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🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• U.S. soldier crosses into North Korea, raising tensions: U.S. Private Travis T. King is believed to be in North Korean custody after crossing the demarcation line into North Korea while on a tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that King, who had been in military detention for assault and damaging a police car, had crossed over the DMZ "wilfully and without authorization." The situation risks raising tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, especially after the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine in the Korean Peninsula, and North Korea’s test launch of ballistic missiles into the sea.

• Russia’s “revenge strikes” continue in Odessa: Russia launched a second night of airstrikes on Odessa after having pulled out of the Black sea grain export deal. Russia’s defense ministry called this “a mass revenge strike” on the port city, coming a day after the attack on Kursk bridge in Crimea. Meanwhile, Moscow has appointed Chechen minister Yakub Zakriev as head of yogurt maker Danone's seized Russian subsidiary. Zakriev is reportedly the nephew of one of President Putin’s key allies, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

• Thai prime minister hopeful suspended from parliament: Thailand's Constitutional Court has ordered a temporary suspension of Pita Limjaroenrat as a member of parliament, after the leader of the election-winning Move Forward Party was deemed unqualified to run in the May 14 election. Because Pita held shares in a media company, the government said the prime ministerial hopeful was in violation of electoral rules. Despite the eight-party alliance in his favor, Pita has been blocked by military backed legislators and unable to form a government.

• Trump says Jan. 6 indictment coming: Former U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that he received a letter from special prosecutor Jack Smith identifying him as a “target” in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots — which Trump says could be a sign of an upcoming arrest and indictment.

• Pressure mounting against Netanyahu amid judicial overhaul: Dozens of reserve air force officers vowed to no longer report for duty amid countrywide protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's justice system reforms and plans to limit the Supreme Court power. At least 45 arrests were reported as protesters blocked highways, staged demonstrations at major train stations and entered the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

• Taj Mahal flooding: As extreme weather continues across the globe, floodwaters have reached the iconic Taj Mahal in India, its posterior gardens completely submerged. The north of the country has been facing devastating floods that the climate crisis could make a regular occurrence.

• Singapore surpasses Japan as “world’s best passport”: The world's most powerful passport for 2023 has just been named. According to the Henley Passport Index, which measures citizens' freedom to travel the world, Japan has been the world leader for the last five years. But it has now been knocked down to third place to make way for Singapore, whose citizens can visit 193 of the world's 227 destinations without a visa, while Germany, Italy and Spain are tied in 2nd place.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

It’s a “fiery Wednesday” in Italy and on the front page of Rome-based daily Il Riformista, as the Charon heatwave hit the Italian capital with temperatures up to 41.8 °C (107 °F) on Tuesday. In Sardinia, a 45 °C high was recorded, as Southern Europe battles with extreme temperatures. All over Italy, hospitals have already reported a sharp rise in heat-related illnesses and emergencies, and cities such as Rome, Florence and Palermo have been placed on “red alert".

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$218 million

Spain’s CNMC antitrust watchdog has slapped tech giants Amazon and Apple with fines amounting to $218 million total, for unfairly restricting competition in the country. Apple was fined $161.4 million and Amazon $56.7 million.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Why the U.S. may be pushing the controversial “Korea scenario” for Ukraine

Ukraine was promised fast-tracked NATO membership last week. But promises often are overtaken by politics, and voices in and around the U.S. government are looking for softer ways out of the Ukraine war, including freezing the conflict like what was done between the two Koreas 70 years ago, writes Yuri Fedorov in Russian independent news outlet Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The recent tepid stance of the Biden administration regarding Ukraine may be influenced by factions in the U.S. who seek to resolve the conflict promptly, even if it means implementing what has been referred to as the "Korea scenario." Under this scenario, the war in Ukraine would essentially be frozen, and an armistice would be established along a demarcation line determined by the existing military status quo. But would this approach actually bring peace in the case of Russia and Ukraine?

☢️ In the past two to three months, numerous articles have appeared in the American press and academic journals close to government circles, calling on the White House to seek a conflict resolution that would consider Russian demands. Their arguments is that Ukraine alone cannot achieve victory in the war, and a significant increase in Western military assistance will either lead to nuclear escalation or the utter defeat of Russia, which would cause the country to collapse and lose control over its nuclear weapons.

🇺🇸 But there is a more profound reason for this half-hearted stance on Ukraine. Much of the American foreign policy establishment have dedicated years of their careers to seeking a compromise with the Soviet Union and, later, with Russia. Consequently, a certain Moscow-centric perspective may have taken hold within the U.S. political landscape. This perspective suggests that Russia is both a crucial partner and a rival to the United States.

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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

📣 VERBATIM

“Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting President would be a declaration of war.”

— South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in court papers that were released on Tuesday that any attempt to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits the country next month would amount to a declaration of war with Russia. Putin, who has been invited to the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg from Aug. 22 to 24, is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant — a provision that South Africa, as an ICC member, would be expected to carry out. The leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is demanding the government arrest Putin and hand him over to the ICC if he steps foot in the country. Ramaphosa responded, describing the DA’s demand as “irresponsible” and said that national security was at stake. South Africa is seeking an exemption of the ICC rule based on the fact that enacting the arrest could threaten “security, peace and order of the state.”