The Japan Times – News Japan

At a glance, the pandemic picture in the United States may seem remarkably stable. The average number of new confirmed coronavirus cases per day has hardly budged for weeks, hovering between 95,000 and 115,000 a day each day in June.
A closer look shows that as public testing sites run by state and local governments have winnowed, more states have also stopped giving daily data updates, creating a foggier look at the state of virus across the country.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face questions in Parliament followed by a grilling by senior lawmakers on Wednesday, with his premiership on the brink after a slew of resignations from ministers saying he was not fit to govern.
Johnson’s finance and health ministers quit on Tuesday, along with a number of junior ministers, saying they could no longer stay in government in the wake of the latest of a series of scandals to have blighted his administration in recent months.

The man accused of opening fire with a rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd of people watching a July Fourth parade near Chicago, turning the holiday celebration into another national tragedy, was charged on Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder.
If convicted, the suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, would face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Illinois states attorney Eric Reinhart said in announcing the charges at a news conference.

Major Asian buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) said they had yet to receive requests to pay for supplies in Russian roubles after a senior manager at gas producer Gazprom floated a proposal to expand the payment scheme.
The proposal came just days after Russia moved to seize operations of the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in retaliation for Western sanctions, raising supply concerns for top buyers such as Japan and South Korea.

Major Asian buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) said they had yet to receive requests to pay for supplies in Russian roubles after a senior manager at gas producer Gazprom floated a proposal to expand the payment scheme.
The proposal came just days after Russia moved to seize operations of the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in retaliation for Western sanctions, raising supply concerns for top buyers such as Japan and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday he will travel to the Indonesian island of Bali later this week to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 major economies.
Hayashi said during a new conference that he will explain Japan’s policies on food and energy supply issues at the two-day meeting starting Thursday, as Russia’s war on Ukraine, launched in late February, continues.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday he will travel to the Indonesian island of Bali later this week to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 major economies.
Hayashi said during a new conference that he will explain Japan’s policies on food and energy supply issues at the two-day meeting starting Thursday, as Russia’s war on Ukraine, launched in late February, continues.

We’re not supposed to call today’s competition between the United States and China a new Cold War.
That makes some sense — the historical parallels are inexact — but elements of the current U.S.-China relationship sure look like that earlier time, and they aren’t the good parts. Both governments see the world in terms of a struggle, reflecting both ideological and geopolitical interests, that is total — meaning the stakes could be existential. As a result, both are committed to policies that intensify suspicions and magnify distrust.

We’re not supposed to call today’s competition between the United States and China a new Cold War.
That makes some sense — the historical parallels are inexact — but elements of the current U.S.-China relationship sure look like that earlier time, and they aren’t the good parts. Both governments see the world in terms of a struggle, reflecting both ideological and geopolitical interests, that is total — meaning the stakes could be existential. As a result, both are committed to policies that intensify suspicions and magnify distrust.

ISTANBUL – 6 million first-time voters are set to effectively decide whether to extend Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s rule into a third decade, or to opt for something they have never known — Turkey under a different leader.
Less than 12 months away from perhaps the biggest election in the country’s modern history, a big majority of young Turks say they want change but remain somewhat skeptical that the opposition can properly improve the job situation, schools and freedoms like free speech.

ISTANBUL – 6 million first-time voters are set to effectively decide whether to extend Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s rule into a third decade, or to opt for something they have never known — Turkey under a different leader.
Less than 12 months away from perhaps the biggest election in the country’s modern history, a big majority of young Turks say they want change but remain somewhat skeptical that the opposition can properly improve the job situation, schools and freedoms like free speech.

THIKA, Kenya – Watching workers poke avocados from the treetops in an orchard owned by Kenyan agriculture firm Kakuzi, managing director Chris Flowers revels in the thought some might soon go to the crown jewel of emerging consumer markets: China.
Taking advantage of Beijing’s deeper focus on trade with African countries to help reduce gaping deficits, Kenya struck an export deal with China for fresh avocados in January after years of lobbying for market access.