Welcome back, Global Recap readers! 

Another eventful day of geopolitics news makes for an action-packed newsletter.

Here are the highlights:

• 🇷🇺 Wagnerites are getting drunk, being carried away in ambulances, kidnapping, and stealing, in their own motherland.

• 🇮🇳 Modi is facing a rare no-confidence vote.

• 🇰🇵 Exploring why North Korea invited China and Russia.

📈 Top News

👋 Hun Sen’s done, son. Cambodia’s longest-serving leader is stepping down after nearly four decades in power. But don’t expect any major changes - he’s passing the baton to his son, who’s been groomed for the job for years.

“But hey, isn’t that a photo of Hun Sen voting?” ☝️ 

Yes, there was voting. But the only credible opposition party was banned from voting and the ruling party has a tight grip on the media and the courts.

Click here for more.

🚂 Wagner’s train-wreck. Belarus has booted out a bunch of Wagnerites back to Russia. But instead of going home to their families, they are getting wasted in train stations and committing heinous crimes. Some of them are even ex-cons who got a free pass from their boss for slaughtering Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is busy fudging the numbers to hide this crime spree. The charges against them include robbery, kidnapping, and murder. But why is the Kremlin doing this?

Click here for more.

🔫 This might be why Prigozhin’s coup was a flop. CIA Director Williams Burns exposed the reasons behind the mercenary's sudden U-turn.

He revealed that Prigozhin's soldiers developed "cold feet" when they realized they were involved in an act of treason. After all, they signed up for the invasion of Ukraine, not an armed mutiny against their own country. Burns also asserted that Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along," as he lacked a clear plan.

Click here for more.

🔥 Imran Khan’s legal troubles are heating up as Pakistan’s Supreme Court gives him the cold shoulder, rejecting the former Pakistani PM’s petition to halt his trial in a case involving the concealment of assets after selling state gifts.

Khan, who was disqualified from office last year, faces over 150 cases of corruption, terrorism, and violence.

Click here for more.

🔥 Russia’s top diplomat in the US slams Washington for its new $400 million military aid package to support Ukraine. Anatoly Antonov questions Joe Biden’s “common sense” and insists that providing Kyiv with more weapons will only protract the war and ultimately fail to deliver on defeating Russia.

Click here for more.

✍🏻 In-Depth

India
Modi on Fire: No-Confidence Vote Looms

🔥 India’s PM is feeling the heat as he faces a rare challenge in parliament over the deadly violence in Manipur, a remote northeastern state. The opposition parties have moved a no-confidence motion against his government, hoping to force him to address the issue in detail. But will it work? Or will Modi just sweat it out?

👥 Meitei vs Kuki: A bloody feud. The root cause of the violence is ethnic tension between:

• the majority Meitei people - who live in the valley,

• the minority Kuki tribe - who live in the hills.

The conflict erupted in May when a court mandated the state government to deliberate on extending special benefits and quotas in government jobs and education to the Meitei community, which are currently enjoyed by the Kuki community. Kuki vehemently opposed it. Since then:

• more than 130 people have been killed,

• 60,000 displaced, and

• hundreds of churches and temples have been destroyed.

👩‍⚖️ Women bear the brunt of brutality. A shocking video of two Kuki women being molested by a mob sparked global outrage and condemnation last week. The women were paraded naked by Meitei men after their village was allegedly razed.

Why Modi is being grilled: The PM had not commented publicly on the violence only after the video went viral, sparking global outrage. When he finally broke his silence, he called the incident “shameful” and vowed to punish the culprits. But the opposition parties are not buying it.

So what does this all mean for Modi? The no-confidence motion is a mere formality, as Modi’s party and its allies have a comfy majority in the lower house of parliament (301/542 seats). But it is a rare gesture that could tarnish his image as a strong leader who can tackle security and political crises. It could also corner him to reply to the motion before it is put to vote, something he has dodged so far.

North Korea
Shoigu in Pyongyang for Festivities

🚀 A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has arrived in North Korea to attend the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, which it calls “Victory Day”. The delegation is joining a Chinese delegation that is also attending the event.

🇰🇵 Why China and Russia are important to North Korea. China and Russia have veto power in the UN Security Council, which means they can stop any new sanctions from being adopted. Last year, they did just that - it was the first time since 2006.

🇺🇳 UN’s resolutions against the hermit kingdom: The UN Security Council has imposed several restrictive resolutions against North Korea since 2006, banning its trade of weapons and military equipment, freezing its assets, and restricting its scientific cooperation. The US and other countries have also imposed their own sanctions, targeting more individuals and businesses. The sanctions are supposed to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear program and return to negotiations. But so far, they have not worked. It’s like trying to put out a fire with a water gun.