On July 24, 2025, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published a report (the report) describing a vast, illegal mercury trade running from Mexico down to Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, where the mercury is used to mine for gold. The report claims that around 200 tons of mercury have been trafficked south in contravention of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. EIA executive director Alexander von Bismarck said in a statement: “[t]he toxic flow of mercury to the illegal gold mines in the Amazon has been presented and accepted as inevitable for too many years; it is time to challenge this status quo that affects Amazonian communities and benefits organized criminals.”

On August 4, 2025, France extradited to the United States (U.S.) Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukuwu, also known as “Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo,” and “So Kwan Leung” on hacking, fraud, and identity theft charges. 

Amid intensifying geopolitical pressures and heightened regulatory scrutiny, leading research institutions are increasingly expected to navigate a complex landscape through robust governance, heightened transparency, and sustained institutional vigilance.

On August 5, 2025, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to United States (U.S.) Attorney General Pam Bondi, imploring her to crack down on “the rampant spread of illegal offshore gaming operations across the United States."

The Eastern District of Texas unsealed an indictment in 2024 charging a former Costa Rican government official with federal drug crimes, and is requesting his extradition back to the United States (U.S).

On July 30, 2025, United States President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 40% tariff on top of the baseline 10% tariff, bringing the total tariff amount to 50%. 

On July 25, 2025, the criminal section of the Cour de cassation, the highest-ranking court in France, annulled the arrest warrant, which had been issued against former President of Syria Bashar al-Assad for the criminal offence of chemical attacks, which allegedly took place  2013 and killed more than one thousand people.

The 2026 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup, set to run from June 11 to July 19, 2026, will be the most expansive tournament in FIFA’s history, expanding from thirty-two to forty-eight teams and spanning 104 matches across sixteen host cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States (U.S.).

On June 25, 2025, Ukraine and the Council of Europe (CoE) signed an agreement in Strasbourg to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (“Tribunal”).

On July 21, 2025, José Adolfo “Fito” Macías Villamar, principal leader of the transnational gang Los Choneros and an Ecuadoran national, was arraigned at Brooklyn’s federal court in New York City. This action comes a day after his extradition to the Eastern District of New York from Ecuador.