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Description: On the margins of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto as the presidents announced the strengthening of bilateral strategic ties. Putin embraced Indonesia’s inclusion into the BRICS bloc of countries as he praised the country’s leveled stance on the war in Ukraine. Executives from Indonesia’s sovereign investment fund Danatara and Russia’s Direct Investment Fund signed a cooperation agreement worth $2 billion, with the presidents further stating the countries would devise close cooperation in several sectors such as trade, energy, nuclear power, space and security.
Description: Government officials pertaining to technical groups tasked with implementing the peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC initiated a mechanism to see through the signing of a draft peace agreement which is expected to be finalized on 27 Jun. The provisions of the agreement included the full disarmament of rebel forces operating in the DRC and supported by Rwanda, respecting the territorial integrity of the DRC and conditional integration of non – state armed groups within the military forces. The peace agreement has been the result of a multilayered peace mediation which included the US, Qatar and Angola after the decades – long conflict between the M23 rebel
Description: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order which would allow TikTok to operate on the US market for another 90 days. The third extension comes amid thawed trade relations between China and the US in recent weeks. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, welcomed the extension stating that President Trump’s office worked on ensuring the app’s market continuity while addressing data and consumer privacy concerns. TikTok is widespread on the US market with a user base of 170 million private clients and additional 7.5 million users from the American business community. Concerns over the usage of the app were raised upon discoveries that TikTok was used as a
Description: Following last weekend’s massive No Kings anti - immigration protests in Los Angeles, the legal battle over Trump’s control of the Los Angeles National Guard continued to unravel. Three judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Trump acted lawfully in invoking federalized control over the National Guard sidestepping the Governor of the State of California, Gavin Newsom. The Court further stated that Trump’s administration has presented sufficient evidence in defense of the federalization of the National Guard as local law enforcement evidently struggled in maintaining order in the city of LA. Newsom stated that his legal team wo
Description: Growing threats from Chinese espionage operations pushed the Taiwanese government to introduce reinforced civil screening mechanisms. The Taiwanese government has started a large civil screening process which would undertake the majority of the civil service agencies, the military branches and the political establishment in the country. Chinese infiltration attempts have continuously targeted former members of the Taiwanese military through coercion based on financial interests, ideology or blackmail. Four members of the ruling Democratic party were recently indicted on espionage charges and providing China with state secrets. Impact: China has
Description: Israel and Iran continued to exchange aerial attacks as US President Donald Trump maintained speculations over joining Israel in attacking Iran. Speaking to the press in the White House, Trump stated that he still might consider a direct US intervention in the war if the Iranians didn’t agree towards complete cessation of hostilities and halting their uranium enrichment activities. Foreign ministers from the E3 group of countries reportedly shelved a proposition to kickstart direct negotiations with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva on Friday, 20 Jun. The proposition is yet to be responded by the Iranians as their Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has categoricall
Description: Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia continued to surge as a leaked phone call between Thailand’s Premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian Premier Hun Sen caused public backlash. The phone call later verified by public media sources recorded Shinawatra telling Hun Sen that she is under insurmountable political pressure from the military and that Cambodia should not react to further border threats from a certain prominent Thailand border commander. The information caused public outcries calling for Shinawatra’s resignation as large protest amassed in Cambodia supporting their government efforts. The dispute originated from an abrupt border confrontat
Description: US Special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellog is set to visit Belarus where he would reportedly extend efforts to jump start negotiations between the warring countries. Kellog’s trip, although not confirmed, would mark the highest-level state visit to an adversarial country since former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit in 2020. The information around Kellog’s visit indirectly emphasizes that the US is still invested in mediating the war between Ukraine and Russia as it adopts other negotiating methods such as obtaining support from Russian – allied countries. Impact: Kellog’s alleged visit to Belarus even though confirms consist
Description: The Czech conservative government coalition survived the no confidence vote earlier called by centrist opposition party, ANO, and its leader Andrej Babis. The no confidence vote was called due to a bitcoin scandal involving former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek who couldn’t explain the origin of $47 million in bitcoin donations he received from an individual previously involved in money laundering. Blazek claimed he didn’t do anything illegal but later on resigned from his position to allegedly protect the government and maintain its credibility. The scandal cased political turbulations in the Czech Republic ahead of the Oct parliamentary elections where Andrej B
Description: US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met in the White House where they discussed at length the current situation in the Middle East, trade and economic development and cryptocurrency. Trump praised Munir’s involvement on the Pakistani side in deescalating the India – Pakistan conflict and managing to diverge the countries from the warfare course. Munir countered recent statements from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Trump hasn’t been instrumental towards the de-escalation and reportedly called for Trump to be awarded a Nobel peace prize. Impact: Pakistan is one of the most influential regional ac