South Asia
India brought into force a ban on single-use plastic on Friday; the newly-introduced law can result in fines or even jail time. While manufacturers complained that they were not prepared for the ban, the central government has insisted that sufficient warning was given before the ban was introduced. [Indian Express]
Three people were publicly flogged 39 times in Kandahar following allegations of adultery and theft. Reports suggest that members of the Taliban’s judicial system, including Mawlawi Mohibullah, were also present during the public punishment. [Khaama News Agency]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Armenian parliament on Friday removed two lawmakers from their posts after leading rallies in Yerevan demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. 66 of 107 lawmakers, mainly from Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party and allies, voted for the move. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote. The ruling Civil Contract party accused the lawmakers of rallying thousands of protesters who called for Pashinyan’s resignation for indicating that he would be willing to recognise the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as part of Azerbaijan. [RFE/RL]
Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of Tbilisi on Sunday to protest the government’s “failure” to undertake reforms required to join the European Union (EU). The protesters also expressed support for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s occupation of the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Taiwan’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced on Saturday that it is in the process of buying vaccines and drugs to combat the ongoing monkeypox outbreak and that they will be available to the public by the end of the year. It refused to divulge the order’s batch size, reported its first imported monkeypox case last month. [Taiwan News]
A Hong Kong lawmaker who posed for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the financial hub’s 25th-anniversary celebrations last week has confirmed testing positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Xi, whose health status is not clear at the moment, has not left China for almost 900 days during the COVID-19 pandemic and has imposed an extraordinarily strict Zero-COVID strategy in parts of China to control the outbreak. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
On being asked whether he would echo Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s description of Russia as a “terrorist state,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz merely denounced Russia’s “brutal, unjustified war.” He said it is more important to support Ukraine with humanitarian aid, financial assistance, and weapons to avoid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aim to achieve a “dictated peace.” [CBS News]
A shooting in a mall in Copenhagen resulted in three deaths and left several others injured. The police arrested a 22-year-old man for the incident. The motive of the attack remains unclear but the police have not ruled out that it was an “act of terrorism.” [BBC]
With the capture of the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, the Russian Defence Ministry announced the “liberation” of Luhansk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that the Ukrainian forces would return to recapture the city. “Ukraine does not give anything up,” he asserted. [TASS, President of Ukraine]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Sunday condemned “terrorist threats” from Colombia, blaming his outgoing counterpart Iván Duque for seeking “revenge on Venezuela” by orchestrating attacks on the country’s electrical system, personalities, political, and military leaders. Maduro briefed the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) about a possible offensive, urging soldiers to be prepared for a “terrorist threat” from Duque’s “dying government.” Duque’s incoming replacement, Gustavo Petro, has vowed closer cooperation with Venezuela, particularly on border security. [Venezuela Ministry of External Affairs]
During a telephonic conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Argentine President Alberto Fernández expressed his strong condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pledging his support to “all negotiations that may be undertaken for the cessation of hostilities.” Zelensky thanked Fernández for his “reflections, opinions, and support” through the provision of humanitarian aid, including 61,90 tonnes of food, sanitary, hygiene, and shelter supplies as well as for his efforts in ensuring Russia’s suspension at the United Nations Human Rights Council. [Merco Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem increased by 46% in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council reported on Sunday. It also noted the total Palestinian deaths in the West Bank and East Jerusalem rose from 24 in 2020 to 78 in 2021. So far, 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops this year. [The Jerusalem Post]
The United Nations on Sunday condemned rioters for storming the Libyan parliament in Tobruk and setting fire to the building. “The people’s right to peacefully protest should be respected and protected but riots and acts of vandalism such as the storming […] are totally unacceptable,” said UN special advisor on Libya Stephanie Williams. Protests erupted on Saturday, a day after representatives of the rival Tobruk and Tripoli governments failed to reach an agreement on holding elections. [Associated Press]
Tunisian President Kais Saied’s proposed new constitution was condemned by Sadeq Belaid, the person appointed by Saied to head the committee in charge of rewriting the constitution. Belaid warned on Sunday that the draft constitution contains chapters that could lead to “a disgraceful dictatorial regime.” [Al Jazeera]
North America
A United States (US) District Court on Friday gave the Biden administration until August 1 to respond to whether Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is applicable for head-of-state immunity concerning Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in a civil suit filed against him by Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, and Democracy for the Arab World Now, a human rights organisation established by the journalist. MBS’ lawyers argued that the case should be dismissed, saying the court lacks subject matter and personal jurisdiction. Khashoggi was murdered on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi embassy in Turkey, which Riyadh claims was an act by “rogue agents.” The US’ Central Intelligence Agency previously concluded that MBS had ordered the killing. [Washington Post]
After several Canadian charities complained that a 2013 law that lists the Taliban as a terrorist organisation is hampering humanitarian work in Afghanistan, Canadian Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan revealed on Saturday, “We are looking at options on what we can do to create that flexibility that other countries have,” adding, “The United States currently can do more work than us, at least have the options to do more things there. We are looking at similar exemptions we can create as long as we can keep up the pressure on the Taliban, as it is a terrorist entity.” [CTV News]
Oceania
Papua New Guinea will hold its prime ministerial election today. The frontrunners are incumbent leader James Marape and former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. Fears of the election turning violent loom large, particularly in light of similar instability following the 2007, 2012 and 2017 elections. In fact, violence during the last election resulted in over 200 deaths. [The Guardian]
Thousands on Australia’s eastern coast, particularly in Sydney, have been evacuated following torrential rain, heavy winds, and overflowing dams. Some regions have already received up to 13.8 inches of rain, about half of Sydney’s annual average. New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services Steph Cooke cautioned residents last night that the situation is “rapidly evolving” and that areas “that have never experienced flooding before” could be gravely impacted this year. “If you were safe in 2021, do not assume you will be safe tonight,” she said. [Al Jazeera]
Sub-Saharan Africa
At the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Summit held in Accra on Sunday, the regional bloc agreed to lift economic sanctions on Mali and Burkina Faso owing to their new timelines for transition to democratic rule. ECOWAS leaders hailed Mali’s proposal to hold elections in 2024 as well as Burkina Faso’s 24-month transition plan for restoring constitutional order in the country. Individual sanctions on Mali’s military leaders will remain in place and the country shall remain suspended until a constitutional government is restored. [Africa Feeds]
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday hailed the efforts of the Nigerian police in rescuing more than 50 children who had been abducted and held in a church in Ondo state. Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s Nigeria representative, called on governments to “redouble efforts” to protect children against all forms of violence, stating that “a society’s health is measured by how it treats its children.” [Leadership]