Hello again, Global Recap readers! July 2023 is sizzling its way into the record books as the hottest month on record. With just a few days left, let's hope it doesn't leave us roasted and ends with a bang!

Here’s are today’s highlights:

• 🇷🇺 Prigozhin was spotted in St. Petersburg.

• 🇷🇺 Putin is giving away free grain to African nations.

• 🇮🇳 India is lashing out at China for issuing “stapled visas” to their athletes from Arunachal Pradesh.

• 🇳🇪 The biggest news of today is… the coup in Niger.

📈 Top News

🔥 Tragedy strikes Brazil. A Grain silo explosion on Thursday left 8 dead, 11 injured, and 1 missing.

Grain dust particles are like little firecrackers waiting to go off. All it takes is a spark and you’ve got yourself a grain dust explosion. Experts say that for this to happen, 4 things need to be present:

• fuel (the grain dust),

• oxygen,

• confinement,

• and a source of ignition.

But the company that owns the silo, C Vale, says the cause of the explosion is still a mystery.

Click here for more.

🇨🇳🇵🇰 China gives Pakistan a $2.4B break. Islamabad gets to postpone paying back its hefty Chinese loan for two more years, thanks to its longtime ally Beijing. This move is a boost to Pakistan’s fragile foreign exchange reserves, which barely has enough money to pay the import bill for 2 more months. It has secured the IMF deal that averted a default, but will this be enough?

Click here to find out.

🌾 Putin’s grain game: On the first day of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, Putin offered free grain to six African nations. He said Russia would provide 25,000-50,000 tonnes of grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea in the coming months. The move is seen as a bid to win allies and influence in the continent, while hurting Ukraine’s economy and global food prices. But not everyone is buying Putin’s generosity.

🌍 Out of 54 African nations, only 17 heads of state attended. The reception to Putin’s announcement was also mixed.

Click here for more.

🔥 The CCP lashes out at the “malicious hype” surrounding the ousting of Foreign Minister Qin Gang. When a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry was pressed about the reasons behind Qin’s removal during a press conference, she only returned with evasive remarks.

Click here for more.

🤝 Yevgeny Prigozhin was spotted at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg. But wasn’t he supposed to be exiled in Belarus?

Also, the Orchestra Wagner Telegram channel is boasting about being the mastermind behind yesterday’s coup in Niger. Keep scrolling if you want to know more about it!👇🏻

Otherwise, to find out more about this recent sighting, click here.

✍🏻 In-Depth

Niger
Coup Chaos

👮‍♂️ Yet another coup rocks Africa. Soldiers from the presidential guard have staged a coup attempt against President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held captive in his palace in Niamey since Wednesday. The coup plotters have established a junta called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, taking significant actions such as:

• dissolved the constitution,

• suspended all state institutions, and

• closed the borders.

🗯️ Response: The international community, including the African Union and ECOWAS, has swiftly condemned the coup, demanding the immediate release of President Bazoum.

• Supporters of the President took to the streets to protest the coup.

• Some pro-coup supporters were also seen waving the Russian flag and chanting anti-French slogans in front of the National Assembly.

🪖 Niger's army lends support: In a surprising move, Niger's army has announced its support for the coup on Thursday, stating their intention to avoid a “bloodbath” and safeguard the president's well-being.

😱 Why this matters: Niger holds strategic importance for Western powers, notably France and the United States, due to its crucial role in combating Islamist militants in West Africa. The country hosts military bases and personnel from these nations, providing essential training and assistance to Nigerian forces. Additionally, Niger collaborates with the European Union in tackling irregular migration from sub-Saharan Africa. The coup's occurrence could undermine these vital partnerships and further destabilize the region.

☢️ Note: Niger is home to two major uranium mines that contribute approximately 5% of the world’s uranium mining output.

North Korea
Kim’s New Copied Toys

🚀 North Korea has been busy showing off its latest weapons to its friends from Russia and China. The hermit kingdom displayed two new drones and its most advanced ICBMs at a weapons exhibition in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

✈ The drones look eerily similar to the US military’s Global Hawk and Reaper, but experts are skeptical about their capabilities. The ICBMs, however, are a different story. The Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18 are both nuclear-capable missiles that can reach anywhere on the US mainland. The Hwasong-18 is especially impressive, as it is the first solid-fuelled ICBM developed by North Korea, which makes it faster and harder to detect than liquid-fuelled ones.

🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese politburo member Li Hongzhong delivered personal letters from their presidents to the North Korean dictator. Kim thanked the two nations for their support during the Korean War, which ended with an armistice 70 years ago on Thursday. In return, Shoigu called the North Korean army:

India
Visa Wars with China

👀 China’s visa trick angers India. China has been issuing separate stapled visas to Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, a disputed border state. India has protested strongly and refused to send its athletes with stapled visas to China for the World University Games.

🏆 The incident involved a 12-member team of Wushu players who were supposed to travel to China’s Chengdu to compete at the World University Games. However, three players from Arunachal Pradesh in the group were given stapled visas, and the visit was called off on Wednesday night.

🤔 Why does it matter? A stapled visa is a visa that is not stamped directly into the passport of the applicant like normal visas are. China’s move to issue such a visa is due to its long-held stand that Arunachal is part of its territory, a claim that India has rubbished repeatedly.

🌏 Why Arunachal Pradesh matters: Arunachal Pradesh is a mountainous state in northeastern India that shares borders with Bhutan, Myanmar, and China. It is claimed by China as part of its South Tibet region, but India considers it an integral part of its territory. The state has a diverse population of ethnic groups, languages, and religions. It is also rich in natural resources and biodiversity.

🔥 A history of tension and violence. The border dispute between India and China dates back to the colonial era, when the British drew the McMahon Line as the boundary between India and Tibet in 1914. China did not accept this line, as it did not recognize Tibet’s autonomy. The dispute led to a brief but bloody war in 1962, in which China captured some parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Since then, there have been several incidents of skirmishes, standoffs, and clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries.