International News
Putin May Seek Revenge On Wagner’s Employer- CIA Director
The director of the CIA, William Burns, has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to buy time as he decides how to handle Yevgeny Prighozin.
The Wagner mercenary group’s leader, Mr. Prigozhin, was in charge of a rebellion that took place in Russia a month ago.
According to William Burns, that revolt showed serious flaws in the authority structure Putin had established.
He warned the Aspen Security Forum that the president of Russia might yet seek revenge on Mr. Prigozhin.
“What we are seeing is a very complicated dance,” the CIA chief said on Thursday.
Mr Prigozhin has moved around but had been in the Belarus capital of Minsk recently as well as Russia, he said when asked about a recent video apparently showing the Wagner boss in Belarus.
Mr Putin is likely to be trying to buy time as he works out how best to deal with the leader of the Wagner group, Mr Burns added.
That mercenary group still has value for Russia’s leadership in places like Africa, Libya and Syria and so it was likely that Mr Putin would try and separate the group from its leader.
“Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” Mr Burns said. “In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.”
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden suggested there was a risk the Wagner boss could be poisoned.
“If I were he I’d be careful what I ate. I’d keep my eye on my menu,” the president quipped.
The CIA director echoed that line saying: “If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn’t fire my food taster.”
The intelligence agency did indeed have advanced knowledge of the mutiny, Mr Burns said, confirming previous reports.
A senior Russian army general, Sergei Surovikin, who was reported to have known about the Wagner mutiny in advance, also does not currently have “freedom of movement”, the CIA chief added.
William Burns confirmed the CIA had advanced knowledge of the mutiny
The mutiny was the most direct assault Mr Putin has seen in his 23 years in power, including by directly challenging the Kremlin’s justification for the war in Ukraine, with Mr Prigozhin saying it had been built on lies, Mr Burns said.
He added that what was most remarkable was that Russia’s leader felt compelled to do a deal with a man who used to be his caterer, the CIA chief said.
Mr Prigozhin is often referred to as “Putin’s chef” as he first came to prominence after providing catering services to Mr Putin and the military before founding the Wagner group.
Mr Putin has projected an image of himself as the arbiter of order in Russia, and so the 36 hours of the mutiny will have left many in the country with the question of “whether the emperor had no clothes or at least why is it taking him so long to get dressed”, Mr Burns said.
This would have resurrected deeper questions in the Russian elite about Mr Putin’s judgement, which have been there since his decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
If Ukraine makes further advances on the battlefield then that could lead more Russians to pay attention to Mr Prigozhin’s critique of the war, he said.
It should not come as surprise that Ukraine’s counter-offensive was proving a “hard slog”, the CIA head said, given that offence was harder than defence and the Russians had months to prepare.
“It is going to take time and it is not going to be easy to make progress. I am however an optimist,” Mr Burns said.
In addition, he claimed that by bombing Black Sea commerce and attributing it on the Ukrainians, Russia may have been engaging in a false flag operation.
The United Kingdom is considering sweeping new restrictions that could limit or completely block children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms, as part of a broader push to improve online safety and reduce excessive screen time among young users.
The proposal, currently under government consultation, is being led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and focuses on addressing concerns over how teenagers interact with platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
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Officials say the move is driven by growing evidence and public concern that algorithm-driven feeds and “endless scrolling” features may be negatively affecting children’s sleep patterns, concentration levels, and overall well-being.
The government is also reviewing whether additional measures such as app curfews and time limits should be introduced.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the consultation has already attracted widespread public input, with tens of thousands of responses from parents, teenagers, and advocacy groups.
She noted that the government is particularly interested in feedback on addictive platform design features and the use of AI tools targeting younger users.
The UK is also studying policies already implemented in other countries. Australia has introduced stricter age-based restrictions, while Greece and Indonesia have also moved toward tighter regulation of children’s access to social media.
Authorities emphasize that no final decision has been made, but the consultation process is expected to shape future legislation on how tech companies operate and how young users are protected online in the digital age.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked global reactions following his remarks about Pope Leo XIV after the Pope’s recent anti-war message calling for peace in conflict-hit regions.
The controversy began after Pope Leo XIV delivered a strong appeal at the Vatican, urging world leaders to end ongoing wars and prioritise dialogue over violenceviolence.
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The pontiff warned against the “idolatry of power” and called for global cooperation to restore peace.
Reacting to the message, Trump told reporters he is “not a big fan” of Pope Leo XIV, describing him as “very liberal” and questioning his views on crime and international security.
The U.S. President further criticised the Pope’s stance on global conflicts, suggesting his message overlooks serious security challenges linked to rising geopolitical tensions, including nuclear concerns.
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump intensified his criticism, accusing the Pope of taking a weak position on foreign policy matters and suggesting political factors influenced his leadership position.
The comments have since triggered widespread debate across political and religious circles, adding to ongoing tensions between Washington and the Vatican over issues such as immigration policy, military action, and global diplomacy.
While both sides have previously denied any formal rift, the latest exchange has renewed global attention on their differing positions regarding war and peace efforts.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that Mohammed Wishah, an Al Jazeera journalist killed in a strike in Gaza on Wednesday, was a Hamas operative “operating under the guise of a journalist.”
According to Israeli forces, Wishah was “a key terrorist in Hamas’ rocket and weapons production headquarters” and had been planning attacks against soldiers in the area.
The military said he used his journalist identity to advance Hamas’ operations against Israel.
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Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based broadcaster, strongly condemned the killing. In a statement, the network described the attack as a “heinous crime of targeting and killing” its correspondent and insisted the strike was deliberate, not accidental.
The channel vowed to pursue “all necessary legal action to prosecute those responsible for the killing of its correspondents and staff in Gaza.”
Media rights organization Reporters Without Borders also condemned the incident, stating that Wishah’s name now joins “more than 220 journalists killed in two and a half years by Israeli forces in Gaza, at least 70 of whom were killed while performing their duties.”
The killing occurred despite a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza that has been in effect since October 2025, highlighting ongoing tensions and frequent accusations of truce violations by both Israel and Hamas.
Al Jazeera listed Wishah among 11 of its journalists killed in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
Past incidents include the killing of Mohammad Salama in August 2025 and the deaths of four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City earlier that year, prompting widespread condemnation.
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