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Atlantic Council

Washington-based think tank researching international affairs, security, and geopolitics through specialized centers on China, energy, and strategy.

Known aliases

  • atlanticcouncil.org
  • Global China Hub
  • Global Energy Center
  • Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Current stories

investConfirmed5 publishers

Trump says he ordered staff to work up a ban on 1.6 million barrels a day of diesel exports

Diesel at $6.53 a gallon is a political problem for Trump. The remedy under discussion would hold a record 1.6 million barrels a day at home, in a market where the world price still sets the US price.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 6%
Operator
Operator 34%
Investor
Investor 60%

Reality

Evidence72
Adoption
Insufficient
Hype gap+30
Incentives70
Confidence62
securityConfirmed7 publishers

Star Blizzard now sends its Ukraine lures from hacked WordPress and cPanel sites

Microsoft says Star Blizzard has sent fake event invitations to more than 100 organizations since January, many from hacked WordPress and cPanel sites. The group, long known for stealing email passwords, now uses the messages to install a Windows backdoor.

Perspective Coverage

8 publishers
Builder
Builder 28%
Operator
Operator 62%
Investor
Investor 10%

Reality

Evidence66
Adoption35
Hype gap+18
Incentives35
Confidence70
buildOne report1 publisher

Star Blizzard now delivers the CosmicPulse backdoor through fake event invitations

Microsoft says Russia's FSB-linked Star Blizzard sent fake event invitations to more than 100 organizations since January 2026. The lures pose as Chatham House and Atlantic Council events and carry a new Python backdoor, CosmicPulse, aimed at people working on Ukraine.

Publishers:dev.to

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption
Insufficient
Hype gap+20
Incentives
Insufficient
Confidence62
investConfirmed5 publishers

Greenland's basing deal trades at nearly thirteen times the odds of a US acquisition

Prediction markets have lifted the odds on a September 23 signing from 64% to 75% while still pricing a US acquisition of Greenland at 5.9%, and the agreement itself leaves sovereignty with Denmark pending a parliamentary vote.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 9%
Operator
Operator 57%
Investor
Investor 34%

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption
Insufficient
Hype gap+30
Incentives60
Confidence58
investConfirmed4 publishers

Saudi Arabia's central bank exits mBridge after a single proof of concept

SAMA says it finished the proof of concept it joined to run and stopped there. The platform it left has cleared more than $55bn, a 2,500-fold rise that works back to roughly $22m of traffic in 2022.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 28%
Operator
Operator 39%
Investor
Investor 33%

Reality

Evidence72
Adoption35
Hype gap+30
Incentives50
Confidence65
investConfirmed3 publishers

SAMA leaves mBridge eleven months after upgrading to full participant

The Saudi central bank spent about two years on China's CBDC settlement rail without committing to it. The four central banks still on mBridge now take a platform with roughly $55.5bn of volume toward commercial rollout, and the BIS is gone.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 19%
Operator
Operator 38%
Investor
Investor 43%

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption58
Hype gap+20
Incentives55
Confidence66
investConfirmed3 publishers

Riyadh missile attack adds half a point to the priced odds of a US invasion of Iran

Trump left Camp David early on Saturday after the first missile reached Riyadh since hostilities resumed. The contract on a US invasion of Iran by the end of 2026 went from 16 percent to 16.5 percent YES, a relative move of about 3 percent.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 10%
Operator
Operator 43%
Investor
Investor 47%

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Insufficient
Hype gap+30
Incentives70
Confidence55