Good morning, everyone!
Today, we will look at President Donald Trump’s standoff with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, developments across the Americas and Asia, and other news spanning the globe.
Let’s get to it.
Africa
-Cameroonian President Paul Biya reshuffled the country’s top military brass just days after he announced he would seek an eighth term.
Biya, 92, is the world’s oldest head of state.
-Annual inflation in Nigeria eased in June to 22.22%. The decline was the third in a row and comes as the West African country continues to emerge from a cost-of-living crisis.
Last year, prices hit a 28-year high after President Bola Tinubu devalued the local naira currency and ended a popular but costly fuel subsidy.
-The U.S. government deported five men to Eswatini.
-Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G-20) will meet near Durban, South Africa, today.
Separately, African environment ministers will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss climate financing.
Other Links:
Commonwealth lifts Gabon's partial suspension following April presidential vote - Africa News
IMF says Egypt makes mixed reform progress, cites state dominance of economy - Reuters
Blast kills three Kenyan soldiers on road near Somali border - Reuters
Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Islamic State militants, Fana broadcaster reports - Reuters
Trump to put tariffs of over 10% on smaller nations, including those in Africa and the Caribbean - AP
Americas and the Caribbean
-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s public approval rating has rebounded amid a trade standoff with the United States, according to a new poll. The uptick is the first this year for the 79-year-old president and comes ahead of his expected reelection campaign next year.
-The United Nations Security Council extended its political mission in Haiti for another six-and-a-half months.
-Chile’s Communist Party presidential candidate Jeannette Jara leads her right-wing opponent, according to a new poll.
The vote to succeed outgoing President Gabriel Boric will be held in November.
-Cuban Labor and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito resigned her post after suggesting “there are no beggars” in the Caribbean island nation, causing intense public backlash.
-Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday he would shuffle his Cabinet—though the changes were not made immediately clear.
-King Charles III hosted Paraguayan President Santiago Peña at Windsor Castle yesterday.
Other Links:
Mexico plans stronger trade collaboration with Canada after Trump tariff threats - Reuters
U.S. drug raids net $10 million in crypto linked to notorious Mexican Sinaloa cartel, officials say - CBS
Thousands of Haitians mark annual pilgrimage far from a sacred waterfall surrounded by gangs - AP
Trump backs Argentina in legal bid to suspend YPF share handover - Buenos Aires Times
US deports immigrants from Jamaica, Cuba and other countries to the African kingdom of Eswatini - AP
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-Indonesia’s central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday—the fourth rate cut since September.
The move came a day after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Jakarta. Under the new agreement, Washington will impose a 19% tariff on goods from the country as Trump seeks to strike deals that lower the U.S. trade deficit.
-Favorable international views of China and its president, Xi Jinping, have improved while views of the United States and Trump have declined, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
-Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the Southeast Asian country projects its economy to grow by 8.3% to 8.5% this year.
Separately, Trump said yesterday that the U.S. was close to reaching a trade pact with Hanoi.
-The U.S. Navy plans to build two new facilities in the Philippines responsible for repairing and maintaining Philippine military vessels in the disputed South China Sea.
-Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will celebrate his 100th birthday today. Mahathir—one of the world’s oldest living former heads of government—served two stints in office. He first assumed the premiership in 1981 and remained in office for 22 years. He later returned to government in 2018 for a 22-month stint.
Other Links:
Australia PM Albanese, at Great Wall, defends foreign investment screening - Reuters
Japan looks beyond ASEAN to Uzbekistan, Bangladesh for more workers - Nikkei
Influential ex-Thai PM Thaksin to receive verdict on royal insult case in late August - Reuters
Violence erupts at Bangladesh youth rally, media report four killed - Reuters
Nvidia CEO downplays role in lifting US ban on chip sales to China - AP
Europe
-Ukrainian lawmakers advanced a measure to boost the country’s defense spending by $9.8 billion.
-The European Union plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. bourbon, cars, and Boeing aircraft, among other products, if trade talks are not successful.
Last week, President Donald Trump said he would levy a 30% tariff on products from the 27-member bloc if an agreement is not reached by August 1.
-Italian authorities may release around 10,000 people from prison to ease overcrowding.
-The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have pledged to restore United Nations sanctions on Iran if its government does not commit to a process to limit its nuclear program by next month.
-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London today.
Other Links:
Russia launches massive attacks; Trump backtracks from suggestion Ukraine should target Moscow - NBC
At least 15 injured in Russian attack targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine - AP
Russia Appears Unfazed by Trump’s Ukraine War Ultimatum - The New York Times
Army Europe chief unveils NATO eastern flank defense plan - Defense News
Germany requests US long-range weapons as bridge to European tech - Defense News
Middle East
-Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, yesterday as it vowed to protect the minority Druze population.
-A U.S. aid organization said at least 19 people were trampled and one was stabbed at its distribution center in the Gaza Strip.
-Turkish opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday.
Authorities apprehended İmamoğlu in March just one day before he announced his bid to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the country’s 2028 election.
-President Donald Trump hosted Bahrain’s crown prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, at the White House yesterday.
During the visit, the Bahraini government announced $17 billion in deals with U.S. companies.
Other Links:
Another key ally quits Netanyahu’s governing coalition in a major blow to Israel’s leader - AP
Iran ready to respond to any new attack, supreme leader says - Reuters
Turkey has conveyed its views on Syria strikes to Israel via intelligence agency - Reuters
Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen - Reuters
Exiled Yemen government claims to seize 750 tons of Iran-supplied Houthi weapons - The Times of Israel
United States
-President Donald Trump denied reports that he was planning to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying it was “highly unlikely” despite his continued criticism of the monetary policy chief.
Trump appointed Powell to a five-year term in 2017. His successor, President Joe Biden, renominated him to serve a second term four years later.
Trump has consistently scorned Powell for not moving faster to lower interest rates, often deriding him as “too late Powell.”
Analysts and market watchers have warned that Powell’s dismissal would cause market turmoil and call into question the Fed’s independence.
-Cryptocurrency legislation stalled on the House floor yesterday.
-The Senate passed a $9 billion spending cut package late last night.
-Republican Representatives Derrick Van Orden and Mark Pocan verbally clashed on camera outside the Capitol building yesterday.
-Minnesota Senator Tina Smith was hospitalized yesterday after feeling unwell.
The lawmaker announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection in 2026.
-Trump said he would likely impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products by the end of the month.
-Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law yesterday.
-Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired two of the department’s top aides.
-According to a new poll, 39% of Americans support Trump’s recently-passed domestic policy bill, while 61% oppose it.
-Former Washington, D.C., Councilman Trayon White—who was expelled amid bribery charges—won a special election to reclaim his old seat on Tuesday.
-On this day in 1945, President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met at the Potsdam Conference in Germany—the last gathering of the Allied leaders during World War Two.
Separately, in 2009, Walter Cronkite—the longtime anchor of the CBS Evening News—died at the age of 92. Cronkite, who was anchor of the network news channel from 1962 to 1981, was often referred to as “the most trusted man in America.”
Other Links:
DOJ urges Supreme Court to turn away Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal - ABC
Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex-FBI director - AP
Federal judge says she would block Trump’s birthright citizenship order nationwide - AP
Support for Immigration Rebounds as Trump Cracks Down on It, Poll Finds - The New York Times
Zohran Mamdani briefs House Democrats on lessons from his campaign - Politico
Hunter Biden says Democrats lost election for not staying ‘loyal’ to his father - The Washington Post
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow to close out the week.
Notes:
https://scowcroft.substack.com/p/tsg-weekly-calendar-july-14-20