President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order to temporarily suspend new work visas (NYT), preventing hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from seeking employment in the United States.
 
In his proclamation, which will last until at least the end of the year, Trump said that competition from foreign workers poses an “unusual threat” (WaPo) to Americans due to job losses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Administration officials said the restrictions, which apply to a range of sectors such as tech and hospitality, would prevent foreign workers from filling 525,000 jobs. U.S. businesses denounced the move and could challenge it in court (WSJ).

The U.S. State Department declared four Chinese news organizations “propaganda outlets” and designated them as foreign missions (SCMP), meaning they will be treated as diplomatic offices. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson accused the United States of hypocrisy regarding free speech and warned that Beijing would retaliate.
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Singapore: Voters will head to the polls July 10 (Straits Times) for the country’s general election. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it would be an opportunity to install a fresh government while the coronavirus is relatively contained.
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This CFR Backgrounder looks at Singapore, a small Asian heavyweight.

Chinese and Indian military officials agreed to disengage their respective forces (AP) and “cool down the situation” along their disputed border. Twenty Indian soldiers died in a clash last week, the first deadly conflict in decades.
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Kyrgyzstan: Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev was sentenced to eleven years (RFE/RL) in prison for illegally releasing a crime boss in 2013. Atambaev, who has denied any wrongdoing, is the first president to be sentenced in the country’s history.

Saudi Arabia announced that only people already inside the country can participate in the hajj pilgrimage (NYT), an annual rite for millions of Muslims, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is the first time the event has had significant limits on attendance since the modern kingdom’s founding in 1932.

CFR’s Steven A. Cook and Ray Takeyh discuss the Middle East’s response to the pandemic in this conference call.
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Libya: Germany, Italy, and the United States pushed for a cease-fire in Libya (AP) after Egypt threatened military intervention. Additionally, the UN Human Rights Council launched a fact-finding mission to document rights abuses committed during Libya’s war.

Former South African President Jacob Zuma appeared in court today (Reuters) to face charges of racketeering, fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Zuma, who led the country from 2009 to 2018, is accused of accepting money from a French defense company in exchange for shielding it from investigation.

Somalia: The terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing (Al Jazeera) outside a Turkish military base in Mogadishu that killed at least two people.
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CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker monitors al-Shabab in Somalia.

European Union officials warned that the bloc’s relationship with China would suffer if Beijing does not open its economy further and address imbalances (WSJ) in their economic relationship. Following a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc needed “substantial commitments” from China on issues including the operation of state-owned companies, government subsidies, and forced technology transfer.
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Serbia: President Aleksandar Vucic’s party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election (NYT), potentially strengthening his hand in peace talks with Kosovo. The opposition party called the election illegitimate, alleging voter intimidation and biased press coverage.

Venezuela’s UN ambassador said U.S. sanctions prevented the country (AP) from making payments to the United Nations, causing Caracas to lose its voting rights at the General Assembly.
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Brazil: A group of more than two dozen financial institutions warned that deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest causes “widespread uncertainty” about investing (FT) in the country and called on President Jair Bolsonaro to stop the damage.

Coronavirus cases continue to rise around the world, with “worrying increases” in Latin America (Reuters), World Health Organization (WHO) officials said. A WHO expert said the rise in cases cannot be attributed solely to increased testing. More than 183,000 new cases were recorded worldwide on Sunday, the highest single-day count since the outbreak began.