United States

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Military & Security

Science & Technology

Threat actors are actively exploiting a recently discovered zero-day vulnerability targeting on-premises Microsoft SharePoint servers, exposing thousands of public and private sector entities globally, a Microsoft advisory warned on July 19.

U.S.: Microsoft SharePoint Vulnerability Exposes Thousands of Entities

China

Philippines

Vietnam

Economics

Politics

China and Vietnam will conduct their first-ever joint army training in China's Guangxi province in late July, focusing on coordinated border patrol operations, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Defense on July 19.

China, Vietnam: First-Ever Army Drill Points to Tactical Rapprochement, Strategic Hedge

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom's government is "seeking a way out" of its ongoing clash with the U.S. Trump administration over London's January notice to Apple ordering it to create a backdoor to access content uploaded to iCloud from any Apple user worldwide, the Financial Times reported on July 20.

U.K., U.S.: London May Reverse Demand for Apple To Break End-to-End iCloud Encryption

Mexico

The United States will require Mexican airlines to file schedules with the Department of Transportation (DoT) for all their U.S. operations and seek prior approval for any large passenger or cargo charter flights to or from the United States, El Economista reported July 19.

U.S., Mexico: Air Transport Dispute to Disrupt Travel, Unlikely to Strain Bilateral Ties

Following the conclusion of the long-anticipated "crypto week," the U.S. House of Representatives celebrated a major legislative victory on July 17 with the passage of the GENIUS Act, which U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law by July 18, CBS News reported the same day.

U.S.: 'Crypto Week' Wraps Up With One Major Legislative Victory, Other Bills Go to Senate

U.S.-China Relations

U.S. bank Wells Fargo temporarily suspended all corporate travel to China after a company executive was hit with an exit ban, Reuters reported on July 18.

China, U.S.: Wells Fargo Suspends China Travel After Executive Hit With Exit Ban

Europe

The European Union is offering the United States a tit-for-tat tariff reduction on vehicles that would see the United States reduce its 25% tariff on European cars to 17.5% in exchange for the European Union reducing its tariffs on U.S. cars to 0%, the Financial Times reported on July 17.

U.S., EU: Brussels To Propose Tit-for-Tat Tariff Reduction on Auto Sector

Brazil

Brazil's Supreme Court required former President Jair Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor and prohibited him from using social media, speaking to other individuals under investigation for an alleged 2022 coup plot, contacting diplomats, and going near embassies, g1 reported on July 18.

Brazil, U.S.: Restrictions on Bolsonaro To Further Sour U.S.-Brazil Relations, Fuel Unrest Risks

Assessments

South Africa

Japan

 The European Union and China will hold a high-level leaders' summit July 24 in Beijing, marking the 50th anniversary of Chinese-EU diplomatic relations.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An EU-China Summit, South Africa's Budget Vote

Euro banknotes lie atop U.S. dollar banknotes.

Global Trade

The dollar's depreciation against the euro will likely persist due to U.S. trade and fiscal policy uncertainty, which will hurt European exports but also reduce the risk of destabilizing U.S. financial policies.

Making Sense of Dollar Weakness and Euro Strength

Columns

On Geopolitics

Israel

Syria

Turkey

U.S. Army soldiers prepare to go out on patrol from a remote combat outpost in northeastern Syria on May 25, 2021. 

The U.S. is shifting its Syria strategy from isolation to limited engagement to stabilize the country and protect American interests there, but Turkey and Israel's competing influence campaigns could complicate Washington's approach.

In Post-Assad Syria, the U.S. Struggles to Find a New Strategy

Snapshots

Indonesia

Containers are unloaded from a ship at a terminal of Tanjung Priok Port, the main seaport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 24, 2025. 

In exchange for a lower U.S. tariff rate, Indonesia accepted significant concessions, including purchasing commitments and regulatory changes, that risk limiting its long-term autonomy and industrial policy goals.

To Avoid Steeper Tariffs, Indonesia Reaches High-Stakes Trade Deal With the U.S.

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

This map shows the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups.

U.S. Naval Update Map: July 17, 2025

Asia-Pacific

Russia

Diplomats attend the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 11, 2025. 

Chinese, Russian and U.S. participation in the summit shows that the Southeast Asian bloc will remain a key venue for diplomatic hedging and potential great power friction in the years ahead.

ASEAN Meeting Provides an Arena for Multipolar Competition

Australia

Germany

Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump on April 24 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. In an interview July 10, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would "have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," perhaps representing a shift in his administration's policy.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Trump Speaks on Ukraine, Sweeping EU Budget Reform

A Ukrainian soldier works on an AN/TWQ-1 Avenger anti-aircraft missile system on Nov. 28, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Despite Trump's impatience with Russia's failure to de-escalate in Ukraine, the White House is highly unlikely to dramatically ramp up pressure in a way that significantly alters the Kremlin's calculus.

What Trump's Growing Frustration With Russia Means for U.S. Policy

U.S. Naval Update Map: July 10, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a rally at a steel plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30, 2025. 

For the rest of his term, Trump will continue to use tariffs to secure foreign policy concessions on both trade and non-trade matters, even if he starts shifting away from broad, global tariff threats to ones focused on specific countries or goods. 

A Look at Trump's Evolving Tariff Strategy

Leaders of eight political parties pose before a debate at the Japan National Press Club on July 2, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. From left to right are Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya, Japanese Communist Party Chairperson Tomoko Tamura, Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito, Constitutional Democratic Party President Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, Governor of Osaka and Japan Innovation Party Co-Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura, Democratic Party for the People Representative Yuichiro Tamaki and Reiwa Shinsengumi President Taro Yamamoto.

Japan's upper house elections will determine whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will stay in power and -- if so -- how easily it will be able to pursue its key policy goals.

Japan's Election: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

President Donald Trump bangs a gavel after signing a bill into law extending his 2017 tax cuts on July 4 in Washington.

The measure will prevent a sharp increase in income taxes that would shock the economy, but add to the already high U.S. government debt burden.

The Consequences of Extending Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts

The United States encompasses territory spanning from the Arctic Circle and Central Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.    The Greater Mississippi Basin is the United States' core and serves as the underpinning of its role as a global superpower.    The basin hosts an extensive network of navigable rivers that overlay the world's largest contiguous piece of arable land. This naturally interconnected river system facilitated integration among settlers and allowed for cheap transport of goods, providing the United States with the ability to feed itself efficiently and rapidly build up industry and capital to expand west. The Midwestern core gave early America strategic depth, while an expanding U.S. coastline, naturally indented with deep harbors, provided its opening to the world.    After reaching the Pacific coast in the mid-19th century, the United States found itself insulated by two oceans. On the continent itself, geography again has worked in the country's favor: lakes to the north and deserts to the south insulate the United States' population centers, with both Canada and Mexico facing too many natural constraints of their own to seriously rival it.    This unparalleled level of wealth and protection gives the United States options that few to no countries can claim. For one, the United States has used its wealth and security to build up the world's largest navy. Control of the world's major sea-lanes gives the United States the power to facilitate or deny trade to allies or rivals of the day. The onus therefore is on the United States to carefully manage its engagements abroad and build up strategic allies to protect its overseas interests and preserve its strength at home. 

SITUATION REPORTS

U.S.: Microsoft SharePoint Vulnerability Exposes Thousands of Entities

China, Vietnam: First-Ever Army Drill Points to Tactical Rapprochement, Strategic Hedge

U.K., U.S.: London May Reverse Demand for Apple To Break End-to-End iCloud Encryption

U.S., Mexico: Air Transport Dispute to Disrupt Travel, Unlikely to Strain Bilateral Ties

U.S.: 'Crypto Week' Wraps Up With One Major Legislative Victory, Other Bills Go to Senate

China, U.S.: Wells Fargo Suspends China Travel After Executive Hit With Exit Ban

U.S., EU: Brussels To Propose Tit-for-Tat Tariff Reduction on Auto Sector

Brazil, U.S.: Restrictions on Bolsonaro To Further Sour U.S.-Brazil Relations, Fuel Unrest Risks

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support