ExxonMobil has officially returned to active drilling operations in Nigeria for the first time in nearly a decade with a US$1bn investment in one of the country’s largest offshore oil projects, reinforcing confidence in Africa’s biggest oil producer after years of declining investment and production challenges.
The American energy giant, through its Nigerian affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, has launched the Usan Infill Project located in Oil Mining Lease 138 offshore Nigeria. The development marks ExxonMobil’s first drilling campaign in the country since 2016 and represents one of the most significant upstream investments announced in Nigeria this year.
The project is expected to add approximately 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Nigeria’s production capacity once fully operational, providing a major boost to the country’s efforts to restore output levels and strengthen government revenues. According to industry estimates, first oil from the project is expected within the next 18 months.
The Usan Infill Project is being funded jointly by ExxonMobil and its partners in the offshore block, including Chevron, TotalEnergies and Nexen, the Chinese-owned subsidiary of CNOOC. The project operates under a production-sharing arrangement with NNPC Limited, Nigeria’s national oil company.
The investment centres on the Usan Floating Production, Storage and Offloading facility, commonly known as an FPSO, which has been producing oil offshore Nigeria for years. Recent seismic studies completed in 2024 identified new drilling opportunities around the field, paving the way for the infill drilling campaign now being executed by ExxonMobil and its partners.
Oil drilling in Nigeria has caused significant environmental harm, including widespread pollution and destruction of local ecosystems since the 1950s. The Niger Delta region has suffered from regular oil spills, which contaminate farmland, lakes, and rivers, severely impacting agriculture and local livelihoods. London School of Economics and Political Science climate-diplomacy.org
The Haftars built their power through oil and arms. Oil revenues flow through national channels, while billions are redirected to projects dominated by institutions managed by the family, including the National Development Agency linked to Saddam’s brigade, and the Libyan Development and Reconstruction Fund led by Belqasim. The family has developed a broad regional network, from the Gulf to sub-Saharan Africa. The United Arab Emirates is their principal supporter, and Saddam has strengthened his father’s relations with Abu Dhabi by meeting Emirati officials since 2014. Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the Haftars is more cautious, but Riyadh keeps channels open.
Egypt’s role goes beyond its traditional ties with Libya’s General Command. Its imprint is visible in Saddam’s own formation: his doctorate from Cairo’s military academy shows Egypt’s investment in him. Cairo sees him as a guarantor of continued security cooperation along its long border with Libya, and a bulwark against groups it considers existential threats. Meanwhile, Russia’s relationship with the Haftars is more strategic than ideological. Moscow deployed the Wagner mercenary outfit to support Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and uses its links as leverage in talks with the West.
The official visit of Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to Washington signals a gradual shift in how the United States engages with the complex Libyan crisis.
The significance of this visit lies not only in the high-level meetings held with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and officials from the National Security Council, but also in the political messages they convey. These engagements indicate that Washington is reviewing its long-standing approach to Libya, moving away from years of merely managing the crisis without addressing the root causes of the conflict.
The United States appears to increasingly recognise that the ongoing institutional division is no longer just an internal political impasse, but a direct threat to regional stability, especially given the rising security challenges in the Sahel region and the expansion of cross-border threats. Consequently, the unification of the military institution naturally topped the agenda, as it remains the national body most capable of securing stability and restoring state authority.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council received an annual report concerning the situation of children in areas of conflict and war, especially in Libya.
The report detailed how some parties were involved in sending minors to fight in war-torn Libya.
In presenting the Secretary-General’s report, Virginia Gamba highlighted current trends, patterns, grave violations, and existing and emerging challenges in “the protection of children used and abused by, in and for armed conflict”.
The UN investigated cases of minors who were sent along with Syrian mercenaries to fight in Libya, after they were kidnapped by armed groups in Syria.
The report found that grave violations against children were committed by all parties to the conflict, both state and non-state actors.
Between 2016 and 2020, state actors including national and international forces and coalitions were responsible for at least 26% of all violations.
“Non-state actors were responsible for about 58% of all verified violations,’ the report said. This underscored the importance of engaging with all parties to put an end to all violations being committed against children.
Notably, Turkey facilitated the recruitment of children between 15 and 18 years of age in the hostilities between Libya’s previous Government of National Accord (GNA), and the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. This was the damming charge contained in a report prepared by an independent mission in Libya, which was supported by the UN Human Rights Council. The document, dated 01 October examines events in the country from 2016 to 2021.
“These child mercenaries were utilized for different functions, including in combat units, and some in support roles, such as guards. Many were confined if they disobeyed, and some of them were wounded,” the report added.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Libya may have failed to comply with its obligations under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which prohibits both child recruitment and the direct participation of children in hostilities, including those not part of the State’s armed forces,” it notes
It has been over a decade since a military coup in Egypt definitely quashed the hopes inspired by the Arab Spring. Led by officers under the command of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the regime he subsequently constructed consolidated itself on a foundation of mass repression and debt-fuelled infrastructure projects that systematically funnel money to the ruling elite while impoverishing wide swathes of the population.
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Hossam el-Hamalawy spoke with Maged Mandour, author of Egypt under El-Sisi: A Nation on the Edge, about the political economy of Egypt’s military dictatorship and why he believes Sisi will be much more difficult to topple than any of the strongmen who came before him.
Can you tell us what your new book is about, and what knowledge gaps it aims to fill?
The book looks at the emergence of the Sisi regime as a new phenomenon in Egyptian politics. Simply put, I argue that the regime represents a complete break with all post-1952 regimes. It is the first time that Egypt is ruled directly by the military, with no mass party or facade to counterbalance its dominance. It has led to a complete militarization of the state, political system, and economy.
This hyper-concentration of power has bred one of the most violent and radical regimes in the Middle East. As far as I know, mine is the first book looking exclusively at the Sisi regime, trying to chart its evolution, from the political, economic, and social perspectives.
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That is a very sad story. The EU has played a significant role in consolidating and supporting the military regime in Egypt, from overt financial support through massive loans and aid to arms deals — here, I am thinking of France, Germany, and Italy — and even overt political support. This included the sales of espionage equipment used for the direct repression of dissent.
When Netanyahu slept at the Kushners — media tales of Trump’s Jewish confidants
US media outlets reveal inside reporting about Jews in Trump’s inner circle.
Kushner and Netanyahu(photo credit: SAUL LOEB / AFP,MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)ByRON KAMPEAS/JTAFEBRUARY 14, 2017 10:29Updated: FEBRUARY 14, 2017 17:14
Jared Kushner once lent Benjamin Netanyahu his bed.That’s a juicy takeaway from Jodi Kantor’s deep dive into the first son-in-law and his relationship with Israel published over the weekend in The New York Times.
Netanyahu has long been a friend of the Kushners, and particularly Jared’s dad, Charles Kushner, a major donor to pro-Israel and Jewish causes. One time, Kantor reports – she doesn’t specify when – Jared gave up his bed and moved to the basement so Netanyahu could spend the night at their home in Livingston, New Jersey.
Politico and The Washington Post also shared inside reporting about Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, and the Times joined the Post in fleshing out the profile of Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and frequent opening act.
Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer and diplomat. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985 and built it into one of the largest property holders in New Jersey. In August 2004 he pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to 18 counts. Sixteen counts covered assisting in the filing of false tax returns. One count covered retaliating against a cooperating federal witness. One count covered making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.[1]
The witness-tampering count grew out of a federal campaign finance investigation. Kushner’s brother-in-law, William Schulder, was cooperating with prosecutors. Kushner hired a prostitute to approach Schulder, arranged for the encounter to be recorded, and had the recording sent to his sister, Schulder’s wife. The investigation and prosecution were led by Chris Christie, then the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.[2]
U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares sentenced Kushner on March 4, 2005, to two years in federal prison. Kushner served at the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama, and was released in 2006. President Donald Trump granted him a full pardon in December 2020. Trump’s daughter Ivanka is married to Kushner’s son Jared. In 2025 the U.S. Senate confirmed Kushner as U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco.[3]
Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a real estate developer, on Thursday unveiled some of the Trump administration’s “master plan” for rebuilding war-torn Gaza that includes waterfront developments and other luxury buildings.
Kushner, whop spoke alongside President Donald Trump at his Board of Peace signing in Davos, Switzerland, said the plans for Gaza will emulate what other newly redeveloped Middle Eastern cities will look like.
And Kushner, in the setting of New Alamein, met with Khalil al-Hayya:
The over-two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas’s political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also there.
Hamas in a statement later called on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to “compel” Israel to approve the roadmap for next steps.
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, last week rejected the 15-point plan in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israel’s closest ally.
Kushner; Tony Blair, the former British prime minister; and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace director, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.
New £160m megacity being built to ‘rival Spain’ with white beaches and 24C November heat
A £160 million “city of the future” is rising on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, promising sandy beaches and ambitions to rival Spain’s top holiday destinations
14:55, Mon, Nov 3, 2025 Updated: 15:43, Mon, Nov 3, 2025
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New El-Alamein City, as it’s officially known, is being hailed as the “new face” of the Egyptian Riviera — a year-round coastal hub with pristine white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and average November temperatures of around 24°C. The ambitious development promises to transform Egypt’s North West Coast into a magnet for global tourism and modern urban living.
Egypt approves special free zone for Fujairah Alamein Oil and Gas Company
The 737,914.9-square-meter zone will be located south of the Alexandria-Matrouh Coastal Road in Matrouh Governorate
Staff Writer, Arab Finance
Published 20 August 2026| Last Updated 20 August 2026, 10:23 (GMT+1)
Egypt’s Cabinet has approved the establishment of a special free zone for Fujairah Alamein Oil and Gas Company LLC to store and trade crude oil and petroleum products in New Alamein City, according to Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2026.
The 737,914.9-square-meter zone will be located south of the Alexandria-Matrouh Coastal Road in Matrouh Governorate.
Its northern boundary extends for 1,069.80 meters along the Alexandria-Matrouh Coastal Road, while its southern boundary spans 745.50 meters along the M15 Road, which is 49.20 meters wide and under construction.
The eastern boundary spans 912.20 meters alongside vacant land, while the western boundary runs for 823.40 meters beside the expansion area of El Hamra Port.
Under the resolution, the company must export no less than 100% of its annual production and ensure that the local component accounts for at least 50% of its products.
The company is also required to submit an approved title deed for the project site and secure the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency’s (EEAA) approval.
It must comply with industrial security, civil defense, and fire safety requirements under the applicable Egyptian code or decisions issued by the Minister of Industry concerning industrial facilities.
The company will also be responsible for securing the special free zone and its boundaries through guard towers and surveillance cameras at its own expense.
The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) will oversee the zone’s activities, monitor its operations, and verify compliance with the applicable requirements and procedures.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly issued the resolution on August 18, 2026, following the Cabinet’s approval and a proposal submitted by the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. The resolution was issued under Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 and its executive regulations and will be published in the Official Gazette.
Battles of El-Alamein, linked battles in World War II, fought from July 1–27 and October 23—November 11, 1942, pitting German and Italian against British, Australian, New Zealander, South African, and Indian forces in coastal central Egypt and resulting in a pivotal Allied victory. After the First Battle of El-Alamein, Egypt (150 miles west of Cairo), ended in a stalemate, the second one was decisive. It marked the beginning of the end for the Axis in North Africa. The charismatic Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was comprehensively defeated by the British Eighth Army, and Allied material superiority meant that he had little chance of rallying his broken forces.
US Treasury Sold Euros to Back the Yen — and the ECB Found Out After the Fact
Sydney TheCMO·
August 7, 2026
The US Treasury sold euros last week to prop up the Japanese yen. Not dollars. Euros. And the European Central Bank didn’t hear about it until it was already done.
The New York Federal Reserve carried out the transaction before ECB officials — including Christine Lagarde — got any kind of briefing. Scott Bessent called them a day later. By that point, the trade had cleared, the yen had moved, and European policymakers were left processing a decision they had no part in. That’s a pretty significant break from how things have worked since World War II, when Western central banks basically treated major currency interventions as a team effort — pre-planned, coordinated, communicated in advance.
Not this time.
Why Euros, Not Dollars
The logic, per the Treasury, was straightforward enough. Selling dollars to buy yen would’ve looked like a retreat from Bessent’s strong-dollar policy — a signal no one in Washington wanted to send. By offloading euros instead, the US could move the yen without touching its own dollar reserves. Analysts watching the carry trade space had already flagged that traditional yen support mechanisms were under pressure, which probably pushed the Treasury toward this kind of workaround.
The yen had slid from roughly ¥163 to below ¥158 against the dollar by late July. After the intervention, it stabilized near ¥158.40 by August 7. That’s a meaningful move — not a dramatic reversal, but enough to ease some of the pressure that had been building. Japanese stock markets, for their part, posted only slight losses. So the immediate market damage was limited.
A US Treasury spokesperson defended the whole thing by pointing to the Exchange Stabilization Fund’s decision-making process, which weighs market liquidity and valuations before acting. A senior Trump administration official added that the US keeps its conversations with foreign counterparts confidential — a pointed contrast to the ECB going public with its frustration at being left out.
Europe Wasn’t Happy About It
Senior ECB officials didn’t hide their reaction. They called it a break from long-standing cooperative practices. That’s diplomatic language for: we were blindsided and we’re not thrilled about it.
And it’s hard to argue with the underlying complaint. Currency interventions among major Western economies have, for decades, followed a certain protocol. You talk first. You align. You act together or at least in parallel. The US skipping that step — and then defending the skip — is the kind of thing that makes European central bankers nervous about what comes next.
The bigger question now is whether this was a one-off or a preview. European policymakers are apparently asking exactly that: was this singular, or is it a sign of how the Trump administration plans to handle currency relations with allies going forward? No clear answer yet. Unclear if Washington even wants to give one.
Japan’s Next Move and the Rate Hike Question
Traders are now pricing in a 44% probability that the Bank of Japan raises interest rates in September. Governor Kazuo Ueda has pointed to growing inflation risks as a key factor — and the yen’s recent volatility doesn’t make that calculation any simpler.
There’s also the Treasury question hanging over everything. Some economists have raised the possibility that Japan could respond by selling US Treasuries. That would be a much bigger deal — the kind of move that ripples through global bond markets fast. No one’s confirmed that’s on the table, but the speculation alone says something about how tense the situation feels right now.
The choice to use euros rather than dollars wasn’t just tactical. It was a signal about how the Treasury sees its own reserves — dollar holdings as a strategic asset to protect, not a tool to deploy casually. Euros, by contrast, were apparently expendable enough for this kind of operation. That framing will probably sit uncomfortably with Frankfurt for a while.
And the communication gap — the fact that Lagarde and her colleagues found out after the trade, not before — it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t just fade. It gets remembered. It changes how institutions trust each other, or don’t. Central bank relationships run on that trust, and it takes a long time to rebuild once it’s been shaken.
Traders are watching the Bank of Japan closely now. A September rate hike, if it comes, would add another layer to an already complicated picture — one where the US is defending a strong dollar, the yen is stabilizing but fragile, and European officials are quietly reassessing what coordination with Washington actually means anymore.
The world’s biggest carry trader begins to exit its position
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Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
Aug 13th 2026|5 min read
AMERICA’S TREASURY secretary, Scott Bessent, is used to making audacious bets against central banks. He once worked for Soros Fund Management, the hedge fund famous for “breaking” the Bank of England during the sterling crisis of 1992. But in late July Mr Bessent bet the other way, lining up alongside a central bank in defence of its currency. He dipped into America’s foreign-exchange reserves to help the Bank of Japan (BoJ) buy yen, which had weakened past ¥163 to the dollar for the first time since 1986.
Many sites covering this loss of confidence in US dollar:
………September onward.
Yields have climbed rapidly since the Takaichi administration took office.
Investors fear that its fiscal policy, which the administration dubs “responsible, expansionary,” could bloat public debt. They also fear that persistent inflation could be exacerbated by the situation in the Middle East, which flared up in February.
These fears crystallized in late June when a draft of the administration’s key economic policy framework hinted at future bond issuance.
The resulting spike in yields above 2.8 percent forced the government to soften the document’s language.
EYES ON UEDA
The market now believes that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who cooperated in a recent coordinated intervention to reverse the yen’s slide, desires an early BOJ rate hike.
This view is fueling the rise in the policy-sensitive 2-year yield, amid speculation the BOJ will be forced to act in September.
As of the afternoon of Aug. 17, markets were pricing in an 80 percent probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the BOJ’s meeting on Sept. 17-18, Totan Research Co. said.
A September move would follow a hike just three months prior in June, signaling a major acceleration from the BOJ’s recent pace of roughly one hike every six months.
Indeed, minutes from the July meeting, when rates were held, revealed that some board members called for accelerated adjustments to monetary easing, citing risks that inflation could overshoot the bank’s forecasts.
If the pace of hikes quickens, the policy rate’s terminal point – currently expected to be around 1 percent – could also push higher.
“The terminal rate had been projected in the 1 percent range, but 2 percent is now coming into view,” Sera said.
Kenta Inoue of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. noted, “The market’s focus has already shifted to what comes next.”
He warned that if BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda adopts a dovish tone after the September meeting, “the market could interpret it as the central bank falling behind the curve, stoking fears of upward price pressure and triggering a further spike in long-term yields.”
(This article was compiled from stories by Tomoya Fujita, Ken Sakakibara and Ryoko Takahashi.)
CAIRO (AP) — A volley of fire between the Iranian-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia has threatened to upend a 2022 truce in Yemen and open another front in the already expanding war in the Middle East after the collapse of the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.
“Yemen today faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the U.N.-brokered truce of April 2022, ” U.N. envoy Hans Grundberg warned.
The escalation, he said, risks “jeopardizing the gains of the 2022 truce … while also drawing the country into a broader regional confrontation, with devastating consequences for its people.”
Grundberg said he has engaged in intensive talks with Yemeni parties and regional governments to avert further escalation.
The Houthi turned down a compromise offer
The tit-for-tat attacks started July 13 with a Saudi airstrike that hit the runway of the airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, preventing the landing of an Iranian flight carrying a high-ranking Houthi delegation.
Flying a flight without prior permission from the Saudi-led coalition — a decade-long, war-related requirement — was an attempt by the Houthis to establish a new reality on the ground, challenging the coalition’s control over Yemeni airspace.
feasibility of importing nuclear fuel. The United States proposed that Iran halt its enrichment program and secure its fuel needs through imports. Strategically, this proposal is reminiscent of the “external control of sensitive technology” model, previously applied to countries like South Korea and Argentina. Conversely, while rejecting this proposal, Iran emphasized its sovereign right to enrichment, deeming it legitimate under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This stance by Iran should be analyzed within the framework of a “nuclear balancing strategy.” Conventional deterrence theory and Buzan and Waever’s model of “identity-based securitization” can provide a suitable analytical framework for understanding Tehran’s insistence on this right, where nuclear technology is perceived not merely as a tool of power but as a component of international standing and the political identity of Iran.
This has been accelerating without prevention from international community:
Before Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the enclave had around 6,500 poultry farms that supplied about three million chickens to the local market each month. Now, 666 days later, over 93 per cent of these farms have been completely destroyed, and the few remaining have ceased operations entirely.
Jewish settlers slaughter Palestinian livestock, assault family in West Bank, IDF says
According to the IDF, soldiers and police forces followed a report that “several Israeli civilians had slaughtered livestock and vandalized Palestinian property.
IDF forces stand guard on a roadway in the West Bank, October 23, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS)ByLARA SUKSTER MOSHEYOFDECEMBER 23, 2025 03:54Updated: DECEMBER 24, 2025 12:38
Policy:
Israeli settlers accused of killing 117 sheep in West Bank attack against Palestinian Bedouins
Palestinian leadership called the alleged attack an attempt to displace people in the West Bank.
A veterinarian tends to a wounded sheep after settlers attacked a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the West Bank, July 18, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/ALI SAWAFTA)ByREUTERSJULY 18, 2025 17:25Updated: JULY 18, 2025 17:57
Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the West Bank.
The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jews in the West Bank and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements.
TRUMP WARNS WORLD ON TARIFFS•BORDER SURGE HITS NEW RECORD•FED SIGNALS RATE PAUSE•CHINA TENSIONS ESCALATE•SUPREME COURT TO RULE•TRUMP WARNS WORLD ON TARIFFS•BORDER SURGE HITS NEW RECORD•FED SIGNALS RATE PAUSE•CHINA TENSIONS ESCALATE•SUPREME COURT TO RULE
HomeIsraelHaaretz Report: Lynch Mobs, Arson, and Slaughtered Animals Mark Unprecedented Israeli Settler Violence Across the West Bank
Israel
Haaretz Report: Lynch Mobs, Arson, and Slaughtered Animals Mark Unprecedented Israeli Settler Violence Across the West Bank
By Ethan FowlerOctober 25, 20256 min readShare Article
A new investigative report from Haaretz exposes a shocking escalation of settler and military-backed violence across the occupied West Bank — a campaign marked by organized lynch mobs, arson attacks, and the slaughtering of Palestinian livestock, described by local witnesses as “terror under the guise of security.”
The report, titled “Lynch Mobs, Arson, Slaughtered Animals: The West Bank Faces Unprecedented Israeli Violence,” catalogs a wave of brutality unleashed by armed settler militias over the past months, often operating with protection or open collaboration from Israeli soldiers. The evidence paints a grim picture of systemic state-sanctioned aggression and near-total impunity for the perpetrators.
A Campaign of Terror Across the Hills
According to eyewitnesses cited by Haaretz, coordinated settler groups have attacked dozens of Palestinian villages, burning homes, destroying crops, and setting herds ablaze. Livestock — a lifeline for many rural families — has been massacred in acts of intimidation designed to drive Palestinians from their land.
Residents recounted scenes of coordinated terror. “They came after midnight with rifles and masks,” one witness said. “They torched the fields, shot the sheep, and beat anyone who tried to stop them.”
In the occupied West Bank, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, appealed on Thursday to Israeli authorities to help Palestinian families trapped in their homes by settlers for days, amid an intensifying campaign to seize their land.
Key points
The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war
Israeli settlements began expanding in the occupied West Bank soon after 1967
In 2005, Israel evacuated four settlements in the northern West Bank
The occupied territory is central to plans for a future Palestinian state, but violent settlement expansion is a growing obstacle to a negotiated two-State solution
According to reports, the United States has been involved in efforts to end the siege that began on Sunday, with the US Ambassador to Israel calling for the removal of what he called “Israeli terrorists”.
Three Palestinian families – around 15 people in total, including at least two children – have remained confined to their homes “in a state of terror” in the Ras al Ein area of Qusra village, south of Nablus, OHCHR said, alleging that the settlers had cut their power and water.
“These criminal actions by the settlers, supported or acquiesced to by Israel, the Occupying Power, are making life unbearable for these Palestinian families and are clearly aimed at forcing them to leave their homes and their land,” the UN office said. “Time is running out for these three families before they are forcibly displaced”.
Nowhere to go
Following the initial OHCHR statement, head of the UN office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ajith Sunghay, told UN News that the families had been subsequently moved into just one home, which remains surrounded by Israeli settlers.
“Again, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is either unable or unwilling to protect Palestinian communities, which they are expected to do so under the Geneva Convention; or worse, that the IDF is in collusion with the Israeli settlers, all aimed at displacing Palestinians and occupying their lands,” Mr. Sunghay said.
UK summons Israeli diplomat over new illegal settlement units in occupied West Bank
‘The impact of settler violence and terrorism has been catastrophic for Palestinian communities,’ says Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband
Diyar Güldoğan
20 August 2026•Update: 20 August 2026
WASHINGTON DC
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Wednesday that Britain summoned Israel’s Chargé d’Affaires after the Israeli government launched a tender for a major settlement project in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, calling the move “unacceptable and destructive.”
“E1 would cut across the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would endanger the viability of a two-state solution.
“The UK has been clear privately and publicly in our opposition to E1 and our support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law,” Miliband said in a statement.
The Israeli government broke a commitment over the controversial E1 illegal settlement project in occupied East Jerusalem by issuing a tender for 1,234 illegal settlement units without notifying petitioners who had challenged the project in court.
Miliband said he raised the issue directly with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and demanded that Israel immediately halt its plans, withdraw the tender and stop settlement expansion.
“In addition, the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires has been summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we set out the UK’s profound objection to this move by the Netanyahu government and demanded an immediate reversal,” he added.
He warned that settlement expansion and violence by Israeli occupiers were worsening conditions for Palestinians and creating divisions that could become difficult to reverse.
“The impact of settler violence and terrorism has been catastrophic for Palestinian communities. Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state,” he said, stressing that Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.
Trump Cites Kim Jong Un Ties in Calling for Reduced Korea Exercises
Published
Aug 16, 2026 at 06:06 PM EDT
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Trump also referenced a recent conversation with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, claiming he had asked Lee whether South Korea wished to participate in efforts related to the denuclearization of Iran. Trump said Lee replied, “No thanks.”
It was not immediately clear whether the Pentagon plans to alter the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises in response to Trump’s comments.
Standing at the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), you can sense the history that runs deep through the rugged hills and rusted barbed wire. The Korean Peninsula is a place where the tension between past and present is palpable, and where readiness is not just a concept—but a daily reality. For decades, the Korean Peninsula has hosted numerous US and South Korean military exercises. These exercises aim to deter conflict, ensure readiness, and bolster their strategic alliance on the Korean Peninsula. Each exercise—some massive, some specialized—carries the legacy of a war that never technically ended and underscores a continuing commitment to peace, stability, and defense.
In this blog post, we’ll journey through the major US and South Korean military exercises, weaving together how they began, what they aim to accomplish, and how they’ve evolved over the years. This isn’t just a list of drills; it’s the story of an alliance tested by history and shaped by hope for a more secure future.
Team Spirit (1976–1993): Where It All Began
Back in the 1970s, the United States and South Korea recognized the need for large-scale, multi-domain training. The Cold War was at its height, and North Korea stood just across the border with its own military might. The solution? Team Spirit, launched in 1976.
Scope and Scale: At its zenith, Team Spirit was among the biggest field training exercises in the world. Imagine hundreds of tanks rolling across dusty terrain, battalions of soldiers moving in lockstep, and fighter jets streaking overhead. Each drill tested the ability of American and South Korean forces to work as a single unit, from planning to execution.
Purpose: While the exercise was defensive by design, it also served as a visible assurance of the US commitment to the ROK’s security. North Korea watched closely, often condemning it as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Yet to the US and ROK, it demonstrated that if conflict arose, they would respond as partners—swiftly and decisively.
Legacy: Team Spirit ended in 1993, partly in an effort to reduce tensions and encourage dialogue with North Korea. But it left behind a blueprint for future US and South Korean military exercises: intense combined training across all branches of the military, working in synchronized fashion.
Recent commentary downplaying the U.S. Army’s role in the Indo-Pacific misrepresents the complex security landscape and landpower’s essential place within it.
Assertions that the Army is on a “dead-end ride to Asia” are short-sighted, overlooking how deterrence must function across sea, air, land, space, and cyber domains as was just witnessed in the Middle East with the extraordinary strike in Iran. Likewise, remarks by Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin and his so-called strategist—that one service must grow “at the expense of others,” namely the Army—undermine the foundations of the joint force.
In today’s gray-zone competition and looming threat of large-scale war in the Indo-Pacific, adversaries probe seams relentlessly. Such shallow and parochial views are unhelpful, further exposing divisions. Alternatively, a fully joint and integrated force—anchored by land power with transformative capabilities—can hold those seams together. This is because land power underwrites joint operations and binds the region’s security architecture in ways that no other form of power can.
Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific cannot be achieved with exquisite maritime or air systems alone. During my recent testimony to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, I emphasized how we have invested heavily in sea and air campaigns, while leaving ourselves exposed where conflicts are decided: on land.
The CCP’s primary instrument for coercion is the People’s Liberation Army, relying on its land force—the PLA Army—to achieve a future cross-Strait invasion of Taiwan. The PLA Navy, Rocket Force, and other branches will play important roles in a cross-strait invasion scenario. But if the PLA Army cannot land, cannot maneuver, cannot hold terrain, and cannot subdue the population, then the CCP cannot prevail
The Pacific is not just an oceanic expanse; it is the central arena of modern great-power competition. Stretching from the western shores of the Americas to the First Island Chain and beyond, this region is where airpower, logistics, deterrence, and alliance credibility intersect. The United States maintains a carefully layered network of air bases across the Pacific that allows it to project force, reassure allies, and respond rapidly to crises. These bases are not interchangeable runways; each one has a distinct operational logic tied to geography, politics, and strategy.
Taken together, the seven most important U.S. military air basing locations in the Pacific form a living system rather than a static footprint. Some host permanently stationed fighter wings, others rely on rotational deployments, and several function as surge platforms designed to absorb pressure in wartime. Their value lies not only in the aircraft they host, but in how they enable command and control, sustainment, intelligence, and interoperability across thousands of miles.
Understanding these bases reveals how U.S. Pacific strategy actually works on the ground and in the air.
The United States is currently reviewing its nuclear strategy, Elbridge Colby, Under-Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, told journalists at a briefing on Thursday.
According to the transcript, Colby spoke of “a relatively narrow review” relating more to a specific, potential use of nuclear weapons. “Obviously, the goal here, I stress, is to maintain deterrence and stability.”
Colby also emphasized that the US military had previously been organized in such a way that it could carry out “regime-change operations”. It is now, however, being geared towards a “defensive function of prevention” with a focus on defending the territorial integrity of allies, he said.
North Korea grows stronger as South Korea reckons with fading US support
Published: August 17, 2026 4.02pm BST
According to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korea is preparing to send as many as 50,000 fresh troops to support Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. While the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been unable to verify Zelensky’s claim, it has not fallen on deaf ears in Seoul.
When questioned on August 10, an unnamed foreign-ministry spokesperson stated:
North Korea-Russia military cooperation is a matter directly related to our security and an act that violates UN Security Council resolutions … the government’s position is that such cooperation must be suspended immediately, and we are closely monitoring related developments.
One of my favourite hymns we sang at school in the 1950s:
1.O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
2 For Christ is born of Mary; and, gathered all above, while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love. O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.
3 How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
A plea to save one of the oldest Christian communities:
Briefing on Settlements around Bethlehem Saving the world’s oldest Christian community
Open Bethlehem is a film and advocacy project that works to bring greater understanding of the challenges that face Bethlehem today with a special focus on the Christian community in Bethlehem, whose numbers are being depleted because of the general instability and political and economic strife in the Palestinian territories.
Our mission is to help reverse this trend and to preserve the unique social fabric of our town which has been home to both Christian and Muslim communities for centuries. If we succeed, we would be preserving a desperately needed model in our region which would help shape a positive future for us and for our neighbours.
Choked by settlements Bethlehem today has a population of more than 220,000 people, including more than 20,000 living in three refugee camps. There are 100,000 Israeli settlers surrounding the town, including within the Israeli-expanded and annexed “Jerusalem municipality”. Settlements breach international law (e.g., Art. 49(6) as stipulated by the Fourth Geneva Convention: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”) and various UNSC resolutions (e.g., Res. 465 of 1 March 1980 calling on Israel “to dismantle the existing settlements”). Likewise, the Road Map of 30 April 2003 called for the “freezing” of all settlement expansion, including natural growth of settlements. However, fact is that Israeli settlements continue to expand unabated.
Between the settlements, the roads that connect them and the system of military and security zones that protect them Bethlehem has now been reduced to less than 13% of its original territory. As Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian Christian and senior adviser to the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department said: “Bethlehem’s connection with Jerusalem, its twin city, has been cut for the first time in 2,000 years of Christianity by an illegal annexation wall built by Israel.” The most prominent of the 20 Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem area are Gilo and Har Homa to the north; Har Gilo, Beitar Illit and Neve Daniel to the West; Efrat to the south and Nokdim and Tekoa to the East.
Much of the land on which settlements are built was seized from private owners in Bethlehem many of whom have then decided to leave the town to seek a better life abroad. These settlements – and the Wall and checkpoints that surround Bethlehem as a result – are the main reasons why the city has the second higher unemployment rate in Palestine, only after Gaza. Unless we can reverse this urgently it is unclear if our city can have a future.
Bethlehem’s historic and affluent past In better times Bethlehem was an affluent and thriving centre, but it is also a Palestinian town. As such, people face the same hardships as in other Palestinian cities and their fate is going to be determined by the prospects of a comprehensive solution that would bring lasting peace. The international community’s decisions and actions in the next few years could determine whether Bethlehem rises or falls and whether the oldest Christian community in the world, can remain in the Holy Land.
Why Christians are leaving Bethlehem The lands and properties in Bethlehem were seized primarily from Christian Palestinians. Being the oldest community means that Christians have been in a better position to benefit from the town’s thriving tourism industry. They owned most of the hospitality sector and of course most of the land and properties in town. Now that the future looks bleak and that the expansion of the Israeli settlements is taking even more land from the city, many more are choosing to leave while they still have reserves to build a life abroad. The Christians are leaving in greater numbers precisely because they have the means to do so and reports warn that we might cease to be a sustainable community within our lifetime.
Israel’s Wall in Cremisan For years, Palestinians have campaigned to save their land, particularly in the Cremisan area. Located between the illegal settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, both built mainly on Beit Jala’s lands, Cremisan is the latest major loss to the Bethlehem District. The construction of the Wall will impact Palestinians ability to access their land. The valley Israel plans to further confiscate is owned by 58 Palestinian Christian families as well as by churches. More than half of Beit Jala’s olive trees are located at Cremisan. A kindergarten run by Catholic Salesian nuns will be critically affected by the Israeli plans, just as the ability to reach and develop the area around the Cremisan Seminary and Winery, which employs workers from Beit Jala.
In August 2015, Israel commenced with the construction of the Wall in the northern Bethlehem Area around the Cremisan Valley in Beit-Jala.
Preventing Palestinian Development of Cremisan What could be a flourishing area of agricultural and tourist development, is being closed to Palestinian access, let alone development. It could be integrated to stimulate the Palestinian tourism sector in Bethlehem area. Furthermore, the construction of the Wall prevents Palestinians from holding traditional religious practices. For example, during the month of May, the Roman Catholic community celebrates ‘May devotions to the Blessed Mary – May Crowning’ – the Israeli government’s plans would eventually block such a procession.
We choose hope – a call for action Israel’s Wall is illegal and must be dismantled. The Bethlehem Area, and particularly Beit Jala, will not be able to survive without being able to have full control over their land and natural resources, including the Cremisan Valley. We join with the Palestinian authorities in asking the international community to take all measures necessary to pressure Israel to permanently cease its Wall construction and excavations in and around the Cremisan Valley, as well as to refrain from further illegal actions in violation of its obligations under international law and signed agreements.
We ask the UK Government to recognise Palestine. Palestine is recognised by over 130 countries worldwide. The United Kingdom, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, should now do so as a major contribution to a two-state solution to this conflict.
As Leila Sansour, film maker and Chief Executive of Open Bethlehem says: “It is impossible to imagine peace without ensuring an end to the Israeli occupation. Whatever the challenges ahead to end the occupation might be, we know that there is simply no other way forward.” We choose to hope and because we do want to see a real lasting peace that would give both Palestinians and Israelis a better future.
Over the last two weeks, oil companies have announced eye-popping profits from the spring quarter. Exxon Mobil pulled in $14.5 billion. Chevron landed $12 billion, its highest quarterly profit on record. Shell posted $9.8 billion — more than twice its earnings from the same time last year.
These profits are largely a product of supply constraints brought on by the war in the Middle East. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockaded, oil suppliers have rerouted shipments over land and through pipelines. The resulting supply shortages, constrained refining capacity, and higher transportation costs have driven up oil and gasoline prices, delivering windfall profits for producers.
TotalEnergies: The French oil giant’s earnings rose by 67 percent in the second quarter, its best quarter in nearly three years, backed by higher oil prices and strong profit margins for refining chemicals, offsetting weaker LNG earnings.
BP: Another United Kingdom oil major reported second-quarter profit of $5.73bn, more than double the $2.35bn it earned a year earlier and above analysts’ forecasts.
Saudi Aramco: The windfall extended beyond Western oil majors. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest state-owned oil producer, also reported sharply higher quarterly earnings – rising 44 percent year-on-year to $32.69bn. Saudi’s East-West Pipeline has helped reduce the kingdom’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for exports.
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particularly in the West, also benefitted from stronger refining margins, as higher refined product prices and tighter product supplies – caused by disruptions to Middle Eastern exports – boosted profitability,” she added.
US oil futures had an average closing price of around $92 per barrel from April through to June, about 27 percent higher than during the first quarter of the year.
At least eight categories of the S&P 500, Wall Street’s benchmark stock index, are reporting double-digit earnings growth for the second quarter of 2026, led by the energy sector, which has recorded 135.3 percent year-on-year earnings growth, the highest of any sector in the index by a wide margin, according to data from financial data firm FactSet.
The surge reflects how soaring oil prices during the Iran war translated into profits for oil and gas companies.
Economists say that while average revenue in the sector rose because crude prices climbed, profits increased much faster as producers benefitted from operating leverage and stronger refining margins.
It resulted in a windfall for the industry’s largest companies.
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