Following the city of Moscow’s vaccine mandate earlier this week, authorities in the surrounding Moscow region, as well as the Far East region of Sakhalin and the Siberian region of Kemerovo, have since also made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for workers in retail, education and other service sectors in an effort to curb rising infections, The Washington Post reported June 17.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was keeping a close eye on the information that Turkey may create a military base in Azerbaijan after Turkish President Recep Erdogan hinted at the potential creation of such a base under Ankara’s newly inked agreement with the former Soviet country, TASS reported June 18.
Brazil’s Senate passed the provisional decree allowing for the privatization of state-owned energy company Electrobras, Folha de Sao Paulo reported June 17.
Nicaraguan police have arrested Gerardo Baltodano, a former education minister, businessman and nonprofit leader, over his alleged involvement in “financial operations derived from illicit activities,” Reuters reported June 17.
All bids have been denied and no contract awarded for a World Bank tender for the East Micronesia Cable system of undersea communications cables to Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) amid U.S. warnings of Chinese security threats, Reuters reported June 17.
Montenegro’s finance minister Milojko Spajic announced on June 17 that European financial institutions had almost completed plans to refinance over $800 million of debt owed to China for a 2014 highway project associated with Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, Reuters has reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang should prepare for the possibilities of both dialogue and confrontation with the United States in remarks at the June 18 session of the Eighth Central Committee of North Korea's Workers' Party, Yonyap has reported, citing state media outlet Korean Central News Agency.
The leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Edwin Poots, resigned as party leader on June 17, only three weeks after taking the position, Reuters reported June 17.
Lebanese citizens carried out a general strike across the country, shuttering many businesses and institutions, in protest against the country’s ongoing political paralysis, the AP reported June 17. France, meanwhile, led a conference of nations to provide aid for the Lebanese military.
Hong Kong police raided the offices of pro-democracy media outlet Apple Daily and arrested its CEO, COO, editor-in-chief, associate publisher and online news manager on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces, which is an alleged violation of the city’s National Security Law, Hong Kong Free Press reported June 17.
