Morning Briefing: June 24, 2023

NEW YORK

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including claims of an ''armed rebellion'' in Russia by the head of the Russian paramilitary group, Wagner, the implosion of the Titan submersible and the death of 31 suspected illegal miners in an abandoned mine in South Africa.

TOP STORIES

• Russia tightens security amid Wagner chief's 'armed rebellion’

Russia stepped up security measures in Moscow and border towns early Saturday after the head of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused Russian forces of attacking his mercenaries and he vowed to retaliate.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said "anti-terrorist measures" are being taken in the city. Armored vehicles were sent into Moscow amid heightened security.

Generals accused Prigozhin of an ''attempted coup'' with Russia's top commander in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, urging Wagner fighters to obey Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Federal Security Service said Prigozhin's actions were a ''stab in the back'' and accused him of inciting an ''armed rebellion.'' It urged Wagner fighters not to carry out his ''criminal and treacherous'' orders and to detain their leader.

• Canada, US to investigate Titan submersible disaster

The US announced Friday it will investigate the loss of the Titan, while Canada said separately it will probe the actions of the Polar Prince, the Canadian vessel that towed the submersible to the site of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Polar Prince lost contact with the Titan early Sunday, about 90 minutes after it began towing the submersible toward the Titanic --- 700 kilometers (435 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland.

A remotely operated vehicle found the Titan submersible's tail cone on the seafloor roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the Titanic.

• 31 illegal miners die in abandoned mine in South Africa

At least 31 suspected illegal miners have died in an abandoned mine in South Africa’s east-central province, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said in a statement.

The miners, believed to be Lesotho nationals, reportedly died in a mine ventilation shaft that was last operational in the 1990s.

South Africa is one of the world's largest producers of gold and other precious minerals. There are many closed mine shafts scattered across the country.

Abandoned mines have attracted a large number of illegal miners from within the country and from the southern African region.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Klyuchevskaya volcano in the Kamchatka region of eastern Russia has erupted, according to media reports.
• Russia has launched a formal legal case against Australia regarding the cancellation of Moscow’s lease on land to construct a new embassy building in Canberra near parliament.
• Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved male mummy inside a stone tomb during excavation in the Rimac district of Lima, Peru.
• The European Union adopted on Friday the 11th sanctions package against Russia for its war in Ukraine.
• The UN human rights chief on Friday urged Israel to immediately end violence in the occupied West Bank.
• A Japanese woman in her 70s, who died after 26 days of treatment at a hospital, became the world's first victim of a tick-borne infection after contracting the Oz virus in the eastern Ibaraki province, north of Tokyo, authorities said Friday.
• The Biden administration sanctioned two Russian intelligence officers Friday who are accused of meddling in a local US election.
• The EU on Friday voiced concerns about tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
• The UN on Friday called for the removal of all obstacles to guarantee the uninterrupted continuation of the Black Sea grain deal.
• Israel’s far-right national security minister called for a wider military operation and intensive settlement campaign in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports Friday.

SPORTS

• US to host expanded FIFA Club World Cup in 2025

The US will host a first-ever 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 as a prelude to the men's 2026 FIFA World Cup.

"The FIFA Council has unanimously appointed the United States as the host of the new and expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup that is due to take place in 2025, at its meeting held by videoconference from the Home of FIFA," the world’s football governing body said Friday.

Canada, Mexico and the US will co-host the 2026 World Cup as the ultimate international football contest returns to North America.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

• Oil prices fall with economic slowdown concerns fueled by rate hikes

Concern about a slowdown in economic growth resulting in lower global oil demand continued to weigh on oil prices during the week ending June 23.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $73.28 per barrel at 2.29 p.m. (1129 GMT) Friday, falling 4.34% from the closing price of $76.61 last Friday.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $68.56, posting a 4.48% fall from last Friday's session which closed at $71.78.

Recessionary fears grow in Western economies as central banks raise interest rates and signal further hikes.

• Just one in five Brexit voters think it is going well on 7th anniversary of controversial vote

Only 18% of those who voted “Leave “in the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum think the decision has turned out “well” or “very well," according to a new poll.

Friday marks the seventh anniversary of the Brexit referendum. A major study by research firm, Public First, found 26% of Leave voters think it is still “too soon to say” whether the outcome was good for the country.

In the 2016 referendum, voters backed quitting the bloc by 52% to 48%, and the strains of the divorce are still being felt.