South Asia
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urged citizens to restrict their travel for the next three weeks, noting that it would be difficult to secure fuel and gas imports during this period. He said the country needs $40 million per month to meet fuel demands. [Colombo Page]
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged political parties to come together to sign a “Charter of Economy,” which would focus on growing the agricultural, industrial, and financial industries. He also urged the elites to “make sacrifices,” hinting at a prospective hike in property taxes. [Dawn]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kyrgyz officials discovered a 155-metre-long tunnel along the Uzbekistan border. Security forces believe that the tunnel is part of a criminal network that smuggles people and goods. The discovery came to light just two weeks after officials found a 270-metre-long tunnel in a different area of the border. [RFE/RL]
United States National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan praised diplomatic efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve their dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. Sullivan said the United States is committed to “peace, security, and prosperity” in the South Caucasus and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict. [Armen Press]
East and Southeast Asia
Both Cambodia and China have denied a report by The Washington Post that the two countries are secretly building a naval facility at the Ream base that will be exclusively used by China. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn dismissed the “groundless accusations.” Spokesperson Phay Siphan added that while the development of the base is “not a secret,” the government will not “allow the Chinese military to use it exclusively or to develop the site as its military base.” Similarly, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian rejected the “malicious conjectures to attack and smear” Cambodia. [AFP]
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in a joint press conference with her South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun-dong that both countries are “prepared” for a seemingly imminent nuclear test by North Korea. Sherman stressed that the US “harbours no hostile intent towards" the rogue nation but equally warned of a “swift and forceful response” if it goes through with its first nuclear test since 2017, which she said “would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions.” [NK News]
Europe
The British government has legally mandated doctors to notify government authorities about any suspected case of monkeypox. The United Kingdom has already confirmed 300 cases of the virus. [BBC]
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s government narrowly survived a vote of no confidence on Tuesday, securing 175 out of 349 votes; 174 lawmakers voted against Andersson, just one shy of the amount needed to unseat her. In particular, the opposition has criticised Justice Minister Morgan Johansson over his approach to violent crime. The decision comes at a critical time as the country awaits a decision on its NATO membership application. [Politico]
In a meeting with his ministers on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that work on the new budget for the next three years is underway. He said that flexible approaches must be used to “not only ensure public finance stability, but also bolster the growth rate of the Russian economy.” Putin expects the government to submit proposals by end of July. [President of Russia]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro began his two-day official tour to Turkey on Tuesday, where he will meet his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In April, the two nations finalised cooperation agreements in education, youth, sports, aquaculture, and health under the third Joint Cooperation Commission held in Caracas. Their meeting this week overlaps with the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, which the US barred the Maduro administration from attending. [Telesur]
Speaking at an event on Tuesday, United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken lambasted several Latin American nations over their suppression of press freedoms, pointing to the surveillance and intimidation of journalists. He alleged that “no region in the world is more dangerous for journalists,” saying that at least 17 media personnel were killed in the region this year. In particlar, Blinken criticised Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and El Salvador, saying that independent journalism is equivalent to a crime there. [Reuters]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will meet with high-ranking Indian officials in New Delhi on Monday to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and international cooperation. Abdollahian is visiting India after he was invited by his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar. [Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany formally submitted a draft resolution condemning Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They urged the agency to adopt the resolution, and censure Iran for its refusal to cooperate and conceal its nuclear activities. [AFP]
North America
In an effort to tackle record-high migration from Central America, United States Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce $1.9 billion in new private sector investment for low-income and at-risk communities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. With this, Harris would’ve confirmed $3.2 billion worth of private sector investments since she was given the responsibility to address the root causes of migration last March. [The Hill]
A press release from the Osceola County Sheriff’s office in Florida on Tuesday said that six members of the Haitian Special Olympics team have been missing since Monday. The squad was participating in the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, which began on Sunday. The police do not suspect foul play. [CNN]
Oceania
Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has requested the Department of Home Affairs to reduce the "extraordinary" backlog of visa applications for skilled workers, given then several employers are facing the risk of closing down their businesses due to severe labour shortages. In fact, the number of skilled foreign workers leaving the country was higher than the number of those coming in during the month of April. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rejected criticism of Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta for not visiting the Pacific island region in recent weeks amid concerns about Chinese encirclement. Ardern said the remarks on Mahuta “does a disservice” to the Pacific island nations, as they have maintained ties with China for “many years” and are sovereign nations that are free to make their own choices. “The idea that they are somehow unable to determine their own relationships with China and that somehow [they’d] be dictated or persuaded by visits from New Zealand or Australia sits totally against our view that it is about partnership,” Ardern said. [Newshub]
Sub-Saharan Africa
In what is being regarded as a “historic moment,” Belgium’s King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday for a six-day visit. This marks the King’s first visit to the country since he ascended to the throne in 2013 and signifies a “new partnership” with Congo, where Belgium killed upwards of ten million people during the late 19th and 20th century under colonial rule. Congolese government spokesperson Patrik Muyaya, while hailing this as an opportunity for improved ties, affirmed, “We are not forgetting the past, we are looking to the future.” [Africa News]
In his State of the Nation Address in Kampala on Tuesday, President Yoweri Museveni announced that Uganda has attained ‘middle income’ status, with GDP per capita at $1046 and the cumulative GDP at $131 billion. He expressed confidence that his country would sustain this growth despite global supply shocks emanating from the Ukrainian war. While stating that a “lack of food” is “the most serious problem,” he affirmed that his government’s focus is on enhancing production and irrigation facilities. Around 100 opposition parliamentarians, however, boycotted the speech, over Museveni’s “interference” in the judiciary and his “failure” to resolve the economic meltdown. [East African]