VIF News Digest: International Developments (US, Europe and Russia), 16-31 July 2020
I. United States
Politics and Society
US threatens sanctions against Huawei employees and business partners, 16 July 2020.

The United States has cleared the way for sanctions on employees of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, expanding its campaign against Beijing. The US secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington would restrict US visas for employees of Huawei and other Chinese firms if they were involved in human rights abuses. “Telecommunications companies around the world should consider themselves on notice: if they are doing business with Huawei, they are doing business with human rights abusers,” Pompeo said. Click here to read....

Russian Hackers Trying to Steal Coronavirus Vaccine Research, Intelligence Agencies Say, 16 July 2020

Russian hackers are attempting to steal coronavirus vaccine research, the American, British and Canadian governments said Thursday, opening a dangerous new front in the cyber wars and intelligence battles between Moscow and the West. The National Security Agency said APT29, the hacking group known as Cozy Bear and associated with Russian intelligence, has been taking advantage of the chaos created by the coronavirus pandemic and trying to steal intelligence on vaccines from health care organizations. The Russians are not alone in trying to steal vaccine information from the United States and other countries. The U.S. government has previously warned about efforts by China and Iran to steal vaccine research. Click here to read....

U.S. House Approves More Sanctions Related to Nord Stream 2, 21 July 2020.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amendment that would impose new sanctions on companies helping Russia complete a controversial natural-gas pipeline to Germany. The Democratic-controlled House passed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 20. Click here to read....

Chinese consulate in Houston ordered to close by US, 23 July 2020

The US has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, by Friday - a move described as "political provocation" by Beijing. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the decision was taken because China was "stealing" intellectual property. Tensions have been rising between the US and China for some time. President Donald Trump's administration has clashed repeatedly with Beijing over trade and the coronavirus pandemic, as well as China's imposition of a controversial new security law on Hong Kong. Click here to read....

China Orders U.S. To Close Its Consulate in Chengdu, 24 July 2020

The Chinese government ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the south-western city of Chengdu in retaliation for the U.S. shutting down China's consulate in Houston. Ties between the two countries have plummeted to their lowest point in more than 30 years. The tit-for-tat diplomatic moves mark a significant escalation in the increasingly fraught relationship between Beijing and Washington. Click here to read....

US won't allow new students into country for online-only classes, 24 July 2020.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Friday that newly-enrolled international students won't be allowed to enter the United States if their classes are offered online only. Students will be allowed to enter the US to enrol in a US school to pursue hybrid coursework for the fall semester, and the rules will not apply to international students who were already enrolled at colleges or universities in the US last semester and are returning, even if their school is fully online. Click here to read....

Peaceful protests and violent clashes erupted this weekend, 27 July 2020.

Protests flared up across the country this weekend, two months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis catalysed a nationwide reckoning over race and policing. From Portland to Seattle to Louisville, Kentucky, protesters took to the streets, as the nation honoured the life of civil rights hero John Lewis. Some protests were largely peaceful. Others descended into clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators. Click here to read....

U.S. Will Cut 12,000 Forces in Germany, 29 July 2020

The United States is cutting back its deployments in Germany by nearly 12,000 troops and shifting some of those forces around the continent, including relocating some units to Belgium and Italy, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced on Wednesday. About 6,400 troops are set to return to the United States. The move is certain to rankle European leaders and anger both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who see the United States troop presence on the continent, especially in Germany, as a cornerstone of post-World War II order. Click here to read....

US imposes sanctions on son of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, 29 July 2020.

Hafez Bashar al-Assad, the eldest son of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, is named in the latest list of 14 senior Syrian regime officials and entities sanctioned by the US State Department under the so-called Caesar Act. The designations, focusing on the “barbarous First Division of the Syrian Army”, are the second wave of sanctions to be applied under the act following the first move by the US State Department on 17 June. Click here to read....

U.S. Adds Sanctions Over Internment of Muslims in China, 31 July 2020.

The Trump administration announced sanctions on the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, an economic and paramilitary organization that plays a central role in the development of the Xinjiang region, and two associated officials, Peng Jiarui and Sun Jinlong, citing systemic human rights abuses against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in China’s far northwest. The sanctions, imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control are designed to prevent them from accessing American property and the financial system, as well as to ban any economic transactions between them and American companies and citizens. Click here to read....

Microsoft Said to Be in Talks to Buy TikTok, as Trump Weighs Curtailing App, 31 July 2020.

TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app that has been under scrutiny from the Trump administration, is in talks to sell itself to Microsoft and other companies as President Trump weighs harsh actions against the business, including forcing TikTok to divorce itself from its parent company, ByteDance, said people with knowledge of the discussions. Click here to read....

Health and Economy
U.S. Economy Remains Resilient Despite Historic Contraction in Second Quarter, 30 July 2020.

the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate of U.S. GDP for the second quarter of 2020 reflecting the months of April, May, and June. Real GDP contracted at an unprecedented annualized rate of -32.9 percent—the largest quarterly decline since the series began in 1947—slightly better than what market and official estimates had expected. Despite this massive contraction, the resiliency of the U.S. economy and the swift fiscal response of the Federal Government can aid in a strong recovery. Click here to read....

European drug-makers Sanofi and GSK strike $2.1 billion deal with U.S. for a coronavirus vaccine, 31 July 2020.

The federal government announced a $2.1 billion deal Friday with the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and its British partner, GSK, to support the development of a coronavirus vaccine the companies are working on together. The contract — the largest one yet from the U.S. government — includes the delivery of 100 million doses for the United States and is part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s initiative to speed development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for the coronavirus. Click here to read....

US Election
Inside 100 Days to The Presidential Election, 9 Things That Could Change the Race, 27 July 2020.

With a majority of Americans disapproving of the way President Trump is handling the coronavirus pandemic, Biden has jumped to an 8-point lead in an average of the national polls. That's double what his advantage was at the end of February, and the presumptive Democratic nominee is at or near 50% in many surveys. Problematically for the president, the coronavirus isn't going away and that threatens his prospects heading into the fall. But Biden's advantage in those national surveys has come largely from a drop in Trump's support rather than a big increase in the percentage of people saying they would vote for Biden. Click here to read....

Are the Polls Missing Republican Voters? 29 July 2020

With polls showing Joe Biden holding a commanding lead, one question keeps popping up: Are these polls missing Trump voters? Self-identified Democrats outnumber Republicans in most surveys, sometimes by a wide margin. This might simply mean there are more Democrats than Republicans. But to critics, the partisan makeup of most public polls is self-evidently out of step with a closely divided country. There are many reasons the polls might ultimately be wrong in November, as many state polls were four years ago, but there’s no serious evidence that the polls are systematically missing Republican voters. Click here to read....

Donald Trump moots US election delay on Twitter, 30 July 2020

The US president claimed in a tweet that voting by mail in the November election would lead to fraud. "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???" Trump wrote. After a bipartisan backlash, Trump said he didn't want a delay, but was "very worried" about potential problems. Click here to read....

Lobbying Intensifies Among V.P. Candidates as Biden’s Search Nears an End, 31 July 2020.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. has entered the final stage of his deliberations about choosing a running mate as he prepares to talk one-on-one with the finalists next week, while Democratic leaders lobby him furiously to elevate their allies and sink their enemies. Two candidates who received scant attention early in the process are now among the leading contenders: Representative Karen Bass of California and Susan E. Rice, the former national security adviser, according to Democratic officials briefed on the selection process. Ms. Bass in particular has moved rapidly toward the top of Mr. Biden’s list amid an intensive lobbying drive by her fellow House Democrats, and has impressed the former vice-president’s search committee. Click here to read....

The Democratic and Republican economic stimulus plans, 30 July 2020.

There is little overlap in the plans released by Democrats and Republicans for another round of federal aid to address the Covid-19 pandemic. The House Democrats’ opening offer, a $3.4 trillion package that passed the chamber in May, would extend $600 weekly unemployment payments and provide $1 trillion more in state and local aid. The Senate Republican plan, a $1.1 trillion package announced Monday, includes scaled-back unemployment benefits and more funding for small-business loans. Click here to read....

Perspective
How hot could US-China 'Cold War' get?

Tensions are mounting by the day between the United States and China, leading to talk of a new Cold War. Analysts see important historical differences but believe the two powers are entering dangerous territory. Click here to read....

II. Europe
Politics and Society
EU top court invalidates EU-US data transfer agreement over surveillance concerns, 16 July 2020

The European Union's top court has ruled that an agreement with the US allowing for the transfer of personal data from the bloc to Washington is invalid because of surveillance concerns. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld, however, that the transfer of data to any other third country that "ensures an adequate level of data protection," is valid. The ECJ found that US domestic laws do not offer the same level of protection to data transferred from the bloc as required under EU law "in so far as the surveillance programmes based on those provisions are not limited to what is strictly necessary".Click here to read....

Germany rejects US sanctions threat over Nord Stream 2 pipeline, 17 July 2020

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has rejected the US' latest threat to impose sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Moscow and Berlin, saying "European energy policy is made in Europe". "By announcing measures that will also sanction European companies, the US government is disregarding the right and sovereignty of Europe to decide where and how we source our energy, Mass said in a statement. Click here to read....

Brexit: Trade deal some way off, say UK and EU, 23 July 2020.

The UK and EU have said they still remain some way off reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement, following the latest negotiations in London. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a deal looked "at this point unlikely" given the UK position on fishing rights and post-Brexit competition rules. His UK counterpart David Frost said "considerable gaps" remained in these areas, but a deal was still possible. The UK has ruled out extending the December deadline to reach a deal. Click here to read....

European Commission Asks EU Nations to Diversify 5G Suppliers, 24 July 2020.

EU countries must take urgent action to diversify their 5G suppliers, the European Commission said, a move set to shrink Huawei's presence in Europe as the United States pressured the bloc to follow Britain and ban the Chinese company from 5G networks. In November last year, the European Union agreed to take a tough line on 5G suppliers to reduce cyber security risks to next-generation mobile networks, seen as key to boosting economic growth and competitiveness. The strategy included reducing countries' and telecoms operators' dependency on one supplier. World number 1 telecoms equipment maker Huawei competes with Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericsson. Click here to read....

India-EU renew agreement on Science & Technology cooperation, 26 July 2020

India and the European Union have renewed their agreement to expand scientific and technological cooperation aimed at strengthening their collaboration in this area in the next five years. The two sides had agreed to renew the agreement on scientific cooperation till 2025 at the 15th India-EU Summit held on 15 July. In the last five years, the level of co-investment on India-EU Research Technology Development projects has been stepped up for addressing societal challenges such as affordable healthcare, water, energy, food and nutrition, according to an official statement issued on Saturday. The cooperation has been focused on water, green transport, e-mobility, clean energy, circular economy, bio-economy, health and ICT. Additional areas such as climate change, sustainable urban development, manufacturing, advanced materials, nanotechnologies and biotechnology, food processing, and ocean research may also be considered in future endeavours, the statement said. Click here to read....

Facebook takes the EU to court over privacy spat, 27 July 2020

Facebook has pushed back against a European Union investigation into its practices, taking it to court over privacy concerns. Two investigations are being carried out into Facebook to find out if it breaches competition laws.

To gather information, the European Commission has demanded internal documents from Facebook that include 2,500 specific key phrases. Facebook says that means handing over unrelated but highly sensitive data. The European Commission says it will defend the case in court, and its investigation into Facebook's potential anticompetitive conduct is ongoing. The social media giant has filed an appeal to the EU courts, arguing against the breadth of the document requests. Click here to read....

EU and China discuss trade and economic relations, 28 July 2020

The EU and China held their 8th High-Level Trade and Economic Dialogue (HED). Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, accompanied by Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan, held the meeting via videoconference with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He accompanied by several Vice-Ministers. The HED focused on the joint response to coronavirus and global economic governance issues, bilateral trade and investment concerns, and cooperation in the area of financial services and taxation, as a follow up to discussions in the EU-China Summit on 22 June. The meeting allowed the two sides to exchange views on the ongoing negotiations on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment following the last negotiating round which took place on 20-24 July. The EU registered the significant progress made on level playing field related issues, while highlighting that equally significant work that still remains to be done on key issues such as market access and sustainable development. Click here to read....

EU-Vietnam trade agreement enters into force, 31 July 2020

EU exports to Vietnam to be taxed less from 1 August. This is the immediate effect of the entry into force of the EU-Vietnam trade agreement that will ultimately scrap duties on 99% of all goods traded between the two sides. Doing business in Vietnam will also become easier for European companies: they will now be able to invest and pitch for government contracts with equal chances to their local competitors. Under the new agreement, the economic benefits go hand in hand with guarantees of respect for labour rights, environment protection and the Paris Agreement on climate, through strong, legally binding and enforceable provisions on sustainable development. Click here to read....

EU issues first ever sanctions against cyber-attacks, 31 July 2020.

For the first time ever, the EU is using its power to sanction people and organisations with asset freezes and travel bans for those suspected of cyber-attacks organised in Russia and China. Six people and three entities are going to be sanctioned over a number of high-profile attacks, including one in 2018 against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) based in The Hague. Sanctions include a travel ban and assets freeze. Click here to read....

Economy
Euro area economy shrinks by 12.1% — biggest drop on record, 31 July 2020.

The eurozone economy shrank by 12.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous one — the biggest drop on record, Eurostat announced. GDP for the whole European Union is meanwhile projected to have fallen by 11.9 per cent, according to preliminary estimates by the bloc's official statistics agency. "These were by far the sharpest declines observed since time series started in 1995," Eurostat indicated in a statement, flagging that the April-June period was "still marked by COVID-19 containment measures in most member states." Click here to read....

Health and Environment
EU, Sanofi Talks on Covid-19 Vaccine Aim for Supply Next Year, 17 July 2020.

European Union negotiations with Sanofi to secure a coronavirus vaccine aim for 300 million doses in the second half of 2021. The deliberations are part of a European Commission outreach campaign to several drug companies -- Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc., CureVac GmbH and BioNTech SE are others -- seeking agreements on the advance purchase of any successful Covid-19 vaccines. Click here to read....

Arctic policy: EU opens consultation on the future approach, 20 July 2020.

The European Commission and the European External Action Service jointly launched a public consultation on the way forward for the European Union's Arctic policy. The consultation will enable a broad reflection on the EU's Arctic policy in the face of new challenges and opportunities, including the EU's ambitions under the European Green Deal. Click here to read....

EU summit: Leaders reach landmark €1.82 trillion COVID-19 recovery deal and budget, 21 July 2020.

EU leaders reached a landmark €1.82 trillion budget and COVID-19 recovery package on 21 July.It came after days of sometimes bitter discussions over the seven-year budget and recovery package which includes jointly borrowing a €750 billion recovery fund to be shared as grants and loans. Speaking to reporters, European Council president Charles Michel called it a "good deal", stating that "Europe is solid".Click here to read....

Coronavirus: European Union signs Remdesivir deal with Gilead, 29 July 2020.

The European Union’s executive said it has signed a contract with Gilead for its Covid-19 medicine Remdesivir that would cover 30,000 patients in the EU from early August. “The commission signed a contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead for ensuring treatment doses of Veklury - the brand name for Remdesivir. As of early August onwards, batches of this medicine Veklury will be made available to member states and the UK,” a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Dana Spinant, told a regular news briefing. Click here to read....

World's largest nuclear fusion project being assembled in France, 29 July 2020

The assembly phase for the world's largest nuclear fusion project has started with French President Emmanuel Macron hailing the energy programme as "a promise of peace". The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) aims to build the world's largest tokamak — an experimental machine designed to harness the energy of fusion. Fusion is a nuclear reaction that powers the Sun and the stars and is a potential source of safe, non-carbon emitting and virtually limitless energy, the ITER website states. Click here to read....

Coronavirus: Madrid developing disputed 'immunity passports' for COVID-19 survivors, 29 July 2020.

Officials in Spain's capital rekindled the debate on so-called immunity passports on Tuesday as a way to avoid reintroducing a strict lockdown after imposing new measures to counter a flare-up in new COVID-19 infections. Madrid President Isabel Diaz Ayuso told reporters the region is developing immunity passports to be delivered to people who have successfully recovered from the disease and have antibodies. The WHO has previously cautioned against the use of such a document. Click here to read....

Perspective
Invisible workers: Underpaid, exploited and put at risk on Europe’s farms, 22 July 2020.

For the past six decades, the European Union's farming policy has over looked their labour rights and living conditions. The EU’s common agricultural policy – which accounts for over a third of the bloc's budget – aims to support farm owners and pumps nearly €60 billion into the sector each year. The working conditions of those employed by these farms, however, are not even mentioned in the subsidies scheme. Click here to read....

III. Russia
Politics and Society
India-Russia| India, Russia to explore joint projects in Asia and Africa as part of global partnership, 16 July 2020

India and Russia are exploring to activate joint projects in Asia and Africa, as well as interaction in the field of digital technologies, have sufficient potential to activate economic relations and change the existing negative trend. The two sides also plan to jointly create an ecosystem of start-ups and venture funds for the development of information technologies. Click here to read....

Outsourcing to ease Russian-Iranian trade amid sanctions, says official, 16 July 2020.

Outsourcing of international economic activities that implies trade through an integrator company, may ease economic cooperation between Russia and Iran amid sanctions, Chairman of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Russian-Iranian Business Council (RIBC) Vladimir Obydenov said in an interview with TASS. "There is a way [to ease trade amid sanctions] that we have already launched. The issue is about outsourcing of international economic activities," he said, adding that the mechanism is relevant as Russian producers may be reluctant to make deals with Iranian businesses because of US sanctions. Click here to read....

Hundreds protest in Moscow against reforms that may keep Vladimir Putin in power, 16 July 2020.

Dozens of people were arrested at a protest in Moscow against constitutional reforms that give President Vladimir Putin the option to remain in power for another 16 years, reported the Strait Times. About 500 demonstrators, many of whom wore face masks branded with the word "no", chanted calls for Putin to resign and held up banners against the reforms. Click here to read....

Massive protests in Russia after arrest of 'people’s governor' Sergei Furgal, 18 July 2020.

Mass rallies rocked the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk again as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. Hundreds of people have protested in the city centre every day this week against the arrest of Sergei Furgal, reflecting widespread anger over the arrest of the popular governor and a simmering discontent with the Kremlin’s policies. Furgal, the Khabarovsk region governor, was arrested on July 9 and flown to Moscow where he was put in jail for two months. Russia’s Investigative Committee says he is suspected of involvement in several murders of businessmen in 2004 and 2005. Click here to read....

Putin appoints new acting governor for Russia’s Khabarovsk Territory, 20 July 2020

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named Mikhail Degtyarev, a State Duma deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), the acting governor of the Far Eastern Khabarovsk Territory. The same decree dismissed the territory’s sitting governor, Sergey Furgal, “due to loss of confidence.” Click here to read....

Putin assigns work on amendments not included in the Constitution, 31 July 2020

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Russian Government to submit the proposals to change the legislation considering the amendments that had been proposed but not included in the Constitution by December 15. https://tass.com/politics/1184371" target="_blank">Click here to read....

Putin signs bill allowing multiple-day elections into law, 31 July 2020.

President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that amends Russian electoral legislation, including providing an option to hold a vote for several days, but no more than three. Click here to read....

Following suspension of Russian ‘Fox News’ imitator, Kremlin warns internet users not to trust YouTube or other Western platforms, 31 July 2020.

After a Russian TV channel loosely inspired by America's Fox News was blocked by video-streaming service YouTube earlier this week, Vladimir Putin's spokesman says Western web giants should be treated with a “low degree of trust.” Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the companies are completely unaccountable and can do as they please. He said the public needs to be aware that they can be “thrown out of there along with their account” at any moment. Click here to read....

Economy
Income of Russians plunges most in 20 years in Q2; GDP shrinks 9.6% 18 July 2020.

Russians' real disposable income plunged the most in 20 years in the second quarter, while the economy shrank by 9.6 per cent year-on-year as the country has been hit by low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. Real disposable income has become one of the most socially-sensitive issues in Russia led by President Vladimir Putin, with the economy expected to contract by as much as 6 per cent this year. The income fell 8 per cent in year-on-year terms in April-June, the state statistics service Rosstat said on Friday, adding that Russia's industrial output fell 9.4 per cent in June compared with a year ago. Click here to read....

Russian GDP contraction expected at 4.8% in 2020, 22 July 2020

Russia’s Economic Development Ministry projects GDP contraction at the level of 4.8% in 2020, Minister Maksim Reshetnikov told reporters on Wednesday, adding that GDP contraction estimations for the second quarter are within the range of May’s outlook. Click here to read....

Health and Environment
Russian scientists plan major Arctic expedition after fuel spill, 16 July 2020

Russian scientists are organising their first major expedition to the Arctic in decades to study climate change, mining company Norilsk Nickel said, weeks after a giant fuel leak at one of its power plants in Siberia.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-pollution/russian-scientists-plan-major-arctic-expedition-after-fuel-spill-idUSKCN24H2I6" target="_blank">Click here to read....

Russian Defense Ministry completes clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine, 20 July 2020

Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology have successfully completed clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine on volunteers, the ministry said in a statement. Click here to read....

BRICS nations stress on improving environment, promoting circular economy to recover from COVID-19 effects, 31 July 2020

At the Sixth BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting, the nations acknowledged that COVID-19 has heightened social vulnerabilities and resulted in significant job losses. The impact of COVID-19 poses a serious challenge to achieving the aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the BRICS nations have said and called for improving the environment and promoting circular economy in national plans as steps towards recovery. Click here to read....

Perspective
The Sino–Russian Entente and EU Foreign Policy After the Pandemic, 21 July 2020.

In a world increasingly framed by great power rivalry, deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing have been one of the most salient features of global politics in recent years. Yet as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, two competing views have emerged about the state of Sino–Russian relations. The first contends that the pandemic stands to strengthen China’s grip on Eurasia. By contrast, others observe that Moscow, in an effort to preserve its status as an independent great power and return a degree of equilibrium to its foreign policy, has begun to distance itself somewhat from Beijing.

The current health crisis has exacerbated the rivalry between great powers. But it has also given Europe a few more opportunities to engage with Russia. Click here to read....

Contact Us