UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said yesterday that Brazil has failed to prevent forest invasions (UN) by miners, loggers, and farmers, allowing infringement on indigenous groups’ rights and the exacerbation of climate change. Bachelet condemned the July 23 killing of indigenous leader Emrya Wajapi, who officials say was stabbed to death (NYT) by miners in the country’s north.
 
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said yesterday that there is no evidence (Reuters) that Wajapi was murdered. In the first seven months of Bolsonaro’s term, deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest rose 39 percent (NYT) compared to the same period a year earlier, according to government data, as Bolsonaro’s government has reduced efforts to fight illegal mining and farming.

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a $40 million weapons purchase (SCMP) from China during a visit to the construction site of a Chinese-funded stadium yesterday. Hun Sen denied recent reports (WSJ) that Cambodia is secretly giving China access to its Ream Naval Base.
 
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Joshua Kurlantzick looks at China’s use of both soft and sharp power in Southeast Asia.
 
Australia: Lawmakers approved a treaty to set long-disputed maritime boundaries (Reuters) with East Timor. The deal clears the way for the countries’ joint development of an offshore natural gas field.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Donald J. Trump has directed him to reduce troop levels (BBC) in Afghanistan by next year’s U.S. presidential election. His statement came as two U.S. service members were killed by an Afghan soldier in Kandahar Province yesterday, according to local police.
 
India: Rajnath Singh became the first Indian defense minister to visit Mozambique, where he signed two cooperation agreements (ANI) with his Mozambican counterpart yesterday.

Demonstrators are returning to the streets (NYT) around twice a week while they continue to hold dialogues with the military about the country’s political transition following longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s ouster in April. The country’s constitutional council canceled elections planned for July that protesters said would be illegitimate.
 
Libya: The top UN envoy for Libya called for a cease-fire (UN) during the upcoming Eid holiday, noting that more than one hundred civilians have been killed since an uptick in fighting around Tripoli that began in April.
 
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Steven A. Cook argues that the United States should pay more attention to North Africa.

Talks between the ruling military council and opposition on the country’s political transition were canceled (Guardian) after at least five teenagers were killed by security forces at a protest in the country’s south yesterday. The head of the military council called for accountability, while opposition leaders called for nationwide demonstrations.
 
Ethiopia: The country set an international record by planting 350 million trees (Guardian) yesterday, as part of a broader reforestation effort this summer to address climate change.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny showed symptoms (FT) he was poisoned after he was detained last week ahead of a planned opposition march, his doctor and lawyer said. Navalny was treated at a hospital for swelling and hives, but he was returned to prison yesterday.
 
UK: The British pound dropped to its lowest level (WSJ) against the euro since September 2017 yesterday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will not meet in person with European Union leaders about Brexit unless they agree to renegotiate the exit deal.   
 
CFR Explains
This episode of the President’s Inbox podcast discusses Brexit under Boris Johnson.

In the second mass killing in a Brazilian prison this year, clashes between rival gangs (NYT) in a prison in the country’s north killed at least fifty-two people. President Bolsonaro has faced criticism for supporting increased sentencing despite prison overcrowding.

A businessman who oversaw President Trump’s inaugural committee planned to skirt regulations in deals to build nuclear plants in Saudi Arabia, according to a new report from the House Oversight Committee. The report said that “private parties with close ties to the President wield[ed] outsized influence over U.S. policy (ABC) towards Saudi Arabia.”