A German court sentenced former Syrian intelligence officer (WaPo) Anwar Raslan to life in prison for crimes against humanity, making him the highest-ranking former official from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to be found guilty of such crimes. Raslan was accused of overseeing the torture of at least four thousand prisoners in Damascus in 2011 and 2012. 

Germany’s justice system tried Raslan under universal jurisdiction, which is the principle that the gravest crimes can be tried anywhere. He fled to Germany in 2012 and was recognized by one of his victims, who reported him to police. Human rights advocates hailed the trial (AFP) as evidence that war crimes will not go unpunished, but also warned that atrocities in Syria continue (NYT).

A spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry said Seoul will support Washington’s effort (Yonhap). North Korea reportedly tested hypersonic missiles twice this month.

CFR’s Scott A. Snyder explains how leader Kim Jong-un advanced North Korea’s military in a decade.

China: The U.S. Department of Transportation criticized the Chinese government (Reuters) for canceling a growing number of flights from the United States to China, saying Beijing is not fulfilling obligations under an bilateral air transport agreement. China has canceled seventy flights this year due to passengers testing positive for COVID-19.

Talks about the deal begin today (Reuters). The United Kingdom (UK) has said it hopes to slash tariffs (PTI) on UK-made cars and Scotch whisky sold in India.

Afghanistan/Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan cut off 60 percent (ANI) of electricity it supplies to Afghanistan “without coordination,” officials in Afghanistan said. Sixteen provinces witnessed power outages due to the cut, which Uzbek officials blamed on technical issues at a power station.

The drivers called for subsidized fuel prices (Al Jazeera) and financial aid to deal with rising fuel costs.

The government had halted Twitter’s operations (AFP) in June after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Somalia: A car bomb explosion in the capital, Mogadishu, killed eight people (NYT). The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes Russia and the United States, holds this week’s third meeting (RFE/RL) aimed at defusing tensions between Moscow and Western countries.

CFR President Richard Haass discusses how to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine and what to do if deterrence fails.

Bulgaria: Police officers clashed with hundreds of demonstrators (Sofia Globe) who were protesting COVID-19 restrictions outside parliament.

The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the hacks were “very likely” linked (AP) to El Salvador’s government. A spokesperson for President Nayib Bukele said the government had no association with the Israeli company that created the spyware.

For Foreign Affairs, Alexander Cooley and Daniel H. Nexon write that governments’ use of Pegasus spyware is one sign that illiberalism is on the rise.

Brazil: Brazilians could see another year of inflated food prices due to a drought, the head of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein told Reuters.

President Joe Biden is set to speak today (NYT) about the deployments and other measures to combat the nationwide COVID-19 surge.