Daily News Brief

June 29, 2023

Top of the Agenda

Following this past weekend’s failed mutiny attempt by the leader of the private military company Wagner Group in Russia, Russian officials reached out to leaders of African and Middle Eastern countries where Wagner operates in an apparent attempt to seize control of the group, the Wall Street Journal reported. Moscow has often denied association with Wagner’s operations in countries such as Mali and Syria, and it was not immediately clear if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to gain control would be successful. 

The United States imposed new sanctions on the Wagner Group (Foreign Policy) this week, targeting four companies accused of funding its activities in the Central African Republic. Washington had already designated Wagner as a significant transnational criminal organization. 

Analysis

“[Wagner’s troubles] gives the West both urgency and an opportunity to press for a change of course in Bamako [Mali’s capital],” Bloomberg’s Bobby Ghosh writes. “President Joe Biden’s administration and its European allies should offer to match and exceed any counterterrorism training the Malians are getting from Wagner.”

“Wherever Wagner goes, death, destruction, and exploitation follow,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at a CFR event yesterday. “The fact that [Wagner’s leader] directly questioned the very premises that Putin has advanced for the war is significant.” 

Pacific Rim

The talks sought by Washington have been halted due to “unilateral” U.S. sanctions (Bloomberg) on Beijing, the spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington said. China previously asked for sanctions to be removed from its defense minister for a Russian arms purchase made in 2018.

Cambodia: The oversight board of social media company Meta called for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to be suspended (WaPo) for inciting violence. It is the first time the board has recommended a ban on a head of state’s accounts.

South and Central Asia

Authorities announced a temporary bank holiday (FT) to avoid a run on banks. The government had been concerned about the country’s economic recovery while restructuring, but said it is now necessary to meet the conditions of its bailout from the International Monetary Fund. 

India/Vietnam: India made its first-ever donation (Reuters) of an active warship to Vietnam. The two countries have strengthened military ties in recent years amid concerns about growing Chinese assertiveness.

Middle East and North Africa

After a previous version of the plan prompted mass protests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would advance a version (WSJ) of the plan that no longer contained a controversial provision allowing the legislature to override Supreme Court decisions.

In this article, CFR expert Elliott Abrams looks at the role of the judiciary in the Israeli government.

Saudi Arabia: A Nepalese security guard and an armed man were killed (AFP) today in an exchange of gunfire outside the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, officials said.

Sub-Saharan Africa

One hundred thousand people lost their lives (DW) in Ethiopia last year, closely followed by eighty-three thousand in Ukraine, a new study by the Institute for Economics and Peace said. It calculated that war and violence cost the world 12.9 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), with total conflict deaths at their highest this century.

Sudan: The paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces released 125 Sudanese soldiers (AP) yesterday in a deal brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the humanitarian group said.

Europe

Police arrested 180 people (Reuters) during the second night of demonstrations across the country after a police officer shot and killed a teenager of North African descent at a traffic stop on Tuesday. The interior minister said forty thousand police officers will be deployed nationwide to mitigate the protests.

Americas

The fires have now burned more than thirty thousand square miles (BBC) across Canada and have released record levels of carbon emissions, prompting air quality alerts across several areas of Canada and the United States over the past several weeks. 

For the Renewing America blog, CFR’s Alice Hill and Tess Turner examine the increasing need to adapt to wildfires in a warming world.

Brazil: A new census revealed the country’s population growth over the past decade slowed to its lowest level (Reuters) since records began in 1872, reflecting a decline in birth rates.

United States

Texas’s independent power grid is largely cut off from the rest of the country and has failed under periods of strain (CNN) in recent years. But amid the current heat wave, a boom in solar power generation in the state has helped keep the lights on, experts told the Texas Tribune.

In this Backgrounder, Anshu Siripurapu and CFR’s James McBride explain how the U.S. power grid works.

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