“Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP,” the BBC reports.
Saudi Leader Defies Threats to Isolate Him
“President Biden vowed during his quest for the White House to make the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a ‘pariah’ over the killing and dismemberment of a dissident. He threatened the prince again last fall with ‘consequences’ for defying American wishes on oil policy,” the New York Times reports.
“Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator, called Prince Mohammed, the oil-rich kingdom’s de facto ruler, a ‘wrecking ball’ who could ‘never be a leader on the world stage.’ And Jay Monahan, the head of golf’s prestigious PGA Tour, suggested that players who joined a rival Saudi-backed league betrayed the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — carried out by hijackers who were mostly Saudi citizens.”
“Now, their words ring hollow.”
Boris Johnson Steps Down After ‘Partygate’ Report
“Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament,” the AP reports.
“Johnson quit after receiving the results of an investigation by lawmakers over misleading statements he made to Parliament about partygate.”
Russia to Deploy Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
“Russia will start deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after special storage facilities are made ready on July 7-8, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, Moscow’s first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union,” Reuters reports.
China Rejects Nuclear Talks with the U.S.
“China and Russia are rejecting a U.S. offer to hold ‘unconditional’ nuclear arms control talks, a move that risks further fueling global proliferation,” Semafor reports.
“U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned in a major address last Friday that the post-Cold War agreements guarding against global nuclear proliferation were fraying and invited Beijing and Moscow to resume direct discussions on the issue.”
Pentagon Readies New $2 Billion Ukraine Package
“The Pentagon is set to announce as early as Friday a long-term arms package for Ukraine heavy on air defense munitions valued at more than $2 billion,” Bloomberg reports.
“The money, to be awarded under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will bankroll the purchase of Hawk missile launchers and missiles and two types of advanced Patriot air defense missiles.”
Saudi Crown Prince Threatened Major Economic Pain
“Last fall, President Biden vowed to impose ‘consequences’ on Saudi Arabia for its decision to slash oil production amid high energy prices and fast-approaching elections in the United States,” the Washington Post reports.
“In public, the Saudi government defended its actions politely via diplomatic statements. But in private, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman threatened to fundamentally alter the decades-old U.S.-Saudi relationship and impose significant economic costs on the United States if it retaliated against the oil cuts.”
Sexual Misconduct Allegations Roil Taiwan’s Ruling Party
“In late April, a fictional Netflix drama about Taiwanese politics went viral on the island with a story line about sexual-assault allegations that convulse the ruling party,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A little more than a month later, the plot has crossed over into the real world, with potential ramifications for political forces that the U.S. relies on to keep pressure on China.”
Ukraine Launches Counteroffensive Against Russia
“The Ukrainian military has launched a long-anticipated counterattack against occupying Russian forces, opening a crucial phase in the war aimed at restoring Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and preserving Western support in its fight against Moscow,” the Washington Post reports.
“Ukrainian troops on Wednesday night intensified their attacks on the front line in the country’s southeast, in a significant push toward Russian-occupied territory.”
Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base
“China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a brash new geopolitical challenge by Beijing to the U.S.,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“An eavesdropping facility in Cuba, roughly 100 miles from Florida, would allow Chinese intelligence services to scoop up electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located, and monitor U.S. ship traffic.”
Blinken Set to Travel to Beijing for Talks
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to visit China in the coming weeks for talks with top officials, possibly including President Xi Jinping, as the US looks to resume high-level communication despite continued tensions,” Bloomberg reports.
U.S. Had Intel on Plan to Attack Nord Stream Pipeline
“Three months before saboteurs bombed the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, the Biden administration learned from a close ally that the Ukrainian military had planned a covert attack on the undersea network, using a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces,” the Washington Post reports.
“Details about the plan, which have not been previously reported, were collected by a European intelligence service and shared with the CIA in June 2022. They provide some of the most specific evidence to date linking the government of Ukraine to the eventual attack in the Baltic Sea, which U.S. and Western officials have called a brazen and dangerous act of sabotage on Europe’s energy infrastructure.”
War Comes to Russia
Wall Street Journal: “Drone strikes inside Russia are now a near-daily occurrence. Those in Moscow have had limited military impact. But, along with hits on refineries and airfields, ground incursions in the southern Belgorod region and assassinations of several prominent Russian war supporters, the attacks have caused a psychological shift.”
“Fifteen months after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, expecting a quick victory, the war has come to the heart of Russia. The country’s elites, who believed themselves safe as the invasion campaign rumbled far away, are rattled.”
Critical Dam Destroyed on Front Line in Ukraine
“A critical dam and hydroelectric power plant along the front line in southern Ukraine was destroyed on Tuesday, putting thousands of people at risk of flooding and raising questions about safety at a nuclear plant upstream,” the New York Times reports.
“It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack on the Kakhovka dam and electric plant, which lies along the Dnipro River and is under Russian control.”
Washington Post: “A dramatic drop in the dam’s reservoir could lead to an ecological disaster and stop the cooling of nuclear reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, 75 miles to the northeast… The plant is under Russian control.”
Quote of the Day
“Shhhhhh.”
— Ukraine Ministry of Defense, on Twitter, in a modern update to “loose lips sink ships.”
Not-So-Friendly Fire
“The feud between the mercenaries of the Kremlin-connected Wagner Group and the ordinary Russian army appears to be escalating, amid reports of exchanges of friendly fire,” Politico reports.
“Russian soldiers shot at Wagner paramilitaries near Bakhmut — the eastern Ukrainian town which has seen brutal attritional battles for territory — destroying a truck, the mercenary group claimed Sunday evening.”
“In response, Wagner claimed to have detained the commander of the Russian army’s 72nd brigade, on Monday releasing a video of him appearing to confess to giving the order to fire on the mercenaries’ vehicle, claiming he did so while drunk because he personally disliked the group.”
McCarthy Pumps the Brakes on Ukraine Funding
“Speaker Kevin McCarthy told us Monday that a supplemental spending package for Ukraine is ‘not going anywhere’ in the House, essentially putting the brakes on any immediate plan to send more money to Kyiv — or get around new spending caps,” Punchbowl News reports.
“McCarthy signaled any additional aid for Ukraine would have to come as part of the annual appropriations process within the Pentagon’s $886 billion in discretionary spending, as agreed to under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the bipartisan legislation that ended the debt-limit showdown.”
“McCarthy’s comments set the stage for a consequential Senate-vs.-House fight centered on Ukraine funding, an issue that has already bitterly divided the GOP.”
“For now, McCarthy’s pronouncement is a blow to defense hawks in both parties, but especially in the Senate. A group of GOP senators held up the debt-limit bill last week until they got assurances from Senate leaders that the chamber would take up a separate funding bill for Ukraine and other defense needs.”
How Yevgeny Prigozhin Came to Power
Cathy Young: “What’s behind the Kremlin crony’s self-reinvention as a quasi-dissident and a possible contender for Putin’s job? Here, opinions differ wildly. Some think that Prigozhin is a talented psychopath; others that he’s crazy like a fox. Some say he is nothing more than Putin’s loyal attack dog, a useful weapon for bullying the generals and defense officials and keeping them under control.”
“Others believe the attack dog is off the leash and snapping at his former master—either because Prigozhin is in disfavor and fighting for his life, or because the growing instability in Russia is enabling him to claim power in his own right, or because he has powerful backers who are using him in a game of their own.”
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