News Wire | July 2023 Archive
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Russia Bombards Ukraine Port After Bridge Attack and Grain Deal Collapse
By Marc Santora, Ivan Nechepurenko and Matthew Mpoke Bigg | The New York Times
Explosions thundered above Odesa, Ukraine's largest port, as Russia targeted it with missiles and drones before dawn on Tuesday, a day after an apparent Ukrainian strike damaged an important Russian bridge and the Kremlin halted a deal for safe passage of grain ships on the Black Sea.
More from WPR: The Global Food System Was Already Unsustainable Before the War in Ukraine
Honduras Wants to Build West's Only Island Prison Colony and Lock Gangsters Inside
By Marlon Gonzalez and Megan Janetsky | Associated Press
Honduras plans to build the only island prison colony in the Western Hemisphere and send its most-feared gangsters there, tearing a page from neighboring El Salvador’s unforgiving approach to murder, robbery, rape and extortion.
More from WPR: Latin America Likes Bukele’s ‘War on Gangs.’ That’s a Problem
UK's MI6 Boss Says Putin Under Pressure, Invites Russians to Spy for Britain
Michael Holden | Reuters
The head of Britain's MI6 foreign spy service said on Wednesday last month's mutiny by Russian mercenaries showed there were 'deep fractures' surrounding the Kremlin, and invited Russians appalled by the war in Ukraine to come spy for Britain.
South Africa Says Putin Agreed Not to Attend BRICS Summit
Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies in South Africa in August "by mutual agreement," South Africa's presidency said on Wednesday.
More from WPR: BRICS Is Aiding and Abetting Russia’s War in Ukraine
Israeli Protesters Block Highways, Train Stations as Netanyahu Moves Ahead With Judicial Reform
By Josef Federman | Associated Press
Tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.
More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State
In Central Asia, a Hidden Pipeline Supplies Russia With Banned Tech
By Joby Warrick | The Washington Post
Blocked from procuring military goods from Western countries, Moscow has increasingly looked for help from the former Soviet states of Central Asia, some of which are historically and financially bound to Russia but also trade extensively with Europe and China. Biden administration officials say they are particularly concerned about the role played by Kyrgyzstan.
More from WPR: Central Asia Is Keeping a Nervous Eye on Russia’s War in Ukraine
Thai Lawmakers Block Prime Minister Candidate From New Vote, Drawing Protests
By Mike Ives and Muktita Suhartono | The New York Times
Protesters launched demonstrations on Wednesday, hours after Thailand’s conservative establishment suspended a progressive leader and lawmakers denied him the chance to stand for a second parliamentary vote for prime minister.
More from WPR: Thailand’s Opposition Will Need More Than Votes to Win Upcoming Elections
Divisions Over the Ukraine War Cause Rift at EU-Latin America Summit
By Raf Casert | Associated Press
Ambassadors worked through much of the night and into Tuesday morning to find even the blandest text to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with talks hung up over the reservations of some Central and South American nations such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which was running the toughest opposition at the summit.
More from WPR: The EU Shouldn’t Let Ukraine Derail Ties With Latin America
US Nuclear Missile Submarine Visits S. Korea as Allies Talk War Planning
By Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith | Reuters
For the first time since the 1980s a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine visited South Korea on Tuesday, as the allies launched talks to coordinate their responses in the event of a nuclear war with North Korea.
More from WPR: The Challenge of a Nuclear North Korea
Under Lula, Amazon Deforestation is Declining. Can He Keep it Up?
By Marina Dias and Terrence McCoy | The Washington Post
Deforestation, while falling in the Amazon, is soaring in the neighboring savanna region called the Cerrado. And Lula’s own cabinet has been consumed by infighting over how aggressive the government should be in protecting the environment.
More from WPR: Lula Will Have Trouble Keeping His Promises on Protecting the Amazon
UK Government's Contested Illegal Immigration Plan to Become Law
By Kylie Maclellan and Andrew Macaskill | Reuters
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's highly contested plan to make it easier to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is set to become law after the government defeated attempts by parliament's upper house to make changes to the legislation.
More from WPR: Instead of Resettlement Schemes, Make Migration Easier
Sudan's Descent Into Violence Poses New Threat to Volatile Sahel Region
By Andres Schipani | Financial Times
Sudan’s descent into violence and the growing threat to Chad risks connecting the conflict zones into a vast corridor of instability that stretches from the Red Sea to the Atlantic. This would heap fresh misery on the inhabitants of some of the world’s poorest countries while threatening more prosperous west African states such as Ivory Coast and Togo.
More from WPR: Only a United Civilian Coalition Can Bring Peace to Sudan
Israel Recognizes Moroccan Sovereignty Over Western Sahara
Associated Press
Israel announced Monday it was recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, joining the United States as the only countries to acknowledge the kingdom’s annexation of the disputed north African territory.
Saudi Arabia Buys Turkish Drones During Erdogan Visit
By Aziz El Yaakoubi | Reuters
Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to buy Turkish drones in the biggest defence contract in Turkey's history as President Tayyip Erdogan reaped the benefits of his diplomatic push to repair ties with Gulf powers and help Ankara's struggling economy.
More from WPR: Turkey Has Become a Drone ‘Superpower.’ That Could Be a Problem
Dozens of Followers of Imran Khan Quit His Party and Launch Their Own Ahead of Elections
By Munir Ahmed | Associated Press
In a major blow to Pakistan’s former prime minister and top opposition leader Imran Khan, dozens of his followers quit his party on Monday to launch their own ahead of parliamentary elections expected later this year.
More from WPR: Khan Has Lost His War With Pakistan’s Army—for Now
Heat Wave Bakes Southern Europe, Sparking Warnings to Stay Inside
Associated Press
Italian health officials intensified heat warnings as southern Europe began a brutally hot week on Monday with temperatures expected to top 40 C — or 104 F — on a continent already overburdened by tourists.
More from WPR: The Uneven Global Response to Climate Change
Mexican President Leaks Purported Details of Political Rival's Finances
By Kylie Madry | Reuters
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday made public a document purporting to reveal the business dealings of a leading opposition politician vying to succeed him next year, prompting her to accuse him of abuse of power and threaten legal action.
More from WPR: AMLO’s Electoral ‘Reform’ Has Mexico in the Streets
Tunisia Agrees to Deal With EU to Tackle Mediterranean Migration Routes
By Laura Dubois and Heba Saleh | Financial Times
Tunisian president Kais Saied signed a memorandum of understanding with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the Dutch and Italian prime ministers, Mark Rutte and Giorgia Meloni, in Tunis on Sunday, including more than €100 million to strengthen border controls.
More from WPR: The Global North Is Closing Its Doors to Migration
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Launches Campaign With Promise of Prosperity
By Nyasha Chingono | Reuters
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa promised economic prosperity and an end to corruption as he launched his party's campaign on Sunday for national elections set for Aug. 23. Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), is running against 80-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has led the ruling Zanu-PF since a coup ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017.
More from WPR: The Deck Is Stacked Against Zimbabwe’s Opposition in Upcoming Elections
Iraqi PM Sudani, Syria's Assad Hold Talks on Security, Water in Damascus
By Timour Azhari | Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday in the first such visit by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011.
More from WPR: Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?
China’s Rebound Falters, Tripped Up by Debt and Weak Exports
By Keith Bradsher | The New York Times
China’s economy slowed markedly in the spring from earlier in the year, official numbers released on Monday showed, as exports tumbled, a real estate slump deepened and some debt-ridden local governments had to cut spending after running low on money.
Junta’s Allies Reject Thai Election Results, Derailing Top Opposition Figure
By Mike Ives and Muktita Suhartono | The New York Times
In May, Thai voters dealt a crushing blow to the ruling military junta by supporting a progressive party that challenged not only the generals but also the nation’s powerful monarchy. The generals and their allies responded on Thursday by rejecting the party’s leading candidate for prime minister, tipping the country into a political void and potentially thrusting it further toward autocracy.
More from WPR: Thailand’s Opposition Will Need More Than Votes to Win Upcoming Elections
Insurgent Party Can Stay on Guatemala’s Ballot, Election Agency Says
By Jody García, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Simon Romero | The New York Times
Guatemala’s electoral authority on Thursday rejected efforts by a top prosecutor to suspend the party of a surging anticorruption candidate, which would have upended the presidential election and dealt a severe blow to the country’s already fraying democracy.
More from WPR: Guatemala’s Election Could Sound Democracy’s Death Knell
UN Court Rejects Nicaragua's Case in a Long-Running Maritime Dispute With Colombia
By Mike Corder | Associated Press
The International Court of Justice dismissed Nicaragua’s bid to gain economic rights over an area of the Caribbean Sea that lies more than 200 nautical miles (230 statute miles, 370 kilometers) from its shores.
More from WPR: Competition and Cooperation in the Maritime Domain
Moldova's Interior Minister Resigns After Chisinau Airport Shootout
Reuters
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean accepted the resignation of the interior minister and two other ministers on Friday, two weeks after a deadly shootout at the country's main international airport.
Egypt, Ethiopia Agree to Talks on Giant Nile Dam
By Tarek El-Tablawy | Bloomberg
Egypt and Ethiopia agreed to start “urgent” talks about finalizing an agreement relating to filling and operating a Nile dam which officials in Cairo argue will sharply curtail the nation’s access to fresh water.
More from WPR: Despite Cordial Meeting, Egypt and Ethiopia Remain at Odds Over Nile Dam
Syria Authorizes U.N. Use of Border Crossing for Aid, Giving Itself Oversight
By Farnaz Fassihi | The New York Times
Syria announced on Thursday that it would give state approval for the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid into rebel-held northern areas through a contentious border crossing with Turkey, effectively giving President Bashar al-Assad’s government control over all aid deliveries to the northern areas of the country.
More from WPR: Assad Has Survived Syria’s Civil War. Syria Might Not
Blinken, China’s Top Diplomat Discuss Rivalry in Effort to Bolster Ties
By Michael Birnbaum and Meaghan Tobin | The Washington Post
The top diplomats of the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, held talks in Jakarta Thursday in the latest in a series of efforts to manage a burgeoning rivalry that has reached dramatic new heights in recent years.
More from WPR: The Global Order Might Be Big Enough for the U.S. and China