🌍 The Saudis nudge Russo-Ukraine peace talks forward

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Today’s briefing is a 5 min read:

• 🇷🇺–🇺🇦 The Saudis nudge Russo-Ukraine War talks forward.

• 🇦🇺 Australia and China patch things up.

• ➕ Plus: The world’s first female prime minister, how the papers are covering the return of India’s opposition leader, and why you should keep a close eye on real estate agents in Canada.

1. 🇵🇰 Pakistan: A local court has sentenced former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan to a three-year jail term on allegations he sold state gifts for a ~$500k profit. His lawyers say the case was politically motivated ahead of general elections due later this year.

2. 🇱🇹 Lithuania: Over 1,000 Russians and Belarusians living in Lithuania have been declared national security risks and will have to leave the country. There are around 74,000 Russians and Belarusians living in Lithuania.

3. 🇵🇦 Panama: The Panama Canal Authority expects revenue to fall by $200M next year due to an ongoing drought. Administrators say the rainfall that feeds the canal has declined so steeply that they’ll have to reduce the number of daily ships from 38 to 32.

4. 🇪🇹 Ethiopia: Authorities have declared a state of emergency in Amhara State, home to ~22 million people, amid clashes between the military and rebel groups. Ethiopia last declared a state of emergency in 2021-22 during the war in Tigray.

5. 🇳🇿 New Zealand: The defence ministry delivered its first-ever national security strategy on Friday. The document describes a more “assertive” China, and calls for greater defence spending plus closer security ties with Australia and the US.

🇷🇺–🇺🇦 Russo-Ukraine War | Peace talks

The Saudis nudge peace talks forward

Saudi Arabia hosted the latest peace talks on the Russo-Ukraine War over the weekend. They were informal discussions rather than peace negotiations, producing some interesting insights rather than any major breakthroughs.

Around 40 nations took part, including China, which skipped an earlier summit and has resisted calls to condemn Russia. Russia itself wasn't invited.

Why did Saudi Arabia play host?

• 🤝 It still enjoys functional ties with all the major players, having helped to negotiate prisoner swaps, backed Ukraine in UN resolutions, and assisted Russia with higher oil prices, plus

• 👼 For Riyadh, playing host also helps revive its reputation and cement its position as both a regional leader and global player.

So what actually happened?

• 🌏 More than twice as many countries participated in these Jeddah talks compared to the June gathering in Copenhagen

• 🇺🇳 There was also more common ground this time around, with participants (including all BRICS members except Russia) reportedly taking a pretty productive approach, and

• 🇨🇳 China also gave its own peace plan another run, prompting France and others to push back (the plan involves a ceasefire that critics say would allow Russia to consolidate its gains in Ukraine).

So what’s next? The idea is now for various working groups to continue the discussions. If they make enough progress, there’s the possibility of a leader-level summit to endorse some key principles for ending the war.

Intrigue's take: If this all sounds convoluted, that’s because it is. But that’s also how diplomacy works: any meaningful engagement between world leaders is generally the culmination of arduous talks at more junior levels.

So looking ahead, direct Moscow-Kyiv negotiations still seem remote. But there’s a chance this Jeddah process could produce practical ideas in the meantime, on issues like nuclear safety, prisoner returns, and wheat exports. Russia would then face the choice of playing ball, or isolating itself further.

Also worth noting:

• Ukraine described the talks as “an extremely honest, open conversation”. The Kremlin said “any attempt to promote a peaceful settlement deserves a positive evaluation”, while Russia’s foreign ministry described the talks as a “hoax”, and “doomed”.

• On the final day of the talks yesterday (Sunday), Russia mounted a large missile and drone attack on Ukraine, following Ukraine’s drone attack on a Russian oil tanker in the Kerch Strait.

📰 How newspapers covered…

India’s top court suspending a defamation conviction against the main opposition leader

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🇦🇺 Australia | Geo-economics

China removes tariffs on Australian barley

Australia has said it’ll end a case against China at the World Trade Organization, after Beijing agreed to lift its tariffs on Australian barley.

China imposed various tariffs on Australian goods in 2020 after Canberra called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19. But Australia stood its ground and called the tariffs “economic coercion”.

After a new Australian government ushered in a “stabilisation” of China relations last year, speculation grew that Beijing might hit ctrl-z on its tariffs. That’s now happened with barley, and Australia is hoping wine is next.

Intrigue’s take: While painful for specific producers, Australia’s economy mostly shrugged off the tariffs imposed by its largest trade partner. That’s partly because barley growers found new markets to hawk their grain.

But it’s also partly because China kept buying vast quantities of Australia’s top export: iron ore. So the immediate story here may be one of resilience. But there’s a longer term story here about vulnerability, too.

Also worth noting:

• Australian barley has mainly been used in animal feed and beer production in China.

• As tensions between Australia and China escalated in 2020, China’s embassy passed to the Australian media a list of 14 ‘grievances’ that Beijing had with Canberra.

➕ Extra Intrigue

Your weekly roundup of the world’s more surprising news:

• Somalia’s sports minister has apologised after the country sent an unprepared runner to the World University Games in China, recording a “slowest ever” 100m sprint that went viral.

• A zoo in China has clarified that its bears are in fact animals and not people in fur suits.

• A US brewery company has launched a beer made from recycled shower water.

• Toy company Mattel is looking for a ‘Chief UNO Player’ to launch its new UNO expansion pack.

• And, a real estate agent in Canada has been fined $20k after CCTV footage caught him chugging a homeowner’s milk.

🗳️ Poll time!

🧑 Profile of the day

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world’s first elected female prime minister in 1960, after her party won elections in Ceylon/Sri Lanka (the country changed its name in 1972). Bandaranaike entered politics after her husband – the then sitting prime minister – was assassinated. She went on to serve as PM three times (1960-65, 1970-77 and 1994-2000), before passing away in 2000.

Thursday’s poll: Do you think social media companies should pay publications for the articles that appear on their platforms?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💵 Yes, it seems only fair (64%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🙅 No, the exposure and traffic should be enough (33%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!) (3%)

Your two cents:

• 🙅 J.B: “Outlets literally pay advertising money to get more traffic. Now they think Facebook should pay THEM to send traffic to their site?”

• 💵 C.M: “‘It’s good exposure.’ Those of us who live in Canada know you can die of exposure.”