While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 22
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Poland has moved troops to its eastern border (above), amid the arrival in neighbouring Belarus of Wagner mercenary forces from Russia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Putin tells Poland aggression against Belarus is attack on Russia
President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Nato member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Russia’s neighbour and close ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.
Moscow would react to any aggression against Belarus, which forms a loose “Union State” with Russia, “with all the means at our disposal”, Mr Putin told a meeting of his Security Council in televised remarks.
Warsaw’s Security Committee decided on Wednesday to move military units to eastern Poland after members of the Russian Wagner mercenary force arrived in Belarus, the state-run news agency PAP quoted its secretary as saying on Friday.
Poland denies any territorial ambitions in Belarus.
Retired police officer charged with illegally helping China
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a retired police officer had been charged on Friday with foreign interference, alleging he helped China “identify and intimidate someone outside the scope of Canadian law.”
Canada has accused China of trying to interfere in its affairs through various schemes, including illegal police stations and the targeting of lawmakers. Beijing has strongly denied all such allegations.
In a statement, the RCMP said William Majcher, 60, “allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People’s Republic of China.” It did not give details.
Russia accuses ex-separatist commander of extremism
Russia on Friday opened a case for extremism against former separatist commander and nationalist military blogger Igor Girkin, a hawkish commentator who criticised Russia’s leadership and who is wanted .
Girkin – better known by his alias Igor Strelkov – is a supporter of the offensive but also vocally criticised its conduct on the messaging app Telegram, where he was followed by around 875,000 people. He is also one of three men sentenced by a Dutch court to life imprisonment over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.
By opening this case against him, authorities signal that any criticism – even from supporters of the military operation in Ukraine – are off-limits in the aftermath of the Wagner mercenary group’s short-lived rebellion.
Kipyegon shatters mile record at Monaco Diamond League
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon shattered the women’s mile world record by almost five seconds at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday.
The 29-year-old completed the race in four minutes, 7.64 seconds to smash Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan’s 2019 mark of 4:12.33.
Hassan’s record was also set in Monaco.
US movie fans hit the multiplexes for ‘Barbenheimer’
Film fans headed to cinemas in Los Angeles for early screenings of frothy comedy Barbie and nuclear arms biopic Oppenheimer - a double feature billed as “Barbenheimer.”
At the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, some moviegoers were fully getting into the global Barbenheimer craze, with plans to see both films on the same day.
“I bought my tickets months ago as soon as they were available,” 25-year-old Joey Litvak said, as he walked to an Oppenheimer screening on Thursday. “I’m seeing Barbie... right after. Barbenheimer.”