International

In de nieuwsbrief van vandaag: De uitbraak aan boord van een luxe cruiseschip dient als een harde herinnering aan hoe gemakkelijk een dodelijke pathogeen grenzen kan oversteken, en hoe fragiel de wereldwijde paraatheid blijft. \Goedemorgen. Dit is Michael Segalov – vanaf vandaag zal ik af en toe in uw inbox verschijnen. \Het zal deze week in Westminster niet ontbreken aan interne strijd, intriges en briefings, nu het stof neerdaalt na de rampzalige verkiezingsresultaten van de regering. We brengen u op de hoogte van de laatste ontwikkelingen rond de (waarschijnlijk vruchteloze) poging van backbench MP Catherine West om Keir Starmer ten val te brengen, samen met de rest van de nasleep.

• WESCO International reported Q1 2026 sales of $6,080.1 million and net income of $153.8 million, both higher than the prior year. • Basic earnings per share from continuing operations increased to $3.16, demonstrating stronger profitability. • The results signal robust demand in capital goods distribution, potentially boosting sector confidence amid economic recovery signals.

• Southeast Asian leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to release a draft declaration on Friday at their annual summit in Cebu, Philippines, upholding international law, sovereignty, and freedom of navigation amid Middle East tensions. • The statement, seen by The Associated Press on Thursday, serves as a veiled rebuke to the United States, Israel, and Iran over the regional war impacting Southeast Asia's energy security, food supply, and migrant workers. • Host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized focusing on protecting over one million Southeast Asian workers and seafarers in the Middle East during the gathering of 10 national leaders plus Myanmar's representative.

Canadian PM says Europe is not destined to submit to a more ‘transactional, insular and brutal world’Europe will not submit to a more “brutal world”, and can instead be the base from which a new international order can be rebuilt, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, has said.Carney was speaking as the first non-European leader to attend a meeting of the European Political Community, which opened on Monday amid high tensions in the strait of Hormuz and renewed doubts about the US commitment to Nato. Continue reading...

Cross-party group says closure of humanitarian unit will undermine monitoring of legal violations and arms exportsMPs have expressed alarm at the closure of the Foreign Office’s international humanitarian law unit, warning it “will impair the UK’s ability to anticipate, assess and respond to serious violations of international law across multiple contexts”.News of the closure, revealed by the Guardian, was raised with Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions this week by the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, Iqbal Mohamed. Starmer said the work would be undertaken by another team as part of a restructuring. Continue reading...

US senator holds panel with leading Chinese scientists and warns of risks to society unless new technology is regulated The US senator Bernie Sanders espoused the importance of international cooperation in regulating AI at a Wednesday panel on Capitol Hill alongside two leading Chinese scientists.As startups and tech giants, most prominently in Silicon Valley and Beijing, race to advance and scale their artificial intelligence, Sanders has been among the AI skeptics advocating for safeguards. Continue reading...

• The Taliban government announced restrictions on international health NGOs operating in Afghanistan on Monday, citing concerns over 'political interference' and threatening revocation of licenses for non-compliant organizations. • Medical organizations warned that the restrictions would devastate maternal and pediatric health services, particularly in rural areas where international agencies provide 70 percent of healthcare capacity. • The U.S. State Department condemned the move as undermining humanitarian efforts and expressed concern for vulnerable populations, with officials exploring alternative delivery mechanisms for critical medical assistance.