WORLD ROUNDUPRussia’s Deep Suspicion of China | How the Houthis Transformed Maritime War | New Report Documents the AfD's Right-Wing Radicalism, and more

Secret Russian Intelligence Document Shows Deep Suspicion of China  (Jacob JudahPaul Sonne and Anton Troianovski, New York Times)
Russia’s spy hunters are increasingly worried about China’s espionage, even as the two countries grow closer.

Parents in Gaza Are Running Out of Ways to Feed Their Children: ‘All We Want Is a Loaf of Bread’  (Vivian Yee and Bilal Shbair, New York Times)
A New York Times article last year described two families struggling to keep their malnourished children alive in Gaza. Now, as Israeli restrictions keep out most aid, that’s even harder.

Buyer With Ties to Chinese Communist Party Got V.I.P. Treatment at Trump Crypto Dinner  (Eric LiptonDavid Yaffe-BellanyMichael ForsytheDevon Lum and Jiawei Wang, New York Times)
The warm welcome for a technology executive whose purchases of the president’s digital coin won him a White House tour illustrates inconsistencies in the administration’s views toward visitors from China.

Boston Consulting Group CEO Apologizes for Israeli-Backed Gaza Aid Project  (John Hudson and Cate Brown, Washington Post)
Top consulting firm fires two partners over involvement in aid initiative beset by violence and controversy.

A Look inside the Report Documenting the AfD’s Right-Wing Radicalism  (Maik Baumgärtner, Ann-Katrin Müller, Ansgar Siemens und Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt, Der Spiegel)
The BfV spent several months compiling its most recent assessment. Originally, the report was supposed to come out in November 2024, but the collapse of the Olaf Scholz-led government and the snap new elections that followed ruined those plans. The agency had to keep a low profile as the vote approached. So the BfV continued collecting evidence and finally sent the report to the Interior Ministry on April 28, where the acting minister, Nancy Faeser of the SPD, chose to release the results shortly before her successor, Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union, took office. Faeser decided against an in-depth ministry evaluation of the report, eager as she was to bring the matter to a conclusion before her government left office.

Funding Terror: How West Africa’s Deadly Jihadists Get the Money They Need to Survive  (Egodi Uchendu and Muhammed Sani Dangusau, The Conversation)
The west Africa–Sahel region has seen a proliferation of militant Islamist groups since the 1990s. One of the most vicious groups operating in the region is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (Support Group for Islam and Muslims). The militant group emerged in 2017 in Algeria and Mali, and has targeted civilian populations. The UN listed the group as an al-Qaeda affiliate in 2018. Al-Qaeda is an Islamist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s. The 2024 global terrorism index listed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin as one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations. Its influence has expanded in most parts of the Sahel. The group emerged to strengthen the jihadist insurgency under al-Qaeda. It combines violence with diplomacy to expand its influence and challenge state authorities.

U.K. Faces ‘Extraordinary’ Threat from Russian and Iranian Plots, Official Warns  (Lizzie Dearden and Mark Landler, New York Times)
Jonathan Hall, a British government adviser, said in an interview that hostile states were paying local criminals to carry out acts of violence, espionage and intimidation.

How the Houthis Rattled the U.S. Navy—and Transformed Maritime War  (Stephen Kalin and Selby Holliday, Wall Street Journal)
Officials are now dissecting how a scrappy adversary was able to test the world’s most capable surface fleet. The Houthis proved to be a surprisingly difficult foe, engaging the Navy in its fiercest battles since World War II despite fighting from primitive quarters and caves in one of the world’s poorest countries. The Houthis benefited from the proliferation of cheap missile and drone technology from Iran. They fired antiship ballistic missiles, the first-ever combat use of the Cold War-era weapon, and they innovated how they deployed their weaponry. The latest technologies have transformed maritime warfare, much the way they have rewritten the script for land wars in Ukraine—forcing militaries to adapt in real time. The U.S. is developing fresh ways to intercept the newest drones and missiles but still relies largely on expensive defense systems.

When Racism Escalates to Far-Right Terrorism  (Editorial, Le Monde)
Behind Marine Le Pen’s respectable façade, the spread of the Rassemblement National’s ideology, which has gained traction across much of the political spectrum, has fostered hostility toward foreigners and incited tragic acts such as the murder of Hichem Miraoui on May 31.