Daily News Brief
July 13, 2020
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Top of the Agenda
Global, U.S. Coronavirus Cases Continue to Surge
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 230,000 new coronavirus cases (Reuters) on Sunday, a record high as the pandemic continues to rage around the world.

In the United States, Florida recorded more than fifteen thousand new cases (WaPo) on Sunday, eclipsing previous records set by California and New York, though cases and deaths are increasing nationwide. Trump administration officials expressed concern about the rising cases and said they anticipate more deaths (NYT) from the virus, which has killed more than 131,000 people in the United States.
Analysis
“This is just the early wave of a lot of suffering and death. The longer we wait to act aggressively, the harder it’s going to be for us to get out of the tailspin,” the Harvard Global Health Institute’s Ashish Jha tells the Washington Post

“We expected this to happen,” Jay Wolfson, a professor of public health and medicine at the University of South Florida, tells the New York Times. “The calculus for this disease is proximity, congestion and time.”

This CFR Backgrounder looks at global efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine.

Pacific Rim
Singapore’s Ruling Party Wins Elections
Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) returned to power (Straits Times) after winning eighty-three of ninety-three seats in Parliament in the general election held Friday. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the PAP had been given a “clear mandate,” though its share of the popular vote dropped by nearly 9 percent from the last election. The number of opposition members in Parliament is set to nearly double to ten.

CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick writes about dents to Singapore’s ruling party in Asia Unbound.

China: Beijing announced sanctions on U.S. officials (SCMP), including Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), after the United States sanctioned Chinese officials involved in the detention of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region.

South and Central Asia
Taliban Stages Major Attack in Afghanistan
The Taliban launched an assault (NYT) on the Afghan intelligence agency in the northern city of Aybak today. Gunmen stormed the office after detonating a car bomb outside, injuring at least forty people. The number of casualties is unclear.

India: New Delhi began trade talks with the European Union (Reuters) and is open to talks with the United Kingdom as well, trade minister Piyush Goyal said.

Middle East and North Africa
China, Iran Prepare to Strike Trade, Military Deal
Beijing and Tehran have been negotiating an economic and security agreement (NYT) that would significantly increase Chinese investment and military cooperation in exchange for Iranian oil. Such a deal would be a major blow to the Donald J. Trump administration’s efforts to isolate Iran.

​Libya: Rebel commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces said they would allow oil fields and terminals to reopen (AP) if there is a mechanism to distribute the profits across Libya and ensure that the money is not used for “terrorists and mercenaries.”

Sub-Saharan Africa
Violent Protests in Mali
Organizations worldwide denounced the use of force (Al Jazeera) against anti-government protesters in Mali, where at least eleven people were killed over the weekend. Protesters have rejected concessions offered by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and demanded his resignation.

​South Africa: Amid surging coronavirus cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa reimposed an alcohol ban (Mail & Guardian) and nationwide curfew and said South Africans must wear masks in public.

Europe
Polish President Narrowly Wins Reelection
Polish President Andrzej Duda, an ally of President Trump, won a second term (WaPo) in a tight race against the centrist mayor of Warsaw, securing 51.2 percent of the vote.

Turkey: EU diplomats criticized Turkey (AP) for drilling in disputed waters in the Mediterranean and for reinstating the Hagia Sophia museum’s status as a mosque.

Americas
Mexico’s Coronavirus Death Toll Passes Italy’s
Mexico overtook Italy to become the country with the world’s fourth-highest number of coronavirus deaths (Reuters) on Sunday, reporting more than thirty-five thousand total fatalities.

Brazil: Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest rose for the fourteenth consecutive month (Reuters) in June, adding pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of doing too little to prevent the destruction.

This CFR InfoGuide looks at deforestation in the Amazon.

United States
Mueller Defends Prosecution of Roger Stone
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller defended the prosecution of Roger Stone (NYT), a friend of Trump, a day after the president commuted Stone’s sentence. In a Washington Post op-ed, Mueller wrote that Stone “remains a convicted felon, and rightly so.” Stone was convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into possible ties between Russia and Trump’s campaign.
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