Key Storylines
- AFRICA: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa received the final report on an extensive judicial investigation into corruption under former president Jacob Zuma.
- AMERICAS: Mexican Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez said the United States had agreed to grant 300,000 temporary work visas for Mexicans and Central Americans.
- ASIA: A UN expert said the Myanmar military-ruled government’s promise of free and fair elections next year is “preposterous.”
- EUROPE: EU leaders will gather in Brussels to discuss calls to formally grant war-torn Ukraine “candidate status” to join the bloc.
- MIDDLE EAST: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Turkey for the first time in years for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalizing relations.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Elon Musk said that Tesla Inc’s new car factories in Texas and Berlin are “losing billions of dollars” due to shortages of batteries and other components.
Top Story
- Germany: Berlin Faces Gas Supply Crisis, Declares Alarm Level.
- Germany triggered the “alarm stage” of its emergency gas plan in response to falling Russian supplies but stopped short of allowing utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to customers in Europe’s largest economy.
- The government said the decision to raise the level to “alarm” follows the cuts to Russian gas flows made since June 14 and surging energy prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
- The government also said it was not going to activate a law that allowed energy companies to pass on soaring costs to customers after pushback against the measure from industry.
- The move to the second stage of the plan signals that the authorities are seeing a “substantial deterioration in the gas supply situation”, but one that the market can deal with without resorting to “non-market based measures”.
- The move follows Russia’s sharp reduction of gas supplies, with the government recommending households reduce consumption.
- German economy minister Robert Habeck said Russia was using gas “as a weapon” in response to EU sanctions.
- Reuters, AP, FT, DPA, Politico, BBC
Africa
- DR Congo: At least 13 civilians, including four children, were killed in fresh clashes in the east amid increased fighting between the army and rebels. (AFP)
- Ethiopia: UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet was “horrified” at accounts of attacks in the west that left hundreds dead at the weekend, urging authorities to hold “prompt, impartial and thorough investigations”. (AFP)
- Ghana: Lawmakers approved a plan to investigate how funds worth $1.5bn (£1.2bn) were spent in the fight against Covid-19. (BBC)
- South Africa: President Cyril Ramaphosa received the final report on an extensive judicial investigation into corruption under former president Jacob Zuma. (AP)
- Tanzania: The CCM is ready for reforms on the country’s constitution after years of fending off pressure from opposition parties and rights defenders. (BBC)
Americas
- Region: Mexican Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez said the United States had agreed to grant 300,000 temporary work visas for Mexicans and Central Americans. (Reuters)
- Cuba: The courts issued prison terms of up to 18 years for another 74 people involved in last summer’s unprecedented anti-government protests. (AFP)
- Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador inaugurated a truth commission to investigate abuses committed during the “Dirty War” of the 1960s-80s. (AFP)
- Panama: Security Minister Juan Manuel Pino warned that there has been a substantial increase in the number of migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap on the border with Colombia. (AP)
- United States: The CDC has begun sending monkeypox tests to commercial laboratories as the number of confirmed infections in the country reached 142. (AP)
Asia
- Bangladesh: Authorities are bracing for the spread of water-borne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people stranded in their homes by flooding across a quarter of the country. (Reuters)
- China: Record floods were expected in parts of the country’s south as heavy rains pushed water levels in the Pearl River delta to their highest in almost a century. (AFP)
- Myanmar: A UN expert said the military-ruled government’s promise of free and fair elections next year is “preposterous.” (AP)
- New Zealand: Police said a man wounded four people in a stabbing rampage in Auckland before bystanders brought him to the ground. (AP)
- North Korea: Officials at a meeting of the Central Military Commission discussed assigning additional duties to frontline units, possibly indicating the deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons. (AP)
Europe
- Region: A senior US official, speaking anonymously, said that leaders at the upcoming G7 summit in Germany will discuss new measures to pressure Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
- Azerbaijan: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will reportedly visit Baku this week to discuss tensions with Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Reuters)
- France: Opposition parties gave a frosty reception to President Emmanuel Macron’s call for “compromises” to keep the country governable after an indecisive parliamentary election. (AFP)
- Ukraine: EU leaders will gather in Brussels to discuss calls to formally grant the war-torn country “candidate status” to join the bloc. (Euronews)
- United Kingdom: The government set out planned law changes making it easier for businesses to minimize the impact of strike actions, in response to ongoing strikes by rail workers. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Region: A senior US official hinted that more Arab nations are looking to improve relations with Israel when President Joe Biden visits the region next month. (AFP)
- Iran: Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that the Ukraine crisis can only be resolved through diplomacy. (Reuters)
- Iraq: Parliament will hold a session to vote in replacements for 73 lawmakers who resigned earlier this month. (AP)
- Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Turkey for the first time in years for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalizing relations. (Reuters)
- Syria: State media reported an explosion in Deraa, injuring two people. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Elon Musk said that Tesla Inc’s new car factories in Texas and Berlin are “losing billions of dollars” due to shortages of batteries and other components. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to Report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 23JUN22)
- Confirmed cases: 541,439,914
- Deaths: 6,324,397
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 23JUN22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (24JUN22)
- Event: CSIS discussion on missile defense.
- Event: Wilson Center discussion on U.S. support to Ukraine.
- Event: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discusses Ukraine at Hudson Institute.
- Australia: China’s Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian gives a speech at University of Technology Sydney about the state of relations between Australia and China.
- China: High-Level Dialogue on Global Development, hosted by Xi Jinping and attended by BRICS leaders, virtual.
- Europe: European Council meeting of EU heads of state and government in Brussels.
- Germany: ILA Berlin Air Show. (to 25JUN)
- New Zealand: Maori New Year.
- Rwanda: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali. (to 25JUN)
- Venezuela: Battle of Carabobo Day.
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