Vladimir Putin in Tehran for talks with Iran and Turkey

Russia is seeking regional support in the Middle East amid Western pressure. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Vladimir Putin in Tehran for talks with Iran and Turkey [Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pose for a photo prior to their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, July 19, 2022.] Credit: Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Russia-Iran-Turkey Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts. The meeting comes as the US, the European Union and their allies put pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. This is Putin’s second trip abroad since Russia’s invasion in February. Both Russia and Iran have been [targets of Western sanctions](, and the two countries could potentially become military and trade partners. Among [various issues](, Putin will discuss with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the conflict in Syria and a UN-backed proposal on resuming Ukrainian grain exports to ease the global food crisis. Somalia The US military announced late Monday that it had killed two al-Shabab fighters during an air raid in a remote part of southern Somalia over the weekend. It’s the [first major action]( by US forces in the country since President Joe Biden sent special operations troops there in May. Former President Donald Trump had ordered the withdrawal of troops from Somalia near the end of his term. The US has routinely conducted air raids against the al-Qaeda affiliate, which has been trying to topple the nation’s Western-backed government for years. Rights groups, however, say Washington needs to be more [transparent with its operations](, especially when it comes to civilian deaths. COVID-19 The World Health Organization has warned that European nations must act quickly or risk tougher COVID-19 measures later. The WHO’s European director, Hans Henri P. Kluge, is urging an acceleration in vaccinations and a return to mask-wearing, as the continent sees a surge in coronavirus cases driven by the omicron variants BA.2 and BA.5. The number of cases in Europe has [tripled in the past six weeks](, with nearly 3 million infections reported last week alone. Although intensive care hospitalizations remain relatively low, almost [3,000 people are dying each week]( of COVID-19, especially as infection rates in older populations continue to rise. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Could Colombia’s incoming president legalize cocaine?]( [Anti narcotics police gather before a raid to destroy a lab to make coca base, part of the process of transforming coca leaves to cocaine, in La Hormiga, Putumayo state, Colombia, April 9, 2022.]( Credit: Fernando Vergara/AP Colombian legislators are discussing a controversial bill — first proposed last August — that would [regulate the use and distribution of the coca leaf]( and its derivatives, including cocaine. If approved, it would be the first time that a country legalizes a drug as addictive and harmful as cocaine. [Son of Conti: Ransomware tries its hand at politics]( [Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves Robles smiles during the opening plenary session at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, June 9, 2022.]( Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP After an unprecedented leak of its internal chat logs earlier in the year, Conti, a Russian-speaking ransomware group, came back with a vengeance. Dina Temple-Raston of the Click Here podcast [spoke about the issue]( with Jorge Mora, Costa Rica’s former director of the MICITT, and Mario Robles, the CEO and founder of White Jaguars, a Costa Rican cybersecurity company. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Green sea turtles are an endangered species and among the largest of their kind in the world. They’re also the only herbivorous sea turtles. 🐢 In 2010, Cosme Becerra and his brothers started working in sea turtle conservation, joining a national network of volunteers, known as Grupo Tortuguero de Bahia Kino, who monitor turtles and collect data on their health, reproduction and migration patterns. [Listen to the story]( that KJZZ's Kendal Blust reported for The World. 🎧 [A sea turtle heads back to the ocean after the Tortugueros have finished gathering data on it.] Credit: Kendal Blust/KJZZ In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.