This Week's Brief
Brazil’s Global Ethical Stocktake, Iranian Women, EU on Swivel, 6G war tech
THE STORIES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEK:
(These pins mark the stories with deeply buried, but globally significant signals.)
📌 COP30 & Launch of Brazil’s Global Ethical Stocktake
📌 Europe’s on a Swivel When It Comes To China
📌 Iran’s Jailed Women’s Take on Israel’s War
📌 China’s 6G War Tech Breakthrough
📌 UK Parliament refocus on Women’s safety & health
📌 Italy’s Got A CEO Problem
📌 MI6 Has A New Boss, She Was It’s ‘Q’
Note from the Editor
In just 21 months to April 2025, global temperatures have already breached the 1.5°C (above pre-industrial levels) threshold – the very limit every COP since Rio 1992 was meant to hold. As the world heads into COP30 back in Brazil - globally, nationalism is rising; defence budgets are ballooning; Climate commitments? They are slipping fast and further out of focus.
Next week, I’ll be hosting a critical intervention at a critical moment for our planet. The Brazilian government’s first Global Ethical Stocktake in London. Convened under the leadership of President Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and taking place at the very natural haven of Kew Gardens, the event will be held under the stewardship of former Irish President Mary Robinson and Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva.
The aim: to move past empty promises and towards real-world implementation – with voices across the world from science, indigenous communities, tech, activism and policy feeding directly into proposals for Belém.
The Chief Brief has been asked to play a central role. We’ll be at the heart of the conversation – bringing you the European solutions that matter, straight to your inbox. We hope the insights we’ll share can help in shaping the direction of your path ahead.
— Maithreyi Seetharaman
Editor, The Chief Brief
Buried Leads, Big Shifts
COP30: Ethics isn’t a Side Act
The Global Ethical Stocktake (GES) has been launched by Brazil. It aims address much of the criticism faced by annual COP negotiations on being a commitment centered blackhole and instead, focus on implementation and foster a global ethical dialogue on climate action. Brazil says, the GES aspires to transform climate governance by making climate action a shared moral imperative beyond technical targets. Partnering with the Brazilian Presidency, the GES will be the co-organizers of the Africa, Europe, and North America Dialogues: Wanjira Mathai, Mary Robinson, and Karenna Gore. Read more at COP30 Brazil
Iran’s Imprisoned Women Speak Out
From inside Tehran’s Evin prison, four jailed Iranian activists have issued a sharp rebuke of Israel’s war in Gaza, and of foreign meddling in the region. In a joint letter, they have condemned the attacks and have seemingly rejected any hope for regime change through outside powers. Real liberation, they argue in their letter, lies in the hands of the people of Iran.
Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, Verisheh Moradi, Sakineh Parvaneh and Reyhaneh Ansarinejad issued the letter, published by the pro-Kurdish Firat News Agency. Much of the Iranian opposition has been split over Israel's attack on Iran, which began earlier this week and has seen hundreds killed. Read more in Middle East Eye.
China’s 6G Electronic Warfare Breakthrough
While it is unknown how many women scientists were part of the team that just unveiled a game-changing 6G-powered electronic warfare system - it is worth noting that the Chinese have potentially created technology that may make Western defence capabilities obsolete.
The team’s work is capable of jamming advanced radars and creating over 3,600 false targets to mislead enemy pilots, including those flying the highly coveted F-35 fighter jets. Unlike traditional countermeasures, this weapon also doubles as a lightning-fast battlefield communication hub, connecting 300+ platforms simultaneously. Read more in The South China Morning Post
EU’s Swivelling with China
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent volte-face on China underscores a sharper, more hawkish EU stance just weeks before the critical EU-China summit. Earlier this year, von der Leyen surprised observers with calls to deepen trade and investment ties. At the G7 summit this week, she flipped the script saying, “On this point (China), Donald (Trump) is right — there is a serious problem,” and condemned Beijing for weaponising its near-monopoly on rare earth minerals. She accused China of distorting global markets and undermining Western manufacturing.
China has since hit back. The country’s official spokesperson said, “We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to those baseless and biased remarks that reflect double standards.” Read more at Euronews
UK Politics Meets Women’s Realities
Westminster is drawing a harder line on women’s safety and autonomy. Lawmakers are pushing to ban so-called “pimping websites” that profit off prostitution and fuel trafficking—arguing the law hasn’t kept up with tech. Read more in The Guardian
At the same time, Parliament has voted to stop prosecuting women for late-term abortions, marking a shift in how the justice system treats reproductive rights. Different fronts, same message: the UK is inching toward policy that puts protection over punishment. Read more at NPR
Italy’s Female CEO Crisis
Italy’s top stock exchange official, Claudia Parzani, has sounded the alarm — the number of female CEOs at listed companies in the country has dropped to a record low. Calling it a cultural problem the business world can no longer ignore, she stressed the need to focus on the “human factor” in an AI-driven era. Read more in Fortune
Movers & Shakers
As we highlighted in a previous edition of The Chief Brief, Britain’s intelligence agency was evaluating who should be chosen its new boss and the final result wasn’t the name doing the rounds in newsrooms.
🇬🇧 Blaise Metreweli, a seasoned intelligence officer, is the UK intelligence agency MI6’s first female chief. She has led MI6’s tech innovation team (“Q”) and served across the Middle East and Europe and will succeed Richard Moore this autumn, under the codename “C.”
🇮🇹 Maria Grazia Chiuri creative director for LVMH-owned Christian Dior Couture, is leaving the brand after nine years in post.
🇬🇧 Jessica Nesbitt has been appointed CEO of Online gifting and fashion marketplace NotOnTheHighStreet.com She was previously the company’s Chief Growth Officer.
🇸🇳 Aminata Kane has been appointed as Senior VP for West and Central Africa for Visa. She will lead efforts to expand financial inclusion and digital payments.
🇺🇸 Kyle Snook is the new CEO of Axia Women’s Health, one of the largest independent women’s health groups in the United States. (We assume a suitable woman to lead women’s health could not be found & wish Kyle the best).
The strongest signals are often buried in soft language or dismissed as minor moments. That’s why we brief you. So when the story breaks big, you already knew where it started.