Our daily stroll around the world

🇰🇵 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia in the coming days. The trip, which marks Kim’s first time stepping foot outside of North Korea since 2019, was announced yesterday by both countries. US officials released intelligence last week indicating Kim will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss supplying Moscow with millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs. A State Dept. spokesperson said Washington will closely monitor the Kim-Putin meeting, and won’t hesitate to impose new sanctions if an arms deal is reached.

🇪🇸⚽ Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s soccer federation, resigned amid charges of sexual assault. Rubiales is facing a pair of lawsuits, filed by Spanish prosecutors and women’s soccer player Jenni Hermoso, accusing him of sexual assault and coercion for kissing Hermoso on the lips without consent following the teams World Cup victory last month (Rubiales claims the kiss was “consensual”). Jorge Vilda, the coach of the Spanish women’s national soccer team, was fired last week after he initially praised Rubiales for not resigning when Spanish officials first asked him to do so.

🇬🇧🇨🇳 A UK Parliamentary researcher was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. According to the Times newspaper, which reported the arrest, the man was part of an influential policy group on China that was co-founded by the UK’s current security minister. In a statement released by his lawyer yesterday, the accused researcher denied being a spy and said he was “completely innocent.” The arrest marks a setback for UK-China relations, which have been tense for years.

Update: American Mark Dickey was carried to safety yesterday, after falling ill more than 3,400 feet below the surface of a Turkish cave 12 days earlier.