http://andrewburdettewrites.com/

Our World, Eleanor, WV (2025)

08/03/2025

SINGAPORE: ‘The intent of this threat actor in attacking Singapore is quite clear’, Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Mr. K Shanmugam noted. ‘They are going after high value, strategic targets. Vital infrastructure that delivers our essential services. If it succeeds, it can conduct espionage, and it can cause major disruption to Singapore and Singaporeans,’ he continued. On 18 July, during the Cyber Security Agency’s 10th anniversary dinner, Minister Shanmugam used his first speech in his new role to call out a Chinese-linked cyber threat actor group ‘UNC3886' for targeting the country’s critical infrastructure (Royal United Services Institute).

For the first time, Singapore has called out a China-linked cyber threat actor group, to the chagrin of Asia's regional hegemon.

08/03/2025

IRAN/CHINA: Israel’s air campaign against Iran did more than degrade Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities—it forced every regional actor to show its proverbial hand. Israel went all-in with an overwhelming airpower campaign, Gulf capitals folded into wary neutrality, and Washington showed that it still owns the table. Beijing, by contrast, merely dealt out press releases, its Middle East playbook reduced to rhetorical flourishes without ante (Foundation for Defense of Democracies).

Israel’s air campaign against Iran did more than degrade Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities—it forced every regional actor to show its proverbial hand. Israel went all-in...

08/03/2025

IRAN: Israel did not make regime change a declared objective in its recent war with Iran; however, certain Israeli actions were clearly aimed at weakening the foundations of the Islamic Republic and encouraging the Iranian public to reignite their popular protest movement. As the dust settles, not only is there no evidence that Israel’s actions advanced this goal, but it seems that they may even have had the opposite effect (at least for the time being). Currently, several main scenarios could unfold in Iran’s domestic arena: the continuation of the political status quo until the expected leadership change following the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei; regime change through a popular uprising; or internal change within the regime through a takeover (formal or de facto) by military-security elite forces, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), of Iran’s leadership (Institute for National Security Studies).

The Iran–Israel War and the Stability of the Islamic Regime[1] Shutterstock Iranian Supreme Leader's Office via ZUMA Press Wire Policy Paper, July 29, 2025 Raz Zimmt[2] Israel did not make regime change a declared objective in its recent war with Iran; however, certain Israeli actions were clearly...

08/03/2025

SAUDI ARABIA/IRAN: At a time of escalating regional volatility, the endurance of the Saudi-Iranian thaw has emerged as a rare source of stability in the Middle East. When Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic ties in March 2023, few analysts anticipated that their detente would prove so resilient almost two and a half years later. That it has withstood the intense shocks of June – a major Iran-Israel conflict, U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and Iran’s retaliatory (if largely symbolic) strike on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base – underscores both countries’ continued desire to avoid direct confrontation and maintain a basic equilibrium in relations. Still, this equilibrium is rather fragile. If the tenuous Iran-Israel cease-fire collapses and conflict escalates across the Middle East, the real test of the Saudi-Iranian understanding may yet lie ahead (Arab Gulf States Institute).

The conflict between Israel and Iran demonstrated the endurance of the Saudi-Iranian detente but also revealed its key vulnerabilities.

08/03/2025

CUBA: When Cuba’s state telecommunications company, ETECSA, announced sweeping changes to internet pricing on May 30, few could have predicted that the decision would awaken a sleeping giant. Intense frustration over surging data costs quickly evolved into something far more significant — the first genuine student movement in Cuba since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. For the first time in more than six decades, Cuban university students are reclaiming their voice, challenging not just internet prices but also the fundamental structures of state control that have defined their reality since birth (Journal of Democracy).

Cuba’s dictatorship has kept student movements under its thumb for decades. But the regime’s repressive tactics have inadvertently breathed new life into a new generation of student activists.

08/03/2025

CHINA: Despite its growing power, Chinese foreign policy has revealed little intent to deliberately harm the global order. Yet Western powers labelling it a threat risks escalating tensions unnecessarily and could weaken the international community at large. A cooperative, objective approach, rather than fear-driven posturing, is vital to managing US–China relations and maintaining global stability (East Asia Forum).

The ‘China threat’ narrative may reveal more about Western insecurities than Beijing’s actual intentions.

08/02/2025

BRICS: Policymakers and academics face a persistent puzzle when analysing the BRICS: determining what exactly this grouping wants to achieve. The uncertainty stems from contradictory signals – BRICS countries simultaneously call for reforming global institutions while building their own parallel alternatives, champion multilateralism while actively coordinating positions that challenge Western (especially US) leadership of multilateralism, and advocate for inclusive governance, while often excluding traditional powers from their arrangements (South African Institute of International Affairs).

The expanded BRICS membership strengthens its goal of representing the Global South and enhances its economic and demographic influence.

08/02/2025

DRC/RWANDA: Last Friday, the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) met in Washington to sign an agreement to end 30 years of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region. The peace deal was accompanied by commitments to build a “regional economic integration framework” and promises of U.S. investment in eastern DRC’s abundant critical mineral reserves, among other commercial agreements. In an Oval Office event with the two foreign ministers, President Trump called the moment “a glorious triumph for the cause of peace” and extended invitations for Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi to sign further agreements — which, together with the peace deal, have been dubbed the “Washington Accord” by U.S. Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos — in Washington this July (United States Institute of Peace).

Last Friday, the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) met in Washington to sign an agreement to end 30 years of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region. The peace deal was accompanied by commitments to build a “regional economic integration framework” and ...

08/02/2025

TAIWAN: Taiwan held a massive recall vote on July 26, threatening to remove 24 opposition Kuomintang (KMT) politicians from the legislature. This would have endangered the party’s combined majority with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), possibly returning Taiwan to unified government under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (Journal of Democracy).

The drama of the country’s divided government just played out in a failed, high-stakes vote to recall two-dozen opposition legislators. How both sides respond could determine the fate of Taiwan’s…

08/02/2025

USA/RUSSIA: “Isolating Russia” has always been more of a figure of speech than an actual Western policy. Yet Washington’s re-engagement with Moscow makes it impossible to even maintain the pretence that such isolation exists. At the same time, these renewed relations call for a discussion about the principles on which a new Western policy towards Russia must eventually be based (Finnish Institute of International Affairs).

“Isolating Russia” has always been more of a figure of speech than an actual Western policy. Yet Washington’s re-engagement with Moscow makes it impossible to even maintain the pretence that such isolation exists. At the same time, these renewed relations call for a discussion about the princi...

07/31/2025

USA: The issue of academic research on the Middle East has become a political flashpoint in the United States, where critics of Israel allege a “Palestine exception” exists when it comes to free speech rights. Case in point, recently a special edition of the prestigious Harvard Educational Review (HER) was in the works, entirely dedicated to the hot-button issue of the Palestinians — the articles had been painstakingly written, edited and approved (Arab Weekly).

At the start of the year, Harvard adopted a definition of anti-Semitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and making it difficult to criticise Israel.

07/31/2025

USA: Space is “vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big,” science fiction author Douglas Adams once wrote. But these days, amid an intensifying competition for access to low Earth orbit (LEO), where most satellites operate, the vastness of space has begun to appear woefully small. As of last month, there were more than 12,700 active satellites in orbit. Of these, around 93 percent circle the Earth in LEO, including military and commercial constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink. That number is only expected to increase in the coming years (Atlantic Council).

From accidents to attacks, a space-based disaster that degrades the operating environment of low Earth orbit would harm the United States.

Our World

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

08/02/2025

08/02/2025

08/02/2025

08/02/2025

07/31/2025

07/31/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category