Russian Media: Wagner Chief to Face Criminal Charges |
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the private military company Wagner Group, still faces armed insurrection charges following an attempted rebellion by Wagner fighters over the weekend, according to Russian state media. The news contradicts a previous Kremlin statement that the charges would be dropped. Russia’s military released a video (FT) of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting Russian troops at an unknown location, and the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin held calls with the leaders of Iran and Qatar, who voiced support for his decisions on the matter. Western leaders held talks after the weekend’s events, with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying the rebellion showed that the “war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and affecting its political system.”
After Wagner fighters took over an army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, they withdrew as part of an apparent deal between Prigozhin and the Kremlin, though its terms were not immediately clear to the public. In a Saturday address, Putin condemned the mutiny (Reuters) as a “stab in the back.”
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“At a minimum, the rebellion does nothing to lift the already-low morale of frontline Russian soldiers or improve the unity of command of the military operation. It will inevitably distract attention of Russia’s senior leaders from the war effort—and not only in the short-term,” CFR expert Thomas Graham writes.
“Over the past 16 months much of the American and European foreign policy conversation has focused on how to counter Russian strength or at least aggression. Going forward the conversation needs to be expanded to cover Russian weakness and its potential consequences, including but not limited to the security of nuclear weapons,” CFR President Richard Haass writes on Substack.
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Western Companies Silo Operations in China Amid Rising U.S.-China Tensions |
Firms such as Lixil, Salesforce, and Volkswagen are reorganizing their business models in China to protect operations against potential fallout from tensions between Washington and Beijing, the Wall Street Journal reported. Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital recently said it would fully divide its U.S. and China businesses by March 2024. This timeline traces U.S.-China relations.
North Korea: More than 120,000 people participated in rallies (Yonhap) in the capital, Pyongyang, yesterday, to mark the seventy-third anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, state media reported. Though it began with North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in 1950, the demonstrators said the war stemmed from U.S. aggression.
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Modi Becomes First Indian Premier to Conduct State Visit to Egypt in Two Decades |
In Cairo over the weekend, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi elevated their countries’ ties (AP) to a strategic partnership involving increased cooperation and discussed plans to double bilateral trade within five years.
Bangladesh/India/Nepal: The three countries are preparing to sign a deal in the coming weeks to facilitate cross-border power trading (Nikkei) that allows Bangladesh to draw on India’s electricity grid to import hydroelectricity from Nepal.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Russian Air Strikes in Syria Kill At Least Nine People |
Among the spots targeted on Sunday was a large vegetable market in the northwestern Idlib region. At least nine civilians were killed (Al Jazeera) and more than thirty-four wounded in the attacks, the Syria Civil Defence said.
Saudi Arabia: An estimated two million Muslims began the annual Hajj pilgrimage (AP) today as it is restored to its full size for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Sierra Leone Tallies Election Results After Vote Marked by Violence |
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Greek Election Gives Conservatives Legislative Majority |
Kyriakos Mitsotakis will form a government (AP) for a second four-year term after his conservative New Democracy party won a significant majority of Parliament in Sunday’s vote. A previous election in May left New Democracy short of a majority, and Mitsotakis opted to redo the election rather than form a coalition government. |
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Guatemala Presidential Election Heads to August Runoff |
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Biden to Outline Broadband Internet Investment Plans |
President Joe Biden is expected to announce details today (AP) on how the administration will deploy billions of dollars to strengthen broadband internet access for U.S. households and small businesses. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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