South Asia
The Sri Lankan Army opened fire against protestors at a petrol station in Colombo who pelted stones at army trucks as the gas station ran out of petrol. According to local police, four civilians and three soldiers were injured in the clashes. [NDTV]
On Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf workers launched nationwide protests against rising inflation. Party chief and former prime minister Imran Khan called for people to take to the streets to protest against rising fuel prices and urged citizens to reject the “imported government.” [Dawn]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Sunday to boost cooperation. They discussed improving trade ties and signed nine MoUs in various fields. The duo also emphasised greater cooperation in the diplomatic arena, especially through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasian Union. [Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA]
During a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on Saturday, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said on Saturday that the US “attaches importance to the expansion and strengthening of cooperation with Armenia in various areas.” The duo discussed settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and agreed to take steps to delimit the border with Azerbaijan. [Public Radio of Armenia]
East and Southeast Asia
Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was sworn in as the country’s 15th vice president on Sunday. During her inauguration speech in her hometown Davao, she said, “The days ahead may be full of challenges that call for us to be more united as a nation.” Duterte-Carpio’s running mate, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also won in the May 9 elections, will be sworn in as the new president on June 30, when their six-year term begins. [New Straits Times]
Taiwan recorded a 6.0 magnitude earthquake on its eastern coast on Monday. The country’s weather bureau reported that the quake originated from a depth of 6.8 kilometres, with its epicentre in Hualien county, a sparsely populated part of the island. There were no immediate reports of damage. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron lost his absolute majority in parliament despite his Ensemble alliance emerging victorious in the legislative elections. This raises doubt about Macron’s ability to introduce the promised reforms, including raising the retirement age and bringing down taxes. [Euronews]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the alliance of European partners and the United States has the “strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail” in helping Ukraine combat Russia’s military invasion. He assured the eastern European country of “constant funding and technical help” from the British government in the “years to come.” [Al Jazeera]
On Sunday, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could last for years. “We must not let up in supporting Ukraine. Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, [but] also because of rising energy and food prices,” he added. He also said that the West must continue supplying Ukraine with modern weapons as that would increase its chances of liberating the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. [BBC]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian federal police have arrested a third suspect in the murder of British journalist Dom Philips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, whose bodies were found last week after they were missing for roughly two weeks. A fisherman in the Amazon region confessed to killing the pair. The police have also identified five additional suspects. [Associated Press, Reuters]
On Saturday, Belizean Foreign Minister Eamon Courtney announced a ban on chartered flights from Haiti due to suspicion that the flights are a guise to smuggle Haitians into the country. He said, “[Haitians] are mistreated and trafficked by smugglers and we will not allow that same thing to happen in Belize.” [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Security forces and armed residents in Somalia’s Galdumug state killed 70 Al-Shabaab fighters on Friday while retaliating against a raid by the terrorist group. Al-Shabaab claimed it killed 27 soldiers. [Reuters]
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received the credentials of Bahrain’s new ambassador, Waheed Mubarak Sayyar, to Damascus on Sunday, six months after Manama announced his appointment. This is also the first time a country is establishing a full diplomatic mission in Syria since the 2011 war. [Associated Press]
Hundreds of people protested in Tunis on Sunday for a second day in a row against proposed constitutional amendments by President Kais Saied, who seized power in a coup last June. The protest was organised by the Salvation Front, a coalition of parties opposed to Saeid, including the Ennahda Party. Protesters fear that Saied would further cement his grip on power if the constitution is changed. [Asharq Al-Awsat]
North America
After being briefed by senior Biden administration officials on discussions with Iran regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), United States (US) lawmakers from both parties said that Tehran seems unwilling to agree to any new deal that restricts its development of nuclear weapons in lieu of sanctions relief. “I think there’s conflict inside Iran, so there’s no clear pathway forward,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez revealed. According to foreign policy experts, Iran is not as desperate for sanctions relief as it was during the Obama administration because its oil exports have doubled since August. [The Hill]
On Sunday, one person died and seven were injured, including two teenagers, in four separate shootings in Toronto, Canada. The police are yet to make any arrests for any of the shootings. [CTV News]
Oceania
New Zealand Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Arden will travel to Europe and Australia for trade, tourism, and foreign policy events this weekend. She will also attend a session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid along with leaders from other partner countries, including Australia, Japan, and South Korea. “We will be discussing key security issues for the Indo-Pacific,” Ardern said of the summit. Her trip to Australia comes just days after Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited New Zealand. [New Zealand Herald]
Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Canberra should request United States (US) President Joe Biden to grant freedom to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Carr cited the precedent set by former US president Barack Obama when he pardoned Chelsea Manning for revealing classified government secrets to WikiLeaks while she was working as a US Army intelligence analyst. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Days after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the deployment of the East African Regional Force to North and South Kivu in coordination with United Nations peacekeepers, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi underscored that he would not allow any Rwandan soldiers to set foot on Congolese soil. The DRC accuses Rwanda of fomenting instability in its eastern regions by supporting the M23 rebel group. [Africanews]
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2022) kicks off in Kigali today. The five-day event is expected to see the attendance of 5,000 people from 53 out of 54 nations, with only Nauru skipping the event due to elections. Representatives will focus on protecting natural resources and increasing trade. [KT Press]