial stakes in Israeli defence firms raises conflict of interest concerns: Report

    Kushner’s financial stakes in Israeli defence firms raises conflict of interest concerns: Report

    A new investigative report by CNN has uncovered significant financial ties between former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner’s private investment firm, Affinity Partners, and a network of Israeli defense contractors that have supplied weapons and munitions for ongoing military operations across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The revelations raise serious ethical questions about potential personal profit from regional conflicts that Kushner has been officially tasked with mediating, as well as surprising financial links between Gulf Arab states and the Israeli defense sector.

    According to CNN’s reporting, the connection between Kushner’s investment vehicle and Israeli defense interests dates back to 2024, when Affinity Partners injected $128.5 million into Phoenix Financial, one of Israel’s largest diversified financial groups with holdings across insurance, pension management, and asset allocation. Just five days before the inauguration of the second Trump administration in January 2025, Kushner oversaw a doubling of Affinity’s stake in Phoenix, cementing the firm as Phoenix’s single largest shareholder. Kushner has previously referred to the Phoenix holding as Affinity’s “best investment.”

    Further investigation by CNN traced at least $456 million in Phoenix investments to nine separate firms directly connected to Israel’s defense industry. The largest of these holdings is a $265.1 million stake in Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest domestic arms manufacturer. Over the past 12 months alone, Elbit has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from Israel’s Ministry of Defense, including a $200 million deal for advanced airborne munitions and a $48 million contract to supply thousands of 155mm artillery shells. Multiple independent outlets including Middle East Eye have previously documented that Elbit’s weapon systems have been used in attacks that have resulted in Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.

    Phoenix’s defense sector investments extend well beyond Elbit Systems. The Israeli financial group holds an estimated $68 million stake in Next Vision, a manufacturer of optical cameras for military drones; $55 million in Bet Shemesh, a producer of aircraft engines for Israeli military warplanes; and $40 million in Reshef Technologies, which manufactures electronic fuses for artillery rounds. Reshef reported $165 million in new orders from the Israeli military in the period following the start of the current Gaza conflict. Phoenix also holds positions in other firms tied to Israeli military activity, including U.S.-based Caterpillar, whose heavy equipment has been linked to the demolition of Palestinian civilian infrastructure in Gaza and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as Israeli Shipyards and aerospace giant Boeing.

    In January 2025, Affinity Partners sold off one-third of its stake in Phoenix, generating a payout of $340 million for the firm. Even after the sale, Affinity remains Phoenix’s largest shareholder, holding a 7.4% stake valued at more than $1 billion, per CNN’s calculations.

    Kushner’s legal team has argued that he never directed Phoenix on how to allocate its investment capital. However, comments Kushner made to Forbes in September 2025 contradict that claim: he stated he maintained “a very active dialogue” with Phoenix’s leadership and met with the group’s executives on a regular basis.

    Beyond the ethical implications of the stake itself, the report reveals an unexpected flow of capital from Arab Gulf states into Israeli defense companies via Kushner’s firm. As of April 2026, Affinity Partners reports holding more than $6.1 billion in total assets, 99% of which come from non-U.S. investors. All publicly identified investors in the fund are Gulf Arab states: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund injected $2 billion into Affinity shortly after the end of the first Trump administration, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates added a combined $1.5 billion in new capital in 2024.

    The connection between Kushner’s personal financial interests and his official diplomatic work is particularly striking given his long-standing role in Middle East peace negotiations. Kushner was the primary architect of the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and three Arab states: Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE. He has long framed cross-border investment as a core tool to “incentivize” Arab and Muslim countries to normalize ties with Israel. Today, Kushner holds a seat on Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” the body tasked with mediating a ceasefire in the Gaza war and overseeing post-conflict reconstruction of the enclave. He also developed the controversial “Gaza Riviera” plan, which proposes to redevelop Gaza as a global tourist hub after the conflict ends.

    Since Kushner holds no official public office in the second Trump administration, he is not legally required to disclose his personal financial holdings, leaving the full extent of his ties to Israeli defense firms outside of public scrutiny.

  • Making politics ‘fun, trendy, sexy’: How Gen Z could shape Kenya’s next election

    Making politics ‘fun, trendy, sexy’: How Gen Z could shape Kenya’s next election

    With less than 12 months remaining until Kenya’s August 2027 general election, a seismic shift is unfolding in the country’s political landscape, driven by a generation of young voters who are challenging decades-old power structures rooted in tribal affiliation and big-money politics. What began as mass street protests two years ago has evolved into a organized push for electoral change, as Gen Z Kenyans – those born between the late 1990s and early 2000s – move from demonstrating against government policies to claiming their power at the ballot box.

    The movement’s early success has already surprised political observers. Ademba Allans, a former student journalist turned civic organizer, pioneered a youth-centered voter registration drive earlier this year, rebranding voting as a cool, trendy activity for young people. Leveraging social media, he shared upbeat, humorous music-infused selfies to cut through traditional political apathy and encourage his peers to sign up. By the close of the first registration window, the campaign had helped add 2.6 million new young voters to the national rolls, and Allans now aims to register another 2.3 million ahead of the next phase.

    “This is the Gen Z approach to politics: fun, fashionable, and hype-driven,” Allans explained. “We created a fear of missing out, and suddenly everyone wanted to be part of the action.”

    Gen Z first made its political force known two years ago, when mass nationwide protests forced the Kenyan government to backtrack on a deeply unpopular tax proposal. But that victory came at a steep cost: a harsh police crackdown left dozens of young demonstrators dead and injured. Today, fueled by anger over systemic corruption, police brutality, and unmet economic promises, a growing number of young Kenyans are choosing to channel that frustration into electoral participation.

    Their sheer demographic weight gives them unparalleled potential to reshape election results: more than 30% of all voting-age Kenyans are under the age of 35. Current polling already shows incumbent President William Ruto in a vulnerable position, but the big open question remains whether this decentralized, digital-first youth rebellion can translate grassroots energy into sustained, organized political power.

    Political analyst Tom Mboya describes youth-led movements as Kenya’s new political wildcard. “These groups are unpredictable – they require almost no formal funding and can mobilize rapidly at any time,” Mboya noted. “The 2024 finance bill protests proved their political clout, but they have never been tested in a formal electoral contest. If they unite behind a single candidate, that candidate will almost certainly outperform expectations.”

    A key advantage of the Gen Z movement is its rejection of the tribal blocs and partisan structures that have dominated Kenyan politics for generations. Allans has deliberately avoided endorsing any specific candidate or party, framing the effort as a push for accountable leadership rather than partisan gain. The resulting bloc of young voters operates as a flexible swing vote, unbound by traditional political loyalties. “Never before has there been a voting bloc that isn’t tied to a politician or party – they just want to elect the right leaders, that’s what we’ve built,” Allans said.

    One opposition figure who has emerged as a favorite among disillusioned young voters is Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, leader of the pro-reform Linda Mwananchi (Protect the Citizen) movement. Sifuna first won Gen Z’s support during the 2024 protests, when he intervened to stop police from opening fire on demonstrators who had stormed parliament. Today, he is crisscrossing the country rallying young support, even though he has not yet officially announced a presidential bid.

    During a recent campaign stop in Meru County, a region that heavily backed Ruto in the 2022 election, Sifuna laid out his vision for a transformed Kenyan political system. “Young people want an even playing field where everyone can compete fairly,” he told the crowd. “We need to dismantle the old system entirely so that every Kenyan has a fair shot at education, employment, and economic growth. The 2027 election will be the test of the vision young Kenyans have built.”

    Young voters who have turned out for Sifuna’s raucous rolling rallies make their demands clear: they want tangible action on the economic issues that shape their daily lives, starting with sky-high youth unemployment. “We’re here for a revolution – we want a new youth leader who actually understands the problems we face,” said 23-year-old Brandon Muremi at a recent rally stop.

    Nineteen-year-old mechanical engineering student Conrad Mutangili echoed that frustration with broken political promises. “Politicians promise us the world, but we never see any results,” he said. “We want someone who actually delivers on what they say.” For many young Kenyans, the top priority is non-negotiable: “We want employment, employment, and more employment,” added 22-year-old computer science student Yvonne Kileme.

    For his part, President Ruto argues that his administration is already delivering for young Kenyans, noting that chronic youth unemployment predates his 2022 election victory. Ruto ran on a populist platform of bottom-up economic transformation that promised to lift up marginalized communities, and his administration has passed landmark policies including expanded public healthcare access. But young voters have largely felt betrayed by his subsequent austerity measures and tax hikes, which have increased the cost of living for millions.

    To court young support, Ruto’s administration has rolled out a suite of targeted programs including grants and low-interest loans for youth-led small businesses, expanded technology hubs, and new digital work opportunities. Kariuki Ngunjiri, national youth leader for Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), said the party is confident of a landslide victory, dismissing Gen Z’s social media-driven momentum as overhyped.

    “The president listens to young people, he has addressed their concerns and delivered real jobs, which gives us a major head start,” Ngunjiri said at a recent UDA youth town hall in Kangema, north of Nairobi. “We don’t worry about sponsored social media trends – we’re delivering tangible development to young people, that’s what matters.”

    Even among undecided young voters, some remain open to giving Ruto’s administration more time. Twenty-three-year-old job seeker Shintah Mutahi told reporters she attended the UDA event to hear what the party had to offer, and hoped it would lead to employment opportunities. “The government has faced challenges, but they’re trying to lift up young people now,” said local UDA youth leader John Kiragu.

    But many other young Kenyans remain deeply skeptical of the old political playbook. Calvin Ware, a local football team captain who attended the UDA event to hear plans for a new local stadium, said he had heard identical election-season promises dozens of times before – and this one would not change his vote.

    “We’ve already made up our minds: the entire old government has to go,” Ware said. “We want to build a new Kenya with new young leaders, no tribal loyalties, just real change. That’s all we want.”

    As the event wrapped up, attendees lined up to receive small cash handouts worth roughly $3, a longstanding common practice in Kenyan politics that illustrates how money continues to shape election outcomes. Analyst Mboya noted that campaign spending in Kenya is far higher than in many other parts of the world, and money remains a decisive factor on election day.

    Today, it remains unclear how Gen Z’s grassroots energy will translate at the ballot box next August. The movement has rejected the ethnic blocs and cash-for-votes tactics that have long delivered election wins in Kenya, but those systems remain deeply entrenched. What is certain, however, is that young Kenyans will shape the 2027 race – and their demand for systemic change has already altered the future of Kenyan politics.

  • Spain and China are cosying up – to the anger of many in the EU

    Spain and China are cosying up – to the anger of many in the EU

    Against the backdrop of vibrant cross-cultural exchange at Barcelona’s iconic La Merce festival, a deeper geopolitical shift is playing out across the European Union, as individual member states increasingly prioritize their own national strategic and economic interests over collective bloc unity. This week, Shanghai made history as the first Asian city of honor at the festival, where flamboyant traditional Chinese dragon dancers weaved through cheering crowds, acrobats performed mesmerizing rolling lantern acts that left audiences gasping, and centuries-old Catalan pipe music blended with traditional Chinese scores along Barcelona’s central boulevards. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Shanghai Vice Mayor Lu Shan noted that while Chinese and Catalan cultural traditions take distinct forms, they are bound together by a shared creative spirit.

    This cultural exchange is just one visible marker of the warming relationship between Spain and China, a partnership that has put Madrid at odds with many of its European allies. Over the past four years, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has traveled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping four times, and has repeatedly called on the entire EU to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing – a stance that has gained new traction in the two years since Donald Trump won re-election as U.S. president.

    Many of Spain’s EU partners, who view Beijing as a strategic rival and potential geopolitical threat to the bloc, have pushed back hard against Madrid’s approach. Privately, critics question whether Spain’s open-door policy to Chinese businesses is allowing Beijing to gain undue economic influence within the EU’s single market. Germany and France, the bloc’s two largest economies, have already joined forces to adopt a harder line on China, pushing for new powers that would allow Brussels to block subsidized Chinese firms from accessing the EU market, to address a daily bilateral trade deficit that Brussels puts at nearly €1 billion. Other member states also point to China’s deep economic and technological ties to Russia, which they argue enable Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine – a charge Beijing denies.

    Yet Spain is far from alone in shifting its alliances to meet what it sees as its own unique national needs. Growing uncertainty over U.S. commitment to European security, driven by Trump’s unpredictable trade and defense policies, has left many EU and NATO member states feeling exposed and unwilling to rely exclusively on Washington. This shift has opened rifts within the bloc, as countries pursue independent partnerships that often irritate or alienate fellow members.

    For Spain, the economic logic of closer ties to China is clear. Data from Spain’s trade and investment agency ICEX shows Chinese investment in Spain is surging, with particular growth in electric vehicle manufacturing and large-scale battery gigafactory projects. Chinese investment in the country doubled over just the past year, following an announcement from major automaker Chery that it would open its first European production hub in Spain, reviving the defunct Spanish auto brand Ebro. Battery firms Hithium and CATL also have major gigafactory projects underway across the country. Victor Cortizo, an academic and legal expert specializing in Sino-Spanish relations, notes that with U.S. net investment in Spain falling by roughly €1 billion recently, China has filled the gap – and could become Beijing’s top investment destination in Europe now that pro-China former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is no longer in office.

    Public opinion in Spain also backs this shift. A Pew Research Center poll published this summer found 54% of Spaniards hold a favorable view of China, compared to just 30% who view the U.S., Spain’s long-time traditional ally, positively. Cortizo explains this gap: China has lowered barriers to Spanish trade, while Trump’s tariffs and spillover effects from the U.S.’s conflict with Iran have made trade with America far costlier. Many Spaniards also resent Trump’s threats to impose economic sanctions on Spain if Sanchez refused to meet demands to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP and allow U.S. bases in Spain to be used for strikes on Iran, leaving many in the country seeing Beijing as a more reliable partner.

    Critics, however, warn that Spain’s approach carries serious security and economic risks. They argue that Chinese firms are building local production facilities in Spain to evade tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles, threatening the integrity of the EU single market. More alarmingly, last year Spain’s interior ministry awarded Chinese tech giant Huawei a €12.3 million contract to store and manage sensitive judicial wiretap data, a decision that drew widespread condemnation across the EU. MEPs from multiple political blocs warned that allowing a high-risk vendor access to sensitive data could compromise the entire European intelligence sharing network, with Spain’s center-right opposition arguing the decision puts the whole bloc at risk. While Madrid denies any security risk, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith warns that moves like this erode collective European cohesion.

    “When EU countries hedge against an unpredictable United States, they must be careful not to rush into partnerships that weaken the EU’s collective negotiating and security position,” Smith explained. “Partnerships with like-minded countries like Canada offer clear benefits, but deepening ties with China risks further undermining the EU’s ability to speak with one voice and creates new security vulnerabilities for the entire continent.”

    Spain is not an outlier in this trend. In Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia and joined NATO in 2022 after abandoning decades of neutrality, growing doubt over U.S. commitment to the alliance’s mutual defense clause has led the government to turn to Israel for advanced military hardware, including David’s Sling air defense systems and Spike anti-tank missiles. Finland renewed its major defense deal with Israel even during the height of the Gaza war, when the Finnish government and much of the EU had publicly raised serious concerns over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. Minna Alander, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, notes that for Finns, national survival takes priority over ideological alignment: “Finns have a less sentimental mentality. There is a widespread understanding that we cannot always afford moral superiority when our security is on the line.”

    Greece has followed a similar path. Facing long-running territorial disputes with NATO neighbor Turkey, and with the U.S. increasingly perceived as an uninterested mediator under the Trump administration, Athens signed a massive landmark defense deal, dubbed the “Achilles Shield”, with Israel in late August to acquire advanced drone, aircraft and missile defense technology. While Greece has a long history of public sympathy for the Palestinian cause, public pushback on the deal has been muted, as Greeks broadly agree that strengthening national security against Turkey takes priority over all other concerns. Like Finland, Greece wants to be seen as a cooperative member of the EU, but its independent alliance building adds to the growing fragmentation of bloc positions.

    Nick Malkoutzis, co-founder of political analysis outlet MacroPolis, explains that this scramble by individual EU states to pursue their own security and economic interests makes it far harder for the bloc to unite around common positions – directly counter to the goals of Brussels and NATO leadership. While small groups of European countries have long collaborated on specific issues – from the E3 group of the UK, Germany and France focused on Iran diplomacy to the Nordic defense cooperation bloc and the former Visegrad Group – current shifts are unprecedented in their scope.

    Today, both EU and NATO leaders warn that the continent faces greater geopolitical pressure than any time since the end of World War II. An aggressive Russia is positioned along the bloc’s eastern border, backed by China, while the U.S., long Europe’s closest security ally, is increasingly distracted by other global priorities. Brussels and Washington warn that growing fragmentation, splintering and the rise of “mini-lateralism” among European states only plays into the hands of Europe’s adversaries, who are closely watching for signs of fracture within the Western alliance.

  • The wealthy Cuban Americans ready and waiting for Havana to fall

    The wealthy Cuban Americans ready and waiting for Havana to fall

    Against a sparkling backdrop overlooking Biscayne Bay, at the opulent Miami residence of a leading local plastic surgeon, a select gathering of some of Florida’s most affluent Cuban-American families has convened. This meeting marks the fourth session of the newly launched Cuban-American National Chamber of Commerce (CANCC), where attendees are mapping out their vision for a post-revolutionary Cuban economy. Clutching premium rum and displaying luxury timepieces, this circle of long-established Cuban-American wealth—including members from renowned business dynasties like Bacardi and Babun—lingered by the pool, debating the dire state of Cuba’s current economy and exchanging whispers of the latest political shifts on the island.

    “Tonight, we’ve brought together the most prominent Cuban-American entrepreneurs across Miami-Dade County under one roof,” explained CANCC president Juan Omar Sixto, an 80-something real estate developer who fled Cuba as a teen. “Our end goal is clear: we will re-establish our presence in Cuba the moment the current regime collapses.” Sixto and his guests are confident this turning point is imminent.

    This influential exile community has held deep opposition to Cuba’s Communist-led government since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, when his administration expropriated private lands and nationalized family-owned businesses. Over decades, the group has leveraged its significant political and economic sway in Florida to shape U.S. policy toward Havana. Now, CANCC is drafting detailed blueprints for what Sixto calls Cuba’s “day after” the current government falls. The organization has already drafted a formal proposal for a Cuban national stock exchange and established working groups covering critical sectors from energy infrastructure to national food security.

    Preparations for a post-Communist Cuba are not a new undertaking for Miami-based exile groups: for decades, a wide range of organizations have drawn up countless strategic and logistical plans, varying widely in their thoroughness and pragmatism. But Sixto argues that today’s context is fundamentally different, pointing to the Trump administration’s aggressive push for sweeping regime change on the island. He adds that the group has direct access to high-profile Washington contacts, including close allies of Senator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “Alongside delivering humanitarian aid and critical medical supplies, we are ready to go and do business in Cuba right away,” Sixto stated.

    Inside Cuba, these plans are met with widespread skepticism. In response to Washington’s ongoing “maximum pressure” campaign, Havana’s leadership recently unveiled 176 new economic liberalization measures. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel framed the reforms as a way to “advance the defense of socialism, to support and widen social justice.” Critics, however, argue the changes amount to a de facto shift toward full capitalism: the reforms lift caps on the number of employees allowed at private businesses, permit private business owners to directly hire and fire workers, and allow Cuban Americans to own multiple enterprises simultaneously.

    Even so, CANCC attendees dismiss these reforms as merely cosmetic changes that fail to deliver meaningful legal protections for foreign investors. Sixto made clear the group would “not put a foot into Cuba” as long as the current government remains in power.

    Many independent analysts argue these pre-transition planning efforts are premature. While Cuban-American business leaders are convinced rapid political change is on the horizon, no one can predict exactly what that change will look like: would it come via a U.S. military intervention similar to the 2019 action in Venezuela, or through a negotiated economic agreement with the current Cuban leadership?

    Mike Bustamante, associate professor of history at the University of Miami, notes that the high expectations for imminent change stoked by the Trump administration have been delayed. With U.S. midterm elections approaching in November and the Trump administration mired in what Bustamante calls the “quagmire” of the Iran conflict, there is little political appetite for new large-scale foreign interventions. “It’s really tough to think that they will escalate further than what they’re doing now, which is this steady drip of sanctions,” he explained. That sanctions pressure is already severe: Cuba’s oil imports have been effectively cut off since January, a move Bustamante calls a major escalation. While the squeeze has made daily life unbearable for most ordinary Cubans, it has not yet created the conditions for a decisive political shift on the island, he added.

    The Cuban government has not issued an official response to CANCC specifically, but it has long condemned such exile-led planning groups. Cuban revolutionaries have repeatedly stated they will not be pushed out of power by Miami-based critics.

    When asked about the irony that the same group that has long backed the decades-long U.S. economic embargo and current fuel blockade—policies widely blamed for deepening Cuba’s current crisis—is now mapping out the island’s reconstruction without input from most Cubans currently living on the island, attendees pushed back. For Hugo Orizondo, a Cuban-American agricultural expert, pre-planning is simply a practical step. “Right now, Cuba is like a black hole, we don’t know what is happening over there, but we do know the enormous potential for investment,” he admitted. Orizondo said he understands why many Cubans are wary of foreign investors acquiring rights to sensitive arable land, but he argues that outside capital is desperately needed. “What are they going to do with it now? When investors come, they bring money and technology into the land,” he said, adding that both are urgently needed if Cuba is to become food self-sufficient and end its reliance on costly imports.

    Restoring historical property rights is a core demand of the wealthy Cuban-American group. Sixto says his own father lost five properties and a 500-acre farm in Cuba’s Pinar del Río province during the 1959 revolution. While he says he has no plans to evict any families currently living on those properties, he is demanding financial compensation for the nationalized land. “I worked on that farm for five years of my life with my father, and they took it away. I want restitution or compensation. Even if they give me just a penny on the dollar, I’ll take it,” he said. “It’s moral justice.”

    The Cuban government frames these historical property claims as the resentment of a corrupt old elite that built its fortunes on the backs of enslaved people and indentured laborers—systems that only ended in Cuba in the late 19th century. Havana also argues that exiles have never accepted Castro’s land reforms, which redistributed large estates to poor workers and the state.

    But exile leaders say their plans would revitalize unproductive land for the benefit of all Cubans. “Most of our sugar mills have been dismantled, but we will recover those lands and put them into production,” said Nicolás Gutiérrez, president of the exile-led National Association of Sugar Mill Owners of Cuba, which advocates for property title restitution. “I’m not promising it will be in sugar. It might be in ethanol, co-generation, solar panels or water purification cells. Who knows? There are a lot of different options. We need to get them producing, we need to have a real wage paid to Cuban workers and create a multiplier economic effect across the island.”

    As ice clinked in cocktail glasses and a warm ocean breeze rustled palm fronds across the perfectly manicured lawn, CANCC members framed their post-change vision as straightforward and achievable. But just hours after the meeting concluded, Cuba suffered its sixth nationwide blackout of the year—an stark reminder of the gap between Miami’s plans and the harsh realities of daily life on the island.

    The disconnect between the exile community’s hopes for rapid change and the on-the-ground reality in Cuba is impossible to ignore. While many Miami-based Cuban Americans believe the long-awaited political shift is almost here, any sudden transition would almost certainly bring massive social and humanitarian disruption that the already struggling island is unprepared to handle. Even if the diaspora’s goals are well-intentioned rather than purely self-interested, estimates suggest rebuilding Cuba’s failing electrical grid alone would cost between $8 billion and $10 billion. Before any sector from agriculture to tourism can be revitalized by exile wealth and political connections, ordinary Cubans continue to grapple with acute shortages of food, clean water, fuel, and life-saving medicines. For all Miami’s ambitious plans, most Cubans simply hope for small, incremental improvements to their daily lives in the near term.

  • France approved new military equipment sales to Israel, research finds

    France approved new military equipment sales to Israel, research finds

    A new joint investigation by two Palestinian and French rights advocacy groups has uncovered that French authorities approved 35 new military equipment sales to Israel between May and September 2026, shedding fresh light on ongoing French arms exports amid mounting controversy over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

    The probe, carried out by the Palestinian Youth Movement and French grassroots collective Urgence Palestine, documents that the approved shipments include a range of components for Israeli military systems: cooling units for tanks and missile launchers, helmet visors for helicopter and fighter jet pilots, electronic connectors and specialized hardware, and surveillance technology. According to the report, which has been reviewed by independent outlet Middle East Eye, all of the exported components were bound for subsidiaries of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest and most prominent private arms manufacturer.

    Researchers traced production of the equipment to facilities across five French regions, identifying well-known French firms among the suppliers. Major French military conglomerate Thales was listed as one of the producers, responsible for manufacturing and exporting remote weapons control panels that are integrated into Israeli military systems.

    This latest disclosure follows an initial joint investigation released by the same organizations in April 2026, which documented more than 525 military equipment shipments from France to Israel between October 2023 and March 2026. That first report also recorded 117 flights carrying F-35 fighter jet components departing from Paris’ Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, France’s busiest international aviation hub. In the new round of research, investigators identified four previously unreported French suppliers, and found that 33 of the 35 newly approved shipments passed through CDG, with 32 of those transported by El Al, Israel’s state-owned national airline.

    The findings were publicly launched on Thursday to kick off a “nationwide month of protest against French arms sales to Israel”, organized by a broad coalition of French trade unions, human rights groups and pro-Palestinian advocacy organizations including Urgence Palestine, BDS France, Stop Arming Israel, and the Association France Palestine Solidarite.

    Speaking at the launch event, Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights lawyer who was detained for years by Israeli authorities, called out French President Emmanuel Macron over a perceived contradiction in his public remarks and policy. Last week, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Macron described the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza as a “spectacle that shames us all”. Hammouri pointed out the stark gap between this rhetoric and continued French arms approvals: “Macron says he is ashamed of the murderous spectacle offered by Israel. But he is not ashamed of having allowed 525 shipments of military components destined for Israeli factories to pass through over the course of two years. Despite our previous report, despite trade-union and parliamentary mobilisation, and despite all the actions carried out by our organisations, the transfers continue.”

    For months, investigative media outlets and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly documented that French military components continue to flow to Israel amid widespread allegations of genocide in Gaza. Members of the French parliament have repeatedly criticized the government for failing to provide transparency on arms exports and for lacking meaningful parliamentary oversight of the licensing process.

    The French government has repeatedly defended its policy, stating that it halted approvals for “offensive” weapons sales to Israel in 2024, and only permits exports of so-called “defensive” components. All French military exports require government-issued licenses before shipments can proceed. Just two days ago, French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin reaffirmed this position during a parliamentary session, stating: “When the government authorises the export of components intended to defend Israeli territory and population, it ensures that the equipment is not used against civilian populations.”

    Yet the new investigation directly contradicts the government’s distinction between offensive and defensive equipment, as do multiple previous reports from independent outlets and NGOs. Critics have long argued that even so-called non-offensive components sustain Israel’s military supply chain for combat operations in Gaza, and that the government’s categorization is deliberately misleading.

    Thomas Nayla, a lawyer for Urgence Palestine who co-led the investigation by cross-referencing public databases and using open-source intelligence, explained to Middle East Eye why the government’s claims do not hold up to scrutiny: “When you look at all the components that were sold – a cooling system for a tank, a visor for a helicopter pilot – there is no way these can be considered defensive. They are necessarily going into offensive weapons systems.” Nayla also emphasized that there is a “complete lack of oversight” over what components are ultimately delivered to Elbit’s subsidiaries, with no independent checks on their end use.

    Nayla told Middle East Eye that he contacted all the companies identified in the new report ahead of its publication. Half of the contacted firms confirmed they had made the shipments, but many told the investigation team: “Yes, it’s true, we sent these components, but we don’t know what the Elbit Systems subsidiary does with them.” The remaining companies declined to respond to requests for comment.

    With the new findings in hand and formal support from major French trade unions, Urgence Palestine and its partners plan to directly inform workers at the listed supplier companies about the final use of the components they produce and transport. Nayla said the campaign is rooted in the belief that worker awareness can disrupt the arms supply chain: “We are convinced – and there has already been much evidence – that once workers know what they are manufacturing and what they are transporting, they will refuse to do it.”

    Over the coming month of protest and advocacy, the coalition aims to amplify its call for a full halt to French arms sales to Israel, share its research findings with the public, and coordinate collective action across civil society. “Civil society, trade unions, members of parliament and political parties must work together to block the chain of complicity that allows the Israeli regime to be armed,” Nayla added.

  • Seven killed in Syria after gunmen open fire on bus in Homs

    Seven killed in Syria after gunmen open fire on bus in Homs

    On a Wednesday evening, Syria faced a trio of interconnected security crises that have reignited fears of widespread instability across the country, just months after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. The first and deadliest incident was a targeted ambush on a civilian bus traveling through the western countryside of Homs province, which left at least seven private sector employees dead and four more with severe injuries.

    According to local health authorities, the bus was carrying workers back to their homes after the end of their work shift when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle as it crossed the Masyaf Bridge. Maan Mahmoud Fahd, the director of Homs Grand Hospital, confirmed to Syria’s official state news agency Sana that four of the seven fatalities were pronounced dead immediately upon their arrival at the medical facility, having suffered catastrophic gunshot wounds to the head and torso. The remaining casualties were transferred to other medical centers across the Homs governorate for urgent treatment.

    Moments after reports of the shooting emerged, Syrian security units were deployed to the attack site to cordon off the area and launch a full criminal investigation. Brigadier General Bassem Mohammad Shaaban, commander of Homs Internal Security Forces, told reporters that forensic investigators have begun collecting physical evidence to track down the perpetrators and uncover their motive for the attack. As of the latest updates, no militant or opposition group has claimed responsibility for the shooting, and no suspects have been publicly named by authorities.

    Shaaban issued a firm promise that the attackers would face justice, stressing that the brutal act would not go unpunished. “We view this cowardly attack as an attempt to undermine security in Homs and destabilise the stability we have worked to consolidate,” he said. “We will not allow criminals to threaten the security of our people or undermine the stability the city is experiencing.”

    Brigadier General Munir al-Hariri, a veteran Syrian military analyst, told local broadcaster Syria TV that the attack most likely bears the hallmarks of operations carried out by former Assad regime loyalists, who have carried out a string of small-scale attacks across the country to undermine the new government’s efforts to restore order. Wednesday’s bus shooting is part of a growing wave of security incidents that have raised alarm across Syria since the transition of power last December. In August alone, two separate attacks targeting buses near the capital Damascus left 14 people injured: one targeted a convoy of internal security personnel, while the second was a hidden explosive device detonated on a public passenger bus in Jaramana, a town southeast of the capital.

    Simultaneously to the Homs shooting, a major explosion hit a key gas pressure-reduction station at the entrance of the Tishreen thermal power plant, located roughly 36 kilometers outside Damascus in the Damascus countryside. The blast sparked a massive blaze that injured two plant workers and severely damaged the two main gas pipelines supplying the facility, according to the Syrian Petroleum Company.

    The loss of gas input forced three major power plants – Tishreen, Deir Ali, and Nasiriyah – to shut down all operations immediately. The Syrian Electricity Company issued a public warning that the shutdown would lead to extended scheduled rolling blackouts across affected regions. Abdul Hamid Salat, head of the media department at Syria’s energy ministry, added that the cut in gas supplies also disrupted operations at critical water pumping and treatment facilities, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents across Damascus, its surrounding countryside, Daraa, Sweida, and Quneitra without consistent access to clean running water.

    Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir confirmed that civil defence teams managed to bring the large fire under control overnight Wednesday. Speaking to reporters from the blast site, al-Bashir said technical specialists would conduct a full inspection of the facility once cooling operations are complete to “precisely determine the causes and circumstances” of the explosion. Authorities have not yet ruled out any potential causes, including accidental technical failure, deliberate sabotage, or a targeted attack.

    The third incident unfolded on Thursday morning in southern Syria’s Quneitra governorate, when approximately 12 Israeli military vehicles entered the village of Saida al-Golan as local students were traveling to their schools. After a short presence in the area, Israeli forces withdrew back to positions in the Yarmouk Basin, and no reports have emerged of arrests, home searches, or additional casualties from the incursion. This incursion follows a pattern of increased Israeli military activity in southern Syria in recent weeks: on Tuesday, Syrian state media reported that Israeli troops carried out incursions into Quneitra, where they questioned and physically assaulted local shepherds.

    Local news outlet Al-Araby News also reported Thursday that an assassination attempt was carried out against a Syrian Ministry of Defence officer in Sanamen, a city located north of Daraa, though no further details on the officer’s condition or the perpetrators have been released.

    These concurrent crises come just days after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa revealed that ongoing negotiations with Israel over a new cross-border security framework had reached roughly 90 percent completion before Israel pulled back from the deal and introduced new, unagreed-upon conditions. Speaking at an Atlantic Council policy panel in New York last week, al-Sharaa noted that multiple rounds of negotiations had been held over the past year with diplomatic mediation from the United States, and that talks would continue moving forward.

    The string of back-to-back security incidents highlights the significant challenges the new Syrian government faces as it attempts to consolidate control, rein in armed factions, and restore basic public services across the country after decades of civil conflict and the recent collapse of the previous regime.