Trump administration vows to ‘disable’ International Criminal Court“Today, it threatens every aspect of our political and legal system,” he said. “If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve.” The announcement included few concrete steps, but listed several “actions under consideration”. They included an appeal to countries that partner with the US military and law enforcement to “reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/13/trump-administration-vows-to-disable-international-criminal-courthttps://archive.ph/noxAbIsrael courted Iran’s former hardline president for post-regime role, reports claimAhmadinejad – who is now believed to be in the custody of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to a New York Times report citing Iranian officials – had begun in previous years to distance himself from the regime, improve his English and redefine his image. The effort to install him as a new Iranian leader gathered steam after Ahmadinejad was invited to speak at the same university in the Hungarian capital that had been addressed just two months earlier by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, in 2025.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/13/israel-courted-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-iran-former-hardline-president-post-regime-role-reports-claim Business executives making 'contingency plans' for UAE-Saudi Arabia feud The UAE and Saudi Arabia are at loggerheads on several geopolitical hotspots, including Yemen, Sudan and Israel. But they are also economic competitors. Saudi Arabia is trying to make its capital, Riyadh, the centre of regional business activity in direct competition with Dubai. The two neighbours have also clashed over energy, with the UAE massively boosting oil production since leaving the Saudi-led energy alliance Opec in May.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/business-executives-making-contingency-plans-uae-saudi-arabia-feudAbbas seeks Arab funds as Israel pushes PA to the brinkThe Palestinian Authority's survival now depends on emergency financial support from Arab states as Israel continues withholding vital tax revenues, an expert has told The New Arab, after President Mahmoud Abbas requested the Arab League activate a regional financial safety net.
https://www.newarab.com/news/abbas-seeks-arab-funds-israel-pushes-pa-brinkSpain Opens Probe Into Israeli Military Over Abduction of ActivistsThe Spanish court’s investigation will only focus on what happened on vessels flying the Spanish flag, since this is where the country has jurisdiction, judge Francisco de Jorge said at a hearing on Friday. The judge will ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to clarify if the flotilla detentions fall under its investigation into Israeli genocide and war crimes in Palestine, and whether the Spanish probe might conflict with the ICC’s work.
https://novaramedia.com/2026/07/13/spain-opens-probe-into-israeli-military-over-abduction-of-activists/Wildfire rages in Fontainebleau forest south of ParisA FIRE raged in the historic Fontainebleau forest south of Paris today, prompting evacuations of some residential districts and disrupting train and motorway traffic. It was among several wildfires in western Europe as the region bakes in its third red-alert heatwave this year.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/wildfire-rages-fontainebleau-forest-south-parisSome 30 Malian soldiers killed during Anefis retaking, says army chiefThe al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin controls swaths of rural territory in the country while the FLA seeks to establish an independent state in northern Mali. While often at odds, fighters from the two groups or their predecessors have also partnered on occasion to fight common enemies, namely Mali’s government and its allies.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/12/some-30-malian-soldiers-killed-during-anefis-retaking-says-army-chiefhttps://archive.ph/FnnVDSouth Africa’s anti-immigrant groups move from ultimatums to door-to-door threatsThe objective seems to have changed: it’s no longer simply about demonstrating, but rather about undertaking what have come to be known as “door-to-door” campaigns. That is, going house to house to find foreign citizens and urge them — sometimes politely, sometimes forcefully — to leave the country. And, unlike other episodes of racial tension in the country’s history, the protagonists of these protests are, for the most part, Black South African citizens who are targeting Black immigrants.
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-07-13/south-africas-anti-immigrant-groups-move-from-ultimatums-to-door-to-door-threats.htmlhttps://archive.ph/swBH0El Salvador’s ruling party clears the way for Bukele’s 3rd termThe ruling-party controlled Legislative Assembly then approved a constitutional reform in July 2025 to allow indefinite presidential reelection. The reform eliminated the penalty of loss of citizenship rights for those who promoted presidential reelection and the ban on presidential candidacy for those who had served as president in the previous term.
https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-bukele-third-term-president-constitution-e558da522c8ddac7b7fe2508597bdf33US imposes new sanctions on Cuba tourism ministry, state-owned companiesThe agency said it is giving companies and financial institutions that do business with the state-owned companies until August 12 to wind down existing contracts without facing sanctions. The new sanctions follow an executive order in May that allowed the US to freeze any US-based assets belonging to people or organisations supporting Cuba’s government or economy. The order also increased pressure on banks that work with Cuban entities.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/7/13/us-imposes-new-sanctions-on-cuba-tourism-ministry-state-owned-companieshttps://archive.ph/eWe5THong Kong to extend injury protection to gig delivery workersIn cases of injury, gig workers can receive payment for sick leave, medical expenses, compensation for permanent incapacity, and the cost of surgical appliances. For fatal cases, compensation covers funeral and medical attendance expenses, as well as compensation for death.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3360106/hong-kong-extend-injury-protection-gig-delivery-workershttps://archive.ph/LSYpHChina’s ‘Green Great Wall’ tames desert growth, but scientists warn the fight is not overFor a long time, drought, overgrazing and farming removed vegetation, harmed the soil and made areas vulnerable to wind and sandstorms. That kind of degradation of the land over time is known as desertification. The area of desertified land in northern China peaked in 2000, and it has been reduced by over 1,000 square kilometers (400 square miles) each year since then, according to data published by state media. The Chinese government said the initiative launched in 1978 has played a crucial role in transforming vast regions covering nearly half of China from “the desertification advancing and people retreating” to “greenery advancing and the desertification retreating.” Forests planted by the program now cover a cumulative 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) .
https://apnews.com/article/china-desert-sandstorm-desertification-straw-checkerboard-2114ca22f87c31cffcf5e3c48c070aa1