France beat Croatia to win the FIFA World Cup for the second time, Trump and Putin sit down to meet in Finland, and North Korea announces amnesty in shock move.
What the World Cup can do for Russia
In The Guardian, Shaun Walker writes that the press coverage of Russia during the buildup to the World Cup was largely negative, focusing on the current political situation and other issues. The foreign ministry’s Maria Zakharova even complained that British news outlets were on a “Russophobic campaign”, which only added to the bias against Russia as a suitable environment for celebration and revelry. The turnout, however, has been spectacular.
“The fans who did come have been impressed by the positive atmosphere: The street parties, the surprisingly lax police presence, the good-natured welcome from the majority of Russians, and the hot weather and cheap beer,” Walker adds.
“Along with most Russians, I’ve been surprised by just how great the atmosphere has been, but I always expected Russia to put on an excellent World Cup. I was a Moscow correspondent for more than a decade, and have seen the city and country change beyond recognition in that time,” Walker writes.
Russia’s bad press is largely of its own making, according to Walker. “With the World Cup, Russia is changing some part of the message, finally. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners are seeing that there is a fun side to Russia. For years, it has been easier for Russian officials to bray about Russophobia than to open up and show off a different side of the country. It may be a temporary phenomenon, and it may not make the darker aspects fade away, but it is definitely to be welcomed.”
The New York Times suggests that the Russian World Cup might have been the greatest world cup of all times.
British PM says Trump told her to sue the EU
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is negotiating her country’s exit from the European Union, said US President Donald Trump had given her a suggestion that she found “too brutal”: Sue the EU.
“Not go into negotiations, sue them,” she said, quoting him on the BBC.
President @realDonaldTrump told me I should sue the European Union,” says Prime Minister @theresa_may#marr pic.twitter.com/LfVzMKOXMJ
— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) July 15, 2018
On Sunday, May warned Conservative MPs that they might be putting Brexit at risk, the BBC reports. She urged the country to “keep their eye on the prize”, ahead of the vote that is scheduled to take place in the House of Commons.
Trump and Putin meet today in Finland
Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting Donald Trump Monday in Helsinki, Finland — and The New York Times writes that, as the former sits down for the meeting, “he will already have accomplished virtually everything he could reasonably hope for”.
All the meeting needs to be termed a success is for it to proceed smoothly without any major friction. This will provide a “symbolic end” to Western efforts to isolate Russia, and if Trump agrees to let “bygones be bygones”, Moscow would have gotten what it wants.
The meeting is happening just after British officials suggested that the same Russian intelligence group behind the American election meddling might also be responsible for the Novichok poisoning in England, which claimed the life of a civilian recently.
“As with any negotiation, timing is everything, and Mr Putin has been gaining a lot of momentum lately,” The New York Times writes.
“Anything that stokes divisions inside the United States, or between America and its allies, is viewed by Moscow as a victory. Deploying hackers, disinformation campaigns and support for far-right populist forces in Europe, Mr Putin has long sought to fracture the West and upend the established geopolitical order. But Mr Trump, who routinely attacks European leaders and has started a trade war with some of America’s closest allies, is now effectively doing the job for him,” the NYT adds in the analysis piece.
Thai boys mourn diver killed during rescue operation
The Thai boys and their coach, rescued recently after being stranded in a flooded cave for three weeks, were told of the death of volunteer diver Saman Gunan Saturday, the BBC reported. Saman lost his life on 6 July while installing oxygen tanks in the flooded cave complex.
“All cried and expressed their condolences by writing messages on a drawing of Lieutenant Commander Saman and observed one minute of silence for him,” a permanent secretary at the health ministry said.
According to the report, “Photos showed the ‘Wild Boars’ football team, who are being monitored in hospital, gathered solemnly around a picture of the diver. ‘They also thanked him and promised to be good boys,’ the health ministry said.”
North Korea announces amnesty to celebrate its 70th anniversary
“North Korea plans to implement a general amnesty next month before celebrating its 70th founding anniversary on 9 September, Pyongyang’s media said Monday,” reports Yonhap News Agency.
The Korean Central News Agency has said amnesty will be granted to those who have been convicted of crimes against the country and people.
“The amnesty will take effect on 1 August,” the report said, noting that “the cabinet and relevant organs will take practical measures to help the released people settle down to a normal working life”.
Israel has introduced a bill that will segregate Jews and Arabs
Israel’s ruling party has introduced a legislation that could allow for Jewish-only communities, The Guardian reports.
“The proposed legislation would allow the state to ‘authorise a community composed of people having the same faith and nationality to maintain the exclusive character of that community’,” the report adds.
In its current state, the draft would also permit Jewish religious law to be implemented in certain cases and remove Arabic as an official language.
The bill will be voted on next week, although a final draft has not been agreed on. Critics have condemned the move, calling it the end of a democratic state.
‘Communist cosplay’ is all the rage in China
“If anyone can best tell the scale and intensity of China’s ‘red education’ drive to promote loyalty to the ruling Communist Party, it’s businessman Yu Meng,” reports the South China Morning Post.
Yu runs the largest red army uniform rental business, the Xiangganbian Red Army uniform company, which was set up 10 years ago in Jiangxi. Last year alone, 256,000 uniforms were rented to people taking part in red ideology study tours.
His business has taken off in the last three years, owing to the “relentless push of patriotic education by President Xi Jinping”.
“Many, though not all, government ministries, companies and schools make it mandatory for their employees or students to wear period uniforms for the four or five days of site visits and classes during a Jinggangshan study tour,” the report adds.