News Wire | June 2022 Archive
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Companies in China Are Aiding Russia’s Military, U.S. Alleges
By Jeanne Whalen | The Washington Post
The United States has accused several companies and research institutes in China of supporting Russia’s military after the Ukraine invasion began, in one of the first concrete signs of Chinese entities allegedly helping Russia against Washington’s wishes.
Joe Biden’s Administration Offers Support for Turkish F-16 Deal
By Felicia Schwartz & Laura Pitel | Financial Times
President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed public support for Turkey’s purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets after Ankara dropped its objections to Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO.
Mali Vows to Defy U.N. Call for Peacekeepers to Investigate Abuses
By The Editors | Reuters (free)
Mali says it will defy a United Nations Security Council call for it to allow freedom of movement for peacekeepers to investigate human rights abuses.
U.N. Envoy Warns Congo’s M23 Rebels Are Acting Like an Army
By Edith M. Lederer | Associated Press (free)
The U.N. special envoy for Congo warned Wednesday that the M23 rebel group has increasingly acted as a conventional army during escalating military action in the country’s volatile east and could threaten the U.N. peacekeeping force charged with protecting civilians.
Sudan’s Internet Access Disrupted Ahead of Anti-Coup Rallies
By AP Editors | Associated Press (free)
An advocacy group says Sudanese authorities disrupted internet access Thursday, ahead of scheduled mass protests denouncing last year’s military coup and demanding the immediate transfer of power to civilians.
Colombia’s Petro Picks Jose Antonio Ocampo as Finance Minister
By The Editors | Reuters
Colombia’s leftist President-elect Gustavo Petro said Thursday he had picked Jose Antonio Ocampo to be finance minister in his government when he begins his term in August.
Chile’s New Leftist President Gets Reality Check as Support Wanes
By Alexander Villegas | Reuters
The optimism engulfing Chile’s leftist President Gabriel Boric as he took power in March has dimmed as inflation, social unrest and political missteps dent his popularity and fuel doubts about a push to steer the economy away from market-friendly policies.
Marcos Jr. Sworn In as Philippine Leader in Resurgence of Ex-Dictator’s Family
By Regine Cabato | The Washington Post
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Emmanuel Marcos, was sworn in to office Thursday, sealing a family comeback that was decades in the making.
China’s Leader Hails a Hong Kong ‘Reborn from Ashes’ Amid Crackdown
By Alexandra Stevenson, Zixu Wang & Austin Ramzy | The New York Times
Since the pandemic erupted in 2020, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has been hunkered down in a virus-free bubble within his country’s closed borders. On Thursday, he left the safe confines of the mainland for the first time, arriving in Hong Kong for a tightly scripted visit aimed at reinforcing his authority over the city.
Those 300,000 High-Readiness NATO Troops? ‘Concept,’ Not Reality
By Michael Birnbaum & Emily Rauhala | The Washington Post (free)
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to put 300,000 troops at high readiness as part of the “biggest overhaul of our collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War.” By Wednesday, as NATO leaders gathered at a summit in Madrid, the vast new mobilization appeared to be more fearsome on paper than in reality, more of an aspiration than a dramatic new commitment to defend Europe.
Twenty Men Convicted in November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attack
By Constant Méheut & Aurelien Breeden | The New York Times
Twenty men were convicted Wednesday for their roles in the worst Islamist terrorist attack in French history, a coordinated spree of shootings and bombings in November 2015 that killed 130 people in and near Paris and injured more than 500, leaving lasting scars on the nation’s psyche.
Israel Heads to Nov. 1 Election With Lapid as Caretaker PM
By James Mackenzie | Reuters
Israeli lawmakers voted Thursday to dissolve parliament following the collapse of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s ruling coalition, opening the way for a Nov. 1 election that will be Israel’s fifth in less than four years.
Israeli Military, Palestinians Clash at West Bank Shrine
By AP Editors | Associated Press (free)
Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers Thursday at a flashpoint holy site in the occupied West Bank, wounding an Israeli military officer and two civilians, the Israeli army said.
Trump Sought to Lead Armed Mob to Capitol on Jan. 6, Aide Says
By Mike DeBonis & Jacqueline Alemany | The Washington Post
A former White House official revealed explosive new details Tuesday about President Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, telling Congress that he knew his supporters were carrying weapons, insisted on personally leading the armed mob to the Capitol, physically assailed the senior Secret Service agent who told him it was not possible, expressed support for the hanging of his own vice president, and mused about pardoning the rioters.
Citing Russia Threat, Biden to Ramp Up U.S. Forces in Europe
By Andrea Shalal & Inti Landauro | Reuters
The United States will create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland and deploy additional land, air and sea forces across the length and breadth of Europe in response to threats from Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Sudan Army Shells Disputed Border With Ethiopia
By Dawit Endashaw | Reuters
Sudan’s armed forces fired heavy artillery during clashes in a disputed eastern region bordering Ethiopia, an Ethiopian official said, the latest salvo in a long-running feud over their shared border.
African Union Urges Calm in Ethiopia-Sudan Border Dispute
By AP Editors | Associated Press (free)
The African Union says it is deeply concerned by “the escalating military tension” between Ethiopia and Sudan after seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian were killed in a border dispute.
Colombia Panel’s Report Is a Step Toward Mending a Civil War’s Scars
By The Editors | The New York Times
A special truth commission criticized Colombia’s security forces and the United States for their role in a half-century conflict that left at least 450,000 people dead.
Ecuador’s Lasso Survives Bid to Oust Him, Ends Talks With Indigenous Leader
By Alexandra Valencia | Reuters
Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, survived an attempt by opposition lawmakers to oust him Tuesday after he insisted his government will not negotiate further with an Indigenous leader to end more than two weeks of protests.
Philippines Orders Rappler to Shut Down
By Sui-Lee Wee | The New York Times
The Philippine government has again ordered that Rappler, the news website co-founded by Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, be shut down for violating foreign ownership rules, the latest blow against press freedom in the country.
Hindu Man Killed as Religious Tensions Boil in India
By Sheikh Saaliq & Krutika Pathi | Associated Press (free)
Tensions were high Wednesday in the western Indian city of Udaipur, a day after police arrested two Muslim men accused of slitting a Hindu tailor’s throat and posting a video of it on social media, in a brutal attack representing a dramatic escalation of communal violence in a country riven by deep religious polarization.
Turkey Agrees to Allow Sweden and Finland to Join NATO
By Steven Erlanger & Michael D. Shear | The New York Times
NATO leaders will formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance Wednesday after Turkey lifted its veto on their membership, NATO’s secretary-general said Tuesday evening, clearing the way for what would be one of the most significant expansions of the alliance in decades.
Near Kherson, Ukrainians Regain Territory in Major Counteroffensive
By Isabelle Khurshudyan | The Washington Post
At a school where Russian forces had set up a base in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, three of their armored personnel carriers remained on the property—for now. They were damaged when Ukraine’s military recently forced the occupying soldiers back from this area. Over the weekend, three locals hammered at one vehicle to salvage spare parts.
Iran Report: Nuclear Talks With U.S. End Without Deal in Qatar
By AP Editors | Associated Press (free)
Indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers have ended without breaking a deadlock over the talks, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported Wednesday.
Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Militant in West Bank Raid
By AP Editors | Associated Press (free)
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian militant early Wednesday in the occupied West Bank during clashes that broke out during an arrest raid, Palestinian officials said.
Sudan Recalls Envoy to Ethiopia After Execution of Seven Soldiers
By The Editors | Al Jazeera
Sudan will summon back its ambassador to Ethiopia immediately for consultations following the killing of seven Sudanese soldiers being held captive by its’ neighbor’s military, the foreign ministry has said.
U.S. Strike Kills Yemeni Al-Qaida-Linked Commander in Syria
By Bassem Mroue | Associated Press
A drone strike by the U.S.-led coalition in northwestern Syria killed a senior member of an al-Qaida-linked group, Syrian opposition activists and the U.S. military said Tuesday.
U.S. Officials Back in Venezuela in a Bid to Rebuild Ties
By Regina Garcia Cano & Joshua Goodman | Associated Press
Senior U.S. government officials have quietly traveled to Caracas in the latest bid to bring home detained Americans and rebuild relations with the South American oil giant as the war in Ukraine drags on, forcing the U.S. to recalibrate other foreign policy objectives.
China’s Pivotal Role Under Scrutiny as Zambia Seeks Debt Relief
By Jonathan Wheatley, Joseph Cotterill & Sun Yu | Financial Times
Within months of his election last year, Zambia’s president, Hakainde Hichilema, had succeeded in negotiating a $1.4 billion IMF bailout for the debt-stricken southern African country. But hammering out a deal with all its creditors, chief among them China, could take much longer.
G-7 Leaders Promise $4.5 Billion to Address Global Hunger Caused by War in Ukraine
By Michael D. Shear | The New York Times
The United States and its Group of 7 allies Tuesday pledged to spend $4.5 billion this year to help ensure food security around the globe, seeking to counter global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Resistance Builds in Tunisia as Populist Leader Seeks More Power
By Claire Parker | The Washington Post
A year after Tunisian President Kais Saied’s power grab upended the country’s fledgling democracy forged from the Arab Spring, opposition to him is growing as he prepares a constitutional referendum to solidify his one-man rule.
U.S. and G-7 Allies Detail Infrastructure Plan to Challenge China
By Alex Leary & Tarini Parti | The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. and allies Sunday laid out plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in developing countries in an attempt to challenge autocracies and address a similar program by China.
U.S. and Allies Launch Initiative to Help Pacific Island Nations
By Demetri Sevastopulo | Financial Times
The U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Japan have launched a fresh initiative to help Pacific Island nations, in an effort to increase their presence in a maritime region that is increasingly targeted by China.
South Africa Reels From Mysterious Deaths of at Least 21 in Nightclub
By Jennifer Hassan | The Washington Post
Police in South Africa are investigating the deaths of at least 21 young people whose bodies were found inside a nightclub in the city of East London over the weekend—with no immediately apparent cause
Ecuador President Announces Fuel Price Cut Amid Days of Protests
By The Editors | Al Jazeera (free)
Ecuador’s president has announced a cut in petrol prices amid two weeks of anti-government protests against the soaring cost of living in the country.