NuseReal

After 18 months in power, the Dutch four-party coalition government collapsed over bitter migration policy disputes. — www.euronews.com — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

— Both the Prime Minister's VVD party and the CDA wanted tougher measures, which the centre-left D66 and Christian Union parties opposed.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy announces return of Mariupol commanders from Turkey and Rishi Sunak reiterates UK's ban on cluster munitions — www.theguardian.com — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group are preparing to move to Belarus

Poland began moving more than 1,000 troops and almost 200 units of equipment to the east of the country

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has secured Turkey's crucial backing for Ukraine's pledge to join Nato during his meeting with Erdogan in Istanbul

The UN's nuclear watchdog chief said it was "making progress" on inspecting several areas of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

A confused crowd booed Belarussian after Ukrainian tennis star's Wimbledon victory — www.kyivpost.com — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

— Svitolina and her fellow Ukrainian players have made it clear that they won't shake hands with their counterparts from Russia and Belarus due to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Israel aims to stop Palestinian Authority 'collapse', PM Office says. But... — ground.news: 25 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

— ...the decision comes after Israel has increased military operations against armed groups in the occupied West Bank, where the PA has limited autonomy, exposing the weakness of the PA in the face of militants and the expansion of Israeli settlements. The declaration also demands an end to the PA's anti-Israel activity, including incitement, illegal construction, and payments to the families of terrorists.

Mexican military to take over airports as president takes aim at corruption, mismanagement — ground.news: 26 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

Gunmen have killed 24 villagers in latest attack in Nigeria's hard-hit north — ground.news: 18 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

At least 10 migrants missing, one dead after boat sinks off Tunisia on way to Italy — ground.news: 15 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

— The number of dead and missing off Tunisia's coasts has reached over 600 in the first half of 2023, exceeding previous years, and the country has come under pressure from European countries to prevent mass departures.

US central command says its drone killed ISIS leader Usamah al-Mahajir in Eastern Syria on 7 July — ground.news: 116 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele nominated for re-election next year despite constitutional questions — ground.news: 7 media reports — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

Evernote has laid off most of its US staff and will move most operations to Europe — https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/9/23789012/evernote-layoff-us-staff-bending-spoons-note-taking-app — 9 July 2023 (LINK)

Airstrike in Sudanese city kills at least 22, officials say, amid fighting between rival generals — ground.news: 121 media reports — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Two men executed in Iran for 2022 attack on Shi'ite sanctuary in Shiraz — ground.news: 37 media reports — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

— The attack was claimed by ISIS. The attacker, a citizen of Tajikistan, entered the shrine and opened fire on worshippers, hiding an assault rifle in a bag. He later died in a hospital from injuries sustained during the attack. Five people were arrested over the attack last year, two of whom were executed and three received prison terms.

4 militants attack a police station and kill 2 security forces in southeast Iran, state TV says — ground.news: 51 media reports — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Mexican journalist found dead as attacks on press continue — ground.news: 16 media reports — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

'Tonight is the final night': Elton John says goodbye to over 50 years of touring with last show on his farewell tour — cnn.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Rikkie Kolle, 22, has become the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Universe Netherlands: she will represent the Netherlands in the upcoming Miss Universe competition, making her the first trans woman to do so since 2018 — ground.news: 26 media reports — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Scientists are sounding the alarm that life-threatening hot climates will affect 2 billion people by end of century — news.yahoo.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

What is the economic cost of the riots in France? French business association says unrest caused more than $1.1bn worth of damage — www.aljazeera.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Police seized 4,000 vines of cannabis, worth around 1,100 kilos, from a vast indoor cultivation warehouse operated by French and Albanian nationals in a village in south-east France — www.euronews.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Switzerland to become a net importer of cheese this year for the first time — AP.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

AI revolutionizes brain tumor management with advanced diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis — /www.cryptopolitan.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

The beach named one of the most dangerous in the Caribbean: West End, Grand Bahama, for its sharks — www.explore.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

A man in the Swiss village of Lenk is hoping to attract digital nomads with mountain views and community — www.euronews.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

— Running from 16 October to 22 December, the hub will have private apartments suitable for everyone from solo nomads to families. Each one has its own desk for more individual business but there's also a co-working space to get to know your fellow residents.

This village in the Swiss Alps has around 2,500 permanent residents with about 15 per cent of them having moved from other countries. Some 20 different hiking trails start there with a selection of the highest peaks in Europe easily accessible by car or public transport. There's also horseback riding, cycling and other outdoor activities in the summer months. In winter, there are 200km of ski slopes to take advantage of in the region.

Meta's Threads crosses 90 million signups in 4 days — www.thewrap.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

'Tonight is the final night': Elton John says goodbye to over 50 years of touring with last show on his farewell tour — cnn.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

Biden says US destroys last of chemical weapons stockpile — ground.news: 79 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

UN food aid deliveries by AI robots could begin next year — ground.news: 9 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

Nations agree on shipping emissions cuts but fall short on climate goals — ground.news: 45 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

Former UN climate chief admits she was wrong that fossil fuel industry could be an ally — www.commondreams.org ← — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

— "More than most members of the climate community, I have for years held space for the oil and gas industry to finally wake up and stand up to its critical responsibility in history," Figueres wrote in an Al Jazeera oped on 6 July. "I have done so because I was convinced the global economy could not be decarbonized without their constructive participation and I was therefore willing to support the transformation of their business model."

"But what the industry is doing with its unprecedented profits over the past 12 months has changed my mind," she explained in the wake of fossil fuel companies exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to price gouge consumers and breaking records by raking in over $400 billion in profits last year.

Challenging misinformation about the situation in France — fullfact — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

• Multiple posts on social media have incorrectly claimed that the Foreign Office advised people not to travel to France.
• Zebras and lions filmed running through streets were not filmed during French riots
• Eiffel Tower 'riot' photo is actually from Euro 2016 final
• Video of high rise on fire is from UAE, not France
• Picture of refugee banner wasn't taken in France
• Arc de Triomphe photo shows 2019 'gilets jaunes' protest, not recent riots
• Riot video of Marseille library actually shows fire at Manila post office

Indian authorities arrests 3 railway officials over the train crash that killed more than 290 — ground.news: 70 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

Biden says sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was 'difficult decision,' but 'they needed them' — ground.news: 31 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

— Washington said it has received assurances from Kyiv that it would minimize risk to civilians, including by not using the munitions in populated areas. Biden has been condemned by human rights groups. Biden said the decision was "very difficult", but that Ukrainian forces were "running out of ammunition".

China hits Alibaba affiliate Ant Group with $985 million fine for violating various regulations — ground.news: 42 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

Trump draws enthusiastic crowd for campaign event in Council Bluffs😡 — ground.news: 11 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

The Australian government's "Robodebt" initiative, which automatically issued debt notices to welfare recipients, has been criticized by a Royal Commission as unfair, illegal, and causing distress and harm to many people. — ground.news: 10 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

— The Royal Commission's report recommends possible civil or criminal prosecution for those involved in the scheme, as well as significant reforms to government and public service practices.

Elon Musk sues law firm that led fight to make him complete Twitter takeover — and charged $90 million — fortune.com ● — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

The UN chief issues a rare condemnation of excessive force by Israel in its Jenin raid — ground.news: 46 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

UN chief calls for a robust international police force to help combat Haiti's armed gangs after U.N. expert estimates that Haiti needs up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers — ground.news: 17 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

UK announces new sanctions regime targeted at Iranian threats, saying it uncovered over 15 credible threats by Iran's regime to kill or kidnap British or UK-based individuals since the start of 2022 — ground.news: 22 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

Earth reaches hottest day ever recorded 3 days in a row: average global temperature was 17.18C (62.9F) on 5 July — ground.news: 144 media reports — 7 July 2023 (LINK)

— The figures from the University of Maine's Climate. Reanalyzer are not an official government recordBeijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 35C and ordered a stop to all outdoor work on 5 July, as the temperature reached 41C.

Nigeria left out as 12 African countries get first-ever malaria vaccine: 18mn in total — guardian.ng — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

— Four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.3 per cent), Democratic Republic of Congo (12.6 per cent), Tanzania (4.1 per cent) and Niger (3.9 per cent).Instead, the beneficiaries are Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) countries: Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, who will receive doses to continue vaccinations in pilot areas.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a statement, said the distributions were determined through application of principles outlined in the framework for allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply, which prioritizes areas of highest need, where the risk of illness and death among children are highest.

Nearly half of the tap water in the US is contaminated with 'forever chemicals,' government study finds — cnn.com — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

OceanGate suspends all exploration and commercial operations after Titan implosion — ground.news: 84 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

El Salvadoran ex-President Mauricio Funes sentenced to 6 years in absentia for tax evasion — ground.news: 19 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

— Funes was previously sentenced to 14 years in prison for negotiating with powerful street gangs while he was in office from 2009 to 2014. He currently resides in Nicaragua, where he is also a citizen.

French lawmakers have passed a law allowing the police to spy on suspects by remotely activating the camera, microphone, and GPS of their phones and other devices — ground.news: 23 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

— The use of remote spying will require approval from a judge and cannot exceed six months, and sensitive professions like doctors, journalists, and lawyers are exempt from surveillance.

Two Dutch museums will return 478 art and artifacts that were looted from Sri Lanka and Indonesia — ground.news: 24 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, president of Belarus says — ground.news: 265 media reports — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

Greta Thunberg charged with disobeying Swedish police during oil protest — www.theguardian.com — 6 July 2023 (LINK)

— Climate activist will appear in court in late July after disrupting traffic during a demonstration in Malmö. Thunberg was twice briefly detained by police in Oslo during a demonstration against windfarms on Indigenous people's land rights in March, and in January during protests in Germany against the demolition of a village to make way for a coalmine.

The leader of the JFK-QAnon cult is dead. Some followers think it's all part of the plan — www.vice.com — 8 July 2023 (LINK)

WFP funding crisis leaves millions stranded without aid in West Africa — news.un.org — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

New UN policy paper launched to counter and address online hate — news.un.org — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

— The Strategy makes a firm commitment to step up coordinated action to tackle hate speech, both at global and national levels, including the use of new technologies and engaging with social media to address online hate speech and promote positive narratives. The policy paper builds upon earlier initiatives, including The UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, which seeks to enhance the UN's response to the global spread and impact of hate speech.

4 June was world's hottest day on record: 17.18C (62.9F) — breaking 3 June's record (17.01C) — www.theguardian.com — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Colombian rebel group says it will stop attacks on military from 6 June — ground.news: 12 media reports — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

— The six-month ceasefire, set to begin on 3 August, aims to bring both sides closer to ending five decades of war and facilitate peace talks. The ELN is estimated to have 4,000 fighters active in Colombia's Choco region, as well as along the borders with Venezuela and Ecuador, causing displacement of thousands of people.

CITES strengthening cooperation for sustainable and legal trade in fish and fish products — cites.org — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Kremlin appears to gain control of Wagner warlord's troll farms as Patriot media operations shut down — www.theguardian.com — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Afghan fund stuck in catharsis amid dire humanitarian crisis — genevasolutions.news — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

— Nearly a year after it was established, the operation of a Geneva-registered fund appears frozen in time waiting for political conditions to shift so that billions of dollars may be returned to Afghanistan's central bank. In June, Ocha revised down its annual budget for Afghanistan from $4.6 billion to $3.2bn due to the restrictions on female workers. For many, the issue at stake is the fate of the $3.5bn Afghan Fund, established in September and managed by four trustees to enable the recapitalisation of the DAB. Officially called the Fund for the Afghan People, its statutes define its purpose as to "receive, protect, disburse assets for the benefit of the Afghan people, including for foreign exchange rate and price stabilisation objectives in Afghanistan". On 26 June, as the fund met for the third time according to one board member.

U.K. Special Forces at centre of Afghanistan war crimes inquiry, MoD confirms — ground.news: 12 media reports — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Fundraiser for French police officer who shot teen closed down: the family of the dead 17-year-old and politicians have filed complaints over the controversial crowdfunder — www.euronews.com — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Two authors file a lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully 'ingesting' their books — www.theguardian.com — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads app — ground.news: 117 media reports — 5 July 2023 (LINK)

US climate data pinpoints 3 June as hottest recorded day on Earth: 17.01° Celsius(62.62F), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F) — ground.news: 49 media reports — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

Climate change spells 'terrifying' future future of hunger and suffering: UN rights chief — afp / www.france24.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

— UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told a UN Human Rights Council debate on the right to food that extreme weather events were wiping out crops, herds and ecosystems, making it impossible for communities to rebuild and support themselves. "More than 828 million people faced hunger in 2021. And climate change is projected to place up to 80 million more people at risk of hunger by the middle of this century," said Türk. "Our environment is burning. It's melting. It's flooding. It's depleting. It's drying. It's dying."

Catchup: Ashley Summers, 35, a mother of two from Indiana, died after drinking approximately 2L of water in just 20 minutes on 4 July. She became lightheaded and had symptoms of dehydration, so she consumed four 500ml bottles of water in a short period of time. Ashley collapsed at home and was later diagnosed with water toxicity hyponatremia, which occurs when there is too much water in the body and not enough sodium. The excessive water intake caused severe brain swelling, and Ashley never regained consciousness. — ground.news: 28 media reports — 4 August 2023 (LINK)

'Mr. Bean' actor sparks controversy with confounding newspaper column: dupes the readers of The Guardian about electric vehicles and environment — www.thecooldown.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— The argument is often the same — the production of electric vehicles produced almost 70% more pollution than the production of traditional vehicles (that's a fact from Volvo, by the way). It's not incorrect, but it is heavily biased. A 2020 study by Transport and Environment found that the life cycle pollution output — or the overall pollution produced by an EV across its entire lifespan — is, on average, almost three times less than that of a vehicle that runs on gasoline. Aside from that, there is a lot of progress being made to mitigate the production pollution.

Climate activists in Spain block 10 golf course holes with seedlings and cement to protest water use — edition.cnn.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed deep concern about the developments in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli airstrikes have hit the densely populated refugee camp there — news.un.org — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— In a statement, Mr. Guterres affirmed that all military operations must be conducted with full respect for international humanitarian law. The incursion follows another operation in the camp on 19 June, which left four Palestinians killed and 91 others injured. The UN's humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on 4 July that as a result of the air and ground operations taking place in the West Bank town, 10 Palestinians including three children were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. At least 100 others have been injured, of whom 20 are reportedly in critical condition, OCHA said. Thousands of residents have reportedly left the camp since the operation began.

Taliban bans women's beauty salons in Afghanistan — ground.news: 108 media reports — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

China is in default on a trillion dollars in debt to US bondholders. Will the US force repayment? cf the UK under Thatcher → — thehill.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders. "Thatcher said that for China to have access to U.K. capital markets [on the return of Hong Kong to China in 1987], it had to honor the defaulted Chinese sovereign debt held by British subjects. Faced with that stark choice, China agreed. Unfortunately, the U.S. failed to take such a common-sense stance. To this day, China has had access to U.S. capital markets while openly rejecting its sovereign debt obligations to American bondholders."

Swiss diplomatic secrets published briefly on Dark Web — www.heidi.news(French) — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— The Swiss National Centre for Cybersecurity (NCSC) said details of protection for embassies and addresses of Cabinet Ministers werer published by the Play cybercriminal group. It followed pirating of information from the Bernese company Xplain, with which NCSC works, in Interlaken on 28 June 2023.

The US ambassador to Russia met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow — www.theguardian.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

Moscow briefly closes airport amid reports of drone attack; Nineteen injured in Russian drone attacks on Sumy

Russia has brought 700,000 children from the conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, said late on Sunday.

Zelenskiy and German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, called on Monday for the extension of the Black Sea Grain deal.

Russia's state-owned news agency Tass reports that Russian security forces have claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate the Russian-imposed head of Crimea.

Zelensky asked the Georgian ambassador to Kyiv to return home to try to "save" jailed ex-leader Mikheil Saakashvili, a Ukrainian citizen, after footage showed him looking emaciated.

UN warns world to prepare for El Nino impact — ground.news: 6 media reports — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

IAEA gives Japan stamp of approval for Fukushima water release — ground.news: 78 media reports: reuters — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

Jens Stoltenberg to stay as Nato chief for another year, allowing him to complete a decade at the helm — ground.news: 107 media reports — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— The search for a successor for Stoltenberg has been unsuccessful so far, with no agreement reached among NATO countries, and many expressing a preference for a woman to be appointed to the top post.

Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, ICRC President: 'An external audit of the ICRC is necessary' — genevasolutions.news — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— "In the future, we will not receive all the funds that we would like to obtain to support everyone. The needs on the ground will have to be met as best as possible with fewer resources. This involves optimizing systems and processes, promoting digitalisation. In a nutshell, doing more with less."

Did a study say scientists 'failed for decades' to share climate risks? Not quite — www.sciencealert.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

The 8 wanted overseas-based Hong Kong activists will be pursued for life, city leader says — ground.news: 42 media reports — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

UN Council to hold first meeting 13 July on potential threats of artificial intelligence to global peace — ap/www.usnews.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

UN chief, at start of IMO meeting, urges maritime nations to chart course for net zero shipping emissions by 2050 — ground.news: 28 media reports — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

World Bank, WTO chiefs seek to reignite services trade negotiations — www.reuters.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

WHO launches new Guideline for protecting children from unhealthy food marketing — healthpolicy-watch.news — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

— This is the first time the WHO has advised countries that only mandatory regulations to curb the industry's ability to target children will address the problem. WHO added that the ubiquity of advertising means the measures must also "go beyond children's media". Thirteen years on from the first endorsed recommendations by WHO on the issue, policy coverage around the world remains poor, with just 60 countries worldwide adopting policies restricting food marketing to children. Only 20 of them have passed mandatory legislation.

New Zealand becomes first country to ban single-use produce bags at grocery stores — www.npr.org — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

Drought menacing Thailand threatens global supply of sugar, rice — www.straitstimes.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

Ukraine places Unilever on 'International Sponsors of War' list; triggers protests against firm in London — ground.news: 21 media reports — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

Senegal President Macky Sall rules out re-election bid after violent unrest — ground.news: 25 media reports — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

— The long-awaited decision has thrown open the race to lead the West African nation on the verge of becoming an oil and gas producer.

At last, Venice's authorities admit the risk from sea-level rise — www.theartnewspaper.com — 4 July 2023 (LINK)

— At a conference organized by the new Venice Sustainability Foundation in June, major public figures agreed for the first time that sea-level rise is the main problem facing the city now.

US restricts sale of AI chips to China, effective in raising the technology barrier? — www.cryptopolitan.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

ESG is on its way out — now that investors have been forced to wise up — nypost.com ● → — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

Harvard is using ChatGPT to teach computer science — www.zdnet.com — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

Bringing Leonardo da Vinci's designs to life: altering the design in some cases — in order to better understand how they worked. — actu.epfl.ch — 3 July 2023 (LINK)

French riots: Nahel's grandmother calls for end to violence on streets — — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

— Nahel's grandmother told BFMTV she was shocked by online fundraising for the benefit of the policeman who fired the fatal shot. Nahel, 17, died last Tuesday near the Nanterre-Préfecture RER station, during a police check carried out by two police motorcyclists on the hire car he was driving. One of the officers opened fire on him at point-blank range, fatally wounding him in the chest.The perpetrator of the shooting justified his action by the teenager's refusal to comply, but an amateur video contradicted his account, shocking even the highest levels of government and sparking the worst riots France has seen in years. The 38-year-old policeman who fired the fatal shot was charged with culpable homicide and jailed on 29 June.

AFP: Attack on mayor's house shocks France despite 'calmer' night: 719 people were arrested overnight — (LINK)

Scene from 'Fast And Furious 8' with Hindi caption goes viral as recent visuals of rioting in France — (LINK)

5th night of unrest quieter in France amid massive police deployment: 427 arrests, 2,800 total — ground.news: media reports — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

— Despite the escalating crisis, President Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option used in 2005. But the government ratcheted up its law enforcement response, with the mass deployment of police officers, including some who were called back from vacation. Around 45,000 police personnel were on the streets with specialised elite units, armoured vehicles, and helicopters brought in to reinforce Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that over 200 police officers have been injured, adding, the average age of those arrested was 17. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, meanwhile, said that over 700 shops, supermarkets restaurants, and bank branches were "ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday."

The UN's Plan To Control Us ALL!! This Report is INSANE!! — youtube 25min — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

Original report in PDF: May 2023 — (LINK)

Russian 'troll factory' accused of interfering in US elections shuts down after exile of Wagner boss — — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

The US Treasury Department sanctioned gold and diamond mining concerns connected to the Wagner group in Mali and the Central African Republic after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary group's founder, attempted to stage a mutiny in Russia but its money came from elsewhere: the government — www.vox.com ← — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

Putin claim that Russia funds Wagner group may make it easier to try him for war crimes — oberver — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

— Admission that Russia paid 86bn roubles (over $1bn) to Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenaries this year is potentially significant, say legal experts

China's Qu Dongyu Reelected Unopposed as Head of UN Food Agency — www.voanews.com — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

Royal House says Zulu king's health is fine after Prince Buthelezi claims 'suspicion of poisoning' — ground.news: 18 media reports — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

— The power struggle within the Zulu royal family continues, with factions challenging King Misuzulu's claim to the throne.

Countries toughen up borders against migration, ducking UN advice on human rights — genevasolutions.news — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

US religious conservatives lobby to restrict abortion in Africa — ground.news: main source:ap, 19 media reports — 2 July 2023 (LINK)

East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao returns to power as prime minister, eight years after he resigned as prime minister of Southeast Asia's youngest democracy. — ground.news: 20 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

The Dutch king apologizes for his country's role in slavery on 150th anniversary of abolition — ground.news: 173 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Trump promises to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden family if elected in 2024→ — ground.news: 7 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Sierra Leone's main opposition calls for presidential election re-run after incumbent named winner — ground.news: 27 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Dr Grethel Aguilar, born in Costa Rica, assumed office as Acting Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for second time, stepping in for Bruno Oberle (2020-23) — — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Over 1,300 arrests after a fourth night of riots in France and funeral for 17-year-old killed — ground.news: 226 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Guatemala's high court steps into election, suspends release of official results — ground.news: 28 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Mexican anti-cartel vigilante leader buried and with him, an armed citizens' movement — ground.news: 15 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

— The power of drug cartels has grown in the last decade, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's non-confrontational approach allowing them to flourish.

The Dutch king apologizes for his country's role in slavery on 150th anniversary of abolition — ground.news: 173 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Australia becomes first country in the world to legalise psychedelics for therapeutic use — ground.news: 78 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao returns to power as prime minister, eight years after he resigned as prime minister of Southeast Asia's youngest democracy. — ground.news: 20 media reports — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Walgreens to close 150 stores across the U.S. and 200 in UK as pharmacy chain faces 'emerging challenges' — eu.usatoday.com — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

Elon Musk imposes 'rate limit' on Twitter citing extreme 'system manipulation' — cointelegraph.com — 1 July 2023 (LINK)

World's oldest newspaper, Wiener Zeitung, prints final edition after 320 years: recent law change makes it unprofitable as print product — www.theguardian.com — 1 July 2023 (LINK)