A week of news to fill a year.
And a postcard from Finland.
It’s been a packed news week. The United Kingdom will hold snap elections, Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash, Russia appears to be purging its military leadership, Germany’s far-right is dealing with scandals, and several European countries recognized a Palestinian state. India is trying to kill people on U.S. soil, the war in Gaza continues, and Jared Kushner secured a major real estate deal in Belgrade. Oh, and several Americans may have been involved in a coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are also updates from the Caucasus and the Balkans.
And that’s really just scratching the surface. Even if you can’t read all the articles I share, I suggest you scan the headlines to get a complete picture of how much has changed in the last week.
I added some of my weekly news blurbs at the bottom. Meanwhile, here’s a photo of what happens in Finland’s capital when the sun comes out:
What I’m reading:
• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap general election for July 4, months earlier than expected, the New York Times reports.
• Iran’s president and foreign minister died in a helicopter crash, the BBC reports. Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir Abdollahian were traveling from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan after inaugurating a dam project when their helicopter went down in a mountainous area near the city of Jolfa.
• General Abdul Raziq was one of America’s fiercest allies in the fight against the Taliban, the New York Times reports in a new investigation. But his success, until his 2018 assassination, was built on torture, extrajudicial killing, and abduction. His officers, who were trained, armed, and paid by the United States, took no note of human rights or due process.
• Russia released a video showing its forces conducting tactical nuclear drills, the New York Times reports. The Russian Defense Ministry said the exercise, carried out near Ukraine, was aimed at preparing Russian forces for the possibility of using nuclear weapons.
• Russia’s defense ministry is proposing to unilaterally change the country's border in the Baltic Sea, seemingly flouting international maritime law and threatening its neighbors, Politico Europe reports.
• The United States said Russia likely launched an anti-satellite weapon last week, the BBC reports.
• Russia is deploying banned toxic gas across the front line, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• A deputy chief of the Russian military general staff has been arrested on charges of large-scale bribery, the Associated Press reports. The arrest of Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin followed the arrest this week of Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, a former top commander in Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, also on bribery charges.
• British defense minister Grant Shapps accused China of providing or preparing to provide Russia with “lethal aid” for its war against Ukraine, Reuters reports.
• U.S. lawmakers were considering imposing financial restrictions and visa bans on Georgian Dream lawmakers, according to a draft bill obtained by Politico Europe. Then, the State Department did it.
• Azerbaijan’s border service took control of four villages in the Gazakh district on the border with Armenia under an agreement struck with Yerevan, Reuters reports.
• Finland’s government proposed emergency legislation to block asylum seekers from crossing its border with Russia. Reuters has the story.
• After years of secretive negotiations and involvement from Serbia’s political elite, Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners officially secured a 99-year permit to develop a luxury compound in Belgrade, Politico Europe reports.
• The United Nations voted to declare July 11 an annual day of remembrance for victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the BBC reports.
• As the United Nations General Assembly prepared to vote on a resolution recognizing the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, Serbia has launched a full-blown diplomatic offensive to block the initiative. Politico Europe has the story.
• Europe’s far-right political parties unofficially launched their campaign for the EU election, using a rally of Spain’s right-wing opposition party Vox to attack illegal migration and climate policy and to pledge support for Israel’s military action in Gaza. The Associated Press has the story.
• The far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament faced a split after the the Alternative for Germany (AfD) lead candidate Maximilian Krah told Italy’s La Repubblica he would “never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal.”
• France’s National Rally said it won’t sit alongside the AfD in the next European Parliament, while the Danish People’s Party’s Anders Vistisen called on the AfD to “get rid of Krah” or leave ID. Politico Europe has a write-up.
• The European Parliament’s far-right Identity and Democracy group later expelled the AfD delegation, Reuters reports.
• Germany’s far-right AfD party banned Maximilian Krah, its most prominent candidate, from appearing at election events, the Washington Post reports.
• Nine members of the far-right “United Patriots” group in Germany who allegedly planned to bring a prince into power by violently overthrowing the government went on trial, the New York Times reports.
• On June 27, new citizenship legislation will be enacted in Germany, Hyphen reports. The new laws will mean that citizenship is equally available to all regardless of nationality — and allow for dual nationality, which, until now, has not been permitted in Germany.
• France’s Emmanuel Macron is trying to persuade voters to support his pro-EU vision for a strong Union with France at its center, Politico Europe reports. But he’s fighting an uphill struggle, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally consolidating its substantial lead in the polls. And that was before a spate of teen killings, drug-related shootings, a heightened terror threat, and deadly protests in New Caledonia took over the airwaves.
• French President Emmanuel Macron is making a surprise trip to New Caledonia to hold talks with pro-independence leaders, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against his extradition to the United States on espionage charges, London High Court ruled. The Associated Press has the story.
• Spain, Norway, and Ireland announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, the Washington Post reports. The leaders stressed that peace could only come through a two-state solution, so a Palestinian state is needed.
• Israel will withhold funds from the Palestinian Authority following the decision by Spain, Norway, and Ireland to recognize a Palestinian state, the country’s finance minister said. The decision by far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich threatens to push the Palestinian government into a deeper fiscal crisis, the New York Times reports.
• Colombian president Gustavo Petro ordered the opening of an embassy in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Al Jazeera reports.
• The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said in a statement he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Israel slammed a statement from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office that Berlin would arrest and deport Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court issues a warrant for his arrest, the Times of Israel reports.
• Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in central Rafah in one of the most intense nights of bombardment of the city since Israel launched its offensive there this month, Reuters reports.
• The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees said it halted food distribution in Rafah due to supply shortages and ongoing hostilities.
• Medical workers in Israel reported concerns to the BBC over the treatment of sick and injured Palestinian detainees from Gaza. The whistleblowers said that Gazan detainees are routinely kept shackled to hospital beds, blindfolded, and forced to wear diapers. They also detailed how procedures in one military hospital were “routinely” carried out without painkillers.
• Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz threatened to resign if the government did not adopt a new plan for the Gaza war within three weeks, CBS News reports.
• U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged Netanyahu to connect the war in Gaza to a “political strategy” to ensure a lasting defeat of Hamas, a complete hostage release, and a better future for the enclave.
• India is trying to silence US critics of its authoritarian turn — and it's succeeding, Vox reports.
• Kenyan officials arrived in Haiti ahead of the long-delayed arrival of a Kenyan-led multinational security support force, CNN reports. A Kenyan “command staff” delegation is expected to assess whether equipment and facilities for the foreign police forces are ready.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo’s military said it foiled a coup attempt involving foreigners. The U.S. ambassador to Congo publicly acknowledged that U.S. citizens may have been involved, writing on Twitter that Washington will cooperate “to the fullest extent” with the Congolese authorities.
My weekly news blurbs:
You can write to me for any reason: c.maza@protonmail.com