Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned after mutinous soldiers arrested him (Al Jazeera) and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, casting further uncertainty on the troubled country’s future. Anti-government demonstrators cheered the coup, which came after months of mass protests (NYT) over pervasive corruption, poverty, and insecurity. The mutineers imposed a curfew, closed borders, and announced they will work toward (BBC) a civil political transition and credible elections.
 
The African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations, which meets today about Mali, condemned the coup. Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States, which has been working to resolve Mali’s political crisis (East African), closed borders with Mali and suspended financial flows to the country as it warned of heightened insecurity.

Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party, will visit (SCMP) Singapore and South Korea later this week, government sources confirmed. Beijing is working to strengthen ties with its neighbors amid U.S.-China tensions.
 
Thailand: Authorities charged six activists (Reuters) who participated in an anti-government protest last week for violating internal security, breaching coronavirus control measures, and conducting computer crimes. Thailand has seen near-daily protests for over a month, with some criticizing the monarchy.
 
For Asia Unbound, CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick and Pavin Chachavalpongpun explain Thailand’s recent protests.

The Afghan government warned countries in the region against using the Taliban (TOLO) as a proxy in Afghanistan after a report alleged that Iran paid the group to target U.S. and coalition troops. Iran denied the accusation and said it is committed to Afghan peace. Russia has faced similar allegations.
 
This report from CFR’s Center for Preventive Action unpacks the Afghan peace negotiations.
 
Kazakhstan: Human Rights Watch called on Kazakh officials to increase coronavirus economic relief, saying hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of becoming impoverished (RFE/FL). Though Kazakhstan has implemented relief measures, including cash transfers, they do not cover living costs in some cities and some have expired.

A UN-supported special tribunal convicted (Al Jazeera) one Hezbollah member for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri but exonerated three others. Earlier, it ruled there was insufficient evidence tying Hezbollah or Syrian leadership to the killing.
 
Syria: A landmine explosion in eastern Syria killed a Russian major general (National) and injured two other troops, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Russia’s military presence in Syria, which includes thousands of troops, has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hold onto power.

Authorities exhumed the remains (New Times) of more than one hundred people killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide from a residence that belonged to a man convicted of genocide against the Tutsi. The Rwanda Investigation Bureau arrested six people for allegedly concealing the bodies.

EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton indicated the EU will reinforce sanctions (Reuters) on Belarus when it meets today. Breton’s comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his French and German counterparts not to interfere in Belarus, where a disputed election has sparked a government crackdown.
 
CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich examines why Putin shouldn’t intervene in Belarus.
 
EU/United Kingdom: Negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal resume today but could stall again (FT) after the EU dismissed the United Kingdom’s demands for trucking access to EU markets as “fundamentally unbalanced.”

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe resigned from the country’s Senate, arguing that a controversial witness-tampering investigation, for which he is currently on house arrest, has hindered his work (AP) as a lawmaker.
 
Chile: Imprisoned indigenous leader Celestino Cordova agreed to end (teleSUR) his 107-day hunger strike in return for government concessions, including a visit to his home. Cordova and nearly thirty other prisoners from the Mapuche indigenous group have been on hunger strikes for the right to serve portions of their sentences in their communities.

Democrats officially nominated (NYT) former Vice President Joe Biden for president in a virtual roll call vote on the second night of their national convention. Biden is set to formally accept the nomination tomorrow.