Putin Xi, To Catch a Castro, Red Carpet Rebellion

It’s been a week marked by major geopolitical, legal and public health developments across several fronts. In Washington, the Trump administration has indicted 94-year-old former Cuban president Raúl Castro over alleged murder and conspiracy to kill US nationals, linked to the 1990s downing of two civilian aircraft — a move officials describe as long-delayed justice, but which critics see as part of a wider push on regime change. In Beijing, President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to meet Xi Jinping, with carefully staged ceremony and renewed pledges of “unyielding relations”, while Ukraine reported continued deep-strike drone operations inside Russian territory.