Hi Global Recap readers,

Today’s headlines are a cocktail of dormant incidents stirring back to life and new stories that have just come to light.

🌐 Here’s what’s up around the world:

• 🏠 Evergrande Misses Another Bond Payment.

• 💳 Poland Gets $2 Billion Loan from US.

• 🇨🇦 Canada’s House Speaker Facing Calls to Resign Over the “Nazi Honoring” Controversy.

• 🇷🇺 Russia Wants Back In UN Human Rights Council.

• 🇺🇦 Ukraine Kills Key Kremlin Commander, or Did It?

Let’s get into today’s news.

📈 Top News

🏠 Evergrande Misses Another Bond Payment. The struggling Chinese property giant’s main domestic unit, Hengda Real Estate Group, failed to pay the interest and principal for a 4 billion yuan ($547 million) bond that was due Monday. The company blamed an ongoing investigation for its inability to issue new debt.

Evergrande’s shares dropped 8% on Tuesday, adding to the 22% plunge on Monday.

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💳 Poland Gets $2 Billion Loan from US. Poland is ready to ditch its old Soviet-era arsenal and buy new ones from South Korea, all thanks to the proposed $2 billion loan from the US. This is all because Poland has been playing a “central support role in facilitating international assistance to neighboring Ukraine,” according to the US State Department.

However, a recent trade dispute over Poland’s ban on Ukrainian grain has raised some doubts about its solidarity.

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🇨🇦 Canada’s House Speaker Facing Calls to Resign. Canada’s House Speaker Anthony Rota is under fire for praising a former Nazi soldier as a “Ukrainian hero” during a visit by President Zelenskyy last week.

Rota later apologized, but many lawmakers are calling for his resignation.

Canadian PM Trudeau even called the incident:

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🇷🇺 Russia Wants Back In UN Human Rights Council. After being booted out for invading Ukraine, Russia is trying to charm its way back into the UN Human Rights Council. It claims it will find “adequate solutions” for human rights issues and prevent the council from becoming a tool of the West.

But critics are not buying it. They point out the ongoing abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine and at home, including torture, rape, and genocide.

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✍️ In-Depth

Russia
Ukraine Kills Key Kremlin Commander, or Did It?

🚀 Friday: The Attack on Sevastopol. On Friday, Ukraine launched a surprise attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the main naval base in occupied Crimea. The strike was part of an operation named “Crab Trap” that targeted the senior leadership of the fleet.

🪦 Monday: Ukraine Claims Sokolov’s Death. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Monday that the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, was among 34 officers who died in the strike.

📺 Tuesday: Russia Shows Sokolov Alive. Russia’s Defence Ministry released a video on Tuesday showing Sokolov attending a meeting via video conference with Defence Minister Shoigu and other army chiefs.

There are two possibilities:

• If Sokolov is alive, and he was present at the recent video conference, this proves Ukraine had been wrong all along. This would damage Ukraine’s credibility.

• However, some have pointed out that the admiral in the video is not moving much, awkwardly positioned, and even looking like he is being “propped up.”

Check out the video yourselves (with annotations):

🇺🇦 Ukraine’s Response: Ukraine’s military has said that it is “clarifying” information regarding the alleged assassination of Sokolov after this recent video from Moscow was released.

🤷‍♂️ Who Is Telling the Truth? It is hard to verify the conflicting claims of both sides, as access to Crimea is restricted and information from the annexed Crimea is tightly controlled. Even more so because Russia has denied or downplayed its casualties in the past, while Ukraine has exaggerated its military achievements.