Deadliest U.S. School Shooting in a Decade Continues Alarming Trend

A gunman killed nineteen children and two teachers yesterday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in the United States’ twenty-seventh school shooting (NPR) this year. Authorities have not revealed a motive. The attack comes just days after a white supremacist killed ten people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood. In an address last night (White House), U.S. President Joe Biden called for Americans to “stand up to the gun lobby,” noting that “these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world.”

International leaders including Pope Francis and the presidents of France and Ukraine issued statements of condolences (NYT). New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described how her country enacted strict gun control legislation in response to a 2019 mass shooting to prevent further tragedies. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) moved to clear the way (NYT) for votes on two bills to strengthen background checks for gun purchases. Republican opposition previously sank similar legislation.

Analysis

“While the shooting in Uvalde breaks hearts, will it change minds? Universal background checks are the most meaningful, life-saving reform, but with a bitterly divided Congress, these will remain elusive,” the Economist writes.

“If there is any American exceptionalism, it is tolerating the fact that schools in the United States are regularly turned into bloody shooting ranges,” Le Monde writes.

This Backgrounder looks at U.S. gun control policy in global context.

Pacific Rim

UN Rights Chief Visits China’s Xinjiang Region, Speaks With Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video call (AFP) with UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet during her trip, which was tightly controlled by the Chinese government. Meanwhile, a media consortium published leaked documents (WaPo) detailing efforts to surveil, arbitrarily detain, and reeducate hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

North Korea: The country test-fired three ballistic missiles (Kyodo) a day after U.S. President Biden left Asia, South Korea’s military said. A South Korean official said North Korea also tested a detonation device, potentially in preparation for a nuclear test.

South and Central Asia

Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Leads March to Call for New Elections

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan defied an order from authorities (Dawn) not to march and will lead supporters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

Afghanistan: The UN Security Council called on the Taliban (TOLOnews) to “swiftly reverse” policies that are restricting the freedoms of Afghan women. The appeal came after the Taliban ordered women to cover their faces in public.

Middle East and North Africa

U.S. Sanctions Hamas Financial Facilitators

A Hamas official and companies based in Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among those targeted (Al-Monitor).

This Backgrounder looks at Hamas.

Israel/Turkey: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said they will begin working (Reuters) on a new civil aviation agreement as part of efforts to mend strained ties. Cavusoglu yesterday became the first senior Turkish official to visit Israel in fifteen years.

Sub-Saharan Africa

African Countries Object to Fast-Tracking WHO Reforms

African countries objected to a U.S.-led proposal to reform the International Health Regulations set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Anonymous diplomats told Reuters that the move could be an attempt to push wealthy countries for concessions on vaccine and drug sharing.

For Think Global Health, CFR’s David P. Fidler discusses the prospects for global health governance reform after the pandemic.

Somalia: Outgoing President Mohamed Farmaajo acknowledged (Bloomberg) that Somalia sent five thousand troops to Eritrea for training last year and said they could now return home. The soldiers’ families had held protests objecting to a lack of information on their whereabouts.

Europe

U.S. Blocks Russian Payments to U.S. Creditors, Pushing Moscow Toward Default

The U.S. Treasury Department said it will not renew (WaPo) a sanctions waiver that allowed Russia to make bond payments to U.S.-based creditors.

Hungary: Citing an economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared a state of emergency (RFE/RL) days before a pandemic-related state of emergency expires. The declaration allows his government to rule by decree.

Americas

Authorities Probe Deadly Police Operation in Rio de Janeiro Favela

At least twenty-one people were killed (The Guardian) during the raid. Officials said they were investigating whether the use of force in the operation was justified.

Mexico: The country’s Supreme Court ruled that underage girls can get abortions (AP) without parental consent in cases of rape.

Global

WHO Urges Countries to Increase Surveillance for Monkeypox

The Czech Republic, Slovenia, and the UAE reported cases (BBC) of the virus for the first time yesterday. Cases have been reported in an additional eighteen countries outside of Africa, where it is usually found.

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