Wagner Boss Declares Mutiny

Hello again, Global Recap readers! I hope you had a great week.

🗞️ It’s challenging to be the bearer of heated geopolitical news every day. So I appreciate every single one of you brave people tuning in every night to make sense of the complicated world we live in.

Today, we are welcoming the weekend with Prigozhin threatening to march his armed troops into Moscow, more threats from China and Russia, and Brazil's latest blame game. 👇🏻

Russia
Wagner Boss Declares Mutiny

🪖 Wagner Group’s boss has declared mutiny on Russian elites. Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, is threatening to move his armed units into Moscow after claiming his own troops were shelled by Russian forces.

Now, there are videos of armored vehicles within Moscow surfacing:

The Russian Defense Ministry denies Prigozhin’s claims, calling them “untrue and an informational provocation.” Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Putin is aware of the situation and “all necessary measures are being taken.” Prigozhin is now a top target of Russian authorities, with the FSB initiating a criminal case against him for “armed mutiny.”

Following speculation that he had effectively announced a coup against Russia's military, Prigozhin later added:

Brazil
Lula Demanding Rich Nations to Pay Up

🌲 Brazilian President Lula is demanding ‘rich’ nations pay for the preservation of forests in poorer countries. What’s his reasoning? Because they have “historic debt” to the planet, putting industrial growth over the health of the Earth. Speaking at the “Power Our Planet” event in Paris, Lula further blamed “those who made the industrial revolution” for having “polluted the world.”

📈 Lula’s activist passion stems from his key election pledge to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. To appease his voters, he must speak out against environmental issues. Also, his administration recently unveiled plans to end illegal deforestation in the forest by 2030 and this seems to be an extension of his effort to fulfill his pledge.

Opinion

♼ But this issue is more complex than he is making it sound. Lula’s fiery speech will surely inspire many to demonize and shift the blame for all environmental problems on “wealthy” nations. While there is data that suggests that they greatly contribute to deforestation in poorer nations, don’t forget that there are also companies within those low-income nations that sell such services and financially benefit too. This is not a simple “rich country exploitation.”

✨ We all enjoy the conveniences of modern life that inevitably contribute to these unfortunate side effects. They have been made possible with dreams of a better tomorrow, not with hatred for nature. Yes, we can do more to tackle environmental issues, but progress can be made without Lula’s “us vs them mentality.”

US-China
China Hits Back After Biden’s “Dictator” Comment

Context: While Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Beijing to improve relations with China, Biden referred to Xi as a “dictator” at a fundraiser event. The comment was labeled as “a blatant political provocation" by China’s Foreign Ministry.

🇨🇳 Chinese embassy in the US released a statement on Thursday:

Meanwhile, President Biden doubled down on his comment saying that he doesn’t think “it’s had any real consequence.”

However, it has been revealed since then that China gave an “official diplomatic reprimand” to the US Ambassador to China following President Biden’s comments comparing China’s Xi Jinping to a dictator. While the White House downplayed the move, officials are still assessing its potential effect on US-China relations.

World
Top of the News World

🇨🇳 Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged Europe to "rise above differences" and find "creative solutions" with China. In an extension of China's effort to present itself as the "solution to global problems," Li stated that in order to overcome climate change and poverty alleviation, trade protectionism and all forms of decoupling that the West is currently trending towards need to be rejected.

🇷🇺 Russia’s ambassador to the US is warning that US’ new resolution will threaten a nuclear war between Russia and the West. The bipartisan draft resolution would consider “any nuclear-related provocation” by Russia or Belarus in Ukraine as a direct attack on NATO, immediately triggering its collective defense clause.

🚨 Spain and Morocco accused of cover-up in Melilla deaths. Amnesty International has accused Spain and Morocco of failing to properly investigate the events that led to the deaths of over 20 migrants and refugees at the border of the Spanish enclave of Melilla in 2022.

🔥 West Bank violence between Israel and Palestine is spiraling out of control. The UN’s human rights commissioner, Volker Türk, has issued a statement calling for an immediate stop to violence, as well as warning that the conflict is deteriorating and being fueled by “strident political rhetoric” and the use of advanced weaponry.