Lithuania Rethinks Its Nuclear Ban, Peru Gets a New President, and Sanctioned States Turn to Crypto

🌐 Let’s start this week’s update with some good news - the World Health Organization said the hantavirus outbreak is now over. No new cases have been reported since 25 May.

• Context: The outbreak infected 13 people and killed 3. It involved the Andes virus, a rare hantavirus strain.

🇱🇹 Lithuania is considering ending its ban on nuclear weapons being stationed in the country. The ban is enshrined in the country’s constitution, so changing it would require a longer process. However, Lithuania’s president said that almost all party leaders agree the rule should be removed.

• Context: Finland’s parliament also voted to lift its ban three weeks ago. There are two reasons for this: 1 - Russia, 2 - the US. More specifically, the threat from Russia, as both Lithuania and Finland border it, and the reduction in American support.

🇫🇷🇳🇱🇧🇪 France, the Netherlands, and Belgium recorded at least 3,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave, and officials say the final number could be higher. Experts say it was almost certainly made worse by climate change.

• France: 2,025 excess deaths

• Belgium: 1,200 excess deaths

• The Netherlands: 480 excess deaths

🇵🇪 Keiko Fujimori (right-wing) has been declared the winner of Peru’s presidential election. She won by a very narrow margin, with 50.135% of the vote.

Who is Keiko Fujimori?

• She’s the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for crimes against humanity over extrajudicial killings and forced sterilisations during his leadership. He was pardoned in 2017 and died in 2024.

• She had run for president three times before.

• This time, she campaigned on cracking down on organised crime and promised to attract more private investment.

• She will become Peru’s ninth president in a decade, reflecting the country’s political instability.

🇻🇪 Venezuela’s earthquakes are projected to cause at least $10 billion in economic losses.

• Context: Venezuela was hit by a rare doublet earthquake on June 24. It was the strongest earthquake in Venezuela since 1900.

🇮🇷🇷🇺🇰🇵 Iran, Russia, and North Korea are reportedly increasingly using crypto to get around sanctions, handling more than $100 billion last year - almost eight times more than the year before. Iran and Russia have reportedly used it to buy drones. North Korea has used stolen crypto to buy fuel and military equipment. All for one reason: crypto helps these countries bypass traditional banks and avoid sanctions.

🇿🇦 Protests against undocumented migrants have reportedly pushed around 25,000 foreign nationals to flee. Several foreign nationals have been killed (although the exact numbers are disputed) in anti-immigrant violence. Some migrants say they were evicted, fired, or threatened, while others have been camping outside consulates waiting for help from their home countries.

• Context: While South Africa is Africa’s biggest economy, its GDP per capita is lower today than it was 16 years ago. Poorer communities are dealing with increasingly high unemployment. There is no conclusive evidence that immigration is the reason for South Africa’s employment problems, but, according to a 2022 study, people born abroad were more likely to be employed in South Africa than people born in the country. This is especially visible in low-entry jobs.

🇨🇦 Canada will take part in Eurovision for the first time in 2027. The move became possible after CBC/Radio-Canada became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest. Eurovision is open to any country whose broadcasters are EBU members, even if they are not in Europe. Politically, this is a signal of Canada’s push for stronger ties with Europe.