Situation Reports

A Liberian-flagged oil tanker operated by an Israeli-owned firm was attacked last night, killing two crew members off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, the AP reported July 30.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo has appointed far-left politician Guido Bellido to serve as the country’s next prime minister, and also named former Marxist guerrilla Hector Bejar as his foreign minister and economist Ivan Merino as his mining and energy minister, El Comercio reported June 30.

Tens of thousands of Guatemalans took to the streets on July 29 to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, marking what were the largest and most widespread protests in the Central American country since 2015, Reuters has reported. 

A bill seeking to eliminate the requirement that India’s central government hold no less than 51% of the equity capital in a specific insurer was introduced in parliament on July 30, The Hindu has reported. 

Economic growth data from China’s provinces for the first half of 2021 showed the tropical island province of Hainan grew at a blistering average of 7% in each of the last two years, while Hubei (ground zero for COVID-19) and northeastern Liaoning grew the slowest at 3%, Caixin reported July 30.

Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 2% in the euro area and by 1.9% across the entire European Union in the second quarter of 2021 compared with the previous quarter, according to preliminary data released by Eurostat on July 30.

A day after meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte formally retracted his 2020 notification letter to the United States that had initiated the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the South China Morning Post reported July 30.

Judicial authorities in Tunisia have opened investigations into three political parties, including the Islamist Ennahda party, over alleged corruption and abuse of power, the AP reported July 28.

A record 42,000 migrants have attempted to cross a treacherous stretch of land between Colombia and Panama called the Darien Gap this year on their way to North America, Reuters reported July 28, citing Panamanian officials.

Russia’s internet watchdog Roskomnadzor said any social media accounts linked to jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s “extremist organizations” and their regional branches should be blocked, the Moscow Times reported July 28.