I’m in Turkey. Which means I’m standing on the territory of one of the three signatories, close enough to watch the dust settle on the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement - except the dust isn’t settling. The clouds are forming.
Three things this week.
First, Mecca. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey. It’s being sold as a security pact. It’s really a piece of geopolitical ballet - and I’ll take you through who’s leading, who’s merely being lifted, and who’s watching very carefully from the wings.
Second, our lead investigation: VFS Global. One detail buried in the reporting deserves far more attention than it’s getting - the declaration that China processing is now done in-house. I’ll tell you why that line matters, and why nobody in Ottawa appears remotely curious about it.
And third, Ukraine. Escalation on one side, a thinning American defensive-weapons pipeline on the other. Don’t be surprised to see Kyiv fall into a defence alliance of its own - or lead the building of one. The Mecca template isn’t going to stay in Mecca.
Connecting the dots so you don’t have to. Let’s get into it.
The full video briefing - including what the VFS Global China disclosure actually tells us, and why I think Kyiv ends up leading a bloc rather than joining one - is for World Briefing Plus members.
