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  1. 01

    JAPAN

    Island complaint.

    Tokyo has lodged a complaint after Russia’s Putin paid his first-ever visit to the Kuril Islands, which the Soviets seized after WWII but Japan still partly claims. (DW)Comment: This long-running dispute is part of the reason Japan and the USSR/Russia never signed a formal peace treaty after WWII. But why visit now? Japan’s PM Takaichi just released a new defence white paper warning of growing Sino-Russo-DPRK cooperation, so a quick trip to the increasingly fortified Kurils is an easy poke in Tokyo’s eye.

  2. 02

    UNITED STATES

    Outlets sue.

    A news outlet and free speech non-profit have sued President Trump over a new service selling preferential access to his social media feed (which often announces major new policies) for up to $100k per month. (Politico)

  3. 03

    COLOMBIA

    Quake death toll climbs.

    With survivors still getting rescued, the death toll from Monday’s earthquake (the strongest in decades) now stands at 265, with another ~4,000 still potentially missing. (CNN)

  4. 04

    ZAMBIA

    Election day.

    President Hichilema is still favoured to win re-election today (Thurs) though the fragmented opposition has enjoyed a late surge. He’s pledging more debt restructuring and fiscal stabilisation, while voters vent over familiar cost-of-living issues. (AP)

  5. 05

    CHINA

    Vale, reformer.

    Zhu Rongji, the former premier (technically #2) and hard-charging technocrat who drove China’s historic WTO entry, has died at 97. (Guardian)

  6. 06

    SOUTH AFRICA

    Jobless rate climbs (again).

    Official unemployment jumped to a four-year high of 33.6% (!) in Q2, while youth unemployment hit 47.4%! (Bloomberg $)

  7. 07

    RUSSIA

    More silence over Assad.

    Still no response from the Kremlin after a Damascus court sentenced Syria’s exiled Moscow-based dictator Assad to death for his various atrocities in office. (New Arab)

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