One week, three arenas: North Korea raises the tension bar
Pyongyang toughens its tone against Japan and deepens aid to Russia. Pro-Palestinian candidate defeated an AIPAC candidate in Michigan. And the content creator murdered during a live broadcast in Mexico. Global Zoom.
The "Global Zoom" section of Globes presents every Thursday the stories making headlines around the world, from the most important news to those that may have flown under the radar. This time: the candidate that AIPAC tried to block recorded a victory in Michigan, and the new victims of the heat wave in the East.
North Korea
One week, three arenas: Kim Jong Un increases tension in the world
It was an especially busy week for North Korea. During it, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned on Wednesday that Pyongyang would adopt "additional military options" in response to a Tomahawk cruise missile test conducted by Japan in the Pacific Ocean. "We need to make them regret it," she said. She accused the Japanese military of abandoning a "defensive stance" and also pointed arrows at Washington, claiming it is "behind the Japanese military buildup" by supplying missiles, modifying vessels, and supporting tests.
The statement did not come in a vacuum. Since July, the country's state news agency has published at least six editorials and commentaries condemning the security cooperation between the USA, South Korea, and Japan, presenting it as a threat to regional security. Kim condemned Japan's participation in a joint military exercise led by the USA in the Philippines last May, as part of a broader pattern of Japanese-American military activity that Pyongyang defines as a threat.
And the words do not remain only on paper. The South Korean military reported on Thursday that North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea, east of the country.
If that were not enough, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official revealed to Reuters that a North Korean missile unit — including about 90 personnel — has begun to establish itself in western Russia, as part of an expected supply of 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for the war effort against Ukraine. Pyongyang has already sent a group of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles, and according to the same official, this is the first time since August 2025 that Russia has used North Korean ballistic missiles in an attack — when just last week, such a missile destroyed a residential house in the village of Radushna and killed five members of one family.
Alongside the missile unit, about 9,500 North Korean soldiers are currently stationed in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, although they are not currently involved directly in the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed last month that the Kremlin is seeking 30,000 additional North Korean soldiers, and that Russia is already preparing infrastructure to receive them.
USA
The pro-Palestinian candidate who is shaking the Democrats
Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor of Egyptian descent, won the Democratic nomination for the Senate from Michigan — a victory considered a direct blow to the American pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. El-Sayed won by a narrow margin of only one percent over his rival, Congresswoman Haley Stevens.
AIPAC contributed more than 30 million dollars to Stevens' campaign, which totaled about 60 million dollars. The rest of the money was raised by pro-Israel groups that sought to block El-Sayed. But in the end, the money was not enough: El-Sayed, who calls Israel's actions in Gaza "genocide" and calls to divert resources from conflicts in the Middle East to health and infrastructure in the USA, recorded a victory in the close race.
The result has significance that goes beyond Michigan itself. It is a swing state that voted for Donald Trump in 2024, and El-Sayed's victory there reflects a broader trend of change, both in public opinion in the state and in American public opinion in general.
The reactions to the result arrived quickly from both directions: Stevens herself hurried to support the competitor who defeated her, and was joined by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senator Gary Peters, both of whom supported her in the primaries. On the other hand, Trump attacked on social media and called El-Sayed a "communist loser who hates Jews."
Now El-Sayed's face is turned to the general elections in November against the Republican candidate Mike Rogers — a race that may affect the balance of power in the Senate. If he wins, El-Sayed will become the first Muslim senator in American history. "Mike — we are coming," he declared in his victory speech, while calling on his supporters to close ranks: "Let's build a movement that is bigger and stronger."
Mexico
In front of 600,000 followers in a live broadcast: the murder that is shocking Mexico
A Mexican content creator, with more than 600,000 followers on social media, was shot to death on Tuesday evening while filming a video in a live broadcast — an event that was documented in real time.
Cesar Gastelum, a well-known comedian on TikTok, was shot outside a fast-food restaurant in the city of Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. During the broadcast he was filming, two people riding a motorcycle approached Gastelum and his friends, and after minutes the driver shot directly at him.
The local authorities defined the incident as a "targeted attack" and announced that an investigation had been opened. The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, linked the murder to the ongoing violence in the city, which serves as an arena of confrontation between criminal organizations. "The authorities are investigating the incident with the goal of arresting those responsible and understanding what is the reason for this shocking murder," said Sheinbaum.
Mexico's security cabinet reported that investigators are examining several lines of investigation, including the victim's online posts — some of which, according to the report, referred directly to criminal organizations. The authorities are also checking security camera footage and other evidence in the area in an attempt to identify those involved and arrest them.
Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, is known as a center of activity for local cartels, and in recent months has experienced a severe wave of violence against the background of power struggles between criminal organizations. The case joins a growing list of content creators and public figures who have been harmed in Mexico, and raises questions again about the security of public figures in the country.
Japan
Not only humans: the extreme heat is claiming new victims
The deadly heat wave that is visiting East Asia claimed victims this week among animals as well. The Tama Zoological Park, located in the city of Hino in the greater Tokyo metropolis, was forced to close its gates to tourists, after some of the lions began to show health problems — loss of appetite and fatigue — following the heavy heat that has visited the country recently. The staff tried to cool the animals using water spraying and industrial fans, and even gave them intravenous fluids.
However, out of ten lions that received treatment, three did not survive. The three showed signs of severe dehydration, signs pointing to heat stress as the leading factor, although final autopsy results have not yet been published.
Japan is experiencing these days an especially extreme heat wave. In some areas, temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius were recorded for at least five consecutive days at the end of July — the longest sequence ever recorded in the country.
