WORLD ROUNDUPThe West Is on a World Tour Against Huawei | The Possibility Covid Is Man-Made Is Not a ‘Divisive’ Issue | Israel Weighing Special Court for Palestinian Suspects in Oct. 7 Massacre, and more
· U.S. Used Its Section 702 Spy Tool to Disrupt Iran’s Weapons Program
The disclosure is the administration’s latest argument that the Section 702 tool is essential as it pushes for renewal ahead of a year-end expiry
· The West Is on a World Tour Against Huawei
Brussels and Washington join forces to tame Huawei’s global ambitions
· The Possibility Covid Is Man-Made Is Not a ‘Divisive’ Issue - the World Needs to Know
If it was engineered in a Chinese lab, failure to act stops us preparing for a devastating outbreak in the future
· Stasis Is Not Stalemate in the Ukraine War
Contrary to the doom-mongers, there is no rationale for Ukraine to make concessions and, in effect, agree to capitulation.
· Israel Weighing Special Court for Palestinian Suspects in Oct. 7 Massacre
Hamas defendants would potentially have fewer rights and could face the death penalty
U.S. Used Its Section 702 Spy Tool to Disrupt Iran’s Weapons Program (Erin Banco and John Sakellariadis, Politico)
U.S. officials say a controversial surveillance authority has been key to helping them stop the sale of certain weapons parts to Iran in recent years.
The CIA and other intelligence agencies used information gathered by monitoring the electronic communications of foreign weapons manufacturers to stop several shipments of advanced weapons parts to Iran by land, air and sea, according to two U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the matter.
The campaign came as the administration pushed to prevent Iran from building up its ballistic missile program – one officials continue to worry Tehran is using to help Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine. Officials have also focused on limiting Iran’s intervention in conflicts that impact U.S. national security more broadly, including the war between Israel and Hamas.
The disclosure is the administration’s latest argument that the spying authority — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — is crucial to national security as it fights to get Congress to reauthorize the tool before it expires at the end of the year.
The West Is on a World Tour Against Huawei (Mathieu Pollet and John Hendel, Politico)
For years, the Chinese telecom giant Huawei had been building a beachhead in Costa Rica, supplying hardware as the Central American nation built out its wireless networks.
That ended abruptly on the last day of August.
As he signed a law banning his government from buying Huawei equipment, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves said the country would procure equipment “only from trusted suppliers” — meaning, in diplomatic language, it would cut out Chinese firms. The law would then expand the ban to all private companies in Costa Rica as well.
Costa Rica’s decision was the result of sustained pressure from both American President Joe Biden’s White House and its European allies, which had been working their muscle for months to get San José officials to turn their backs on Chinese kit. Just two days earlier, Chaves had met personally with Biden, who praised “Costa Rica’s commitment to using trusted providers in its upcoming 5G tender and auctions.” (Cont.)
