Key Storylines
- AFRICA: TikTok users are being shown videos that are abusive, incite violence or are outright fake news ahead of Kenya’s August general elections.
- AMERICAS: Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard accused the US of double standards by refusing to invite Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to the Summit of the Americas.
- ASIA: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts emphasizing the US commitment to defend its allies and trilateral security cooperation.
- EUROPE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is ready to ensure the safe passage of vessels from Ukraine as concerns mount over grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iran turned off two surveillance cameras of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that monitored one of its atomic sites.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Amazon filed a motion to close a National Labor Relations Board hearing in which it is challenging a union election victory in Staten Island.
Top Story
- United States: The Biden Administration Announces a Plan to Train Half a Million Health Workers in Latin America.
- The Biden administration announced a new Americas Health Corps that will aim to improve the skills of 500,000 health workers across the region, building on the lessons from Covid-19, which hit the Western Hemisphere especially hard.
- The health announcement comes a day after Vice President Kamala Harris detailed another $1.9 billion in commitments by businesses to invest in impoverished and violence-ravaged El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
- The health training will cost $100 million, although the United States will not contribute all of it and will seek to raise funds, including through the Pan American Health Organization.
- Officials said the new Americas Health Corps would have a five-year goal of improving the skills of 500,000 workers, including in research and public administration.
- The Summit of the Americas was marred by a boycott from Mexico’s president, who was upset that Biden did not invite the leftist leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela on the grounds that they did not meet democratic standards.
- AFP, WH, NPR, NYT, WSJ
Africa
- Ethiopia: The US welcomed “progress” in aid reaching the northern regions, including Tigray where millions have been in dire need of essential emergency supplies for months. (BBC)
- Kenya: TikTok users are being shown videos that are abusive, incite violence or are outright fake news ahead of the country’s August general elections. (BBC)
- Mali: ECOWAS said that it regrets the interim government’s decision to extend the transition to civilian rule by 24 months. (Reuters)
- Mozambique: A South African court rejected the government’s request to appeal against a decision to extradite former Finance Minister Manuel Chang to the US. (BBC)
- Somalia: The UN warned that the country is heading towards a famine as it faces its worst drought in at least four decades. (BBC)
Americas
- Region: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the border between Brazil and Peru. (Reuters)
- Brazil: Presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced his intention to reverse the privatization of state utility Electrobras. (Reuters)
- Mexico: Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard accused the US of double standards by refusing to invite Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to the Summit of the Americas. (Reuters)
- United States: President Joe Biden kicks off a summit that was conceived as a platform to display leadership in reviving Latin American economies and tackling migratory pressures but has instead been undermined by discord over the guest list. (Reuters)
- Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Turkey on a state visit after being excluded from the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. (AFP)
Asia
- Region: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts emphasizing the US commitment to defend its allies and trilateral security cooperation. (AP)
- Australia: The highest court made a landmark ruling that will curtail how governments can deal with extremists. (AP)
- Cambodia: Officials denied reports that a new naval facility for the Chinese navy is being built on the Gulf of Thailand. (AFP)
- Japan: Tokyo criticized Russia’s suspension of an agreement that allows citizens to fish in waters near disputed islands as relations between the countries deteriorate over the war in Ukraine. (AP)
- North Korea: State media reported 61,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases. (Yonhap)
Europe
- France: A quarter of flights will be canceled at the main Paris airport on Thursday as workers stage a strike to demand higher wages. (AFP)
- Germany: Rescue services said a man drove a car into pedestrians in a popular Berlin shopping district, killing at least one person, and injuring at least eight others. (AP)
- Russia: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is ready to ensure the safe passage of vessels from Ukraine as concerns mount over grain stuck in Ukrainian ports. (AFP)
- Turkey: Foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said a UN plan to ease the global food crisis by restarting Ukrainian grain exports along a sea corridor was “reasonable” and requires more talks with Moscow and Kyiv to ensure ships’ safety. (Reuters)
- Ukraine: Russia claimed to have taken control of nearly all of Luhansk province, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disputed. (AP)
Middle East
- Iran: The country turned off two surveillance cameras of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that monitored one of its atomic sites. (AP)
- Lebanon: Energy Minister Walid Fayad said “politics” was behind the delay in a US-backed project to supply his country with electricity through Syria to ease crippling shortages. (Reuters)
- Palestinian Territories: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country would “follow the facts” surrounding the death of US citizen Shireen Abu Akleh. (AFP)
- Qatar: The country chose Exxon Mobil Corp, TotalEnergies, Shell, and ConocoPhillips as partners in the expansion of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas project. (Reuters)
- Yemen: The US special envoy to the country Tim Lenderking warned of a looming environmental and humanitarian disaster if a United Nations plan to avert a major oil spill in the Red Sea is not fully funded. (Al-Monitor)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Amazon filed a motion to close a National Labor Relations Board hearing in which it is challenging a union election victory in Staten Island. (WaPo)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to Report.
- Earthquakes:
- Tarauacá, Brazil
- Magnitude: 6.5
- Depth: 621.9 km
- Map
- Tarauacá, Brazil
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08JUN22)
- Confirmed cases: 533,134,707
- Deaths: 6,302,551
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08JUN22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (09JUN22)
- Denmark: Copenhagen Democracy Summit (to 10JUN)
- France: OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (to 10JUN)
- Germany: Visit by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
- Luxembourg: EU justice ministers meeting
- Philippines: Biannual economic update with World Bank
- Russia: 350th birthday of Peter the Great
- Somalia: Newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud inaugurated.
- Switzerland: International Labor Conference annual session in Geneva (to 11JUN)
- Uganda: National Heroes Day
- United States: Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles (to 10JUN)
- United States: Meeting between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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