North Korea

• Speaking to reporters in Vietnam following his two-day bromantic reunion with Kim Jong Un in North Korea, Pres. Putin directly threatened to send Kim weapons.
• He didn't specify what kind of weapons: nuclear technologies would be worse than conventional ones, but any weapons transfers to North Korea would violate UN sanctions.
• Pres. Putin justified arming North Korea by criticizing Kim's nemesis - South Korea - for sending weapons to Ukraine: "Those who supply these weapons believe that they are not at war with us. Well, as I said, including in Pyongyang, then we reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world."

Israel and Gaza

• PM Netanyahu released a new video in which he complains that it's "inconceivable" that the U.S. has been "withholding weapons and ammunition" from his army for months.
• The U.S. called Netanyahu's complaints "deeply disappointing" and suggested that they were also distorted, saying only one shipment of heavy bombs was delayed over concerns that they could be used in indiscriminate attacks on Rafah.

Sudan

• The UN Security Council passed a resolution ordering the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to end its siege on Al Fasher, Darfur and stop fighting the military. Russia - which has opportunistically supported both sides of the civil war - abstained.
• The resolution's passage is a sign of global opprobrium of the RSF following accusations that it and its Arab militia allies are committing genocide in Darfur.

Venezuela

• Venezuela's muzzled opposition reported that four more activists from its ranks were detained on bogus charges ahead of July 28 elections.
• Pres. Maduro was one of eight candidates - of ten running in July - who signed a pledge agreeing to accept the National Electoral Council's (NEC's) official results of the poll. That must have been an easy commitment for Maduro, who already knows what the official results will show: he controls the NEC and has blocked any serious opposition contenders from running against him.

Sahel

• Niger's junta revoked French uranium giant Orano's license for the Imouraren mine yesterday, after junta leaders claimed Orano failed to resume developing the concession by their deadline on Wednesday (June 19). Orano said it resumed "activities" at the site on June 4 and seemed to hope that would be good enough for the junta. Orano is still hoping to negotiate to keep its license.

China

• The Financial Times reported that the Philippines has been secretly reinforcing the Sierra Madre, a rusty old warship that ran aground on the Second Thomas Shoal.
• The Philippines has been maintaining the ship to assert its symbolic claim to the area, which China also claims. However, Philippine officials said the ship is at risk of breaking apart and sinking - which would also sink the strongest physical claim the Philippines has to the shoal.
• The U.S. has proposed helping the Philippines reinforce the Sierra Madre to "protect Filipino sovereignty," but the idea was deemed too risky because it would enrage China.

Migration

• Ecuador - which is a waypoint for undocumented Chinese migrants trying to immigrate to the U.S. because it's one of two South American countries (with Suriname) that lets Chinese visitors enter without a visa - said it would temporarily suspend its visa-free travel policy for Chinese nationals.
• In 2023, 48,381 Chinese nationals entered Ecuador - almost 4x as many as in 2022. Only 24,240 Chinese nationals exited Ecuador in 2023, suggesting that 24,141 stayed in the Americas. Anecdotal evidence corroborates U.S. Customs and Border Patrol claims that many of them traveled north along the "zou xian" or "walking route" to the U.S.
• The Niskanen Center, a think tank, found that Chinese nationals from areas Beijing represses - including Hong Kong and Xinjiang - are overrepresented in Ecuadorian entry data, implying that political (Hong Kong) and religious (Xinjiang) persecution is driving at least some of the migration via Ecuador.