or at least the shocking claims that vladimir putin met with the man who led the armed revolt against russia. and he met with him five days after the aborted insurrection. the kremlin claims that he held a three-hour meeting with yevgeny prigozhin, and other members of the wagner group and discussed, quote, for their employment options. for their employment options for the man who was marching troops, at least for a time, towards moscow. what kind of employment options were available for someone whose troops shot down russian helicopters and shook the foundations of putin s 20-year grip on power? what would that job listing look like? seeking middle aged men with experiencing global missionary war, treason and catering. must love dogs and have no commitments that require being alive. that last point gets the central question surrounding prigozhin at this moment. why exactly is he alive. the idea of a meeting after the revolt suggested that the
north koreans are marking the anniversary of their country s founding 73 years ago. so a night time military parade to celebrate the occasion wasn t unusual, but this parade was noticeably different. besides the battalions of marching troops, the procession also featured farm equipment, fire engines and large groups of people in hazmat suits. kim jung-un oig aappeared on th viewing stand but apparently didn t speak. and the country is banned from the beijing winter games this february. the international olympic committee says that it suspended north korea from olympic competition until the end of next year. the ioc adds it warned pyongyang it would happen if they pulled out of the tokyo games.