Key Storylines
- AFRICA: A Barcelona court authorized an autopsy on former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santo who died in the city on Friday after his family alleged a conspiracy to kill him.
- AMERICAS: US President Joe Biden will meet his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday to discuss ways to stem migrant crossings as arrests at the border reached their highest levels in over a decade.
- ASIA: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the entire cabinet will resign to make way for a unity government after tens of thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace.
- EUROPE: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss entered the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
- MIDDLE EAST: A UN Security Council mandate for aid deliveries to 4 million people in Syria from Turkey expired as diplomats struggled to find a deal with Russia.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Elon Musk mocked Twitter’s threat to sue him following his move to abandon the $44 billion takeover deal.
Top Story
- Japan: The Liberal Democratic Party Scores a Major Victory in Upper House Elections in the Wake of the Assassination of Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- The conservative coalition government increased its majority in the upper house of parliament two days after the assassination of Shinzo Abe.
- The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito raised their combined share in the 248-seat chamber to 146 in the elections for half of the seats in the less powerful upper house.
- Voter turnout hit 52.05%, higher than the 2019 Upper House election figure of 48.8%, but the fourth lowest on record.
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for party unity and political stability to achieve Shinzo Abe’s unfinished goals of strengthening the military and revising the war-renouncing constitution.
- The LDP ran on a platform focused on raising the nation’s defense capabilities and improving its long-term economic outlook, with the two main pillars of its party platform being “Protecting Japan” and “Constructing the Future.”
- After nine months in office and having faced both the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine, Sunday’s victory is likely to mark a new beginning for Kishida’s administration.
- Reuters, Asahi Shimbun, Nikkei, AP, NYT, Japan Times
Africa
- Angola: A Barcelona court authorized an autopsy on former President José Eduardo dos Santo who died in the city on Friday after his family alleged a conspiracy to kill him. (BBC)
- Nigeria: Christian organizations in Nigeria have pledged to vote against the All-Progressives Congress (APC) party after its presidential candidate Bola Tinubu named Senator Kashim Shetima as his running mate. (BBC)
- South Africa: There is growing pressure on authorities to find those responsible for the killing of 15 people in a bar in Soweto over the weekend. (BBC)
- Togo: Seven children are reported to have been killed by an improvised bomb explosion in Savanes region. (BBC)
- Zambia: The ministry of finance said it is canceling more than $2 billion worth of projects financed by commercial loans to reduce the risk of accumulating more non-concessional debt. (Reuters)
Americas
- Region: US President Joe Biden will meet his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday to discuss ways to stem migrant crossings as arrests at the border reached their highest levels in over a decade. (Reuters)
- Brazil: A local official from the Workers’ Party (PT) Marcelo Arruda was shot dead on Saturday by a federal prison guard shouting support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. (Reuters)
- Chile: A tumbling currency and high inflation are testing the Andean copper giant’s economic and financial systems, complicating President Gabriel Boric’s plans to push through a tax reform bill to fund ambitious social programs. (Reuters)
- Mexico: The Roman Catholic Church began a special round of prayers for peace after two Jesuit priests and a tour guide were killed on June 20. (AP)
- United States: Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has agreed to testify in the Capitol riot hearings, days before he was to face trial for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the attack on Congress. (AFP)
Asia
- China: Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Southeast Asian nations to avoid becoming “chess pieces” as he revealed proposing a set of “rules” to promote positive interactions between Beijing and Washington at a recent meeting. (AFP)
- Kiribati: The island quit the premier bloc of Pacific island nations, fracturing the group just as its leaders launch a summit to grapple with climate change and US-China tensions. (AFP)
- Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the entire cabinet will resign to make way for a unity government after tens of thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace. (Reuters)
- South Korea: President Yoon Suk-yeol will suspend media briefings citing rising numbers of COVID-19 infections as a survey showed a fall in his approval ratings. (Reuters)
- Taiwan: Vice President William Lai became the island’s most senior official to visit Japan in five decades as he made a private trip to Tokyo to pay his respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: The EU’s health and medicine agencies are recommending a second booster shot of a Covid vaccine for people over 60 years old, as infections rise again. (AFP)
- Bosnia: Thousands of people converged on Srebrenica to mark the 27th anniversary of Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust and attend the funeral of 50 recently identified victims. (AP)
- Russia: The lower house of parliament will gather on July 15 for an extraordinary session days after President Vladimir Putin warned that he had not started to get serious about the war in Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Spain: A Red Cross spokesman said three people were gored and three others suffered bruises in a tense fifth bull run at Pamplona’s San Fermín Festival. (AP)
- United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss entered the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iran: The Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) reported a monthly inflation rate of 12.2% and a point-to-point rate of 52.5% for the Iranian month ending June 21. (Al-Monitor)
- Israel: Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office will investigate reports of a mass grave containing the bodies of Egyptian commandos who were killed during the 1967 war. (Reuters)
- Lebanon: The Saudi National Assembly Party said that founding member Manea Al-Yami was killed in “complicated circumstances” in the capital Beirut. (AP)
- Saudi Arabia: US President Joe Biden is now readying to meet the kingdom’s leaders on a delicate visit to the Middle East this week. (Al-Monitor)
- Syria: A UN Security Council mandate for aid deliveries to 4 million people in the country from Turkey expired as diplomats struggled to find a deal with Russia. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Elon Musk mocked Twitter’s threat to sue him following his move to abandon the $44 billion takeover deal. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Darby
- Location: 14.5 N, 122.2 W
- Wind: 105 mph
- Movement: WNW 16 mph
- Map
- Hurricane Darby
- Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 11JUL22)
- Confirmed cases: 555,466,200
- Deaths: 6,351,252
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 11JUL22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (12JUL22)
- Event: CAP discussion on Japan’s Upper House Elections.
- Event: UN Foundation gender equality summit (virtual). (to 13JUL)
- Global: Eid al-Adha.
- Global: United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) holds a session to review the records of Botswana, Nicaragua, the State of Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates.
- Asia: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen begins a weeklong visit to Bali (for the G-20), Tokyo and Seoul, during which she will push for price caps on Russian oil. (to 19JUL)
- Australia: NASA “Deuce” suborbital launch.
- Belgium: ECOFIN meeting of EU finance ministers.
- Europe: Court hearing for migrants apprehended in Melilla border crossing storming.
- Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, followed by a joint press conference.
- Iran: Demonstrations planned by activists for several cities focused on women’s rights.
- Ireland: Sinn Fein tables a motion of no-confidence in the government after losing its formal majority in parliament.
- Japan: Funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- Kiribati: National Day.
- Mongolia: Naadam Day.
- São Tomé and Príncipe: Independence Day.
- Saudi Arabia: Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. (to 12JUL)
- United Kingdom: Libya’s disputed PM Fathi Bashaga questioned by MPs in London.
- United States: Visit by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
- United States: Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol holds hearing.
- United States: Brazilian Army Chief Gen. Marco Antonio Freire Gomes lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- United States: Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Sahel.
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