Police fired pepper balls and arrested nearly three hundred protesters (SCMP) today as Hong Kong’s Legislative Council began debating a controversial bill that would make it an offense to mock China’s national anthem. If passed, the bill would mean that anyone who insults the anthem could face up to three years in prison and a fine.

Protesters also denounced a proposed national security law (WaPo​) that critics fear could spell the end of Hong Kong’s independence. The proposed law has prompted concern in Washington, including calls to sanction individuals who threaten Hong Kong’s freedoms and to end its special relationship with the United States. U.S. President Donald J. Trump said on Tuesday that a response to China’s actions could be announced by the end of the week.

Washington accused Moscow of sending fighter jets to support Russian mercenaries (WaPo) fighting alongside Libyan rebel commander Khalifa Haftar. In a statement, the head of U.S. Africa Command said that Russia is “clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya.”
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Yemen: A Houthi missile attack killed seven people on a military base belonging to the UN-backed government in Marib province, sources told Reuters.

The Japanese government is set to issue guidance (Yomiuri Shimbun) telling independent agencies and designated corporations that handle private data not to use telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies such as Huawei.
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This CFR Backgrounder looks at Huawei, a controversial Chinese tech giant.

The U.S. Defense Department is drawing up plans to withdraw all troops (NYT) from Afghanistan, potentially before the U.S. presidential election in November. Under the terms of a deal signed with the Taliban in February, U.S. troops would leave the country by May 2021 if certain conditions are met.
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India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with top Indian defense officials to discuss border tensions with China. New Delhi will not allow any change to the status quo, sources told the Hindustan Times.

Nigeria will continue testing (This Day) the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19, despite the World Health Organization’s decision to temporarily halt its own trials.
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Burkina Faso: Attacks by armed groups have had a “devastating impact” on education in the country, affecting nearly 350,000 students, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

The European Commission proposed a stimulus package (Bloomberg) worth 750 billion euros ($823 billion) to combat the deep recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Five hundred billion euros would be sent in grants to member states and the remainder sent in loans.
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UK: The country has proposed delaying the already-postponed 2020 UN climate conference to November 2021. The conference was originally scheduled to begin this November in Glasgow.

The region’s largest airline LATAM, headquartered in Chile, filed for bankruptcy protection (Santiago Times) in the United States due to declining passenger traffic amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company said its affiliates in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay are not included in the filing.
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Costa Rica: The country legalized same-sex marriage (El Universal) when a Supreme Court ruling took effect on Tuesday, becoming the sixth country in Latin America to do so.

NASA will send astronauts to space (NYT) today using a rocket built by the company SpaceX. It will be the first time a private company will be in charge of a U.S. mission.
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This CFR Backgrounder looks at U.S. competitiveness in space exploration.