Bilal

International Relations Specialist, @PolicyCenterNS | Views expressed are my own.

[Luís Figo @LuisFigo]

Today I join others from across our game and call for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA President.

Infantino has debased the office that he promised to elevate. He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve. 

He has lost the support of his senior staff, his closest advisers, the vast majority of people who devote their lives to this sport and even, it would seem, the FIFA Peace Prize winner. 

It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.

#Infantinout

https://t.co/j93k5MnlK2

[Martyn Ziegler @martynziegler]

Big news: UEFA to declare loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino as FIFA president.
Statement expected imminently

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

Pedro Sánchez reminded #Italy of a rather inconvenient fact after Rome floated the idea of closing the Schengen border with #Spain over the migration crisis in #Ceuta.

According to #Frontex, between 2021 and 2026 Italy recorded 478,600 irregular arrivals. Spain recorded 234,760.

Those are the facts. Unfortunately, for much of the political right, facts tend to matter less than the narrative when it comes to migration.

[Pedro Sánchez @sanchezcastejon]

La solidaridad y la empatía son opcionales.

El respeto a los tratados europeos y a los datos, no.
👇🏼

Número de entradas irregulares entre 2021 y 2026 según Frontex:

Por Italia: 478.600
Por los Balcanes occidentales: 340.600
Por Grecia: 259.800
Por España: 234.760
Por la frontera oriental: 48.000

No es tiempo de dividir. Es tiempo de seguir construyendo una UE fuerte y unida.

[Charles Lister @Charles_Lister]

Yesterday, #Netanyahu showed #Trump a map, claiming #Turkey controls 5% of #Syria & #Israel just 0.1%.

A US official clarified that #Turkey was there at #Damascus' invitation, "unlike the Israeli occupation."

I'm speechless.

https://t.co/xGYQnmpyHL

[L'Équipe @lequipe]

La une du journal L'Équipe du mardi 28 juillet

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

Another sign of Syria's gradual normalization.

The return of regular flights between #Germany and #Syria 🇸🇾 by German carriers is about more than just expanding travel options. It reflects the slow restoration of practical links after years of isolation.

[عمر الحصري @ohosari]

في إطار الجهود المستمرة لتعزيز الربط الجوي بين الجمهورية العربية السورية وأوروبا، تعلن الهيئة العامة للطيران المدني والنقل الجوي عن انضمام شركتي Sundair و LEAV Aviation الألمانيتين إلى قائمة الناقلات الجوية المشغلة لرحلات منتظمة إلى الجمهورية العربية السورية، بعد استكمال جميع الموافقات التشغيلية والتنظيمية اللازمة.

Sundair
• برلين – دمشق: رحلتان أسبوعياً، اعتباراً من 1 آب 2026.
• برلين – حلب: رحلتان أسبوعياً، اعتباراً من 1 تشرين الأول 2026.

LEAV Aviation
• دوسلدورف – دمشق: رحلتان أسبوعياً، اعتباراً من 29 تموز 2026.
• كولون – حلب: رحلتان أسبوعياً، اعتباراً من 1 آب 2026.

وتواصل الهيئة حالياً مباحثاتها مع عدد من شركات الطيران الدولية الأخرى الراغبة بتسيير رحلات إلى الجمهورية العربية السورية، وسيتم الإعلان عن أي اتفاقات جديدة فور استكمال إجراءاتها. كما ستعلن الخطوط السورية قريباً عن جدول رحلاتها المنتظمة إلى جمهورية ألمانيا الاتحادية.

ويأتي ذلك في إطار التوسع المستمر لشبكة الرحلات الدولية من وإلى الجمهورية العربية السورية، بما يعزز الربط الجوي مع جمهورية ألمانيا الاتحادية ويوفر خيارات سفر أوسع للمسافرين.

#الجمهورية_العربية_السورية #الهيئة_العامة_للطيران_المدني_السوري #ألمانيا #الطيران_المدني #دمشق #حلب

[وزارة الطاقة @MoEnergy_Saudi]

Saudi Arabia and United States Sign Agreement on Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

[Charles Lister @Charles_Lister]

UN Secretary General @antonioguterres is set to arrive in #Syria on Friday for his first official visit.

I'm told there are plans for him to travel south to meet with @UNDOF peacekeepers working in an increasingly combustible environment amid #Israel military activity in #Syria.

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

If this holds, it’s a pretty significant win for #SaudiArabia.

For years, a US-backed civilian #nuclear program was seen as one of the biggest incentives tied to normalization with Israel. If #Riyadh can secure that without normalizing, it keeps one of its strongest bargaining chips while still getting a major strategic objective.

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

President Trump has formally approved a landmark agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide the country with a civilian nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment in the kingdom’s territory, according to U.S. officials. https://t.co/B6QUmxVVpw

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

Yessssss!!!

[Toni Kroos @ToniKroos]

Football won

[Driss Alaoui Belghiti @dalaouibelghiti]

Que reste-t-il de la « nation arc-en-ciel » lorsque l’étranger africain devient le bouc émissaire de ses fractures ?

Dans cet article publié au @PolicyCenterNS, j’analyse ce que la xénophobie révèle de la crise du projet postapartheid sud-africain.

https://t.co/02NpLtVwIJ

[Toni Kroos @ToniKroos]

Big time jude

[Policy Center for the New South @PolicyCenterNS]

"The 2026 summit was a clear signpost that adaptation, not extension, will become the defining strategy in the pursuit of relevance in a changing world. Instead of altering the fundamentals of the club, Évian showed how the G7 was adapting the way it operated in a fragmented international environment defined by technological disruption, a diffusion of influence, and geopolitical discordance". @BilalMahli

🔗Read more: https://t.co/LWFHWnfOyc

[Policy Center for the New South @PolicyCenterNS]

✍️ Extrait du #RAGA2026

"La géographie stratégique de l’#Afrique connaît une recomposition discrète mais déterminante, et les cartes ne l’ont pas encore intégrée. Les zones frontalières, longtemps considérées comme marginales dans les politiques publiques et la cartographie, concentrent désormais l’activité économique, les pressions sécuritaires et les engagements extérieurs qui façonnent les dynamiques régionales." @BilalMahli

🔗 Lire plus: https://t.co/vAeQ3rBO3H

[أسعد حسن الشيباني @AsaadHShaibani]

ضمن توجيهات فخامة رئيس الجمهورية أحمد الشرع، أغلقنا صفحة سوداء في تاريخ سوريا برفع التصنيف الذي فرض عليها بسبب سياسات النظام البائد 1979

كل الشكر والتقدير للولايات المتحدة بقيادة الرئيس ترامب على هذا القرار، ولصديقي وزير الخارجية ماركو روبيو وللسفير العزيز توم باراك ولكل من وقف إلى جانب سوريا.

[Policy Center for the New South @PolicyCenterNS]

How does the 2026 G7 Summit in Évian illustrate the transformation of multilateral governance toward flexible coalition-building, and what challenges does this create for legitimacy and representation in a changing global order? @BilalMahli
https://t.co/7uixzb8JWg

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

Excited to share my latest policy paper for the @PolicyCenterNS .

Évian 2026: The G7’s Flexible Reset – AI, Middle Powers, and Diplomacy Beyond the Summit Table

The paper argues that the 2026 G7 Summit reflected more than a series of policy outcomes. It highlighted an evolving model of global governance shaped by the growing role of AI companies, middle powers, and more flexible forms of diplomacy.

https://t.co/3zleIfxfcx

[Bilal @BilalMahli]

🐐 💔

[Sophia Cai @SophiaCai99]

FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen U.S. government & soccer officials:
- Wednesday after U.S.-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup and regularly before that.)
- Wed night: Giuliani, Lutnick and U.S. Soccer officials began activating on plans to challenge red card
- That kicked off 4 days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering & diplomacy that stretched from Oval Office to Zurich
- On *Thursday* Trump dialed Gianni Infantino and asked abt FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and grounds for suspension. (They’ve known each other for 8 yrs.)
- FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.
- As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared & submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani + Lutnick offered to make White House attorneys available to assist
- At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped pay the salary of Mauricio Pochettino — zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus
-Articles examining previous controversies involving Claus circulated among senior gov officials as they evaluated every argument that could bolster the appeal
- On FIFA side, Emilio García, who oversees the legal affairs of FIFA, advised Infantino on the available procedural options
- García + other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited
- By Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension would be suspended
- FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.

https://t.co/eXOOUkza6N