UK’s Johnson Announces Plan to Step Down as Prime Minister |
The prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Boris Johnson, stepped down (AP) from the role of Conservative Party leader after dozens of officials in his government resigned. Their rebellion was prompted by Johnson’s promotion of a Conservative lawmaker who has been accused of sexual assault.
Johnson said he will remain prime minister until his party chooses his successor, which could be in September at the earliest. His foreign policy record includes delivering the UK’s exit (FT) from the European Union, joining the United States and Australia in a defense partnership, and supporting Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion. |
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“Johnson often boasted that Britain’s economic record was the envy of the world, but he was spinning words again. The truth is that the Britain he will leave behind faces grave social and economic problems,” the Economist writes.
“A new British prime minister will have the opportunity to improve personal relationships with key European leaders—in particular France’s Emmanuel Macron. But, while this is certainly a possibility, it is not a given,” the Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman writes. |
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Indonesia Hosts G20 Foreign Ministers |
The global economic fallout of the war in Ukraine is expected to dominate (Nikkei) the meeting of Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministers, though Indonesia designed the conference to focus on public health, renewable energy, and the digital economy.
New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the de-escalation of military tensions (FT) between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific, warning that such friction risked sparking a conflict. |
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Sri Lanka Asks Russia for Help Importing Fuel |
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Middle East and North Africa |
Yemen’s Houthis Lay Out Conditions for Extending Truce |
The Houthi rebels said they will only open the main road (Bloomberg) out of Taiz after government forces leave the city. Opening the road is seen as essential to extending the current cease-fire past its August 2 expiration date.
This Backgrounder unpacks Yemen’s war.
U.S./Iran: Amid talks on resurrecting the nuclear deal, the United States announced new sanctions (Al Jazeera) on people and entities involved in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sales to East Asia. |
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DRC, Rwanda Agree to Ease Tensions |
After a meeting in Angola yesterday, the countries agreed to de-escalate hostilities (East African) around their shared border and create an observation mechanism to ease tensions, said Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Nigeria: The Islamic State in West Africa claimed responsibility (AP) for a prison attack in the capital, Abuja, that allowed nearly nine hundred inmates to escape. |
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France to Take Over Country’s Largest Electricity Firm |
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Brazil’s Election Authority Warns of Violence ‘Even Worse’ Than January 6 Riot |
The head of Brazil’s elections court said the country’s October elections could see violence (Bloomberg) even worse than the riot at the U.S. Capitol last year. President Jair Bolsonaro is trailing in polls and has criticized the reliability of Brazil’s electronic voting machines. U.S./Venezuela: Two American companies said they will pursue oil and gas exploration (Reuters) in Venezuela despite U.S. sanctions on the country’s energy sector. |
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CDC: New COVID-19 Subvariant Dominant in U.S. |
The omicron subvariant BA.5 accounted for nearly 54 percent (NBC) of the country’s COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. BA.5 and a similar subvariant, BA.4, appear to evade prior immunity better than their predecessors.
This In Brief looks at what it could mean for COVID-19 to become endemic. |
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Council on Foreign Relations
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