South Asia
The spokesperson for the OHCHR condemned the death of Indian activist and priest Stan Swamy, who was detained without a trial under Indian terror laws and died while in custody. Swamy had been denied bail, which he had asked for on medical grounds since he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and several other ailments. [Al Jazeera]
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to announce a new cabinet, which sources say will be the “youngest ever.” Moreover, the cabinet will also see members with higher education levels and representation from minority communities. [NDTV]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of provoking a shootout in the border area of the Gegharkunik region. The Armenian Army’s information department reported that one Armenian and two Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded during the shootout. [Armen Press]
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that security agents had kidnapped Kyrgyz businessman Orhan Inandi for his links to the Fethullah Gülen-led FETO movement, which Turkey regards as a terrorist organisation. Ankara has blamed the FETO movement for orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt against Erdoğan’s government. Kyrgyzstan has criticised the detention of Inandi and summoned the Turkish ambassador on Tuesday to register its protest. The Kyrgyz foreign ministry said that such actions were unacceptable and called on Turkey to return Inandi. [Eurasianet, Reuters]
East and Southeast Asia
Philippine authorities have retrieved flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the Lockheed C-130 Hercules air force plane that crashed this weekend and killed 53 people in the country’s worst flight tragedy in decades, military chief Cirilito Sobejana said. [The Straits Times]
Hong Kong police have arrested nine people aged 15 to 39 in connection with a bomb plot, officials said on Tuesday. The five men and four women, among whom six are secondary school students, have been detained under the national security law for terrorism. [The Bangkok Post]
Europe
With around 28,773 new cases of the COVID-19 virus on Tuesday, the United Kingdom reported the highest daily number of cases since January. This comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to ease most restrictions, including compulsory masking and social distancing, from July 19. [Reuters]
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday declared that he has no interest in stopping undocumented migrants from entering the European Union. The leader said: “We will not hold anyone back. We are not their final destination after all. They are headed to enlightened, warm, cozy Europe.” The statement comes after Lithuania declared a state of emergency over a surge in illegal migrants trying to enter the bloc. [Politico]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Six more opposition figures were arrested in Nicaragua, including presidential candidate Medardo Mairena. The government of Daniel Ortega has now ordered the arrest of at least 27 opposition figures over the last month. Against this backdrop, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned of sanctions. [NBC News]
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the country’s relationship with Cuba as “fraternal,” celebrating how Cuba has sent nurses and doctors during the ongoing pandemic. He also revealed that this government is in discussions with Cuba to secure shipments of two of its indigenously produced COVID-19 vaccines. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
According to Kurdistan Region’s Counter-terrorism Directorate, an explosives-laden drone attacked the Erbil airport in Iraq on Tuesday. While no casualties were reported, authorities said that a fire broke out in the airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops. Telegram channels of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces claim that around 20 rockets and three drones were used in the attack. [Rudaw]
South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir, has cancelled the appointment of 35 lawmakers to the Revitalised Transitional Legislative Assembly through a presidential decree before they took their oaths of office. The lawmakers, who are mostly from Kiir’s Sudan People Liberation Movement party, were appointed in May to take part in the new legislative assembly as part of the 2018 peace agreement to end the civil war. [The East African]
North America
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Vice Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in Washington. According to a statement released by National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne, the pair discusses bilateral ties, regional security, and the threat posed by Iran-backed groups. They also talked about post-pandemic economic recovery and climate action strategies. [The White House]
United States (US) Secretary of State spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in separate telephonic meetings on Tuesday. In his meeting with the Ethiopian leader, he emphasised the need for all parties in Tigray to agree to an “immediate, indefinite, [and] negotiated ceasefire” and for Eritrean and Amhara forces to withdraw from the region. Meanwhile, his meeting with the Tanzanian president focused on US assistance to fight the pandemic and regional peacekeeping operations. [US Department of State]
Oceania
Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan, along with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, hosted their Indonesian counterparts on 6th July for a virtual inaugural meeting to discuss bilateral relations. The Ministers focused on trade, investments, job creation, and post COVID-19 economic recovery. The Ministers also agreed to work together to counter global and regional challenges. [Government of Australia]
The Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has pledged to share 15 million COVID-19 vaccines with its Pacific allies and Timor-Leste by mid-2022. The decision comes following the PM’s announcement at the G7 Summit last month of sharing at least 20 million COVID-19 vaccines with countries in the Indo-Pacific. [Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Human Rights Watch’s director for Southern Africa, Dewa Mavhinga, claimed that the military in Eswatini has taken “full charge” of the country following intense and violent pro-democracy protests against King Mswati III. Mavhinga said, “From a police source, the army is now fully in charge for real .. not even the police knows what the army is doing now,” adding, “They only call the police to collect bodies of people shot and killed.” [Swazi Media Commentary]
On Tuesday, the Secretary-General of Rwanda's ruling RPF-Inkotanyi party, François Ngarambe, attended a global summit convened by the Communist Party of China that reportedly saw the participation of more than 10,000 delegates from over 500 political parties from roughly 170 countries. Ngarambe said, “Over the past decades, China’s transformational leadership has been one of the world’s greatest stories and has earned the country its rightful position in global affairs. To date, China is considered by so many to be a good reference for best practices and transformational leadership.” [The New Times]
World News Monitor: 7 July, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
July 7, 2021
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir SOURCE: AP