Brunson defends himself ‘with boldness’
The American pastor heads back to a Turkish jail as he awaits an October trial date
TURKEY: Despite predictions in and outside Turkey of Andrew Brunson’s release, the Izmir court Wednesday returned the American pastor to jail after a two-hour proceeding. The judges set another trial date for Oct. 12—nearly two years since authorities first detained Brunson. The Commission on International Religious Freedom condemned the proceedings, while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly took a call Wednesday from his Turkish counterpart. President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, including about the Brunson case. According to a North Carolina pastor who attended Wednesday’s proceeding, Brunson in the courtroom was “absolutely powerful. He presented the gospel with confidence and defended himself with boldness.”
RUSSIA: Pompeo has been summoned to testify before Congress on Russia next week, after Russian President Vladimir Putin looks poised to use to his advantage the disastrous Putin-Trump summit in Helsinki on Monday.
What’s not known: What Trump may have agreed to during a two-hour conversation with Putin attended only by translators. What’s known: Moscow is deflecting attention from the Justice Department’s indictment of 12 Russian spies by issuing its own summons of top U.S. officials—including the former U.S. ambassador to Russia. At issue: Russian opposition to the 2012 Magnitsky Act, a key sanctions tool used against more than 40 Russians over human rights violations. Putin’s “we can meet you halfway” condition in Helsinki means investigating American-British businessman Bill Browder, who helped to push the legislation. Magnitsky was a Russian tax accountant who worked to uncover high-level graft and worked for Browder. He was arrested in Moscow in 2008 and died in custody 11 months later. Beyond whether Trump said “would” or “wouldn’t,” you can read multiple critiques (plus this one) of the Putin-Trump summit, but the swift statement from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats—a Trump appointee and longtime Republican member of Congress—is enough.AFGHANISTAN: U.S. officials may or may not consider direct talks with the Taliban—a break with past policy—as a way to jump-start peace talks. Elements of ISIS and the Taliban continue with suicide bomb attacks, the latest killing 20 in northern Afghanistan.
IRAQ: Protests across long-neglected southern Iraq are spreading and continuing into a second week.
CHINA: It’s not easy to win at trade wars, and financial adviser David Bahnsen gives a helpful explainer on how they work after China this week filed a complaint against the United States with the World Trade Organization.
SOUTH AFRICA: Former President Barack Obama spoke Tuesday in Johannesburg. He cited Nelson Mandela learning in prison Afrikaans, the language of his white captors, to say: “Democracy demands that we’re able also to get inside the reality of people who are different than us so we can understand their point of view.” Text and full speech here.
SUMMER: My take on the joys—and precautions needed—in summer overseas travel.
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