EU and Partners Launch $1 Billion Gaza Recovery Initiative
The European Union and 15 international partners launched the Team Gaza Initiative on July 13, committing an initial €883.6 million (about $1 billion) for early recovery projects, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at the second Palestine Donor Group meeting in Brussels.The sum covers roughly 1.4% of the $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction needs identified in the April 2026 Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), jointly prepared by the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. The scale of that funding gap explains why the initiative focuses on restoring essential services – including debris removal, water and sanitation repairs, and basic healthcare – rather than financing large-scale reconstruction.Large-scale rebuilding remains heavily constrained by Israeli import controls. Israel classifies cement, steel and heavy construction machinery as "dual-use" goods requiring case-by-case approval, according to the Israeli rights organization Gisha, giving Israeli authorities effective control over the pace…
Britain Bans Iran’s IRGC Under New Law
Britain has classified Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a state threat organization, commonly described as proscription, making it a criminal offense to belong to the group, attend its meetings, or carry its logo in public.The designation uses the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on July 8, according to GOV.UK. The law exists because standard terrorism proscription does not fit a foreign state's military organ. Independent reviewer Jonathan Hall KC found in a May 2025 report that "terrorism proscription charges would not be appropriate" for bodies like the IRGC and recommended a parallel power instead, according to the UK Parliament Hansard record. Supporting or benefiting from a designated body carries up to 14 years in prison, per the House of Commons Library.Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the powers would make it easier to prosecute anyone in Britain carrying out the IRGC's work, according to Al-Monitor. The…
Iran Ceasefire Unravels as Grid Losses Mount
The US-Iran ceasefire that took hold in June is collapsing, with Iranian strikes on Gulf states and mounting damage to Iran's power grid marking the most serious escalation since the truce began.The US and Iran signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, establishing a 60-day framework to negotiate a permanent end to the war, according to ABC News. President Trump declared the ceasefire "over" on July 8 after a second consecutive night of US strikes, per ABC News. Iran retaliated by striking US-aligned states across the Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan, with explosions reported in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and on Qeshm Island into the early hours of July 13, according to Al Jazeera. ABC News described the pattern as one in which Iran strikes shipping, the US retaliates, and Iran then strikes US allies in the Gulf.US Central Command says its strikes have targeted military sites,…
Moldova Can See Russian Drones but Cannot Stop Them
A Russian Geran-2 attack drone crossed into Moldova overnight and blew up near Copanca, a village in the southern Căușeni district about 30 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, European Pravda reported. Moldova's Defence Ministry said the drone strayed in around 1 a.m. on July 13, as Russia struck Ukraine's neighbouring Odesa region. It started a fire but caused no casualties, and the ministry called it "a serious and unacceptable violation" of Moldovan airspace.The war has been spilling across Moldova's borders for two years. Russian drones and missile debris have come down inside Moldova and NATO-member Romania several times – near Naslavcea, Etulia and the Romanian village of Plauru. Ukrainian officials say Russia has repeatedly routed attack drones through or near Moldovan, Romanian and Belarusian airspace to avoid potential engagement zones. The tactic creates an additional problem for Ukrainian air defences, which cannot freely fire interceptors into neighbouring countries' airspace.Chisinau can…
Nigeria Faces Fresh Massacres as U.S. Steps Back
At least 27 people were reported killed in weekend attacks across Nigeria's Benue and Plateau states, in the country's Middle Belt, where farmer-herder conflict and banditry drive much of the violence. Vanguard reported that 18 died in two attacks in Benue's Otukpo area, 16 of them in Otukpo-Nobi early Sunday. Nigerian police put the Otukpo toll at eight, and Amnesty International at least 10, according to AP. In Plateau State, nine members of one family, including a two-month-old baby, were reportedly killed in an attack on the Kum and Wereng-Camp communities.The killings came days after the United States confirmed it had withdrawn most of the troops it deployed to Nigeria this year — but from a different war. Those forces operated in the north-east against Islamic State militants around the Lake Chad Basin, with no mandate over the Middle Belt, Reuters reported. Intelligence cooperation with Abuja continues.The drawdown followed months…
Lavrov’s Africa Tour Signals Trouble for Moscow’s Sahel Allies
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Niger this week promising deeper military cooperation with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the three military governments that make up the Alliance of Sahel States, or AES. The timing tells its own story. Moscow’s closest partners in the region are under pressure, and in Mali especially, Russian-backed forces are struggling to turn deeper military involvement into durable battlefield gains.A reassurance mission, not a victory lapThe July 8 talks in Niamey were billed as another step in a growing partnership. In his opening remarks at the Russia-AES ministerial meeting, Lavrov praised closer cooperation with the three Sahel governments, while Moscow and the AES states committed themselves to strengthening military and military-technical ties.Lavrov also accused Ukraine and France of colluding with what he called terrorist groups in the Sahel, a sweeping charge for which no credible public evidence has been produced. The accusation shifts attention…
