South Asia
The chair of Pakistan’s Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Shehryar Khan, accused the Indian administration of engaging in “demographic terrorism” in the region to turn the Union Territory into a Muslim majority. This comes shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s all-party meeting with political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. [Pakistani Press Information Department]
Local media reports suggest that over 5,000 Afghan families from the Kunduz region have fled the region as fighting between the Taliban and the government forces continues. This comes at a time when several critical cities have been captured by the Taliban as US troops proceed with their withdrawal from the war-torn country. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Uzbekistan has restricted all “unnecessary” entry of people into Tashkent as a result of a surge in COVID-19 cases across Central Asia, sparked by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. On Friday, Uzbekistan recorded 476 new infections, the highest figure this year and almost four times more than last month’s daily counts. [RFE/RL]
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in a speech that Georgia had successfully acted as a mediator in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, referring to the country’s role in the release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war held captive in Azerbaijan. Garibashvili further reaffirmed Georgia’s “full readiness” to continue as a mediator. [Armen Press]
East and Southeast Asia
Hong Kong police arrested Fung Wai-kong, a former senior journalist with the Apple Daily newspaper, at the international airport on Sunday night on a suspected national security charge as he tried to leave the city. Fung is the seventh Apple Daily staffer to be arrested under the law in recent weeks. [Channel News Asia]
The United States’ (US) First Lady, Jill Biden, is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games on July 23. During her visit, she will also meet with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. [Insidethegames]
Europe
Israel has summoned Poland’s ambassador to express its “deep disappointment” over a Polish bill that critics say will make it harder for Jews to recover property they lost in World War II, a move that triggered a reciprocal reaction from Warsaw. The ambassador was reportedly “told that this legislation will have a negative impact on relations between our two countries.” [DW]
Finland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Pekka Haavisto, will attend a ministerial meeting co-hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome today. The ministers will discuss strategies to defeat ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and Africa. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland]
The United Kingdom and Singapore will begin negotiations on a new digital trade agreement. Reports suggest that these negotiations are crucial for the UK’s vision to engage with countries in the Indo-Pacific and secure critical trade deals, specifically in light of its exit from the European Union. [CNBCTV18]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has once again voiced his concerns about the efficacy of the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac, saying, “From what it seems, it is not giving the expected result. It is protecting few people and not the number that should be.” [MercoPress]
In Nicaragua, the ruling government of President Daniel Ortega has arrested another political opponent ahead of the country’s presidential election in November. On Friday, former Congressman Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Barrios was taken into custody for undermining the “sovereignty and independence” of the country, making him the second child of former leader Violeta Chamorro to be arrested. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with his United States counterpart Antony Blinken in Rome on Sunday to reset bilateral ties, which according to Lapid were “hurt” during former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s term in office. Lapid told Blinken that “mistakes were made” in the past and agreed that it was important to fix them. Lapid also brought up the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme and said that Israel has “some serious reservations” about the ongoing Vienna talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. [Times of Israel]
Three medical workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were killed in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Friday. MSF released a statement condemning the incident in “the strongest possible terms” and said that it “will be relentless in learning what happened.” [Doctors Without Borders]
North America
Indonesia and the United States have broken ground on a new $3.5 million maritime training centre in the strategic area of Batam in the Riau Islands, said Indonesia's maritime security agency in a statement.[Reuters]
The Canadian government officially named the American right-wing militia group Three Percenters a terrorist entity on Friday, saying it had an active presence in Canada and could threaten national security. [CBC]
Oceania
Australia, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WPF), has decided to pledge additional assistance of $34.7 million to nations dealing with food insecurity across the Indo-Pacific. The funds will help the WPF’s operations in Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. [Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia]
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan strongly opposed the complaint filed by China with the World Trade Organization last week. China has challenged tariffs imposed by Australia on the Chinese-made railway wheels, wind towers, and stainless steel sinks. The move comes after Australia decided to adopt a similar approach for tariffs China has imposed on Australian wine. [News.Com.Au]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Saturday, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi held a meeting with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in the city of Goma in DRC’s North Kivu province. This meeting came just one day after the two leaders met at the border crossing in Rubavu, Rwanda to observe the damage caused by recent earthquakes caused by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in eastern DRC. The pair also signed a number of trade agreements. [Africa News]
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said that the government is in discussions with a Chinese investor to take over the stalled construction of the $10 billion Bagamoyo port, which was suspended by former President John Magufuli in 2016. The port, if completed, would be the largest port in East Africa. Magufuli cancelled the project at the time due to the “exploitative and awkward” terms offered by the Chinese investors. [The Citizen]