Iran war draws in more countries as fighting escalates
After a few days of relative calm, the Iran war is escalating once again, and this time, more countries are in the mix. Egypt said two ships were hit with a drone in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, just 40 miles from the exit of the Suez Canal, the first attack in the country since the war began. Jordan’s military this morning also intercepted five missiles launched from Iran, and the US targeted multiple new sites inside Iran while also striking Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The renewed fighting also comes as military analysts warn that dwindling US interceptor stockpiles, particularly Patriot missiles, could hamper efforts to defend against future attacks. Pakistani-brokered talks are set to continue, but prospects for a breakthrough remain grim – Iran recently rejected an Omani proposal for joint regional management of the Strait of Hormuz, saying it has no interest in returning to the pre-war status quo.
Uruguay in talks with US to accept Cuban deportees open door
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly in talks with Uruguay to make the country a new destination for Cubans deported from the US. The Trump administration has already sent 6,000 Cubans to Mexico, as well as smaller numbers to Eswatini, South Sudan, Paraguay, and Ecuador. The negotiations make Uruguay the only South American country with a center-left government willing to work with the Trump administration on deportations. Why? As the second-smallest country in South America, Uruguay already hosts a diaspora of Cubans, between 20,000 and 30,000, as well as a relatively lax immigration policy. Uruguay is also looking to expand its workforce to make up for its small, aging population. Plus, President Yamandú Orsi may also see currying favor with the Trump administration as useful for the future.
Oh Baby… Germany’s chancellor in political trouble again
This summer was supposed to be a big political reset for Germany’s chronically unpopular conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Earlier this month, he finally managed to push through a reform package meant to fix Germany’s pension system, reboot the economy, and give middle-class folks a tax break. Then came… the baby. Jens Spahn, the conservative party’s leader in the Bundestag, admitted fathering a child with his husband via surrogacy in the United States. Surrogacy is illegal in Germany, and Merz’s CDU/CSU has long insisted on keeping it that way, citing moral and ethical reasons. The hypocrisy was too much – Spahn resigned, triggering a fresh cabinet reshuffle. All of this upheaval is pure schadenfreude for the hard right AfD party, which leads the polls ahead of major state elections in September. Unless Merz can right the ship by then, he could face a rebellion within his own party.
