Good morning, readers!

Welcome back to another week of Geopolitics Hound. Here’s a quick rundown of hot-button topics of the weekend:

• Furious protestors are sick of radioactive water.

• A government cuts the internet—leaving many in the dark.

• Islamic clothing has been banned.

Today’s geopolitics hotspots:

Cheatsheet: Prigozhin’s death

🚔 Loyalty or prison.

Putin is feeling the heat from Wagner’s threat of a possible coup 2.0. Just two days after Prigozhin’s mysterious death, Putin has issued a decree that forces all soldiers and mercenaries to swear allegiance to him.

Yes, even Wagner mercenaries.

But what if they refuse to sign? Well, they can kiss their freedom goodbye. Putin is not messing around, and he’s making sure that loyalty is the only way to survive.

🧬 DNA confirmation.

The Russian Investigative Committee has confirmed that DNA tests identified all 10 victims on the ill-fated plane, including the Kremlin’s favorite chef and mercenary mastermind, Prigozhin.

But the question remains: who cooked up this plot? The mystery continues to simmer.

🗓️ The future.

Now that Prigozhin is gone, what will happen to Wagner?

• It will disappear, as Putin prefers loyal soldiers over rogue mercenaries. The signing of the decree may mean the independent identity of the Wagner group will die with it.

• It will continue, as Wagner wasn’t exclusively led by Prigozhin. It has a council of commanders whose influence will survive beyond the leader’s death.

• It will split into smaller factions, as no one can replace Prigozhin’s charisma and clout.

Japan: “Trust us”
(as it dumps radioactive water into the ocean)

The environment ministry of Japan has announced that tests of seawater near 11 points near the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant have come back clean.

👌🏻 No radioactivity. Nada. Zilch.

🌊 Controversy.

The water in question comes from cooling the reactors that melted down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It’s filtered by a system called ALPS, which removes 62 types of radioactive elements, except for tritium. And yes, tritium is radioactive.

☢️ Claims.

• Japan’s environment ministry says it has tested the seawater near 11 points around the Fukushima plant, and found no traces of tritium or other radioactive substances.

• They’ll be monitoring the situation “with a high level of objectivity, transparency, and reliability” to prevent any damage to Japan’s reputation.

• Test results will be published every week for at least the next three months.

• Japan’s fisheries agency says it has also tested the fish from near the plant, and found no abnormalities.

📞 Reactions.

• China: It has banned imports of seafood from Japan.

  • Some furious Chinese citizens have even called up Japanese companies to vent their anger.

• South Korea: Thousands rallied on Saturday to demand Japan to keep the radioactive water in the tanks. They have also urged their government to take action against Japan.

• Japan: Over 500 people have rallied on Sunday, opposing the water release. They have also expressed their distrust of the government and its claims.

Do you trust Japan?

🌟 Today’s gem

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