Will South Africa Arrest Putin?
Back in March, the International Criminal Court, or ICC, issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The court said that this was issued for Putin due to his role in the unlawful deportation and transfer of children during the war in Ukraine. What this means, in effect, is that any country that's a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, should arrest the Russian leader if he steps foot on their territory. This is the first time the leader of a permanent member of the UN Security Council has been put in such a position and it's always been expected to make international diplomacy difficult, not least because Putin has been expected to attend a summit in South Africa, a signatory of the Rome Statute in August for a summit of the BRICS countries. If South Africa were to live up to their commitments, they would arrest Putin upon his arrival. However, this morning, the South African government has announced that they will extend their diplomacy, Immunity and Privileges Act to all international officials who attend the summit in August. Clearly, this is designed to protect Putin from arrest and allow him to attend the summit. It should be noted that there are still questions around whether South Africa would still, irrespective of this blanket immunity, be required to arrest Putin internally in South Africa. There's been a dispute between the main parties about what approach the country should take to this issue. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, have launched a court application requesting that Putin be detained and arrested. The governing African National Congress Party, or ANC, has been more critical of the ICC ruling, though, with President Cyril Ramaphosa a few months ago flirting with the idea of leaving the ICC entirely.
Sudanese Army Suspend Ceasefire Talks
The Sudanese armed forces has reportedly suspended its participation in ceasefire talks with the opposing paramilitary rapid support forces or RSF. The negotiations between the two warring factions were started in early May, and while not ending, the one and a half month old conflict had resulted in a commitment from both sides to protect civilians and humanitarian access. The talks had also produced a number of short term ceasefires, though they were regularly violated. The latest cease fire was due to expire late on Monday, but the armed forces and the RSF agreed ahead of the deadline to extend it for a further five days. Despite this, fighting had been reported on Tuesday in the Khartoum metropolitan area and in the western region of Darfur. The decision by the armed forces to pull out of the talks, according to an anonymous official speaking to the AFP news agency, was quote, because the RSF rebels have never implemented a single one of the provisions of a short term ceasefire which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings. The RSF, for its part, has also accused the armed forces of violating ceasefires and say they will exercise the right to defend themselves.
North Korea's Failed Spy Satellite
The North Korean government has this morning admitted that its attempt to launch its first space satellite had failed and had crashed into the sea. The government has said that it will make a second attempt soon. The North Korean government claimed that the satellite was intended to monitor US military activities. The failed launch caused confusion south of the border, with residents in Seoul, hearing air raid sirens and being told to prepare for an evacuation. 20 minutes later, residents were told that this was a false alarm. Similarly, in the Japanese city of Okinawa, residents were issued with a similar warning. Speaking to BBC News, a number of residents have Seoul have explained the fear they felt at hearing the air raid sirens. Kim, a 33 year old mother living in Seoul, said, I didn't believe there would be a war, but after the war in Ukraine, it made me think that North Korea or China might invade South Korea. She added that she believed that North Korea may have lost its mind and decided to invade.
Lula Welcomes Maduro
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed leaders from South America's 12 nations for a summit focused on expanding cooperation and integration in the region. Leaders were due to discuss the revival of the Unasur bloc, which was founded back in the 2000s by Lula and other left wing leaders, but largely became defunct as the region shifted to the right. At the summit, Lula also proposed the creation of a common South American trade currency rather than relying on extra regional currencies, i.e. the dollar, an idea that has cropped up semi-regularly over the years. One notable attendee was Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who had previously been banned from entering Brazil by former President Bolsonaro and has faced years of isolation in the region from right wing leaders, but who was welcomed pretty warmly by Lula, who hailed it as a new moment in the country's relations. Brazil's warming of relations with Venezuela follows a similar move by Colombia's left wing president, Gustavo Petro, who took office in August last year. Both Petro and Lula have reversed the hardline anti-maduro policies of their predecessors. At the summit Lula and Maduro hit out at US sanctions, which Washington has imposed on Venezuela for Maduro's crackdown on opposition and increasing authoritarianism since first being elected in 2013.
Elizabeth Holmes Jailed
Following lengthy court battles, Elizabeth Holmes has today started her 11 year jail sentence in a Texas prison. Holmes was once one of the world's youngest self-made billionaires. This was thanks to Theranos, the company she founded, which promised to be able to detect a whole range of diseases such as diabetes from only a few drops of blood. It was later revealed that her company could not do this and she was found guilty of a range of fraud charges.
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