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The World That Was- China, CNN, Donald Trump, Inda, Nato, Putin, Ukraine, USA
Adrian Olivier,
Sunday 7 July – Sunday 14 July:
On Sunday, a heat wave delivered record temperatures across North America. According to the National Weather Service, Las Vegas hit just under 49 degrees Celsius at Harry Reid International Airport around 5 p.m. Sunday – breaking the previous record of 47 degrees.
On Monday, Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas and knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes. As it reached land, the storm weakened and was downgraded to a tropical depression, far less powerful than the Category 5 behemoth that tore its way through Mexico and the Caribbean. But the winds and rains of the fast-moving storm were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways. Oil ports were closed and more than 1,300 flights were cancelled. Beryl is the season’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record
On Monday, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the US found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew. The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane maker also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $243.6m. The settlement must now be approved by a U.S. judge. By pleading guilty, Boeing will avoid the spectacle of a criminal trial – something that victims’ families have been pressing for. Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday said it had ordered inspections of 2,600 737 planes to address reports that oxygen generators on the planes were shifting out of position.
On Monday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia for his first visit to the country since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in what is being taken as a sign that the two nations remain close despite the Kremlin’s deepening dependence on China. The two leaders visited an exhibition center hosting a pavilion on the nuclear industry, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Putin welcomed the Indian leader to his Novo-Ogaryovo residence, where the Russian president greeted him as a “dear friend” and said he was “very happy” to see him, TASS reported. Modi thanked Putin for hosting him at his suburban property, saying in a post on X: “Looking forward to our talks tomorrow as well, which will surely go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia.”
On Tuesday, Putin and Modi held official talks at the Kremlin. Trade between the two countries was worth nearly $65 billion in 2023-24, primarily due to strong energy cooperation, but most of that total flowed toward Russia, according to India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Reducing the trade imbalance would be a “matter of priority” in Modi’s discussions with Putin, he said, ahead of the trip. In a joint statement, the two countries said they aim to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers, explore the establishment of an Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)-India Free Trade Area and achieve $100 billion in mutual trade by 2030. The leaders discussed developing bilateral settlements in national currencies and introducing digital financial instruments, increasing cargo turnover with new routes such as the North-South Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok Sea Line, and optimizing customs procedures. They plan to boost trade in agricultural products by removing sanitary restrictions and enhancing cooperation in nuclear energy, oil refining, and petrochemicals, focusing on energy security and global energy transition. Strengthening ties in infrastructure, transport engineering, and industrial sectors, facilitating market entry, and aligning standards were also highlighted. Additionally, they aim to promote joint projects in the digital economy, science, education, and internships, and provide favourable fiscal regimes for new companies. In healthcare, they plan to cooperate on medical supplies, consider opening Indian medical branches in Russia and enhance medical safety coordination. Finally, they intend to expand interactions in education, science, culture, tourism, sports, and healthcare. The leaders tasked the Russian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission with studying these areas and assessing progress in their next meeting.
On Tuesday, a NATO summit in Washington D.C. began, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the alliance. The summit in Washington DC brought together heads of state and government from all 32 NATO member states and specially invited leaders: the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. During the opening ceremony, Biden presented NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. NATO countries endorsed the NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge, which aims to scale up defence industrial production and send a clear signal to industry about the long-term need. At the summit, the NATO-allied countries agreed to launch a new initiative for the coordination of military support and training of Ukrainian soldiers. The Allies also agreed on a financial pledge to Ukraine of EUR 40 billion for the next year and in the long term. All Allies agreed that Ukraine’s future NATO membership is not a matter of if, but of when.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that earlier this year Russia’s government had been planning to assassinate the business executive of Rheinmetall, a major German arms manufacturer — presumably to discourage the further production of weapons and military vehicles to be delivered to Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the German government has supplied €5.2 billion ($5.7 billion) worth of military equipment to Ukraine, according to an official statement. The target, Armin Papperger, 61, is the CEO of Rheinmetall, a publicly traded company specializing in automotive and arms manufacturing. Ranked as one of Europe’s largest arms manufacturers, the company is listed in Germany’s leading share index the DAX, which tracks the performance of Germany’s 40 largest companies on the Frankfurt stock exchange. On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report, saying it “cannot be taken seriously.”
On Thursday, Biden stunned the audience at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council by referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin before quickly correcting himself. He also called Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when asked about her by a reporter. Zelenskyy, alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the final hours of a summit that saw Ukraine receive fresh commitments of weapons and other support to firm up its defence against Russia, said: “If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations.”
On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Hungary’s Viktor Orban met with former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida where they discussed the “possibilities of peace”, the latest stop in the prime minister’s solo run to secure a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia and China in the past two weeks on a self-styled “peace mission”, which has angered Hungary’s NATO allies. “It was an honour to visit President [Donald Trump] at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!,” Orban said on X. The Kremlin said on Friday that Orban did not tell Putin of his plans to meet Trump, and the Russian president did not convey any message to Trump via Orban.
On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart for the second time in less than a month and one day after the NATO summit wrapped up in Washington, according to the Pentagon. During the call with Russian Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov, which was initiated by Moscow, Austin “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. Austin last spoke with Belousov on June 25, about 2.5 weeks earlier. Prior to that, the Pentagon chief had not directly spoken with his Russian counterpart since March 2023. Communications between Washington and Moscow have almost entirely broken down since Kremlin forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
On Saturday, a young man attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump survived the attack while the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by the Secret Service. Crooks took his shots with a rifle from the rooftop of a building little more than 130 metres from where Trump was speaking. The rooftop was a known vulnerability before the event, according to NBC News, which cited two sources familiar with Secret Service operations. That the shooter was able to get off shots while the Secret Service was observing the shooter will no doubt be the subject of investigation. Erik Prince, founder of the PMC Blackwater, gave this analysis on Twitter: “The law enforcement sniper (unclear if USSS) in newsreels was clearly overwhelmed as his face came off his rifle instead of doing his job to kill the shooter. Clearly they were watching the shooter but apparently have a no “first shot” policy. The only positive action was an apparent 488yd shot by one USSS sniper which despatched the assassin but after the assassin launched at least 5 rounds, wounding DJT and killing and severely others in the crowd.” One bystander was killed and two others were seriously injured in the assassination attempt. Crooks’ motives have not yet been discovered – it seems he was a registered Republican but had also donated to a progressive cause in 2021; his parents were registered as a Democrat and Libertarian.
On Sunday, in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt, an official with the Biden campaign said it is “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.” Biden has characterized Trump as an existential threat to American democracy and there has been a general “Trump is Hitler” view on the left. The American right has blamed this rhetoric for the assassination.
On Sunday, Spanish defending champion Carlos Alcaraz won against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. Djokovic, who is 37, had hoped to win his 8th Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s record. It would have earned the Serbian a 25th Grand Slam singles title, more than any other player in tennis’ Open Era history. Less than five weeks prior to Wimbledon, Djokovic underwent surgery for a tear in his right knee after he was injured during the French Open.
Donald Trump appeared, bandage upon right ear, to tumultuous applause at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The former president announced Senator JD Vance, a former Marine and serving Republican Senator from Ohio as his pick for vice-president. Observers point out this choice bolsters Trump’s support in the all important ‘Rust-Belt’.
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