July 6, Thursday, 2023

1. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the leader of Russian private military firm Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is back in Russia. The Belarusian president last month said the mercenary leader was in Belarus. He reportedly said Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg or may have moved to Moscow or somewhere else, but he is now not in Belarus.
2. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing for high-level talks, amid growing tensions over semiconductor exports. Yellen’s visit to China is her first as treasury secretary. She will remain there through Sunday.
3. One of Japan’s biggest travel agencies is tipping that domestic travel will return to pre-pandemic levels this summer. JTB forecasts that between July 15 and August 31, 72-and-a-half million people will take trips around the country with at least one overnight stay. That’s on par with the level in 2019.