Thousands of people in cities across Cuba yesterday protested against the country’s leadership (NYT) and food and medicine shortages in what appear to be the country’s largest anti-government protests in nearly thirty years.

Protesters called for political freedom (CNN) and for President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez to step down. Diaz-Canel responded in a televised address in which he blamed U.S. sanctions for economic woes, offered no concessions, and called on Cubans who support the government to confront protesters in the streets. The director of Human Rights Watch said the group received reports of at least twenty arrests (WaPo) during the demonstrations. Under President Donald Trump, the United States imposed some of its toughest economic measures against Cuba in decades, and the Joe Biden administration has not lifted them. Cuba is experiencing its worst economic contraction in over thirty years, and currency reform caused inflation to surge (Miami Herald) in recent months.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged greater cooperation (SCMP) between their countries on the sixtieth anniversary of a joint defense treaty. Some analysts expect Pyongyang will seek increased support (AP) from Beijing to deal with pandemic-related economic hardship.
 
China: Beijing said a U.S. warship “intruded into” disputed waters that China claims near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and urged the U.S. military to stop such “provocations” (Straits Times). The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the ship sailed in accordance with international law.
 
For the Asia Unbound blog, Captain Robert Francis and Lieutenant Commander Roswell Lary discuss the public diplomacy battle in the South China Sea.

General Austin Scott Miller, who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan for three years, will step down (WaPo) today in a symbolic end to the U.S. military presence in the country. General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of U.S. Central Command, arrived in Kabul to take charge of the remaining U.S. troops.
 
Tajikistan: At least five people died after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Tajikistan (Al Jazeera) on Saturday, authorities said.

After a decade-long legal battle (WaPo), Israel’s top court ruled that same-sex couples and single men must be allowed (Haaretz) to become parents via surrogacy. The order must come into effect within six months, the court ruled.
 
This Backgrounder looks at rights for same-sex couples around the world.
 
Jordan: A court sentenced two high-ranking former officials (WaPo) to fifteen years in prison for plotting an alleged coup against King Abdullah II. The king’s half brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, did not face charges, though the government originally alleged he had orchestrated the conspiracy.

Ethiopia’s electoral board ruled that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party won 410 of 436 contested parliamentary seats (FT) in June elections marked by insecurity and opposition boycotts. The results give Abiy another five-year term.
 
South Africa: The army is deploying troops (AFP) to two provinces to quell unrest sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma. South Africa’s Constitutional Court is hearing a bid to rescind Zuma’s sentence (News24) for contempt of court today.

The Party of Action and Solidarity, which seeks closer ties between Moldova and the European Union, won a clear majority (AP) in a snap parliamentary election held yesterday. It won 53 percent of votes, while the electoral bloc that placed second won 27 percent.
 
Italy: Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Beppe Grillo, founder of the Five-Star Movement party, agreed on a structure for relaunching the party (Reuters) that ends tensions threatening the stability of Italy’s government. Five-Star is the largest group in Italy’s Parliament and is part of the ruling coalition.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are sending officials to Haiti (NPR) to assist in investigations of the Wednesday assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, the Pentagon said. At least twenty people, including Colombian and U.S. citizens, have been detained (CNN) in relation to the killing.
 
CFR’s Paul J. Angelo and David Gevarter lay out what to know about Moise’s assassination.

More than three hundred thousand acres of land in six western states were on fire (USA Today) Sunday during a heat wave. In California, residents were told to reduce their power consumption because a fire in Oregon had knocked out interstate power lines. In Arizona, two firefighters died after a plane responding to a fire crashed.