South Asia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Schloss Elmau on Sunday for the two-day G7 Summit at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He will speak in two sessions that cover topics such as the environment, energy, climate, food security, health, gender equality, and democracy. Following his trip to Germany, Modi will fly to the United Arab Emirates, where he will offer his condolences for the death of UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and also speak with the new president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. [Indian Ministry of External Affairs]
The Taliban welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s recent decision to temporarily lift sanctions on senior officials, adding that all sanctions must be lifted in order to honour the Doha Agreement. It noted, however, that sanctions have been reimposed on two senior officials and warned that it “considers such pressure tactics futile and repetition of failed experiments that do not yield results.” It thus urged the UNSC refrain from passing “prejudiced verdicts.” [Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
A nephew of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is a “person of interest” in an unspecified criminal case, Kazakhstan’s Committee of National Security (KNB) said on Wednesday. Several of Nazarbayev’s relatives and associates have been accused of corruption and acquiring illegal wealth. The recently amended constitution prevents Nazarbayev and his relatives from holding high posts in public offices. [RFE/RL]
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia will continue to support Armenia and Azerbaijan’s efforts to unblock regional transportation in the South Caucasus. Zakharova also welcomed Baku and Yerevan’s initiatives aimed at solving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute through diplomatic solutions. “The Russian side will continue to provide close assistance to this process,” she reaffirmed. [Public Radio of Armenia]
East and Southeast Asia
At the 16th Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting on Wednesday, the defence ministers of member states “reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen regional cooperation,” Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a news release. According to MINDEF, the meeting highlighted the “importance of ASEAN centrality in upholding a rules-based regional order anchored in international law.” [Channel News Asia]
Amid concerns over an upcoming potential nuclear test, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday presided over an important party meeting that focused on restructuring the country’s military and defence policies. Top party officials also discussed upgrading operation plans. [The Straits Times]
Europe
In a press statement released on Wednesday, Russia’s foreign ministry refuted all allegations that it is causing the current food security crisis and reaffirmed its commitment to export grain, fertilisers, and energy products. It further called on the United Nations and Western countries to refrain from making “groundless accusations” and blamed the West for “their own short-sighted and misguided actions” against Moscow. In response, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry accused Russia of “falsifying the facts.” [Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
On Wednesday, the British government revealed its proposal for a new Bill of Rights that it argues will protect free speech and parliamentary powers. The proposed law would make it more difficult to make human rights legal claims and also restrict the ability of foreigners convicted of a crime in the United Kingdom to raise an appeal against their deportation on human rights grounds. The Johnson administration has called these proposals “common sense” changes that would bring down “trivial” and “frivolous” claims, while rights groups say it would grossly undermine human rights protections and reduce the possibility for the government and public bodies to be held accountable. [Associated Press]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Wednesday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro held a telephonic conversation with his newly-elected and incoming Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, wherein the pair reaffirmed their commitment to “restore normality” at the two countries’ shared border. Following their talks, Petro announced on Twitter his will to “restore the full exercise of human rights” at their 2200-kilometre border. The Venezuelan government had earlier congratulated Petro for his electoral victory on June 19 and expressed hope about the “construction of a renewed stage of relations,” rooted in “solidarity, cooperation and peace of brother peoples.” [Venezuela Ministry of External Affairs]
Mexican Interior Minister Adán Augusto López on Wednesday said that the United States will make an announcement offering 300,000 work visas to Mexicans and Central Americans during President Andres Manuel López Obrador’s visit to Washington next month. He added that of these, 150,000 visas would be for “foreigners who are in Mexico today waiting for the possibility of migrating north,” while the rest would be split proportionally among migrants from other nations. [Reuters]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday as part of a wider regional tour, in which he had also made stops at Egypt and Jordan. The pair agreed to expand joint cooperation in the political, economic, military, security, and cultural fields and underscored the importance of maintaining regional peace and security. [Saudi Press Agency]
On Wednesday, Russian and Turkish military officials met in Moscow to discuss the safe exit of grain exports from Ukraine as well as approaches to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea. Russian forces have blocked Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the war on February 24 and over 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain exports have been stuck since. [Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera]
North America
On Wednesday, United States President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next three months and urged states to cut their individual gas taxes as well. He also pushed energy companies to use their profits to refine more oil into gasoline to “bring down gas prices.” [White House]
According to Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, the G7 may discuss the issue of a Russian turbine stuck in Canada at the upcoming summit. The turbine is allegedly responsible for depleting gas supplies to Germany. However, Wilkinson admitted that he doesn’t think “that we’re going to find a resolution before the end.” Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom has reduced gas supplies to Germany by 40% through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to the delay in the turbine’s return, which is being serviced in Canada. Russia has declared that more delays may lead to a complete suspension of gas supplies. The G7 summit will take place from Sunday to Tuesday in Bavaria. [Reuters]
Oceania
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected calls on Monday to publicly pressure United States President Joe Biden to dissolve the case against WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange. “I intend to lead a government that engages diplomatically and appropriately with our partners,” he said. [Time]
The Australian government launched a new advertising campaign today calling on citizens to get their COVID-19 booster shots, anticipating a spike in cases expected over its winter period. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler warned that the country is “still very much in this pandemic” and that “case numbers might even climb again,” pointing to “a higher prevalence of the BA4 and BA5 variants.” [The Guardian]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Wednesday, The Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to honour the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The royal couple laid a wreath of white flowers at the final resting place of more than 250,000 victims, and also heard personal testimonials from survivors. Prince Charles arrived in Rwanda on Tuesday night to attend the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. [Africa News]
Kenya is hosting the United Nations (UN)-led biodiversity talks this week, wherein member states will discuss the “30-by-30” goal for conservation and protection against poaching, pollution, and encroaching human development. UN Environment Programme Executive Secretary Inger Andersen urged participating countries to “make significant progress” in the Nairobi talks in order to move toward a final draft agreement that designates 30% of their land and sea areas for conservation by 2030. The draft will then be finalised and voted upon at COP15 in Montreal, scheduled to be held in December. [Reuters]