State-run surveillance operations around the world are using Claude to streamline their operations, Anthropic said in a threat report released Thursday. Why it matters: The barriers for governments interested in spying on dissidents, politicians, journalists and human rights activists are getting lower as AI models get more powerful. Zoom in: Anthropic found people linked to governments in Mali, China and Iran using various Claude models to streamline their surveillance operations. - In Mali, a single consultant working for national security authorities used Claude to create a system that collects data from the country's mobile operators and builds dossiers about people. - Anthropic also disclosed another case where Iranian actors…
State of the Union: Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the move as part of an effort to “dismantle” the court. The post U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Top ICC Officials appeared first on The American Conservative .
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the imposition of new sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) president Tomoko Akane and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on Tuesday. The move comes after intense criticism of the court by the Trump administration, which opposes the ICC’s attempts to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with war crimes as well as its claims to jurisdiction over American citizens. Tuesday’s sanctions, which include travel bans, asset freezes, and restrictions on dealings with U.S. nationals, are the latest salvo in what the State Department characterizes as a “whole of government campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC.” Calling the court “corrupt and fatally…Open
The troubles of the Sahel reveal the dysfunctions not only of Africa, but of the West. The post The Mali of the Mind appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs The Mali of the Mind The troubles of the Sahel reveal the dysfunctions not only of Africa, but of the West. When recently I learned that the Russian mercenaries who prop up the military regime in Mali had been driven out of the town of Kidal, I was very pleased, for defeat could not have been inflicted on people more deserving of it. The only fly in the ointment was that the victors were allies of the Islamists who are quite likely to overrun the Sahel and even some of the coastal countries of West Africa. Of course, Mali will not mean much to most readers, even if they have heard of Timbuktu. But Mali has played a…Open
The militant group, whose full name is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, is the most well-armed militant group in the region and among the most powerful in the world.
The town of Anefis is located some 100km (62 miles) from the rebel-held city of Kidal, Mali [File: AFP] Published July 12, 2026 BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s armed forces have regained control of the strategic [...]
In Niger, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) are fighting for territory while both groups continue to expand across the Sahel and beyond. Photo courtesy of the Combating Terrorism Center [...]
The armed group JNIM claimed to have seized two key cities and destroyed the defense minister’s residence in a coordinated offensive that experts said was a major escalation in yearslong hostilities.