World Briefing: September 5, 2024

Consumer goods giant Unilever has received Russian government approval to sell its assets in Russia, the RBC business daily reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Unilever and Russia's finance ministry declined to comment - Reuters

Ukrainian lawmakers began voting in Kyiv on September 4 on the possible dismissals of cabinet members and other senior officials after a spate of resignations tendered in the past 24 hours that followed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's suggestion of a looming government shake-up. Deputies dismissed one deputy prime minister and three ministers, but the session did not take up the fate of one of the highest-profile resignations, that of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Kuleba, one of the main faces of Kyiv's efforts to gird international support since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, submitted his resignation earlier in the day. Commenting on Kuleba's and the rest of the 22-member cabinet's futures, Zelenskiy said on September 4 that "we need new energy, and these steps relate to strengthening our state in various areas." Parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk informed the public of Kuleba's resignation, as well as those a day earlier of two deputy prime ministers and three cabinet ministers as part of what could be the biggest cabinet overhaul since Russia's full-scale invasion began 36 months ago. - RFE/RL

Earlier today on CNN, I called some of the changes at the top of the government as hardly a re-set (as the Zelensky team calls it), but rather more of a move by the team in the office of the president (led by chief of staff Andrij Yermak) as a move to consolidate power. And that I agree with many analysts who said they may have over-stepped this time. Former vice-prime minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze referred to the situation as “a severe governance crisis.” The changes come on the heels of the controversial removal of the Volodymyr Kudritskyi as the head of state-owned UkrEnergo, which many western allies opposed. Two foreign directors quit Ukrenergo board over allegedly improper removal of Kudrytskyi. The FT reported that Kudrytskyi said on Tuesday that there had been a “campaign to discredit Ukrenergo” and it was important that his successor was chosen in a transparent way so that the company would “not become a generator of cash flows” for corruption.

The US has charged and sanctioned Russian state media executives and restricted Kremlin-linked broadcasters as it accused Moscow of a widespread campaign to interfere with the presidential election. The justice, state and treasury departments announced coordinated actions on Wednesday to "aggressively counter" the alleged operations. Attorney General Merrick Garland accused state broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10m to "create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging". RT boss Margarita Simonyan was one of 10 people sanctioned for alleged attempts to harm "public trust in our institutions". RT denied involvement. - BBC

Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) has pulled the plug on a two-and-a-half-year-old agreement with Justin Trudeau's Liberals that had helped keep his minority government in power. In a video posted to social media on Wednesday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he had informed the prime minister of his decision, saying the Liberals were "too weak, too selfish" to fight for Canadians. The deal - called a "supply and confidence" agreement - had the NDP supporting the Liberals in confidence votes. The announcement does not automatically mean a federal election is imminent but that Canadians may go to the polls before the election scheduled for October 2025. In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Singh said a non-confidence vote would be "on the table" with every confidence measure. Losing a confidence vote in parliament can trigger a general election. “The NDP is ready for an election," Mr Singh said. Mr Trudeau and Mr Singh reached the agreement in March 2022, with the Liberals pledging to support the NDP on several of the party's key priorities in parliament. The deal differed to a coalition, where parties share power. - BBC

At least four people were killed and nine others injured Wednesday morning as a gunman sent students and faculty at an American high school desperately scurrying for cover, schools across the county into lockdown and parents scrambling for information. Four people were killed in the shooting inside Apalachee High School, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Nine others were transported to hospitals with injuries. Law enforcement sources said earlier approximately 30 people were injured in the shooting. It was unclear how many of those injuries are from gunshot wounds; the information is preliminary and subject to change. The suspected gunman is believed to be a 14-year-old boy, a law enforcement source said - CNN

The US has suffered at least 385 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines mass shootings as those in which four or more victims are shot. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day.

A former Philippine mayor who was on the run for weeks after being accused of spying for China has been arrested in Indonesia. Philippine authorities have been pursuing Alice Guo across four countries since she disappeared in July following an investigation into her alleged criminal activities. She has been accused of protecting online casinos, which were a front for scam centres and human trafficking syndicates in her sleepy pig farming town, Bamban. Ms Guo denies the allegations. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said she would be flown back to the Philippines as early as Wednesday. - BBC

This Briefing is reprinted with the author's permission. Please find the original here.