👋 Ke aal aee!*
Welcome to Wednesday, where Nikki Haley drops out of the U.S. presidential race, clearing the way for Donald Trump’s nomination, Hamas vows to press on with Gaza ceasefire talks, and a German man says he’s gotten vaccinated for COVID 217 times — he’s fine. Meanwhile, Roman Anin and Roman Romanovsky in Russian independent media Vazhnyye Istorii report on the militia of extreme nationalist Russian soccer fans being created by the Rotenberg brothers, close Putin allies.
[*Dogri, Jammu and Kashmir, India]
✅ SIGN UP
This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.
It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Lima-based daily Diario Correo titles “He left blaming the lizard” as it comments on Peru's Prime Minister Alberto Otarola’s resignation over influence-peddling allegations. Otarola, who has denied any illegal activities, has instead accused former President Martín “El Lagarto” Vizcarra of being behind allegations that he helped a romantic interest secure government contracts. Opposition parties had demanded Otarola's resignation, and prosecutors will investigate potential conflicts of interest and “illegal sponsorship.”
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hamas reopens door to a truce deal: Despite the absence of Israel from current talks in Egypt, Hamas said it was pressing on with efforts to reach a truce agreement in Gaza, as the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave continues to deteriorate. Negotiators from the Palestinian militant group, Qatar and Egypt are currently in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week. Read more about Gaza ceasefire talks here.
• Haley suspends presidential run, clears path for Trump nomination: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump's last prominent Republican rival, is putting an end to her presidential campaign after losing 14 of 15 states against the former president in the Super Tuesday primaries. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden won 15 states but lost to Democratic entrepreneur Jason Palmer in the small U.S. territory of American Samoa. Though the night's results are still not enough for Trump, 76, or Biden, 81, to clinch their party’s nominations, a November rematch looks virtually assured.
• Russia steps up drone strikes in Ukraine: Russia has carried out one of the largest drone attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks. The overnight strikes hit power infrastructure, damaged residential and commercial buildings, and injured at least seven people, according to Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian Air Force said defenses shot down 38 out of 42 Russian drones over eight regions in the country. Meanwhile, Moldova and France are set to sign a defense cooperation agreement, as part of Western efforts to strengthen the former Soviet state’s capabilities to face threats from its Russian neighbor.
• Haiti Prime Minister resurfaces in Puerto Rico: Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has landed in Puerto Rico's capital San Juan after the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, suspended all air traffic with their neighbor and denied the landing of his chartered flight. Henry’s whereabouts had been unknown after his visit to Kenya last week. In his absence, violence in the Caribbean nation — in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in particular — has flared, with armed groups launching attacks, raiding prisons and causing the evacuation of at least 15,000 people.
• Venezuela to elect new president in July: Venezuela's highly anticipated presidential election will take place July 28, National Electoral Council President Elvis Amoros announced. President Nicolás Maduro is expected to seek another term while doubts remain over the participation of the opposition’s leading candidate, Maria Corina Machado. The former lawmaker had won the opposition’s independently run presidential primary last October, despite a ban on her running for office issued by the government for alleged corruption. Read Andrés Hoyos of El Espectador on Maduro’s Venezuela: Degraded Democracy or Crypto Dictatorship.
• India’s farmers protests resume: After suspending their strike at the end of February, thousands of Indian farmers have resumed their protest, heading toward Delhi. The capital's borders have been heavily barricaded and police deployed to prevent the march. Less than three months ahead of national elections, farmers, who represent an important voting bloc in the country, are demanding minimum price guarantees for their crops as well as pensions for the elderly, as well as for the government to waive their debts.
• A fee to climb Mount Fuji: Hikers looking to ascend Japan's famous Mount Fuji will be charged ¥2,000 ($13.35) starting July. Local authorities are trying to ease congestion as trails leading up the country’s highest mountain are becoming increasingly overcrowded with booming tourism. The increase of climbers — often inexperienced — has prompted concern over littering and accidents.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
217
A 62-year-old German man says he has been vaccinated against COVID-19 217 times, according to a case documented in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. Despite receiving these shots over 29 months, the man reportedly suffered no ill effects. The vaccinations, 130 of which were independently verified, were obtained privately, and an investigation was opened on the grounds of fraud, but no criminal charges were brought. Although they stated that they do not endorse hyper-vaccination, researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg conducted tests on the man, including blood and saliva samples — and, at the man’s own insistence, yet another vaccination shot. No evidence of immune system fatigue or prior COVID infection was found.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Report: A private army of Russian football fans is latest PMC on Ukraine frontline
With private military companies (PMCs) multiplying in Russia, on the model of the Wagner Group, the billionaire Rotenberg brothers, friends of Putin, are creating their own private army of football fans, report Roman Anin and Roman Romanovsky in Russian independent media Vazhnyye Istorii.
⚽ Russian President Vladimir Putin’s friends the Rotenberg brothers are leveraging a volunteer militia of extreme nationalist Russian soccer fans, Española, to create their own Private Military Company (PMC). The military expert Viktor Shendrik, who is head of the Russian Railways security service and a Rotenberg protégé, is providing support to the PMC Española. "Española was created by fans, mainly from the Spartak soccer club. Then the Rotenberg brothers showed up with the idea of taking over Española for themselves,” one of the sources told Important Stories.
🎖️ Engaging PMCs to provide recruits for Russia’s war in Ukraine is nothing new, and Important Stories has reported on this theme more than once. Dozens of mercenary detachments financed by large Russian companies are fighting on the Russian side. For example, the Moscow authorities are driving the Mosgaz gas company, Moscow Metro, Gormost (the state budgetary institution of Moscow city infrastructure), and the Mosvodokanal water company to look for and hire “soldiers of fortune.”
💰 The two Rotenberg siblings, Boris and Arkady, are Putin’s childhood friends and became billionaires after his rise to the presidency. Important Stories previously revealed how the Rotenbergs introduced Shendrik, who had formerly worked for their security service and also had general business associations with the duo, into the management of the state-owned Russian railway monopoly Russian Railways. The Rotenberg companies are key contractors of Russian Railways.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“Is this or is it not our war?”
— Speaking to members of the French expatriate community in Prague as part of his visit to the Czech Republic, Emmanuel Macron urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowardly” in supporting Kyiv in the face of Moscow’s aggression. This comes after last month’s controversial comments by the French president, in which Macron said he would not rule out the possibility of sending Western troops to fight Russian soldiers in Ukraine, prompting ire from Moscow. The United States and other NATO members have since stated that there are no plans for such action, while Macron emphasized a desire to avoid escalation and clarified that forces could be used for non-combat operations. For more, we offer this recent analysis by France Inter’s Pierre Haski: Why Macron Blindsided His Allies About Sending Troops To Ukraine.
✍️ Newsletter by Laure Gautherin and Cory Agathe
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!