South Asia
The Taliban have ordered female employees at the Ministry of Finance to send their male relatives to replace them, citing concerns about their security. After taking over Afghanistan in August, the Taliban fired women working in government positions and slashed their salaries too. [Khaama News Press Agency]
Maldivian authorities have released six suspects previously arrested over the extremist attack on Yoga Day celebrations hosted by the Indian High Commission. They reassured that they would continue to investigate the matter and revealed that the key accused, religious scholars Sheikh Adam Nisham and Sheikh Fazloon Mohamed, remain in custody. [Avas Maldives]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Tajik authorities on Tuesday arrested journalist Avazmat Gurbatov for being a member of a banned Islamist party, a charge Gurbatov denies. His arrest is part of a broader crackdown on journalists who are critical of the government. Authorities have detained at least seven reporters and bloggers over the past weeks, many of whom have been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. [Fergana News, RFE/RL]
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that Tehran would oppose any policy blocking the Iran-Armenia border. He said the “border has been a communication route for thousands of years.” Khamenei was referring to Azerbaijan’s decision to ban Iranian trucks from entering Armenia in September last year. [Public Radio of Armenia]
East and Southeast Asia
Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said on Tuesday that the possibility of Malaysia experiencing an economic crisis like Sri Lanka “is very low.” “If we compare our economic indicators to Sri Lanka, it is clear that our economy is far stronger than theirs,” he said. He added that Kuala Lumpur was “highly disciplined” and has “never failed to pay interest and mature debts despite having gone through a series of economic and financial recession crises.” The minister further noted that the International Monetary Fund had expressed confidence in the country’s economic growth prospects. [Channel News Asia]
At a United Nations (UN) event on coordinating global policy responses to the food crisis, China’s permanent representative, Zhang Jun, called on members of the General Assembly to “take immediate action” to “jointly tackle the short-term food crisis” and “strengthen long-term cooperation in food and agriculture.” [Global Times]
Europe
On Tuesday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said firefighters in the city had declared a “major incident” due to several fires caused by the ongoing heatwave. Khan made the statement on the same day that the United Kingdom reported its highest ever temperature – 40 degrees Celsius. [Euronews]
The European Union officially began accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen celebrated the launch of the discussions, welcoming changes made by the two countries on press freedom, corruption, and rule of law. [Politico]
According to sources, Russian gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany, will resume on schedule from Thursday onwards amid fears that Moscow would use weaponise energy supply against the European Union over sanctions. The gas flow was stopped on July 11 for a period of ten days due to what Russia claimed was annual pipeline maintenance. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Tuesday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faría visited Managua to participate in the 43rd anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution and reaffirmed Caracas’ “solidarity and mutual support.” He commended Nicaraguans’ efforts during the Sandinista revolution, during which they defended the sovereignty of the region “with courage and dignity.” The event was also attended by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz. All three nations—Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua—fall under the United States’ sanctions list and were also excluded from the 9th Americas Summit in Los Angeles last month owing to their non-democratic nature. [Telesur, Cuban News Agency]
A United State Department spokesperson on Tuesday reiterated the country’s faith in Brazil’s electronic voting system, despite President Jair Bolsonaro’s repeated claims that it is susceptible to fraud. The spokesperson noted that “elections conducted by Brazil’s capable and time-tested electoral system and democratic institutions serve as a model for nations in the hemisphere and the world,” adding that the mandate will reflect the will of the Brazilian people.[Reuters]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
A Moroccan court on Tuesday sentenced 33 migrants to 11 years in prison for leading thousands of migrants to illegally cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla last month. The court accused the migrants of “disobedience,” “armed gathering,” “violence against public officials,” and “illegal entry into Moroccan territory.” [Associated Press]
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defence Minister Benny Gantz warned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against provoking Israel during a visit to the border with Lebanon on Tuesday. “Hezbollah’s aggression is unacceptable and is liable to lead the entire region into an unnecessary escalation, just when there is a genuine opportunity for Lebanon to develop its energy resources,” Lapid said, referring to Hezbollah’s launching of armed drones toward the Israeli-owned Karish gas field. [Israel PMO]
North America
On Tuesday, at least 17 lawmakers, including Katherine Clark (D-MA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), were arrested while protesting outside the Supreme Court over its decision to block abortion access. The Capitol Hill police accused them of participating in an “illegal demonstration activity” and charged the group with “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.” [ABC News]
United States President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Tuesday to “redouble” efforts to bring hostages and wrongfully detained American citizens back home, calling it an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy” of the country. “Terrorist organisations, criminal groups, and other malicious actors who take hostages for financial, political, or other gains — as well as foreign states that engage in the practice of wrongful detention, including for political leverage or to seek concessions from the United States, — threaten the integrity of the international political system and the safety of United States nationals and other persons abroad,” Biden stated. [White House]
Oceania
Australian authorities are urging businesses to allow employees to work remotely and are encouraging people to wear masks indoors and get booster shots as COVID-19-related hospitalisations neared record levels on Wednesday. With more than 300,000 cases recorded over the past week, Australia is currently battling its third Omicron wave and authorities suspect that the actual numbers could be double what has been reported. [The Straits Times]
120 youth members of parliament (MPs) in New Zealand launched the “Make It 16” campaign, which calls on the government to lower the country’s official voting age to 16 years old. “The vast majority of young people that I speak to are in support of lowering the voting age,” said William Bell-Purchas, the youth MP representing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. [Stuff]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Speaking at the inaugural session of CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership on Tuesday, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reaffirmed New Delhi’s resolve to strengthen cooperation with the African nations. He highlighted four key areas—solar power and clean energy, military cooperation in the Indian Ocean, digital infrastructure, and healthcare—to boost the India-Africa partnership. He also emphasised on their mutual support and engagement at international platforms, including their co-sponsored resolution for the TRIPS waiver on COVID-19 vaccines. [Indian Press Information Bureau]
On Tuesday, Nigerian citizens, under the aegis of the Forum of Concerned Nigerians, made an appeal to the international community, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and other world powers, to immediately “intervene in the security situation” in the country. They voiced their concerns about the increasing incidents of violence disrupting the lives of citizens and claimed that the “government of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the people of the country.” [Vanguard]
During a meeting on Tuesday, European Union (EU) Council President Charles Michel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated their commitment to strengthening EU-South Africa strategic partnership in the fields of trade and security matters. Michel reaffirmed the EU’s continued support for the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s efforts to bring peace and stability to Mozambique and vowed to assist Africa in attaining food self-sufficiency, as they inked a joint project plan to boost fertiliser production. [South Africa Office of President]