India reported more than 4,500 deaths (WaPo) from COVID-19 yesterday, the highest number seen by any country in a single day since the pandemic began.

The grim milestone comes as India’s devastating surge of cases shows signs of abating (WSJ). The daily case count has fallen below three hundred thousand, down from record highs of more than four hundred thousand earlier this month. The situation in some major cities, including New Delhi, has improved. Still, cases are likely undercounted. The pandemic has overwhelmed India’s health-care system and brought immense suffering. India is unlikely to resume major exports of COVID-19 vaccines until October, Reuters reports, hampering global vaccination efforts. Hundreds of the country’s COVID-19 patients have also contracted black fungus (CNN), a rare infection.

China protested U.S. naval activities (AP) in the South China Sea, its second complaint in two days. China said the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur illegally entered its waters around the disputed Paracel Islands today, and complained yesterday when the Wilbur passed through the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said China was advancing “excessive and illegitimate maritime claims.”

Philippines: The government said it will temporarily prevent citizens from working in Israel (NYT) due to the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. The Philippines is one of the largest sources of migrant labor in Israel. Recent rocket strikes by the Palestinian group Hamas have killed several migrant workers.

Myanmar’s military junta fired two diplomats at the country’s embassy in Japan, Kyodo reports. The diplomats had boycotted their duties to protest the military’s February coup. The junta previously fired the UN ambassador and locked the ambassador to the United Kingdom out of the embassy.

Despite reports of a possible cease-fire, Israel continued to strike targets in Gaza (Haaretz), while Palestinian militant groups there maintained a rocket barrage of southern Israel. Hamas leaders told CNN yesterday that a cease-fire could be “imminent,” and U.S. and foreign officials told the Wall Street Journal that one could come as early as tomorrow.

For Foreign Affairs, Khalil Shikaki looks at what this latest round of fighting could mean for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iran: Senior diplomats from several countries said they were optimistic (RFE/RL) following a round of talks in Vienna yesterday aimed at resurrecting the 2015 nuclear deal. Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted that a deal is “within reach.”

Health authorities in Malawi destroyed nearly twenty thousand expired doses (Al Jazeera) of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The country’s health minister said burning the old vaccines will boost the public’s confidence that doses in use are still effective.

For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s Michelle Gavin explains why supporting African vaccination efforts is a matter of U.S. and global interest.

Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed judge Martha Koome (Nation) as the country’s first female chief justice.

The European Union agreed to open its borders (WaPo) to people who have received an EU-approved vaccine, a spokesperson said. All vaccines approved in the United States are also approved in the EU, but the Chinese and Russian jabs are not.

Russia: The Kremlin said constructive talks between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are a “positive signal” (RFE/RL) of a potential summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden. The U.S. State Department said Blinken pressed Lavrov on Russia’s military buildup on the Ukrainian border, the treatment of jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny, and the release of two former U.S. marines imprisoned in Russia.

In this virtual meeting, CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich, the Atlantic Council’s Alexander Vershbow, and the Brookings Institution’s Fiona Hill discuss how Biden could deal with Russia.

Brazil is pushing for a 20 percent reduction (MercoPress) in the common external tariff of the Southern Common Market, also known as Mercosur, a trade bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The tariff cut would be divided into two 10 percent reductions, one that takes effect immediately and one that comes in December, a Brazilian official said.

Colombia: President Ivan Duque named Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez Colombia’s new foreign minister (Reuters). She replaces Claudia Blum, who resigned amid mass protests against inequality and police brutality. Ramirez will remain vice president.

The House of Representatives passed a bill to establish an independent commission (WaPo) to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to former President Donald Trump. Thirty-five Republicans voted for the House bill, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) came out against it, dimming its prospects in the upper chamber.