South Asia
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her plan to adapt to the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ centres around transforming the country’s youth into skilled workers so that they can be prepared for advances in technology and also generate employment. This plan to“capitalise on the prosperity of labour markets” is a key piece of her Vision 2041. [BSS News]
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said it is not a good time for his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to the country, warning that it could further aggravate political tensions. Earlier this month, Rajapaksa fled to Singapore amid widespread protests against his government, allowing Wickremesinghe to take over as president. [The Straits Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its army positions in Kalbajar and Lachin came under “intensive fire” by Armenian soldiers. Yerevan accused Baku of spreading “disinformation” and accused Azerbaijani forces of shooting at Armenian positions. [Azer News, Armen Press]
The Kazakh Prosecutor General’s office said on Friday that over 700 people have been convicted for their involvement in violent nationwide protests in January. Protests erupted over a rise in fuel prices and soon turned into a call for instituting liberal economic and political reforms. 232 people, including 213 civilians, were reportedly killed during the unrest. Authorities also arrested over 12,000 people for participating in the demonstrations. [Eurasianet, Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera]
East and Southeast Asia
Senior Col. Shen of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Sunday that the Chinese air force “has the firm will, full confidence and sufficient capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Shen’s comments come as tensions rise over the self-governed island of Taiwan ahead of United States (US) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Asia tour this week, which could include a stop in Taipei. [The Straits Times]
Myanmar’s military government announced on Sunday that it has further extended the country’s state of emergency till February 2023, as it needs additional time to achieve political stability and prepare for elections. “Necessary arrangements are needed for relevant organisations including the Union Election Commission. Political parties should also make changes appropriate to the new electoral system and the public also needs to be widely educated about it so we need more time for preparations,” Min Aung Hlaing told state broadcaster MRTV. [South China Morning Post]
Europe
The United Kingdom, the United States, and Finland participated in a four-day high-readiness exercise to increase interoperability between their armies and naval forces. 750 troops from the three countries participated in the exercise, which came ahead of Finland’s expected accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. [UK Government]
European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borell celebrated Kosovo’s decision to postpone its plan to mandate new license plates for Serbs. He said the bloc expects that all road blockages will be removed soon and that relations between Kosovo and Serbia will normalise through EU-mediated discussions. [Reuters]
On Saturday, Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom stopped gas supply to Latvia “due to violations of the conditions” of purchase. This comes against the backdrop of Gazprom reducing its gas deliveries to Europe down to 20% of its capacity on Wednesday. The European Union has repeatedly accused Russia of weaponising energy to retaliate against sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine war. [The Moscow Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Friday, London High Court Judge Sara Cockerill ruled against the Venezuelan Central Bank, effectively denying it access to $1.9 billion in gold reserves deposited in the Bank of England. The reserves were frozen after President Nicolás Maduro’s re-election in 2019, which 60 countries, including the United Kingdom, declared to be illegitimate. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó welcomed the verdict, claiming that this is “one more step in the process of protection of Venezuela's international gold reserves and their preservation,” while lambasting Maduro for caring “more about power and money than about the people.” [Merco Press]
A boat carrying 141 Haitian migrants, including 22 children, arrived on the southern coast of the Cuban province of Cienfuegos on Saturday, after the local weather conditions disrupted navigation and their journey to Florida. Red Cross chief Nadiezka Carvajal noted that the migrants were travelling “over capacitated and in precarious conditions.” The Cuban government has reached out to the Hiatian authorities to guarantee their safe and voluntary return. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Egypt on Friday launched a complaint against Ethiopia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for the third year in a row without reaching a deal with downstream countries, including Sudan. Cairo said filling GERD would threaten its supply of freshwater. “Egypt has a legitimate right […] to take all necessary measures to ensure and protect its national security, including against any risks that Ethiopia's unilateral measures may cause in the future,” the foreign ministry said. [The East African]
On Sunday, Iran accused the Taliban of shooting at Iranian border posts and raising its flag on Iranian territory. Tehran said its border guards put an end to the Taliban’s “provocative moves” by shooting back at them. [IRNA, Associated Press]
North America
The McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, Northern California has become the state’s largest wildfire this year, burning over 51,000 acres and threatening a population of about 8,000. At least 568 firefighters are trying to control the fire on the ground and from the air with helicopters and air tankers. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office revealed that more than 100 structures have been destroyed, including the Klamath River Community Hall in Klamath River. [ABC News]
As Pope Francis concluded his week-long “penitential pilgrimage” in Canada, he told reporters that the forced assimilation of Indigenous children in the Roman Catholic-run residential schools amounts to genocide. “I condemned it, taking away children, changing culture, the mind, traditions, a so-called race. A whole culture,” he remarked on Friday, adding, “I didn’t use the word genocide because it didn’t come to mind but I described genocide.” Over 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were forced to attend government-funded schools between the 1870s and 1997, during which more than 6,000 children died. [CBC News]
Oceania
After undergoing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, New Zealand’s national borders on Monday completely reopened to visitors for the first time since the country shut them down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Although those entering the country still need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and must take two tests upon arrival, quarantine requirements have been revoked. [Voice of America]
A voter survey by The Australian released on Sunday showed record-breaking support for Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese. The poll, which surveyed 1,500 voters from July 27-30, gave Albanese an approval rating of 61%. No incoming PM has received such a strong satisfaction rating in a Newspoll since polling began in 1985. Kevin Rudd got 59% after he entered office, while former PM Scott Morrison had a 51% approval rating after his 2019 election. [News.au]
During a speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland on Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern once again called on China to clearly express its opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “We continue to urge China to be clear that it does not support the Russian invasion, and have called on China to use its access and influence to help bring an end to the conflict,” she said. Ardern added that “when large countries disregard sovereignty and territorial integrity with a sense of impunity, it does not bode well particularly for small countries like New Zealand.” [Stuff]
Sub-Saharan Africa
In his address at the State House in Nairobi on Saturday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta commended his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço’s efforts to mediate the conflict resolution process between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Luanda. He lauded the measures agreed upon by the two nations under the Luanda roadmap as a “positive move,” adding that “We need to make sure we are constantly moving together, briefing each other on the steps we are making.” [Kenya Office of President]
On Friday, the United States (US) announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s three-nation tour of Africa from August 7-11, wherein he will visit South Africa, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Additionally, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will visit Gabon and Uganda on August 4. This comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concluded his African tour last week, wherein he blamed Western sanctions for exacerbating the food crisis in the region, a narrative that Washington now aims to counter. [Africanews]