News Wire | June 2023 Archive
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Beijing Plans a New Training Facility in Cuba, Raising Prospect of Chinese Troops on America’s Doorstep
By Warren P. Strobel, Gordon Lubold, Vivian Salama and Michael R. Gordon | The Wall Street Journal (free)
China and Cuba are negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on the island, sparking alarm in Washington that it could lead to the stationing of Chinese troops and other security and intelligence operations just 100 miles off Florida’s coast, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Ukraine Downs Russian Drones but Some Get Through Due to Gaps in Air Protection
By Susie Blann | Associated Press (free)
Ukrainian air defenses downed 32 of 35 Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia early Tuesday, most of them in the Kyiv region, officials said, in a bombardment that exposed gaps in the country’s air protection after almost 16 months of war.
Guatemala Prepares to Vote After a Tumultuous Presidential Campaign
By Sonia Pérez D. | Associated Press (free)
This has been one of the most turbulent election seasons in Guatemala’s modern history. Some of the most popular aspirants will be on the sidelines in Sunday’s voting because electoral authorities and courts blocked some from running and cancelled the candidacies of others who were initially allowed to enter the race.
More from WPR: Change Isn’t on the Ballot in Guatemala’s Presidential Election
Mexican Presidential Hopefuls Kick Off Race to Succeed López Obrador
By Juan Montes | The Wall Street Journal
Early polls show that whoever is nominated by López Obrador’s leftist Movement for National Regeneration, or Morena, will be favored to win the presidency. The main contenders have pledged to continue the policies of the nationalist president, an agenda that has led to tensions with the U.S. over drug trafficking and trade disputes.
More from WPR: AMLO’s Electoral ‘Reform’ Has Mexico in the Streets
UN Complains Russia Blocks Aid Workers From Area of Ukraine Dam Collapse; Moscow Says It’s Unsafe
By Susie Blann | Associated Press (free)
The Kremlin’s spokesman said Monday that U.N. aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhovka dam collapse in southern Ukraine can’t go there because fighting in the war makes it unsafe.
Uganda School Massacre Signals Islamic State’s Growing Reach in Africa
By Nicholas Bariyo, Gabriele Steinhauser and Benoit Faucon | The Wall Street Journal
The massacre at Lhubiriha Secondary School, Uganda’s worst terrorist attack in more than a decade, is a grisly marker of how far militants of the Allied Democratic Forces have expanded the territory in which they operate.
More from WPR: How to Manage the Threat of an Expanding Islamic State in Africa
At Least 5 Palestinians Killed in Clashes After Israeli Raid in West Bank
By Isabel Kershner | The New York Times
An Israeli raid into the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank turned deadly on Monday, with at least five Palestinians killed in a gun battle, and Israeli helicopter gunships were sent into the area for the first time in decades to secure forces trying to extricate armored vehicles that had been disabled by a powerful roadside bomb.
More from WPR: Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians Has Fallen Off the Agenda
Biden Is Ready to Fete India’s Leader, Looking Past Modi’s Human Rights Record and Ties to Russia
By Aamer Madhani and Krutika Pathi | Associated Press (free)
Biden has made clear he sees U.S. ties to India—the world’s biggest democracy and one of its fastest growing economies—as a defining relationship. New Delhi, as Biden sees it, will be essential to addressing some of the most difficult global challenges in coming years, including climate change, disruptions related to artificial intelligence, and China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific.
More from WPR: The India-U.S. Partnership Has Momentum. Now It Needs Direction
Blinken Meets Xi as China and the U.S. Try to Manage Tensions
By Edward Wong and David Pierson | The New York Times
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, on Monday in Beijing, as the two governments sought to pull relations out of a deep freeze that has raised global concerns about the growing risk of a conflict between them.
Benjamin Netanyahu Pledges to Restart Israel’s Judicial Overhaul
By James Shotter | Financial Times
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will move ahead “this week” with a bitterly contested overhaul of Israel’s judiciary, after compromise talks with opposition politicians faltered.
More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State
Lula Struggles With Rightwing Congress as Brazil’s ‘Broad Coalition’ Unravels
By Bryan Harris | Financial Times
Brazil’s rightwing Congress is threatening to frustrate key pillars of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political agenda after accusing the leftwing leader of spending too little time on the country’s deteriorating domestic politics and too much on foreign policy.
More from WPR: In Brazil, Lula’s Global Focus Is Distracting Him From Regional Opportunities
'Vucic Out': Serbian Protesters Keep Heat on Government
By Ivana Sekularac and Branko Filipovic | Reuters (registration required)
Serbians paraded life-size figures of leading government figures in prison jumpsuits on Saturday during a seventh week of protests since two mass shootings triggered nationwide protests.
Far Right Takes Office in String of Spanish Cities
Agence France-Presse
Spain’s far-right party Vox took power Saturday in coalition with the conservative Popular Party (PP) in 10 major cities, a tie-up that could be repeated after a national election next month.
More from WPR: Sanchez’s Snap Elections Gamble Could Benefit Spain’s Far Right
‘A Terrible Tragedy’: Uganda Reels From Deadly Terrorist Attack
By Abdi Latif Dahir | The New York Times
When it was all over, the attack on Friday night in Mpondwe, a town near Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, left 37 of the school’s 63 students dead, according to Janet Museveni, the country’s first lady and minister of education and sports.
Mali Counts Votes From Referendum Expected to Pave the Way to Elections
By Tiemoko Diallo and Fadimata Kontao | Reuters (registration required)
Mali started counting votes on Sunday from a constitutional referendum that the ruling military junta and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.
More from WPR: In Mali, Islamist Insurgent Groups Are Forming Shadow Governments
Saudi Arabia Invites Iranian President to Visit in Latest Sign of Rapprochement
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr | Financial Times
Saudi Arabia has invited Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi for an official visit, according to its foreign minister, in the latest sign of a rapprochement between the regional rivals who have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and ease longstanding tensions.
More from WPR: The Saudi-Iran Deal Is a Warning From MBS to Washington
Australia’s Senate Votes for Holding Referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament Within 6 Months
By Rod McGuirk | Associated Press (free)
Australia’s Senate voted Monday to hold a referendum this year on creating an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, an advocate aiming to give the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.
African Leaders Set to Meet With Presidents of Ukraine, Russia in Bid to End War
By Jamey Keaten | Associated Press (free)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of a delegation of African leaders and senior officials seeking ways to end Kyiv’s 15-month war with Russia. The African delegation also includes senior officials from Zambia, Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo and the Comoro Islands.
More from WPR: South Africa’s False Neutrality on the Ukraine War Is Getting Costly | Don’t Dismiss Non-Western Efforts to End the War in Ukraine
Blinken Heads to Beijing Hoping to Calm Fears of a US-China Break
By Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters (registration required)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Beijing this weekend with expectations low that he will make headway on the long list of disputes between the United States and China. But he and his Chinese counterparts can achieve at least one thing, say analysts - show that the world's most important bilateral relationship is not about to fall off the rails.
More from WPR: The U.S. and China Take Another Stab at Thawing Relations
Colombia's 'Nannygate' Affair Roils Leftist Government
By Joe Daniels | Financial Times
A nanny who was caring for the small child of an aide to President Gustavo Petro is now at the centre of an escalating and bizarre scandal that has gripped Colombians. It began with a missing briefcase full of cash and has spiraled into formal investigations of claims that Petro’s leftist administration engaged in wiretapping and illicit campaign financing.
More from WPR: Another Scandal Puts Colombia’s Petro in Even Hotter Water
'Mines Everywhere': Ukraine's Offensive Is Proving a Hard Slog
By Marcus Walker | The Wall Street Journal
Ukraine’s ambitious offensive to take back Russian-occupied land is proving to be a hard slog against dense minefields, well-prepared defenses and Russia’s superior air power.
Brutal Killing of Governor Heralds New Round of Violence in Darfur
By Declan Walsh | The New York Times
The killing of a powerful governor in Darfur, in western Sudan, has heightened worries that fighting between the country’s warring military factions is pushing a region blighted by genocide two decades ago into a new ethnic civil war.
More from WPR: For Civilians in Sudan, Self-Protection Is the Only Option
Nigeria Lets Market Set Currency Exchange Rate to Stabilize Economy, Woo Investors
By Chinedu Asadu | Associated Press (free)
Nigeria’s central bank has ended its distorted foreign exchange rate, a move the new government in Africa’s biggest economy hopes will help woo investors and stabilize the local currency.
More from WPR: Buhari’s Legacy Is a Diminished Nigeria and a Frayed State
Donor Nations Commit $10.3 Billion for Millions of Syrians at Home and as Refugees Abroad
By Raf Casert and Kareem Chehayet | Associated Press (free)
International donors said Thursday they would commit $10.3 billion in aid for millions of Syrians battered by war, poverty, and hunger, both at home and as refugees abroad. The pledges by 57 nations and 30 international organizations at an annual European Union-hosted conference in Brussels for Syria fell about $800 million short of a United Nations humanitarian appeal.
More from WPR: Assad Has Survived Syria’s Civil War. Syria Might Not
China Plans New Spending Drive, Other Stimulus to Revive Flagging Economy
By Keith Zhai, Jason Douglas, and Stella Yifan Xie | The Wall Street Journal (free)
Beijing is planning major steps to revive the country’s flagging economy, including the possibility of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending, and looser rules to encourage property investors to buy more homes, people familiar with the discussions say.
Japan Hopes to Shore Up Philippines' Defense Amid Taiwan Conflict Fears
By Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami and Yukiko Toyoda | Reuters (registration required)
Japan is preparing military aid for the Philippines to help secure sea approaches and safeguard Taiwan's western flank, officials say, deepening security ties that could bring Japanese forces back there for the first time since World War II.
More from WPR: Japan Is Quietly Becoming a Regional Security Power
Hoping to Avert Nuclear Crisis, U.S. Seeks Informal Agreement With Iran
By Michael Crowley, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman | The New York Times
The Biden administration has been negotiating quietly with Iran to limit Tehran’s nuclear program and free imprisoned Americans, according to officials from three countries, in part of a larger U.S. effort to ease tensions and reduce the risk of a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.
More from WPR: The IAEA Just Bought Some Time for Nuclear Diplomacy With Iran
Hundreds of Migrants Still Missing After Boat Capsizes in Greek Waters
By Eleni Varvitsioti | Financial Times
Authorities on Thursday revised the death toll to 78 from 79 and said 104 people had been rescued after a fishing boat believed to have set off from Libya capsized south-west of the Peloponnese peninsula on Wednesday. Some 400 people were on board, with survivors estimating that more than 100 children were in the ship’s hold.
More from WPR: Instead of Resettlement Schemes, Make Migration Easier
El Salvador Consolidates Local Governments, Opposition Warns of Power Grab
Reuters (registration required)
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday signed into law a bill to slash the country's 262 municipalities to just 44, a move the government says will cut spending but that the opposition decries as a power grab.
More from WPR: El Salvador’s Opposition Eyes a Long-Shot Coalition to Unseat Bukele
Germany Adopts a More Muscular Security Plan. Critics Call It ‘Weak.’
By Steven Erlanger and Christopher F. Schuetze | The New York Times
For the first time since the end of World War II, the government unveiled a comprehensive national security strategy meant to confront Germany’s vulnerability to new military, economic and geopolitical threats, including climate change.
More from WPR: Germany’s Defense ‘Zeitenwende’ Will Need Popular Support to Succeed
Kosovo Tightens Controls on its Border With Serbia, PM Kurti Says
By Fatos Bytyci | Reuters (registration required)
Kosovo has tightened controls on its border with Serbia following the arrest of three of its policemen by Serbian forces, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday as he demanded the immediate release of the detainees.
Nigeria's President Tinubu Suspends Head of Anti-Graft Agency
Reuters
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday suspended the head of the economic and financial crimes unit Abdulrasheed Bawa indefinitely for abuse of office, the presidency said in a statement.
More from WPR: Nigeria’s Election Euphoria Might Be Short-Lived
Israel’s Judicial Crisis Resurfaces as Compromise Talks Abruptly Halt
By Patrick Kingsley | The New York Times
An effort to resolve a dispute over the future of Israel’s judiciary, an issue that has divided the country for months, suffered a major blow Wednesday after a dramatic showdown in Parliament over a committee that picks the nation’s judges.
More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State
Sudden Inquiry May Derail Thailand’s Leading Prime Minister Candidate
By Sui-Lee Wee | The New York Times
Thailand’s Election Commission has announced that it will investigate Pita Limjaroenrat, the front-runner in the May general election, to determine whether he violated election rules that would disqualify him from becoming the country’s next prime minister.
More from WPR: Thailand’s Opposition Will Need More Than Votes to Win Upcoming Elections