World Geography And Politics Daily News | 20 Jul 2023
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Putin humiliated with ‘deep fractures’ in Russia’s military: British spy chief
Richard Moore, the U.K.’s chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, said in a rare speech Wednesday that last month’s uprising by Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin exposed “deep fractures” among Russia’s elite and that the deal to end the mutiny was “humiliating” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking at a Politico event hosted by the British…
Richard Moore, the U.K.’s chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, said in a rare speech Wednesday that last month’s uprising by Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin exposed “deep fractures” among Russia’s elite and that the deal to end the mutiny was “humiliating” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He is clearly under pressure,” Moore said of Putin. “You don’t have a group of mercenaries advance up the motorway toward Rostov and get to within 125 kilometers of Moscow unless you have not quite predicted that was going to happen.”
Prigozhin led a brief rebellion last month after months of criticism of Russia’s military leadership and the approach to the war in Ukraine. He also had publicly challenged the premise of Putin’s invasion in Ukraine.
He led his troops toward Moscow, but then agreed to stand down after an agreement was struck for him to go to Belarus and for charges to be dropped.
“I don’t think it needs all the resources of MI6 to conclude that there are deep fractures within the Russian elite around Putin. If you have an invading army coming up the road at you, that indicates there has been a falling out,” Moore said, adding, “The extraordinary thing was to see the way that Putin handled that, and the weakness that that demonstrated.”
Moore issued an invitation to Russians to spy on the Kremlin for the U.K., which he said many others have done since the war began. He promised discretion as they “work to bring the bloodshed to an end.”
“As they witnessed the venality infighting and sheer callous incompetence of their leaders, the human factor at its worst, many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience as their predecessors did in 1968,” Moore said.
“I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months. And join hands with us. Our door is always open. We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which my service is famed. Their secrets will always be safe with us. And together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end,” he added.
Egypt president pardons rights activist Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer
It comes a day after Patrick Zaki was convicted of spreading false news and jailed for three years.
Egypt's president has pardoned jailed rights activist Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer, state media report.
The news comes a day after an emergency court found Mr Zaki guilty of "spreading false news" and sentenced him to three years in prison.
The judgement, based on an article he wrote about his life as a Coptic Christian, was widely condemned.
Mr Baqer represented pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah before they were jailed on the same charge in 2021.
Egypt's government has carried out what rights groups have described as a relentless crackdown on any form of dissent since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi led the military's overthrow of his democratically elected predecessor in 2013. They say tens of thousands of critics have been detained arbitrarily.
The pardons were welcomed by the board of the government's "national dialogue" process and Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), for which Mr Zaki worked while also studying in Italy.
"Baqer and Patrick should not have spent one day in jail for their human rights work," he tweeted. "We welcome the news of their pardon and call for the immediate release of thousands still detained in Egypt on political grounds."
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video message that Mr Zaki would return there on Thursday. She also wished him "a life of serenity and success" and thanked President Sisi "for this very important act".
Her Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, declared that Italy's foreign policy had "contributed significantly to the release of this young student".
Mr Zaki's case received widespread public attention in the European country, where he had been pursuing a master's degree in gender and women's studies when he decided to return to Egypt for a short family visit in February 2020.
The 32-year-old was arrested at Cairo's airport before being transferred to his home city of Mansoura. His lawyers allege that he was subjected to torture, including electric shocks, while being interrogated.
Prosecutors eventually charged him with "spreading false news inside and outside of the country", based on an opinion piece published on the Daraj news website in July 2019. The EIPR said the article described his experiences as a Coptic Egyptian and his views on events affecting the religious minority.
In September 2021, after 19 months in detention, Mr Zaki went on trial at the Emergency State Security Court in Mansoura and pleaded not guilty. Three months later, the court ordered his release on bail.
On Tuesday, Mr Bahgat said the court had found him guilty and ordered his immediate reimprisonment, describing it as a "travesty of justice".
Fellow rights activists walked out of the national dialogue in response to the conviction, prompting its board to appeal for a pardon. The US and UN also expressed concern and called for Mr Zaki's immediate release.
Mr Baqer has been detained since September 2019, when he was arrested while attending the interrogation of Alaa Abdel Fattah, a British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist considered the country's best-known political prisoner.
The two men were subsequently charged with "spreading false news undermining national security" along with the blogger Mohammed "Oxygen" Ibrahim. The case was related to their social media posts.
Human rights groups had called the charges spurious and their trial before an emergency state security court in Cairo a sham.
In September 2021, the court found all three men guilty. Alaa Abdel Fattah, a British-Egyptian dual national, was sentenced to five years in prison, while Mr Baqer and Mohammed Ibrahim were handed four-year terms.
After learning of his pardon, Mr Baqer's wife expressed hope that he would be freed in time to celebrate his birthday on Thursday. "Gratitude to everyone who tried, worked, prayed for Baqer and for us," Neama Hisham said.
US bans 14 Iraqi banks in crackdown on Iran dollar trade -WSJ
WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) -The United States has barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials. The ban, which was imposed by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is part of a crackdown on the siphoning of U.S. currency to Iran, the report said. The United States uncovered information that the Iraqi banks engaged in money laundering and fraudulent transactions, some of which may have
WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) -The United States has barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.
The ban, which was imposed by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is part of a crackdown on the siphoning of U.S. currency to Iran, the report said.
The United States uncovered information that the Iraqi banks engaged in money laundering and fraudulent transactions, some of which may have involved sanctioned individuals and raised concerns that Iran could benefit, the newspaper said.
"We have strong reason to suspect that at least some of these laundered funds could end up going to benefit either designated individuals or individuals who could be designated," a senior U.S. official was quoted as saying by the Journal.
"And of course the primary sanctions risk in Iraq relates to Iran."
Among the banks on the U.S. ban list are Al Mustashar Islamic Bank, Erbil Bank, World Islamic Bank, and Zain Iraq Islamic Bank, the newspaper said.
Iraq's private banks association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Iraqi government, the U.S. Treasury Department and the New York Fed did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iran has been unable to access billions of dollars in assets in several countries due to U.S. sanctions.
The United States has insisted that oil-rich Iraq, the OPEC group's second-largest producer, moves towards self-sufficiency. Washington has put pressure on Iraq to stem the flow of dollars into neighboring Iran.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, Timour Azhari in Baghdad, Michael S. Derby in New York and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
North Korea stays silent on its apparent detention of a US soldier
Pvt. Travis King bolted into North Korea while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday, a day after he was supposed to go back to a base in the U.S.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. EST with additional information.
Pvt. Travis King bolted into North Korea while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday, a day after he was supposed to go back to a base in the U.S. He was released from a South Korean prison July 10 after serving time for assault and was scheduled to return to Fort Bliss, Texas.
King, who was imprisoned for 47 days, faced discharge from the Army because of his conviction in a foreign country, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
“It’s likely that North Korea will use the soldier for propaganda purposes in the short term and then as a bargaining chip,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.
King, a 23-year-old cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division, was supposed to leave Monday for Texas. He was escorted as far as customs but left the airport before boarding his plane.
King’s stint in prison was the result of an altercation last year.
In February, a court fined him 5 million won ($3,950) after he was convicted of assaulting an unidentified person and damaging a police vehicle in Seoul last October, according to a transcript of the verdict obtained by The Associated Press.
The ruling said King had also been accused of punching a 23-year-old man at a Seoul nightclub, though the court dismissed that charge because the victim didn’t want King to be punished.
King’s maternal grandfather, Carl Gates, said his grandson joined the Army roughly three years ago because he “wanted to do better for himself.” He was drawn to service because he has a brother who is a police officer and a cousin in the Navy, Gates said.
Gates said he hoped his grandson could be brought home to get help.
“I think right now he might have a problem or something. I can’t see him doing that intentionally if he was in his right mind,” Gates said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was working to figure out where King was being held, his condition and his reason for crossing into North Korea. She said administration officials would seek his safe return to his family.
The American-led U.N. Command said Tuesday that the U.S. soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody.
It wasn’t known whether or how the U.S. and North Korea would communicate. The two countries have no diplomatic relations and are still officially at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
In the past, Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, provided consular services for other Americans detained in North Korea. But Swedish diplomatic staff reportedly haven’t returned to North Korea since the country imposed a COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 and ordered all foreigners to leave.
Some observers said North Korea and the U.S. could still talk via Panmunjom or the North Korean mission at the U.N. in New York.
It’s rare for Americans or South Koreans to defect to North Korea, but more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political oppression and economic difficulties since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Tae Yongho, a former minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, said North Korea is likely pleased to have “an opportunity to get the U.S. to lose its face” because King’s crossing happened on the same day the U.S. submarine arrived in South Korea.
Tae, now a South Korean lawmaker, said North Korea was unlikely to return King easily because he is a soldier from a nation technically at war with North Korea, and he voluntarily went to the North.
The U.S. still stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea.
Panmunjom, located inside the 248-kilometer-long (154-mile-long) Demilitarized Zone, has been jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea since the close of the Korean War.
Bloodshed has occasionally occurred there, but it has also been a venue for diplomacy and tourism, drawing visitors who want to see the Cold War’s last frontier. No civilians live there, but North and South Korean soldiers face off while tourists on both sides snap photographs.
In recent years, some American civilians have been arrested in North Korea on allegations of espionage, subversion and other anti-state acts, but were released after the U.S. sent high-profile missions to secure their freedom. The last releases occurred in 2018.
Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu won't seek reelection in 2024
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection to a fifth term in 2024, giving Democrats hope of winning back the seat in a battleground state during a presidential election year. Sununu, who has been governor since 2017 and decided against runs for president and the U.S. Senate, did not say what his immediate plans were and did not endorse anyone to succeed him. University of New Hampshire political science Professor Dante Scala said Sununu’s announcement gives Democrats a reason to be optimistic, adding that the state has recently leaned Democrat during presidential election years.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection to a fifth term in 2024, giving Democrats hope of winning back the seat in a battleground state during a presidential election year.
Sununu, who has been governor since 2017 and decided against runs for president and the U.S. Senate, did not say what his immediate plans were and did not endorse anyone to succeed him. He said he reached his decision after discussions with his wife, Valerie, and his children.
“This was no easy decision as I truly love serving as Governor," he said in an email. “Public service should never be a career, and the time is right for another Republican to lead our great state.”
University of New Hampshire political science Professor Dante Scala said Sununu’s announcement gives Democrats a reason to be optimistic, adding that the state has recently leaned Democrat during presidential election years.
“Before Sununu, the Democrats had a lock on the governor office for a dozen years. Sununu changed all that,” he said. “He would have been the significant favorite had he decided to run for a fifth term. For the first time since 2016, we will be more likely to see a competitive race for governor. Democrats will have their best shot in a while.”
Sununu has said he will endorse the GOP’s ultimate nominee in 2024, but argued in an op-ed that Republicans must embrace a “course correction” away from Trump.
He said in a statement that he’s proud to have worked with Sununu “to put together a conservative, pro-jobs, pro-growth, family first economic agenda that has made New Hampshire the envy of New England and the nation."
Former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte may also be joining the field of candidates. In a statement responding to Sununu's announcement, Ayotte said “the battle to ensure that New Hampshire keeps our Live Free or Die spirit must continue" and teased the announcement of "some big news in the coming days.”
Two Democrats, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington and Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, have also announced their candidacies for the job.
“Granite Staters have the opportunity to choose a new direction for New Hampshire," Craig said in a statement. “As I’ve had conversations with people across our state I’ve heard over and over that we need a governor that will support our cities and towns, lower costs, strengthen public education, build affordable housing, and protect our reproductive rights. I’m running for Governor to do just that.”
Warmington said she welcomed the chance to solve the problems that Sununu failed to address. "I'm excited to be running for governor to tackle the extreme cost of housing, stand up for women’s reproductive freedom and make this state a place where people can afford to live and thrive,” she added.
Republican Governors Association Chair and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds praised Sununu after his announcement, saying he “never backed down from a challenge.”
“He made it a priority to deliver balanced budgets, lower taxes, improve education, and address substance use disorders for New Hampshire citizens,” she said. “And, thanks to Governor Sununu’s leadership, New Hampshire now ranks number one in the nation for personal freedom."
Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper responded to Sununu’s announcement by focusing on what she said would start a “nasty, extreme and expensive Republican primary for governor” featuring several supports of what has become known as the “Make America Great Again” movement.
“Not only have Granite State voters consistently rejected that type of division and chaos, but after four terms of Sununu’s failures on worsening problems — like the housing crisis, attacks on public education and harmful abortion restrictions — they know it’s time for a change,” she added.
Sununu, who won reelection in 2020 by more than 30 percentage points, said he could have a bigger and more direct impact as governor than as a senator. In a nod to the slow speed of politics in Washington, he said he didn’t want to spend the next six years “sitting around having meeting after meeting, waiting for votes to maybe happen.”
Sununu, whose father was governor from 1983 to 1989 and later served as White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush, was the youngest top executive in the country when he took office in 2017 at age 42. During his tenure, the easy-going politician known for folky manners was praised for his pro-business policies, efforts to combat inflation and his leadership during the pandemic.
UN group calls on Cambodia to release Cambodian American activist arrested for criticizing PM
A United Nations expert group that conducted an investigation on the arrest and detention of Cambodian American human rights activist and lawyer Theary Seng has issued a call for her immediate release. Unlawful detention: In a judgment released on July 12, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that Seng is being "arbitrarily detained in violation of international law." Cambodian authorities accused Seng and her co-defendants of organizing the failed attempt by the Cambodian National Rescue Party's leader, Sam Rainsy, to return from exile in 2019.
A United Nations expert group that conducted an investigation on the arrest and detention of Cambodian American human rights activist and lawyer Theary Seng has issued a call for her immediate release.
Political motivation: The UN report stated Seng was jailed for making two Facebook posts criticizing Hun and her conviction was due to the regime's "political motivation." According to the report, Seng's detention is part of a broader crackdown on freedom of expression, taking into account the various violations of due process she faced that were aimed at silencing her.
The Perseus Strategies, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Freedom House organizations represented Seng pro-bono and brought her case before the UN working group.
“Imbued with a moral compass that never waivers, Theary Seng is a hero of human rights, democratic reforms, and justice," international counsel Kerry Kennedy said in a statement. "Her voice, fearless and mighty, was then and is today vital to freedom. In concert with the recommendations of the Working Group, Theary Seng must be immediately released."
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