Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Uganda’s cabinet approved the adoption of Swahili as an official language.
- AMERICAS: Canada will throw out 13.6m doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine because it could not find any takers for it either at home or abroad.
- ASIA: Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss disputes in the South China Sea as he wades into foreign policy dilemmas that include the US-China rivalry in the region.
- EUROPE: Rocco Morabito, one of Italy’s most sought-after fugitives, has been extradited from Brazil.
- MIDDLE EAST: Tehran is “still looking” for four Iranian nationals with diplomatic status who disappeared during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Leaders of the US Senate Intelligence Committee called for an investigation into whether Chinese officials are getting access to data about US users of video-snippet sharing sensation TikTok.
Top Story
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson Vows to Stay in Office After Key Ministers Quit.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling to stay in power after his government was rocked by the resignation of two top ministers.
- Months of discontent over Johnson’s judgment and ethics within the Conservative Party erupted with the resignations of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday evening.
- Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has stalked Johnson for months, including lockdown lawbreaking in Downing Street that enraged the public who followed the rules.
- In his resignation letter, Sunak said “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. … I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”
- Javid said the conservative party needed “humility, grip and a new direction” but “it is clear this situation will not change under your leadership.”
- Johnson’s opponents in the party hope more Cabinet ministers will follow Sunak and Javid, but other top officials including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel are staying put.
- Reuters, AP, AFP, The Guardian, The Telegraph, BBC
Africa
- Niger: Suspected jihadists killed six soldiers and wounded 14 others in an attack on a military post near the border with Chad. (AFP)
- Nigeria: Gunmen used explosives to blast into a prison on the outskirts of Abuja freeing hundreds of inmates, but prison authorities said they had recaptured most of those who escaped. (AFP)
- South Africa: More than a thousand grieving family and community members are attending the funeral in East London for 21 teenagers who died at a nightclub nearly two weeks ago. (AP)
- Tunisia: The country’s financial auditor ordered a freeze on the bank accounts and financial assets of 10 people, including two senior officials. (BBC)
- Uganda: The country’s cabinet approved the adoption of Swahili as an official language. (BBC)
Americas
- Argentina: Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is gaining power behind the scenes after a government shakeup, redrawing battle lines within a weakened ruling Peronist coalition ahead of elections next year. (Reuters)
- Canada: The government will throw out 13.6m doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine because it could not find any takers for it either at home or abroad. (The Guardian)
- Ecuador: President Guillermo Lasso appointed Pablo Arosemena, the governor of Guayas province, as the new minister of economy and finances. (Reuters).
- Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador submitted a bill to end daylight saving time, putting an end to the practice of changing clocks twice a year. (AP)
- Venezuela: Investigators have launched inquiries into the murder of an Indigenous leader, who was killed on June 30 in the country’s southern Amazonas state. (Reuters)
Asia
- Australia: Floodwaters have inundated or are threatening the homes of 85,000 people around Sydney. (AP)
- China: Residents in parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of Covid-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities. (AP)
- Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss disputes in the South China Sea as he wades into foreign policy dilemmas that include the US-China rivalry in the region. (AP)
- South Korea: President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military to “promptly and sternly” retaliate in case of any North Korean provocation amid concerns the North could conduct its first nuclear test in five years. (Reuters)
- Vietnam: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is visiting Hanoi as part of an effort to bolster ties with a country that has not openly condemned the war in Ukraine. (AP)
Europe
- France: Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne will lay out the government’s policy priorities in her first speech in front of what promises to be an angry parliament. (AFP)
- Italy: Rocco Morabito, one of the country’s most sought-after fugitives, has been extradited from Brazil. (AP)
- North Macedonia: Two police officers were seriously injured after a group of mostly young people threw stones, metal bars, eggs, and Molotov cocktails at the parliament building in Skopje. (AP)
- Russia: Former president Dmitry Medvedev invoked the possibility of nuclear war if the International Criminal Court (ICC) moves to punish Moscow for alleged crimes in Ukraine. (AFP)
- Sweden: Prosecutors charged an 18-year-old student with two counts of murder after the March killing of two teachers at the Malmo Latin School. (AFP)
Middle East
- Region: Iran sought a strong and lasting nuclear agreement with world powers following talks with Qatar on easing stalled efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. (Reuters)
- Iran: Tehran is “still looking” for four nationals with diplomatic status who disappeared during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. (AFP)
- Israel: The military shot and killed a Palestinian man during an arrest raid near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. (AP)
- Palestinian Territories: President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met publicly for the first time in over five years, on the sidelines of Algerian independence anniversary celebrations. (AFP)
- Saudi Arabia: Muslim pilgrims are converging on the holy city of Mecca for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Leaders of the US Senate Intelligence Committee called for an investigation into whether Chinese officials are getting access to data about US users of video-snippet sharing sensation TikTok. (AFP)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Bonnie
- Location: 15.9 N, 108,3 W
- Wind: 100 mph
- Movement: WNW 14 mph
- Map
- Hurricane Bonnie
- Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 06JUL22)
- Confirmed cases: 551,327,244
- Deaths: 6,342,472
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 06JUL22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (07JUL22)
- Event: CSIS discussion on President Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East.
- Event: Wilson Center discussion on ‘The Role of Belarus in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict’.
- Event: Brookings discussion ‘Why foreign talent is critical to national security’.
- Global: Next STEP Global Conference in London.
- Global: Eid al Adha.
- Belgium: OECD Global Forum on Productivity Annual Conference. (to 08JUL)
- Ecuador: The government may lift force majeure on exports of Oriente crude oil from state-owned energy company Petroecuador.
- Europe: European Parliament to vote on the European Commission’s plan to include certain nuclear and natural gas activities in European Union’s green investment guidelines.
- Indonesia: G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting. (to 08JUL)
- Japan: The government will freeze assets of the Russian Agricultural Bank and Credit Bank of Moscow in line with sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Saudi Arabia: Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. (to 12JUL)
- Solomon Islands: Independence Day.
- Tanzania: Saba Saba Day.
- United States: President Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 recipients.
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