NEED TO KNOW
IR US pauses attacks in hopes of a deal : Hostilities continued this week with intermittent US strikes on Iranian targets and Iranian missile/drone attacks on US assets in the region, while a drone also struck Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, though Iran denied any involvement. Yesterday, President Trump announced that Middle East allies have reached the outlines of a deal to end the five-month-old war. He said the emerging agreement would include the “immediate, complete, and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz along with an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.” Based on that progress, Trump said he would hold off on ordering new strikes for now, subject to quickly finalizing a deal, and noted that Israel has agreed to join the US in the commitment.
SP Mass border breach in Ceuta: 60,000 illegal migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (population 83,000), mainly by swimming around a border fence, and at least 67 died in the chaos. Most of those who entered Ceuta returned to Morocco within about 48 hours after Spain deployed troops and restored control, with no significant onward movement to mainland Europe. Italy was the first to respond by temporarily suspending Schengen free-movement arrangements with Spain, a step backed by Finland, Denmark and others that tightened border checks. Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez condemned these reactions as “selfish, polarising and unlawful,” arguing they were driven by prejudice and politics rather than solidarity.
JP Powerful 7.1 earthquake hits southern Japan: On Tuesday, a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, setting off an explosion at a mall, toppling a factory chimney and flattening homes. Authorities confirmed at least 36 deaths and over 180 injuries, while over 79,000 homes were left without water and more than 3,500 without electricity. The government deployed emergency personnel to search through rubble and assist more than 9,000 evacuees.
EG Hamas disarmament agreement: President Trump announced that his "Board of Peace" had brokered a "historic agreement" in Cairo for the phased, complete disarmament of Hamas and other Gaza factions, transferring authority to a technocratic Palestinian committee alongside an international peacekeeping force. While mediators and Hamas signed off on the plan, the Israeli government immediately expressed severe skepticism, insisting that military operations would continue and no withdrawals would occur “without the genuine disarmament of Hamas.” A day after the announcement, Israel launched drone strikes in Gaza that killed 7 Palestinians and injured several others.
US Fed leaves rates unchanged: The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged this week, keeping its benchmark rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range. The decision came in a divided 9-3 vote, with three regional Fed presidents dissenting in favor of a quarter-point increase. This marked the fifth consecutive meeting with no rate change. The Fed cited solid economic activity and a stable job market alongside still-elevated inflation, partly driven by supply shocks linked to the Middle East conflict.
US Chinese robot import ban: The Trump administration announced a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ban on imports of new Chinese-made humanoid and quadrupedal robots, as well as connected power inverters. The measures aim to protect the burgeoning US artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure from potential supply chain disruptions, data theft, and cybersecurity threats, while encouraging domestic manufacturing. The restrictions specifically target new models seeking market authorization, without revoking existing FCC approvals for previously cleared devices, though the Chinese government forcefully criticized the move and urged the US to lift the sanctions.
CH FIFA scraps World Cup stake sale after boycott threat: FIFA President Infantino proposed creating a new commercial subsidiary to run the World Cup and other major tournaments, then selling a minority stake (around 20%) in it to private investors, including a fund linked to Josh Kushner (brother of Jared Kushner, the US President’s son in law). FIFA offered national associations that approved the proposal roughly $40 million, while warning those who refused would lose the funding. UEFA’s 55 European member associations responded by unanimously voting to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, unless the plan was completely abandoned and binding assurances given that private ownership would never return. Other confederations, including CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, also rejected the proposal. Facing the widespread opposition, Infantino withdrew the plan entirely.
BTC Massive cold wallet attack: A security flaw in Coldcard hardware wallets, introduced in a March 2021 software update, has allowed attackers to drain nearly $89 million in bitcoin from about 4,500 wallets. The bug caused some devices to create weak, predictable seed phrases instead of truly random ones, letting hackers reconstruct private keys without ever needing physical access to the wallets. Coinkite, the company behind Coldcard, said it only discovered the problem this week after the thefts began, suggesting that AI tools may have been used to spot the long-hidden issue in the open-source code. The attacks, which started with large rapid sweeps, are still ongoing, though the company has released fixed firmware and urged affected users to move their funds.
GOOD TO KNOW
Iranian gambling network linked to $4 billion sanctions evasion
A Reuters investigation has uncovered a large-scale Iranian sanctions-evasion network that has moved at least $4 billion through an unlicensed Dubai-based crypto exchange called Shelbit since May 2024. The exchange serves as a central hub linking a vast Farsi-language illegal online gambling network of more than 2,000 websites, Iranian bitcoin mining operations, Iran’s central bank, and entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto have flowed from Shelbit to major platforms including Binance.
The gambling network is publicly fronted by two high-profile Iranian influencers, Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, who promote the sites while living lavish lifestyles abroad. Both men, along with Shelbit’s Iranian founder, were previously convicted in an Iranian illegal gambling case in 2023. Despite gambling being banned in Iran, the network has access to the country’s tightly controlled domestic payment system. Investigators and former officials describe the operation as one of the largest Iranian sanctions-evasion schemes identified in years and say the IRGC has long controlled the lucrative black-market gambling sector.
Dubai authorities have taken enforcement action against Shelbit for operating without a license and for money-laundering concerns, ordering it to cease activities. The US Treasury has said it is taking the allegations seriously. The individuals involved have denied any connection to the IRGC, the Iranian government, or sanctions evasion.
NICE TO KNOW
US NYC Mayor Mamdani launches subsidized grocery stores: The NYC Mayor announced that five planned municipal grocery stores will offer a 30% discount on a core basket of essential items, including all fresh produce, meat, seafood, and about 20 pantry and dairy staples such as bread, milk, eggs, rice, and beans. Other products will be sold at regular market prices. The city will own the stores, cover construction or renovations, and waive rent and property taxes, while private operators handle day-to-day operations with the help of city subsidies. The plan faces intense pushback from economists, retail industry groups, and political critics who argue that government-subsidized grocers distort the market and create unfair competition for traditional supermarkets, bodegas, and independent delis operating on razor-thin margins.
RU FSB designates Telegram founder as a terrorist: Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that the messaging app failed to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence and other groups to organize sabotage and attacks inside Russia. Authorities specifically cited a popular dating chatbot on Telegram that they claimed was used to recruit young Russians, including minors, for such acts. The FSB also placed Durov, who lives in Dubai, on an international wanted list. The following day, Russia’s financial monitoring agency added him to its official list of “extremists and terrorists.” Durov rejected the accusations, saying they stemmed from his refusal to implement mass surveillance and censorship on the platform.
US State Department's Africa map AI blunder: At the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, a US State Department presentation displayed a map of Africa highlighting six countries (Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Cameroon) as potential grant recipients and every single one appeared in the wrong place. A Reuters analysis of the image found an OpenAI watermark, indicating the map had been generated or edited with AI tools. The State Department called it an “unfortunate error” and said it took full responsibility for the confusion it caused, especially among African attendees.
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