UK Prime Minister Theresa May is holding an emergency meeting (BBC) today to determine how the country should respond to Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the tanker violated maritime regulations (Reuters), according to Iranian state media. An Iranian maritime official said the British vessel had collided with an Iranian fishing boat, while other officials have reportedly described the Friday seizure (NYT) as retaliation for the British seizure of an Iranian tanker earlier this month. UK Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood called for a de-escalation of tensions (WaPo) with Tehran. Audio recordings showed a British warship attempted to prevent Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps from seizing the tanker.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition won a majority (Reuters) in upper house elections yesterday, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The bloc fell short, however, of the two-thirds majority needed to begin revising the country’s pacifist constitution. Voter turnout was reportedly the second lowest since the end of World War II.
 
This CFR interactive explores the prospects for constitutional reform in Japan.
 
Hong Kong: Hundreds of thousands of people continued protests (Guardian) against a controversial extradition bill yesterday, during which a mob attack on demonstrators injured at least forty-five people. Police were criticized for not stopping the mob. On Monday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned violence (SCMP) against protesters.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has his first one-on-one meeting (Dawn) with U.S. President Donald J. Trump today. Khan will also meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow. The leaders are expected to discuss security cooperation, especially on working toward a peace deal in Afghanistan (WaPo).
 
CFR’s Alyssa Ayres previews today’s meeting with a look at recent security developments in Pakistan.
 
India: The country successfully launched a lunar mission (BBC) today after last week’s planned launch was delayed due to technical difficulties.

An air strike by the coalition of Syrian government and Russian forces killed at least nineteen people (AFP) in a rebel-held area in the country’s northwest today. Another strike in the region yesterday killed at least eighteen, according to a UK-based monitoring group.

At a Friday ceremony, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the power plant near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya aims to boost the nation’s electricity supply (Al Jazeera) by 13 percent. Around 70 percent of Kenya’s electricity currently comes from renewables. 
 
This CFR Backgrounder compares decarbonization strategies from around the globe.
 
Ethiopia: At least seventeen people have been killed in recent clashes (Reuters) between security forces and activists seeking an autonomous region for the Sidama ethnic group, according to local officials.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, Servant of the People, is projected to win a majority (Reuters) of the 450 seats in Ukraine’s parliament, according to preliminary results from Sunday’s snap election. It would be the first time since Ukraine’s 1991 independence that a single political party holds a parliamentary majority.
 
Portugal: At least eight firefighters and twelve civilians were injured in wildfires that swept across the center of the country (BBC) yesterday, according to the interior ministry.

Mexican authorities recorded 14,603 murders in the first half of 2019, an uptick of 5 percent (Reuters) compared to the same period last year. Mexico recorded its highest number of homicides on record last year, and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to reduce violent crime during his tenure.
 
Mexico: During a visit to Mexico yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commended the country’s progress (Bloomberg) on slowing migration to the United States, Mexico’s foreign ministry said. Mexico increased the number of security forces at its borders in June after Washington threatened to raise tariffs on its neighbor.

Governor Ricardo Rossello, who has been under fire for leaked text conversations containing what were seen as sexist and homophobic comments, announced yesterday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 (CNN) and will step down as head of his party. A protest calling for his resignation is scheduled for today in San Juan.