South Asia
Turkey has vowed to deport 215 undocumented Afghan migrants, adding to the 18,256 Afghans that have already been sent back since January 27. The Edirne Immigration Office reported a 70% increase in the influx of refugees from the war-torn country to Turkey from the start of the year compared to the same period last year. [Khaama News Press Agency]
Bangladesh and Japan expressed their support for the expedited repatriation of Rohingya Muslims that had been forcibly displaced from Myanmar. In a meeting with a delegation from Japan, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed that the refugees are “becoming a burden” for Dhaka. [BSS News]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenia is reportedly keen on purchasing Indian weapons and recently sent a military delegation to visit the South Asian country, with drones believed to be of high interest. In 2020, Yerevan signed a $40 million deal with New Delhi for four SWATHI radars for weapons location detection. Its needs have since grown after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan, during which it lost swathes of territory to its rival. [DNA]
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday, his first visit to the country during his presidency. The two countries hailed their strong strategic ties, with Tokayev noting that Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to recognise Kazakhstan's independence following the fall of the Soviet Union. Saudi companies are reportedly interested in investing in Kazakhstan's agricultural sector, particularly in light of the global food crisis. [AzerNews]
East and Southeast Asia
South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup will meet with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin III, in Washington D.C. this week. During the meeting, the two sides “plan to exchange their assessments about the security situation on the [Korean] peninsula and have a wide-range of discussions on various alliance issues, including efforts to enhance the enforceability of extended deterrence,” Seoul’s defence ministry said. [The Korea Herald]
Myanmar’s military executed four pro-democracy activists accused of helping carry out “terror acts” against the state. The executions mark the nation’s first death penalties in decades. Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson of Myanmar’s shadow government, condemned the killings and called on “the global community” to “punish their [junta’s] cruelty.” [Channel News Asia]
Europe
After winning 78 of the 140 seats in parliament last month, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Bajram Begaj was formally appointed the eighth president of Albania on Sunday. In his first speech as president, he urged the opposition to “not see conflict before trying to collaborate as the times we are living are the most unpredictable.” “I won’t stand neutral to anyone putting personal interests above those of our nation,” he added, noting that his appointment came at a historic time when Tirana has begun its negotiations to join the European Union. [Albanian Daily News, ABC News]
Former Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak, the leading candidate to replace Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister (PM) the leader of the Conservative party, hit back at criticism that his candidature has been endorsed by China, and vowed to crack down on Beijing if he is elected. Calling China the “number one threat” to regional and international security, vowing to “kick the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) out of our universities” and cooperate with allies to confront cyber warfare. [AFP]
On Sunday, firefighters in Greece struggled to contain three wildfires amid an unprecedented heatwave across Europe that scientists have attributed to climate change. Fires in Spain and Portugal have already caused over 2,000 deaths. The death count across Europe is likely to be much higher, with France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands reporting several incidents of wildfires as well. [DW, Politico]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Kicking off his re-election bid in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium on Sunday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declared that “the army is on our side,” praising the military as an institution that “doesn’t accept corruption, doesn’t accept fraud. This is an army that wants transparency.” Bolsonaro has repeatedly cast doubt on the nation’s electronic voting system and has even hinted at a refusal to acknowledge an unfavourable result in the upcoming presidential election. [Al Jazeera]
On Sunday, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis mourned the death of 17 Haitian refugees, including one child, who were killed after a boat with 60 migrants on board capsized near the island of New Providence as they attempted to cross into Florida. Bahamian Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said two suspects have been arrested for the human smuggling operation. Rising gang violence and poverty in the country over the years have forced Haitian residents to embark upon hazardous journeys to the United States. [BBC]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Tunisian citizens will vote today in a referendum on whether to approve President Kais Saied’s proposal for a new constitution, which critics have said could severely erode democratic freedoms gained after the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. In a power grab last July, Saied indefinitely suspended the parliament, dismissed the PM, and lifted the immunity of all lawmakers. Since then, he has made various moves to reshape the country, most recently declaring that Islam will no longer be the state religion in the new constitution. [Reuters]
Israeli officials have expressed concern that Russia's move to shut down the Jewish Agency in the country is leading to a much larger diplomatic confrontation. In recent months, Russia has been angered by Israel's decision to send non-lethal weapons to Ukraine as well as condemn Russia's invasion and human rights violations during the war. In response, Russia has banded together with Iran and Turkey to condemn Israeli airstrikes in Syria. [The Times of Israel]
North America
Ukrainian commander Ruslan Miroshnichenko confirmed on Saturday that two Americans, a Canadian, and a Swede who were fighting against the Russian forces as part of the International Legion, were killed near Siversk in the eastern Donetsk region after being “ambushed by Russian tanks.” “I have to make sure the bodies of all my boys are repatriated,” he told Politico from Dnipro. [Politico]
The United States’ (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that equipment from the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei atop cell towers near American army bases had the ability to intercept and disrupt highly-restricted communication from the Department of Defense, including the US Strategic Command, which supervises nuclear weapons. However, it is unclear if any data was intercepted and sent to China. [CNN]
Oceania
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that Chinese sanctions on Australian products, including coal, should be revoked immediately, as there “is no justification” for them. “It’s in China’s interests to lift all of the sanctions against Australia, and it’s in Australia’s interest for that to happen as well,” he reasoned. [The Straits Times]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that schools are not required to punish students for not wearing masks. “We don’t have mandated mask use in schools. We have not said you must punish students if they don’t use masks or anything of that nature,” Ardern said. Her comments come in contradiction to an update released by Auckland’s Ministry of Education last week, which instructed schools on “the Government’s strong recommendation to review and enforce a mask-wearing policy as much as practicable.” [Newshub]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Friday, the European Union (EU)’s deputy director of the department of energy, Matthew Baldwin, described Nigeria as a “reliable partner” to replace Russian gas supplies. Baldwin admitted the Ukrainian war has left the EU in a “tight spot,” bringing about “instability” in the gas market. He added that a bilateral gas partnership will be initiated by the end of August to increase natural gas imports from the African nation. [Leadership]
South African President Cyril Ramaophosa and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara met in Pretoria on Friday and said that they were “pleased” with the United Nations- and Turkey-brokered deal that resumes grain and fertiliser exports from Russia and Ukraine. Ramaphosa expressed hope that the agreement could signal “the end of that conflict.” [Africanews]
In a statement on Saturday, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Mali, the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), claimed responsibility for carrying out an attack on the Kati military base that killed one soldier and left several others wounded on Friday. The JNIM stated that the raid was in response to the government’s increased collaboration with Russian paramilitary company Wagner Group, stating, “We say to the Bamako government: if you have the right to hire mercenaries to kill the defenceless innocent people, then we have the right to destroy you and target you.” [Reuters]