On Friday, Saudi Arabia allegedly attempted to prevent an Iranian airplane from landing at Sanaa International Airport, marking an escalation in the over a decade-long war and blockade on Yemen.
Zoe. , July 8, 2026
Joshua Scheer Before the bombs fell, many Western officials and commentators predicted that the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, would fracture the Islamic Republic from within. Instead, images emerging from Tehran this week have presented a very different picture. According to estimates cited during funeral coverage, millions of mourners filled the streets over […]
A new investigation has uncovered how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supports a secret network of military training camps for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that enables them to continue their deadly war in Sudan.
“This war, which is often categorized in international media as a civil war, is really a proxy war,” says award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Julia Steers. “We’re talking about a really extensive network of logistics and training and financial backing from the UAE.”
The investigation is a collaboration between Lighthouse Reports, Evident and Sudan War Monitor.
Meanwhile, as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warns another humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding the North Kordofan state capital of El Obeid, where the RSF and the Sudanese army are fighting for control. “There’s no question that the RSF would not be able to have gotten as far as they have, to have claimed nearly as much territory as they have, without the really robust support of the UAE,” says Steers.
Trump announced on Tuesday at the NATO summit in Ankara that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey and is considering selling the country F-35 fighter jets. Trump made the comment following a lavish state dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he praised as a “great leader.” The mayor of Istanbul and other Turkish politicians, civil society figures and journalists remain jailed on politically motivated charges.
“Here in Ankara, and in Turkey more broadly, this NATO summit is not taking place in a climate of freedom. We saw, in the two weeks leading up to this summit happening, authorities in Ankara arrested over 200 people in dawn raids,” says Ruth Michaelson, a journalist based in Istanbul. “There has also been a protest ban enforced in Ankara, and that is a protest ban that extends even to leafleting.”
Repression from the Turkish state has not been addressed during the summit; instead, “something that we’ve been hearing throughout the summit is that Turkey has this indispensable place in NATO,” says Michaelson.
U.S. Renews Attacks on Iran and Reimposes Oil Sanctions, Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire “Over,” Blasts NATO Allies and Praises Turkish President, Israel’s Netanyahu Criticizes Trump’s Embrace of Turkish President Erdoğan, Pentagon Considers Relocating Gulf Bases to Israel, Israeli Strike Kills Gaza Aid Official Who Organized World Cup Screening, Protesters Outside U.N. Celebrate as Israel’s Ben-Gvir Cancels Visit to Policing Summit, ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Mexican Father During Houston Traffic Stop, 85-Year-Old German National Becomes 21st to Die in ICE Custody This Year, French Court Clears Path for Far-Right Politician Marine Le Pen to Run for President, Colombian President-elect Suspends Transition as Outgoing Leader Alleges Fraud, Extreme Weather Rocks China, Europe and U.S. Amid Searing July Heat Wave, Senior ExxonMobil Lawyer Retires, Joins Trump Administration