Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September. Following his notable absence from the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa, Putin is set to miss yet another significant event. Peskov said that the Russian President’s main emphasis will be the “special military operation” in Ukraine, which is why he will be absent from the summit
EU Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said that while the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with India are proceeding at a good pace, the bloc is yet to set a deadline for the conclusion of talks. Remarking that the bloc values “substance over deadline,” the EU official suggested that the grouping is in no hurry to sign an FTA as there is still a lot of ground to be covered.
Zimbabwe’s incumbent president, Emerson Mnangagwa, who ascended to power after ousting long-time strongman Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup, claimed victory in the country’s fraught presidential election. Mnangagwa, a member of the ruling ZANU-PF party, received 53% of the votes, securing a second five-year term. Meanwhile, the opposition’s main candidate, Nelson Chamisa, who won 44% of the ballots cast, dismissed the results, stressing that he “will not roll over and accept fictitious lies.”
Senior Hamas official Saleh Al Arouri on Sunday ordered the Israeli government to halt the targeted killings of Palestinian militants, warning that the policy could spark a “regional war.” “If we reach the point of an all-out confrontation, Israel will face an unprecedented defeat in its history,” Arouri warned. His threats came after the Israeli PM’s Office authorised the targeted killing of terrorists following several deadly attacks against Israelis in the West Bank.
UN experts warned on Sunday that ISIS has almost doubled its territory in Mali amid growing instability, a weakened peace process, and several coups by the military. Separately, Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN’s Counter Terrorism Office noted that the “uncertain situation” in West Africa following the coup in Niger presents a “complex and multifaceted challenge” for the region.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing, China on Sunday for a four-day visit, which aims to boost business ties between the the two superpower nations. “We want to have a stable commercial relationship, and core to that is regular communication. We need to communicate to avoid conflict,” Raimondo said.
Vice Admiral Karl Thomas — the commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet — said on Sunday that China’s “aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea, including the use of water cannons by its coast guard against a Philippine vessel, must be challenged and checked. “My forces are out here for a reason,” he said.
Russian investigators confirmed on Sunday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary organisation, was among the ten people who died in a plane crash last week. Russia’s Investigative Committee stated in a statement posted on Telegram, “As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed,” adding that “according to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established. They correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet.”
Three US marines were killed and several others seriously wounded after an Osprey aircraft crashed on a remote island in northern Australia while assisting a training exercise. The marines on board were flying in support of the Predators Run military exercise, as stated by the US military. The reason for the crash is still being investigated.