Kim and Putin plan to fulfill in Russia

Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s chief, plans to journey to Russia this month to fulfill with its president, Vladimir Putin, to debate army cooperation, together with the opportunity of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its battle in Ukraine, in keeping with U.S. and allied officers.

Putin needs Kim to ship Russia artillery shells and antitank missiles, and Kim would love Russia to supply North Korea with superior know-how for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the officers mentioned. Kim can be searching for meals help for his impoverished nation.

The White House warned final week that Putin and Kim had exchanged letters discussing a doable arms deal. But the brand new details about a deliberate assembly between them goes far past the earlier warning. The intelligence regarding the plans has not been declassified by the U.S., and the officers describing the plans weren’t approved to debate them and declined to supply particulars on how spy businesses had collected the knowledge.

Agenda: Putin and Kim would attend the Eastern Economic Forum, which is scheduled to run Sept. 10 to 13 in Vladivostok, in keeping with officers. Kim additionally plans to go to Pier 33, the place naval ships from Russia’s Pacific fleet dock, they mentioned.

Kim’s journey: The journey could be a uncommon foray for Kim from his nation. He would journey from Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, most likely by armored prepare, to Vladivostok, on the japanese coast of Russia, the officers mentioned. Kim might presumably go to Moscow, although that isn’t sure.

Context: The U.S. first warned about cooperation between North Korea and Russia a yr in the past and later mentioned that North Korea had shipped munitions to Russia via the Middle East and North Africa. But U.S. officers mentioned that the disclosures had deterred North Korea and that few if any North Korean weapons had reached the entrance traces in Ukraine.

Other news from the battle in Ukraine:

• Putin restated his opposition yesterday to the internationally backed Black Sea grain deal after bilateral talks together with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who brokered the deal.

• Russia fired swarms of drones at Ukrainian grain and port services yesterday morning, the second large-scale drone assault prior to now 48 hours within the southern Odesa area.

• The elimination of Ukraine’s protection minister and the arrest of Ihor Kolomoisky, one of many nation’s richest males, are indicators of the authorities’ drive to root out corruption — an enduring challenge and a uncommon space of criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s management.

Xi seems to be set to skip the G20, in a snub to India

China indicated yesterday that its prime chief, Xi Jinping, would skip the Group of 20 summit meeting in New Delhi this weekend, dealing a blow to India, the occasion’s host nation, and elevating questions on Xi’s profile as a worldwide statesman.

At a news briefing, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry mentioned that China would ship the premier, Li Qiang, to the occasion, however she declined to clarify why. The transfer is an uncommon one: Xi has by no means missed a G20 summit, which brings collectively 19 international locations and the European Union, since taking energy in 2012.

Context: The announcement comes amid rising friction between China and several other members of the G20 — notably with the U.S. over Beijing’s assist for Russia, and with India over its more and more aggressive territorial claims.

Pope Francis on China: After a four-day journey to Mongolia, Pope Francis called relations with Beijing “very respectful.” However, few clergy or Catholics from China went to see him throughout his go to, seemingly fearing reprisals.

China’s largest homebuilder is reeling

For the previous three years, as dozens of main property builders in China defaulted after years of extreme borrowing, Country Garden was an outlier. But final month, the true property large missed two curiosity funds — signaling that it, too, was susceptible to monetary collapse, with $187 billion in debt.

Country Garden must now come up with $22.5 million this week, the tip of a grace interval for the missed funds. The firm is scrambling to boost money and maintain collectors at bay, promoting off stakes in properties and issuing shares at a reduction.

Context: Country Garden’s fall has been dramatic. The firm’s unbelievable rise from a regional homebuilder tracked China’s personal meteoric ascent. The developer’s collapse displays the velocity and severity of the nation’s actual property meltdown, which threatens to derail the broader economic system.

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Pro-military music in Niger

Since a bunch of generals toppled the democratically elected president in July, Niger has witnessed a revival of music videos praising the military, remixed for the TikTok period.

In one video a well-known trio of feminine artists wearing fatigues lauds troopers who they are saying are as quick as antelopes. In one other, pickup vehicles race via the desert to intercept suspected criminals.

Artists and leisure executives say such music and movies make sense in a rustic with a protracted historical past of griot tradition, the place storytellers and keepers of oral historical past praised figures of authority. The outpouring sheds mild on why many in Niger have partly welcomed the tip of democratic rule that they related to endemic corruption, financial hardship and restricted freedom of expression.

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