As global temperatures hit record highs, we won’t blame you if you spent the past week lounging by the pool. But did you remember to keep up with the headlines while you were there—perhaps on the FP mobile app?
1. China reaffirmed its military relations with which country in a bilateral meeting on Monday?
It was the first formal military meeting between the neighboring states since the Wagner Group’s brief insurrection in late June. The events in Russia will likely push China to more radical policies to clamp down on internal dissent, Craig Singleton argues.
2. Why did thousands of Israelis protest at the country’s main international airport on Monday?
Netanyahu’s proposed reforms have prompted mass sustained protests—including from military reservists and trade unions—throughout Israel, which Aaron David Miller and Daniel Miller documented in May.
3. The council of the Orkney Islands, a Scottish archipelago, held a debate on Tuesday about possibly defecting from Scotland to rejoin which country?
The Orkney Islands were part of Norway for hundreds of years until being absorbed by Scotland in 1472. The islands’ push echoes a larger dissatisfaction toward both the Scottish and U.K. governments, which has been brewing for years, as Peter Geoghegan wrote in 2014.
4. Which Colombian paramilitary group said on Tuesday that it would “cease all offensive actions” against the country’s military starting this week?
Colombian President Gustavo Petro had announced plans for a cease-fire with the group in June, FP’s Catherine Osborn reported in Latin America Brief at the time. It is set to go into full effect in August.
5. A report released Tuesday found new evidence of abuses—including executions, torture, and rape—by security forces, separatist rebels, and militia troops in which African country?
As global attention has focused on Ukraine and Sudan, the situation in Cameroon has gone from bad to worse, Chris W.J. Roberts writes.
6. Which head of government did U.S. President Joe Biden host at the White House on Wednesday?
Biden and Kristersson reaffirmed their commitment to Sweden’s NATO accession. The Scandinavian country is in a position to swiftly integrate into the military alliance, FP’s Elisabeth Braw writes.
7. How much money did the United Arab Emirates on Thursday pledge to help rebuild the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, which was decimated by an Israeli military operation earlier this week?
The operation was partially the result of a weak and unpopular Palestinian Authority, which provides space for terrorist operations to flourish, Dennis Ross and Ghaith al-Omari write.
8. Satellite data released Thursday showed that deforestation in Brazil has slowed by how much during the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term?
It’s welcome news to advocates for conservation and forest restoration after Brazil’s deforestation increased in 2022 under Lula’s predecessor, former President Jair Bolsonaro, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reported.
9. Nepalese farmers celebrated what annual event this week with feasts, singing, and dancing?
Rice is typically planted once a year, and the event is accompanied by traditional song and dance to invite rain for the grain to grow, The Associated Press reports.
10. To celebrate Independence Day in the United States, the Florida Keys archipelago hosted an eating contest featuring which food?
The dessert likely originated in Key West in the late 1800s. A man from Iowa won this year’s competition, according to The Associated Press.
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