South Asia
The Indian Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation petition calling for a probe by the National Investigation Agency to investigate the Congress toolkit case, which accused the Indian National Congress of anti-national activities. The judge called the case a “propaganda of a political party”. [NDTV]
Pakistani authorities established an “anti-money laundering and terror financing cell.” This comes in preparation for an assessment by the Financial Action Task Force on whether Pakistan has done enough to curb money laundering and terror financing to get it off its “increased monitoring list.” [Economic Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 military reservists along the Afghan border after more than 1,000 Afghan troops sought refuge in the Central Asian country after fleeing Taliban offensives on Monday. The security situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating, as the Taliban has captured several districts ever since United States and NATO troops began their withdrawal. [RFE/RL, The Washington Post]
Azerbaijan has said that it is investigating a major fire that broke out in the Caspian Sea on Sunday. While the cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, state oil company Socar claimed that the information available indicated that the fire was caused by a mud volcano. Officials have stated that none of Azerbaijan’s extensive offshore oil and gas fields were affected by the fire. [The Guardian]
East and Southeast Asia
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, registered a record 29,745 new COVID-19 infections and 558 deaths on Monday, health ministry data showed. The figures brought the country’s total number of cases to 2,313,829 and the number of deaths to 61,140. [CNA]
American tech giants Facebook, Alphabet, Google, and Twitter have privately warned the Hong Kong government that they could stop offering their services in the city if authorities proceed with planned changes to data-protection laws. The proposed laws would make companies liable for the sharing of individuals’ information online and could subject their staff to criminal investigations or prosecutions. [The Straits Times]
Europe
Stirring up a fresh controversy, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings said that Johnson had previously admitted that he was a “ludicrous” choice for Prime Minister. Cummings said that the statement was made following the Brexit vote on June 24, 2016. [Independent]
The Speaker of Swedish Parliament, also known as Riksdag, on Monday nominated Social Democrat leader and acting Prime Minister (PM) Stefan Löfven to form a new government. The move comes after opposition leader Ulf Kristersson failed to secure a majority last week. The Parliament will vote on Löfven’s reappointment as the PM on Wednesday; if he succeeds, he could reclaim the role on Friday. [The Local]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected a request by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to suspend the Court’s investigation into systematic violations of human rights under the current administration. [The Rio Times]
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber approved a criminal investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to alleged corruption in the procurement of a contract for COVID-19 vaccines. A former staffer in the health ministry recently revealed that he was pressured into signing a contract with Indian COVID-19 manufacturer Bharat Biotech for its Covaxin shot that would increase the average price of doses by 1,000%. He said the contract had a number of other “irregularities,” such as a $45 million “upfront payment to a Singapore-based company.” [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
According to Yemeni authorities, government forces and local militias backed by Saudi Arabia have captured large swathes of territory from the Iran-backed Houthis in the Bayda province. The Houthis stated that they suffered heavy losses in the fighting over the weekend. [Associated Press]
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has defended his handling of the Tigray crisis and said that the government’s announcement of a unilateral ceasefire in the war-torn region was meant to establish a period of “silence.” However, Abiy claimed that more troops could be deployed to the region. His comments come after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels seized Tigray’s capital Mekelle last week, with Ethiopian soldiers withdrawing from the region. [Al Jazeera]
North America
On Monday, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau visited the West Bank and met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Riad Malki. Garneau expressed Canada’s support for Palestinian self-determination and said he was disappointed to learn that Palestine had postponed its elections. He also met with community leaders and reaffirmed the Trudeau government’s opposition to the “continued expansion of [Israeli] settlements, demolitions, and evictions.” [Government of Canada]
At least 150 people died in gun-related violence over the weekend in the United States as citizens celebrated the country’s independence day on July 4. There were over 400 shootings across the US. In fact, aside from just this weekend, gun violence is 40% higher in 2021 than last year. [CNN]
Oceania
The Defence Minister of New Zealand, Peeni Henare, has said that the Arden government is keeping a close watch on the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban now reportedly controls a third of Afghanistan. The move comes ahead of the September 11 deadline for foreign troop withdrawal set by United States President Joe Biden. [RNZ]
China has accused Australia of sabotaging its COVID-19 vaccine program in the Pacific. As per the Chinese state-owned media, China has accused Australia of political manipulation by planting consultants in the Pacific region to obstruct the roll-out of Chinese vaccines. However, Australia has denied the accusations. [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Sunday in Nigeria, armed assailants attacked a boarding school in the northwestern state of Kaduna and reportedly kidnapped around 140 students, though 25 “managed to escape” according to a teacher at the school. On the same day, at least eight employees were kidnapped from a hospital in the state. [Africa News]
On Monday, Human Rights Watch called on Senegal to withdraw a new anti-terror law that expands police surveillance powers. HRW said that the law could suppress political opposition and criticism of the government and thus erode freedom of speech and assembly by framing them as “terrorist acts.” [Human Rights Watch]
World News Monitor: 6 July, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
July 6, 2021
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon SOURCE: TAJIK PRESIDENT PRESS OFFICE / AFP