This Week's Brief

Letter from the Editor

Every week, we want to introduce you to someone quietly reshaping the world. These are leaders whose work touches the decisions you make and the life you lead, but who rarely step into the spotlight. In a moment when women’s expertise is being shoved back into kitchens around the world, we think it’s time to meet those who usually shy away from self-promotion or “personal branding.”

Our new series does just that through a bite-sized, 20-questions format. Think of it as a fast track to getting to know and understand the people whose work you might not know yet, but whose paths could intersect with yours in surprising ways. We hope you enjoy meeting them.

Meet NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women Peace and Security - Irene Fellin.

This Week’s News

(These pins mark the stories with deeply buried, but globally significant signals.)

📌 A Bloodbath: The Sudan Update

📌 Abuse Leaks & Responsibility

📌 Vice President, Wives & Viral Trouble

📌 Tanzanian Presidential Overreach

📌 Nigeria on his mind, Trump’ Meets Tokyo’s Iron Lady

📌 Dutch Women Power

📌 UK’s Tax-woman Cometh

📌 Peru Cuts Mexico Ties Over Former PM’s Asylum

📌 Mon Dieu! French Regulator to Shein

📌 Fortune Calculates Europe’s Missing Female CEOs, Forbes Asia Makes Power List

📌 Exxon & Qatar Energy Get Green Deal In Trouble

📌 Cape Town Develops ‘AI Aunty’ To Fight Gender Violence

Peace & Security This Week

A Bloodbath: The Sudan Update

Thousands have fled the Sudanese city of El Fasher in the western region of Darfur as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) advanced. This, amid UN warnings of “genocidal violence”. Reports detail rape, mutilation and mass killings have emerged, along with warnings of forced famine.

• Satellite images and verified videos reveal door-to-door mass killings in El Fasher after the RSF paramilitary seized control of the city. The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University led by HRL Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond and Director of Conflict Analytics Caitlin Howarth reported multiple clusters consistent with human remains across the city. Satellite images indicate the alleged killings took place “in under 72 hours since RSF took control of the city,” per the lab’s leads. Read more at HRL at Yale University
• Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, the UN’s top relief official Tom Fletcher said “women and girls are being raped, people being mutilated and killed – with utter impunity.” According to the UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) more than 36,000 people have fled Sudan’s Kordofan region since Saturday amid a surge in fighting. Read more at the OCHA
• Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee has called the fall of El Fasher “a significant shift in the security dynamics,” warning that the implications for Sudan and the wider region are “profound.” Drone strikes by both RSF and SAF, she said, are now hitting new targets across Blue Nile, South Kordofan, West Darfur and Khartoum. “The territorial scope of the conflict is broadening,” she has cautioned. Read more at the UN
• Sudan’s military government has expelled 2 senior officials at the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP says the directors of its Sudan operation were declared “persona non grata” and told to go within 72 hours, without explanation. Read more at BBC
• Prosecutors at the international criminal court (ICC) announced they are they are collecting evidence of alleged mass killings, rapes and other crimes in El Fasher. Read more at ICC

Context: The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023, when a long-simmering power struggle between the SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) and RSF erupted into open war. The RSF traces its roots to the Janjaweed militias accused of atrocities in Darfur 20 years ago, while the SAF represents the remnants of long-standing military rule from Khartoum. The fighting in Sudan has resulted in more than 150,000 people dead and more than 14 million displaced. Read BBC’s Guide to What’s Happening In Sudan

Leaks, Responsibility & Propaganda Allegations

Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned as the Israeli military’s (IDF) top lawyer, and has been since arrested. She is taking the fall for a leaked video showing severe abuse and alleged rape of a Palestinian detainee. “I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against the army’s law enforcement authorities,” she said. But the video has deepened Israel’s political rift, with Israel’s Prime Minister calling the video a PR nightmare. Read more at The Washington Post

Society & Politics This Week

Vice President, Wives & Viral Trouble

JD Vance’s past week went south fast, even has he and Marco Rubio are in a two horse race for U.S. Presidential succession. First there was a too-intimate hug with activist widow Erika Kirk (Charlie Kirk’s wife) which made waves. Then followed a remark that he hoped his Hindu wife would “one day become Christian” which set off another social media storm. His “clarification” hasn’t stopped the internet from arguing over who Mrs Vance should be. Read more in The New York Times

Presidential Overreach

President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in for an elected term after a disputed election marred by violence and the exclusion of main rivals, leading to protests. Hassan took the oath of office during a ceremony at a military base in the capital, Dodoma. The event was closed to the public. Read more at Al Jazeera

Nigeria on his mind, Trump’ Meets Tokyo’s Iron Lady

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened military action or airstrikes in Nigeria to defend Christians against attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP militants. Nigeria has responded to the threats of US military action by suggesting it would welcome help tackling Islamist insurgents, but has insisted the US must respect its sovereignty. Read more at Sky News

The U.S. President praised Japan’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi, ( former PM Shinzo Abe’s protégé) for her military ambitions in their recent meeting in Tokyo. That bi-lateral meeting resulted in deals for trade and rare earths. President Trump seemed to find favour in the new Japanese Prime Minister invoking the Abe’s legacy throughout, signalling continuity with Japan’s nationalist turn. Read more at AP

Dutch Women Power

More women than ever have won seats in the Netherlands parliament. Dutch women MPs now hold 65 of 150 seats due to tactical voting. 7 parties have hit gender parity, and the campaign is now moving to local elections. Read more at Dutch News

Tax-woman Cometh

In the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is refusing to rule out further tax rises ahead of her anticipated budget announcement. Speculation is rife that she may even increase income tax, which has not been a move any government has made in 50 years. She has warned of “necessary choices” hinting Labour’s election tax pledge (of no hikes) might not survive contact with fiscal reality.

Watch the analysis on Sky News

Diplomatic Breakdown

Peru has cut diplomatic ties with Mexico after the latter granted asylum to former prime minister Betssy Chávez, who’s under investigation for rebellion. Foreign minister Hugo de Zela called Mexico’s move an “unfriendly act” that deepens already frosty relations between Lima and Mexico City. Read more at Reuters

Cartels & Day of The Dead

President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed justice after the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo but rejected reviving Mexico’s bloody “war on drugs. Mayor Manzo , known for his strong stance against cartels, was assassinated during a “Day of the Dead” celebration, sparking protests. Read more at The LA Times

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Business This Week

Mon Dieu! French Regulator to Shein

Shein has banned all sex dolls after French regulators flagged “childlike” designs. The French consumer watchdog first raised concerns over the description and categorisation of the dolls, saying it left “little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content.” Read more at Le Monde

The Slow Death Of The Green Deal?

ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy have threatened to quit Europe if the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive isn’t scrapped. Together they supply a significant chunk of LNG and fossil fuels to the EU.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods say revamping the law is not enough and wants the law scrapped as it imposes unfeasible requirements and potential fines of up to 5% of companies’ global revenues if they fail to comply. Washington and Doha are piling on Brussels to weaken the law, which the European Parliament already seems inclined to. This is setting up a clash between the European Parliament and the Commission. Read more at Reuters

Where Are Europe’s CEOs?

Women lead just 38 of Europe’s Fortune 500 firms, that’s 7.6% of Europe’s C-suite. But 4 high profile exits will soon cut that figure again. Emma Walmsley (GSK), Sophie Bellon (Sodexo), Belén Garijo (Merck KGaA) and Ilham Kadri (Syensqo) are all stepping down. All will be replaced by men. Read more at Fortune

Forbes Power Players

Temasek’s incoming President Png Chin Yee, Shangri-La Asia’s boss Kuok Hui Kwong and Tata Kirloskar’s Vice Chair Manasi Kirloskar Tata all made Forbes Asia’s most powerful women list, joined by first-generation entrepreneurs and corporate heavyweights across 12 countries. Read more at Forbes

AI This Week

Rewriting the Rules

In South Africa, Leonora Tima’s new app Grit with chatbot Zuzi helps women track and report abuse. Grit has reported around 13 000 users and logged 10,000 requests for help in September alone This is one of the first free AI tools made by African creators to tackle gender-based violence. The aim is to offer support and help gather evidence that could later be used in legal cases against abusers. Read more at Cape Town Etc

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