U.S. President Joe Biden announced that federal employees must be vaccinated (CNN) against the coronavirus or face strict protocols, and encouraged states and school districts to offer incentives for vaccination. The Department of Defense announced separately that the same rules would apply to military and civilian personnel, and that it was considering adding COVID-19 vaccines to its list of required shots.
 
Biden’s appeal comes as governments around the world, a number still struggling to acquire vaccine supplies, issue new restrictions to try to control the spread of the virus’s highly contagious Delta variant. France will require health workers to be vaccinated and health passes (NPR) for restaurants and domestic travel, while Israelis are now required to show vaccine certificates (Axios) to attend many social events. The United States has so far avoided such vaccine mandates. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended earlier this week that vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission. According to unpublished CDC data reported in multiple outlets, the Delta variant is as contagious as chicken pox (CNN), though the approved vaccines are highly effective at preventing serious disease.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte retracted his plan (SCMP) to cancel a military cooperation agreement with the United States. The decision was announced after a visit from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin to Manila. Duterte threatened to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows U.S. troops to conduct military exercises in the Philippines, in February 2020, after the United States denied a visa to a Philippine senator.
 
Japan: The government will extend its COVID-19 state of emergency (Kyodo) to four prefectures beyond Tokyo and Okinawa amid a rise in cases.
 
In this In Brief, CFR’s Sheila A. Smith discusses why Tokyo is hosting the Olympic Games despite COVID-19.

About two hundred Afghan translators and interpreters who aided U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan arrived in the United States (CNN) after being approved for special visas. An estimated twenty thousand Afghans have applied for such visas.
 
Bangladesh: A spike in cases of the mosquito-borne dengue virus is straining a healthcare system (Al Jazeera) already overburdened from COVID-19. Nearly 2,000 people have been diagnosed in July, up from only 272 in June. Almost all of the cases are around Dhaka, the capital.

Qatar approved the legal framework (Reuters) for its first-ever legislative election to be held in October. Qataris will choose two-thirds of the Shura Council, the country’s top advisory body. The long-delayed vote comes as Qatar prepares to host next year’s soccer World Cup in Doha.
 
Palestinian territories: A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces (CNN) at protests during the West Bank funeral of a 12-year-old boy who had also been shot by Israeli forces a day earlier, the Palestinian health ministry said. Thousands of people attended the funeral procession, where clashes broke out as people reportedly threw rocks at Israeli soldiers.
 

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) head Samantha Power will visit Ethiopia (AFP) next week to push for humanitarian access in the Tigray region amid reports of famine. Power will also visit Sudan, where the United States aims to support the transitional government.
 
CFR’s Michelle Gavin discusses the need for a diplomatic response to Ethiopia’s crisis.

The Eurozone economy grew 2 percent (FT) in the second quarter of this year, the first period in which the bloc’s economy outperformed the United States’ and China’s since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Turkey: At least three people have died and at least fifty-eight people are hospitalized as large forest fires sweep across (Anadolu) southern Turkey.

Thousands of Guatemalans protested across the country (Al Jazeera) in opposition to the firing of top anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval. Protesters called for the resignation of the president and attorney general.
 
CFR’s Shannon K. O’Neil writes that the fight against corruption in Central America needs to get ugly.
 
Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he will issue a decree to release thousands of federal prisoners (DW), including victims of torture, elderly prisoners who have not committed serious crimes, and prisoners who have been behind bars for more than ten years without a sentence.