🇺🇸🇨🇴 The US wants to deepen its relationship with Colombia under new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella. Washington plans to give $1 billion in security aid, while also working closely on illegal migration and drug trafficking.
Context: Colombia’s president is also a US citizen and a member of the Republican Party. De la Espriella previously said he voted for Trump in 2024.
🇰🇵🇷🇺 Ukraine’s President Zelensky said 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean troops could be sent to Russia. He didn’t specify how he obtained the information. Zelensky also said Kyiv had already found some North Korean missiles on Ukrainian territory.
Context: Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in 2024. That same year, North Korea deployed around 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region.
🇮🇷 Since March 19, Iran has reportedly executed 27 people in cases linked to the January anti-government protests. UN human rights chief said the death penalty is increasingly being used to instil fear, and more than 100 other people are at risk of execution on similar charges. The UN has also raised concerns about forced confessions and unfair trials. In one case, 12 defendants were sentenced to death after a three-hour closed-door hearing.
🇪🇸🇮🇹 Spain has imposed temporary border controls on air and sea arrivals from Italy.
Context: Italy first introduced border checks after 78,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta. Spain then asked for the border control to be removed, but Italy rejected the request. In response, Spain imposed similar measures.
🇲🇦🇺🇸 Morocco named a major highway after Donald Trump. King Mohammed VI said the decision was a personal expression of his respect for Trump and cited the US decision in 2020 to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. The Donald Trump Highway runs from southern Morocco into Western Sahara.
Context: Western Sahara is one of Africa’s longest-running territorial disputes. Morocco sees it as part of its territory. The Polisario Front (a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement) wants an independent Western Sahara for the Sahrawi people.
🇺🇸🇺🇦 US intelligence sharing with Ukraine has reportedly returned to previous levels. US officials say the improved cooperation has helped Ukraine carry out more effective strikes inside Russia. The relationship is also described as increasingly two-way - Ukraine provides the US with valuable intelligence on Russia and Russian support for Iran.
🇨🇲 Cameroon’s 93-year-old President Paul Biya hasn’t been seen in public for more than two months. Biya left Cameroon on 7 June for what officials described as a brief private stay in Europe and hasn’t returned since. His government says he is alive and will return soon.
Context: Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and is currently the world’s oldest head of state.
🇸🇦🇵🇰🇹🇷 Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey have signed a new defence agreement under which an armed attack on one country would be treated as an attack on all three, similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. Each country brings something unique to the partnership: Turkey has NATO’s second-largest military, Pakistan is the only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, and Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s biggest oil exporters and military spenders. The three countries say the pact is defensive and not aimed at any specific country.
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