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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Islamist militants have killed at least 49 civilians in a riverboat attack in north-eastern Mali. The militants also attacked an army base, killing 15 soldiers. About 50 militants reportedly died. Islamists in Mali have been strengthened despite the junta’s claims that the paramilitary organization Wagner group is gaining the upper hand. George Wright reports for BBC News.
A Canadian judge has been appointed to investigate China’s alleged interference in the 2021 general election, Canada’s public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, announced yesterday. Earlier this year, Canadian security officials told politicians that China paid agents to thwart rivals of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the election. Paul Vieira reports for the Wall Street Journal.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled a new submarine, which can ostensibly carry nuclear weapons. It is uncertain whether the submarine is operational, and North Korea has yet to demonstrate it can launch nuclear-capable missiles. Jean Mackenzie reports for BBC News.
President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has drawn heavy criticism after a video emerged of him saying Hitler persecuted European Jews because of what Abbas said were their predatory lending practices. Abbas also repeated the unfound theory that European Jews have no ancient roots in the Middle East. The E.U. said in a statement that Abbas’s “historical distortions … play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated for.” Patrick Kingsley reports for the New York Times.
Sweden is waiting for Turkey to start the process to ratify its application for NATO membership but is otherwise ready to join, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said yesterday. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed that Turkey would ratify the membership when the Turkish parliament reconvenes in October. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region injured at least one person today, according to Yuri Malashko, head of the region’s military administration. Olga Voitovych reports for CNN.
A drone strike on the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, where one of the country’s largest military bases is located, caused at least one blast and injured one person yesterday. The Russian Defense Ministry said that air defense systems thwarted the drone attack. Ukraine does not comment on whether it carries out drone attacks in Russia. Marc Santora reports for the New York Times.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday said Ukrainians are “gradually gaining ground” in their counter-offensive in the country’s east and south. Lyric Li, Ellen Francis, Serhiy Morgunov, David L. Stern, and Adam Taylor report for the Washington Post.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu held a phone call yesterday to discuss Romania’s investigation into whether drone debris in Romania was Russian. Under NATO’s collective defense commitment, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. As such, the findings of the investigation matter for NATO as a whole. Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
There is no indication that drone debris found in Romania was caused by a deliberate Russian attack on Romania, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX cut Starlink satellite internet services to Ukrainian submarine drones last year as they were launching an attack on Russian vessels. While Ukrainian and U.S. officials restored connectivity after appealing to Musk directly, the incident underscores the vast power of one individual upon which governments increasingly rely. Christian Davenport and Joseph Menn reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. RELATIONS
A Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday temporarily halted an order to remove the floating barrier in the Rio Grande. The decision will maintain the barrier, designed to deter migrants from entering the United States, as the appeals court considers a longer-term stay. Andrew Zhang reports for POLITICO.
The U.S. military has repositioned some of its forces in Niger’s capital to another base as “a precautionary measure,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the Pentagon. She added that some “non-essential personnel and contractors” have left the country. Ellen Mitchell reports for The Hill.
China-backed disinformation and influence campaigns are mimicking U.S. voters and targeting political candidates with improved sophistication, a Microsoft threat analysis report revealed yesterday.
Chinese influence campaigns are attempting to plant pro-China propaganda on Gab.com, a U.S. social media site popular with far-right activists, according to a new report from Alethea, a firm focused on detecting social media manipulation. Gab.com hosted 114 user accounts affiliated with a covert Chinese campaign known as Spamouflage. Dustin Volz and Sarah E. Needleman report for the Wall Street Journal.
The United States, South Korea, and Japan yesterday agreed to accelerate missile tracking cooperation. The agreement comes after the countries’ Defence chiefs jointly condemned North Korea’s recent missile tests. Reuters reports.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former President Trump may seek to move the Georgia state criminal case in which he is accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results to a federal court, his lawyer said in a court filing yesterday. Jack Queen reports for Reuters.
Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser under former President Trump, was found guilty yesterday of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6 attack. Navarro vowed to appeal the verdict. Lindsay Whitehurst reports for AP News.
Republican presidential candidates Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy have criticized the sentencing of far-right Proud Boys members for the actions during the Jan. 6 attack, floating the potential for a presidential pardon. The candidates repeated Republican grievances that the federal justice system has been “weaponized” against conservatives, alleging that Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors were not punished as harshly. However, an Associated Press investigation showed that where BLM protests turned violent, over 120 defendants pleaded guilty or were convicted on federal charges. Maggie Astor reports for the New York Times.
Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian national found guilty of hacking into corporate earnings databases, was sentenced to nine years yesterday. Klyushin may be used as a bargaining chip for negotiating prisoner swaps with Russia, which has detained several U.S. citizens. Dustin Volz and Louise Radnofsky report for the Wall Street Journal.