June 26, 2023

*) Mitsotakis back as Greece's prime minister, far-right gains more seats Kyriakos Mitsotakis has embarked on his second term as Greece's prime minister with a vow to accelerate institutional and economic reforms, after voters handed him a huge election victory for the second time in five weeks. Mitsotakis' decision to reject a coalition and call for a second election paid off, as his New Democracy party consolidated its victory. Meanwhile, the return of the far-right to parliament has raised concerns, as opposition leader Tsipras said the strongest showing of Greek hard-right parties in decades was a "visible" threat to democracy. *)Russia's Shoigu makes first tv appearance after Wagner mutiny Russian state television broadcast footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspecting Russian troops, in his first public appearance since a failed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries. Shoigu — the target of fierce criticism by the Wagner mercenary group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — went to a command post for Russian forces in Ukraine and held a meeting there with the leader of one of the units, according to images shown by the broadcaster. Prigozhin has repeatedly blamed Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters' deaths. Wagner mercenaries headed back to their base on Sunday after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow Prigozhin to avoid treason charges and accept exile in neighbouring Belarus. *)Sudan's RSF seizes key police base in Khartoum as deadly battle rages Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has said it had seized the main base of a heavily armed police unit as it sought an edge in its war with the army during heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum. It later said it had captured 160 pick-up trucks, 75 armoured personnel carriers, and 27 tanks. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statements. There was no immediate comment from the army or the police. *)Turkish president, NATO chief discuss developments in Russia, Sweden Turki