News Wire | May 2023 Archive

Sirens and Chaos Rattle Seoul After False Evacuation Alarm

By  Choe Sang-Hun, Victoria Kim and Jin Yu Young | The New York Times (free)

For a half an hour on Wednesday morning, confusion and panic swept across Seoul as news spread that North Korea had fired a rocket. Then, the next wave of messages hit: The South’s home ministry issued a notice saying the earlier alert was a “false alarm.”

Ukraine and Allies Plan Peace Summit Without Russia

By Bojan Pancevski, Laurence Norman and James Marson | The Wall Street Journal

Ukraine and its allies are planning a summit of global leaders that would exclude Russia, aimed at garnering support for Kyiv’s terms for ending the war, according to a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser and European diplomats.

Brazilian President's Support of Venezuela's Leader Mars Unity at South America Summit

By Carla Bridi and Diane Jeantet | Associated Press (free)

The Brazilian president’s strong support of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader marred the unity Tuesday at a South American summit that Brazil convened in hopes of reviving a bloc of the region’s 12 politically polarized countries.

More from WPR: Venezuela’s Crisis Will Put Latin America’s ‘New Left’ to the Test

West Steps Up Pressure on Turkey to Admit Sweden Into NATO

By Richard Milne, Adam Samson and Felicia Schwartz | Financial Times (free)

Western countries are increasing pressure on Turkey to admit Sweden to Nato, as Stockholm makes a final push to overcome Ankara’s opposition to its membership.

More from WPR: Sweden and Finland’s NATO Bids Hit a Roadblock Named Erdogan

Sudanese Army Suspends Ceasefire Talks, Diplomatic Source Says

By Khalid Abdelaziz | Reuters (registration required)

Sudan's army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and aid access, a Sudanese diplomatic source said, raising fears the six-week-old conflict will push Africa's third largest nation deeper into a humanitarian crisis.

Five Members of Palestinian Militant Group Killed in Blast on Lebanese-Syrian Border

Reuters (registration required)

Five members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group were killed in a blast overnight near Lebanon's border with Syria, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, with the group blaming Israel. But an Israeli source told Reuters the Israeli military was not involved in the Syria-Lebanon border blast and Lebanon's army declined to comment.

More from WPR: Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians Has Fallen Off the Agenda

North Korea Says It Will Try Again ‘Soon’ to Launch Spy Satellite

By Min Joo Kim | The Washington Post

North Korea said it would launch another rocket carrying a military spy satellite “as soon as possible,” after admitting Wednesday’s attempt had failed in midflight due to “serious” defects.

Ukraine War Comes to Moscow as Drones Strike Both Capitals

By Guy Faulconbridge and Pavel Polityuk | Reuters

Ukrainian drones struck wealthy districts of Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said in what one politician called the most dangerous attack since World War Two, while Kyiv was also hit by air for the third time in 24 hours.

China Rebuffs Pentagon Chief, Blunting Push for Rapprochement

By Nancy A. Youssef | The Wall Street Journal

China has rebuffed a U.S. request for a meeting between their defense chiefs on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore this weekend, the Pentagon said Monday, showing the limits of a tentative rapprochement between the two rival powers.

More from WPR: The U.S. and China Take Another Stab at Thawing Relations

South America’s Leaders Meet in Brazil to Discuss Greater Regional Cooperation

Associated Press

South America’s leaders were gathering Tuesday in Brazil’s capital as part of an effort by the Brazilian president to revive regional cooperation in energy, crime-fighting and the economy. The regional bloc previously known as Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, first gathered 15 years ago to boost cooperation between the 12 South American nations

More from WPR: In Brazil, Lula’s Global Focus Is Distracting Him From Regional Opportunities

Kosovo’s NATO-Led Peacekeepers Beef Up Positions After Clashes With Ethnic Serbs

By Zenel Zhinipotoku and Llazar Semini | Associated Press

Troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo on Tuesday placed metal fences and barbed wire barriers to beef up positions in a northern town following clashes with ethnic Serbs there that left 30 international soldiers wounded.

Ugandan President Signs Anti-Gay Law That Includes Death Penalty as a Punishment

By Abdi Latif Dahir | The New York Times

The president of Uganda signed a punitive anti-gay bill on Monday that includes the death penalty, enshrining into law an intensifying crackdown against L.G.B.T.Q. people in the conservative East African nation and dismissing widespread calls not to impose one of the world’s most restrictive anti-gay measures.

More from WPR: For Uganda, the ‘Day After Museveni’ Looms With Peril

Erdogan Continues Divisive Rhetoric Following Victory

By Kareem Fahim | The Washington Post

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sang and smiled, reveling in the applause of the supporters he addressed Sunday after the toughest election of his long career. In victory, though, instead of soothing the nation, he lashed out at a familiar set of villains, in remarks that may set the tone for his next term.

More from WPR: Turkey's European Story Is Likely Over

China’s Fading Recovery Reveals Deeper Economic Struggles

By Stella Yifan Xie and Jason Douglas | The Wall Street Journal

China’s era of rapid growth is over. Its recovery from zero-Covid is stalling. And now the country is facing deep, structural problems in its economy.

U.S. and China Address Trade Tensions in Rare High-Level Washington Meeting

By Joe Leahy & James Politi | Financial Times

China’s commerce minister and his U.S. counterpart have raised concerns about their countries’ trade and investment policies at a meeting in Washington but pledged to keep channels of communication open in the first visit by a senior Chinese official to the U.S. capital since 2020.

More from WPR: Rising or Falling, China Is a Serious but Manageable Competitor

Erdogan Defies Predictions of Political Demise Ahead of Turkey Election Runoff

By Can Sezer & Jonathan Spicer | Reuters

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defied forecasts of his political demise in Turkey’s elections, rallying voters with a potent mix of religious conservatism and nationalism that looks set to propel his rule into a third decade Sunday.

More from WPR: Turkey’s European Story Is Likely Over

Oath Keepers Leader Rhodes Gets 18 Years for Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy

By Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman & Spencer S. Hsu | The Washington Post

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday in the first punishment to be handed down for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

More from WPR: How Trump Inaugurated a ‘Golden Age of Domestic Extremism’

Peru’s Congress Deems Mexican Leader Unwelcome, Regional Split Deepens

By Marco Aquino | Reuters

Lawmakers in Peru voted Thursday to declare Mexico’s leftist president unwelcome in the South American country, citing what they described as his meddling in Peru’s internal affairs and marking a deepening diplomatic split in the region.

More from WPR: Peru’s Political Crisis Is Reawakening Echoes of Its Civil Conflict

Portugal Paves Way to a Huawei Ban on Country’s 5G Network

By Anna Gross & Barney Jopson | Financial Times

The Portuguese government has set the stage for a ban on Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G network in what would be a policy U-turn that delivers a severe blow to the Chinese company’s ambitions in Europe.

Fulgence Kayishema: Rwanda Genocide Suspect Appears in South African Court

By Wendell Roelf | Reuters

Former Rwandan police officer Fulgence Kayishema, accused of ordering the killing of some 2,000 Tutsis who were seeking refuge in a church during the 1994 genocide, appeared briefly in a South African court Friday and was remanded in custody.

Belgium, Iran Conduct Prisoner Swap in Oman, Freeing Aid Worker and Diplomat Convicted in Bomb Plot

By Jon Gambrell | Associated Press (free)

Belgium and Iran conducted a prisoner exchange Friday in Oman, with officials saying Tehran released a Belgian aid worker in exchange for an Iranian diplomat convicted of attempting to bomb a meeting of exiles in France.

India’s Northeast Racked by Ethnic Unrest Partly Fueled by Myanmar Crisis

By Anant Gupta & Karishma Mehrotra | The Washington Post

The capital of India’s Manipur state, Imphal, until very recently boasted shiny showrooms featuring international brands and hosted delegates from the world’s wealthiest countries for Group of 20 meetings, showing this border province as part of a prosperous, new business-minded India on the rise. Now it is a city of blackened and abandoned buildings and is filled with soldiers, relief workers and the displaced.

Canada and Saudi Arabia Normalize Diplomatic Relations After 2018 Split

By Steve Scherer | Reuters

Canada and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and appoint new ambassadors, both countries said Wednesday, bringing to a close a 2018 dispute that damaged relations and trade.

More from WPR: The Saudi Arabia Dispute Highlights Canada’s Rights-Based Foreign Policy

Prigozhin Says His Forces Have Begun Withdrawing From Bakhmut

By Ivan Nechepurenko | The New York Times

Days after declaring victory in Bakhmut, the Wagner private military company has started to withdraw its fighters from the ruined city in eastern Ukraine and will be replaced by regular Russian troops, the group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a video released Thursday.

More from WPR: For Putin and Russia, the Wagner Group Could Be a Recipe for Disaster

Ukrainians Were Likely Behind Kremlin Drone Attack, U.S. Officials Say

By Julian E. Barnes, Adam Entous, Eric Schmitt & Anton Troianovski | The New York Times

U.S. officials said the drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was likely orchestrated by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units, the latest in a series of covert actions against Russian targets that have unnerved the Biden administration.

Bolivia’s Catholic Church Acknowledges Being ‘Deaf’ to Sex Abuse Victims

Carlos Valdez | Associated Press (free)

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia acknowledged Wednesday that the church had been deaf to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse, commenting as a pedophilia scandal involving priests is rocking the country.

Germany Enters Recession in Blow to Europe’s Economy

By Paul Hannon | The Wall Street Journal

Germany slipped into recession during the first three months of the year, as households cut spending in response to sharply higher prices for energy and food.

Guinea’s Suppression of Protests Stokes Anger as Junta Loses Shine

By Saliou Samb & Souleymane Camara | Reuters

With the acrid smell of burning tires hanging in the air, Conakry resident Mariame Diallo pointed to blood splatters on a wall where she said her teenage brother was shot at close range during a protest against Guinea’s military government on May 11.

Iran Unveils Latest Version of Ballistic Missile Amid Wider Tensions Over Nuclear Program

By Jon Gambrell & Mehdi Fattahi | Associated Press (free)

Iran unveiled on Thursday what it called the latest iteration of its liquid-fueled Khorramshahr ballistic missile amid wider tensions with the West over its nuclear program.

Top Cambodian Opposition Party Loses Appeal Over Registration, Barred From Contesting July Elections

By Sopheng Cheang | Associated Press (free)

Cambodia’s top opposition party was barred Thursday from participating in elections set for July after the Constitutional Council refused to overturn a decision not to register the party over a paperwork issue.

More from WPR: Hun Sen Is Tightening His Grip Ahead of Cambodia’s Elections