The Capitals: Saudi Arabia's peace bid for Ukraine minus Moscow, Ottawa's 'cigarettes cause impotence' warning
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Hello and Welcome. This is The Capitals.
In Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, the national security advisers and representatives of more than 30 countries met with a purported goal to end war in Ukraine.
One would expect that the two warring sides would remain central to the peace talks. This was not the case.
But in Jeddah, the Saudi crown prince shook hand with the leader of one warring side, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
While multiple reports in the western media said that Moscow did not accept the invitation to the peace talks, the Russian state media said that Moscow was not even invited in the first place.
Here is a step-by-step account in this WION explainer to make sense of the 'peace talks' to end Russia-Ukraine war that did not include Russia.
Naypyidaw, Myanmar
On the first day of August 2023, days after Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved from jail to house arrest, she was pardoned in five criminal cases by the country's military rulers. Suu Kyi's sentence has been reduced by six years in total after the partial clemency.
Up until last week, the 78-year-old Nobel laureate was lodged in a prison in Naypyidaw. Suu Kyi had been sentenced to 33 years in prison after a range of charges were brought by the army.
Rajiv Bhatia, India's former ambassador to Myanmar and Distinguished Fellow at Mumbai-based Gateway House, in an Opinion piece forWION, wrote: "Up until last week, the 78-year-old Nobel laureate was lodged in a prison in the capital city of Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi had been sentenced to 33 years in prison after a range of charges were brought by the army. Most of the charges, experts argue, have been brought in to keep her away from garnering public support. Her party had won a second five-year mandate in the 2020 elections before the military came calling."
Ottawa, Canada
From the Canadian capital, the story that captured most attention was that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing the end of his marriage with former television host Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
Meanwhile a rampaging anti-smoking campaign that Ottawa imposed starting this week, surprised activists and observers worldwide.
From August 1, each cigarette sold in Canada will come with an individual health warning, such as "cigarettes cause impotence" and cancer, and that there is "poison in every puff".
Islamabad, Pakistan
In news from Pakistan's corridors of power, a former prime minister was sent to prison, second time in less than three months. Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case, for allegedly selling state gifts. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief. Khan's legal team has approached the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest and the verdict in Toshakhana case.
That's all for The Capitals this week. See you next weekend.
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