Reuters World News - Wagner group’s Africa dealings and raids in Europe’s new pot capital

Episode Date: June 28, 2023

The US tries to crack down on the Wagner group’s extensive interests in Africa, days after the mercenary group started an abortive uprising against Moscow’s military elite. A conservative Supreme Court rejects a legal theory that would give almost unchecked power to state lawmakers in deciding elections. Plus, police in Barcelona say organized crime has flourished around legal weed. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the Supreme Court rejects a legal theory used by Trump's allies to try and overturn the 2020 election. Wagner Boss, Yvgeny Progoghian, flies into exile in Belarus as the US tries to crack down on the mercenaries' interests in Africa. And drug raids in Europe's new pot capital. Join us as police in Barcelona break down the door on the organized crime, they say, cropping up around legal weed.

It's Wednesday, June 28th. This is Reuters World News, with everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. Every weekday. I'm Kim Vinal in London. They will squash you like a bug. That's what Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko says he told Yevgeny Progoshin,

the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, to get him to end his mission. mutiny. It was apparently an emotional and expletive-riddled phone call. Lukashenko also claims he persuaded Vladimir Putin not to kill the Wagner boss. Progogsion is now in Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Lukashenko. His Wagner fighters are also being offered the choice of relocating there. NATO leaders said that would create greater instability. Here's Lithuanian president, Gittanas Nuseda. If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighboring countries face even greater danger of instability.

Now, if you're listening on Spotify, please tell us what else you'd like to know about the Wagner mutiny by answering the question attached to this episode. And now, let's take a look at the rest of the headlines making news around the world. Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has arrived at a London court for the start of his trial on a dozen sex offence charges. Spacey denies the allegations of historic offences committed against four men, said to have taken place between 2001 and 2013. That's the sound of a man carving his and his girlfriend's name onto the wall of Rome's 2000-year-old Coliseum with a key. Italy has vowed to punish the unidentified tourist for the graffiti with a fine of at least $16,000 and a jail sentence of up to five years. Imagine waking up and finding yourself a year younger.

I wouldn't mind it. That has literally happened in South Korea, where new laws came into force requiring only the international method of counting age to take effect. The change replaces the country's traditional method. of counting age, where people are deemed to be a year old at birth. It's time now for markets with Carmel Crimmons and Carmel orliers are on Japan. That is right. The yen is hovering near a 15-year low against the euro, and the authorities in Tokyo are under pressure to intervene to prop it up.

The country's top currency diplomat, yeah, that is a thing in Japan, said that they were watching developments with a strong sense of urgency, which is about as close as you can get to an outright ultimatum in finance ministry speak. The last time Japan intervened to support the end, they spent $43 billion in just two days, so there's a lot riding on this. It's a blockbuster week at the Supreme Court as justices issue key rulings. But one decision in particular has voting rights advocates cheering. The court rebuffed a legal theory that would give state lawmakers almost unchecked power

when it comes to deciding elections. The Conservative Court's 6-3 decision would make it harder to overturn the 2024 election as lawyers for Donald Trump tried to do after Joe Biden won in 2020. Political reporter Andy Sullivan is in Washington, D.C. Andy, what is this theory and why is this ruling such a big deal? So this independent state legislature theory was viewed as sort of a fringe idea that was not taken seriously until the Supreme Court. court agreed to take it up. And it's the idea that state legislators are the final arbiters of

how elections are run. Now, as we've seen over the past two years with this conservative majority, they have been not afraid to overturn precedent and really shift the United States pretty dramatically to the right. People were worried that that was what was going to happen here with these elections and voting rights laws. And they didn't do that this time. Barack Obama has said that this theory threatened to upend democracy and dismantle the system of checks and balances. Is that how much was really at stake? That was an argument you heard from a lot of liberal groups. And I think that is coming in the context of the extremely polarized American political system right now.

And this would give places like North Carolina and Wisconsin, which have very Republican legislatures over. seeing competitive states, would have given them more power to sort of set the rules for elections and would have definitely eroded the checks and balances that are in place now. We believe that everywhere that Wagner goes, they leave death and destruction in their wake. Fresh from its aborted Moscow mutiny, the mercenary group Wagner is drawing fire from the United States over its dealings in Africa. Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller had this to say, as the U.S. slapped sanctions on companies accused of funding the mercenary group through illicit gold sales.

They hurt local populations. They extract minerals and extract money from the communities where they operate. And so we would continue to urge governments in Africa and elsewhere to cease any cooperation with Wagner and not pursue any further. In Mali and Central African Republic, Wagner plays a central role in long-running conflicts. But the sprawling business empire that funds its militia is now the focus of international authorities. Julia Paravichi in Nairobi has been looking into their finances. Julia, what does Wagner do in Africa? Their presence is not only a military presence in countries like Carr and Sudan.

Wagner also has business interests ranging from mining concessions. They have gold, diamonds and timber concessions, two businesses like beers. You mean like what beer is that you drink? Yeah, beer. They run a beer factory in the Central African Republic, a very big one. Wow, okay. And also they produce cheap vodka. Right. What might the revolt in Russia mean for those African nations that have Wagner presence? There is clearly some uncertainty with respect to what will happen and we have to wait and see, but it might have an impact on the comfort that these government feel vis-a-vis trusting Wagner or Russia in the future because being protected by a private military is different than being protected by a military of another nation.

Dawn drug raids may seem counterintuitive in a city where lax cannabis laws have earned it a reputation as Europe's New Amsterdam. But Barcelona's police are cracking down on the organized crime, they say, has grown up around legal weed. Orasi Garcia joined a 4 a.m. police raid to understand why authorities are worried. They start pounding the door. They say it in Spanish like, get out, get out, and put the hands in the hair. Inside, they find around 800 marijuana plants. The police, they value the seizure around 250,000 euros.

We think the profit the organization can take all over the year will be around 1 million euros. But all of this time is not going to Barcelona. Inspector Sayeras explained us that Catalonia is exporting marijuana and importing organized crime. The organizations are coming here and they are trying to establish here to produce marijuana. Because a sole gram of them can be sold to Spanish market around 6 euros.

Crossing the French border double the price. So in France, these 6 euros, they become 12. Cross another border and reach central or northern Europe, the price will triple or quadruple. So last year, they say three times more than in 2021 and arrested 2,000 people. 60% of arrests last year from Europe, from Morocco, and Latin America. These groups, they can increase the group.

growing level of violence and the number of firearms mostly used to protect the plantations. And police is fearing than Catalonia can become the backyard of marijuana production from Europe. Amoresa Garcia reporting from Barcelona. That's it for today's edition of Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily weekday news show, bringing you everything you need to know about your world in 10 minutes. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player or download the Reuters app.