AMERICAS

Peru (Security threat level – 3): On 16 June 2021, the minister of education announced that as of 21 June, the ongoing 2100-0400 local time (0200-0900 UTC) coronavirus-related nightly curfew in the capital Lima and the adjacent district of Callao will begin two hours later. The shortened nightly curfew, which will run from 2300-0400 local time, will then be in effect until 11 July. The upcoming change in curfew hours corresponds to the government’s decision to downgrade the COVID-19 risk level for the two aforementioned locations to high from very high on its three-tier system due to decreases in the number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. However, the prohibition on driving private vehicles will remain in place.

Puerto Rico (Security threat level – 2): On 16 June 2021, three units of Puerto Rico’s electricity transmission and distribution system went offline for unknown reasons, causing widespread blackouts throughout the island. Power was restored to the 347,000 affected customers after approximately six hours of disruption. The cause of the latest grid malfunction is under investigation; the island’s electric grid has experienced significant issues, especially since Hurricane Maria damaged the infrastructure in 2017. Puerto Rico’s power grid most recently suffered a major outage on 10 June after an explosion and subsequent fire at the Monacillo power plant in the capital city San Juan, which left 700,000 homes and businesses without electricity. Luma — the private company responsible for power distribution on the island — experienced a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that prevented customers from accessing their accounts on the company’s website prior to the 10 June explosion, although investigators have so far failed to find any relation between the cyberattack and the substation explosion.

ASIA

Japan (Security threat level – 1): On 17 June 2021, authorities declared the capital Tokyo and the prefectures of Aichi, Fukuoka, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Kyoto and Osaka under a quasi-state of emergency through 11 July due to declining rates of new COVID-19 cases in those areas. The aforementioned locations were previously under a full state of emergency. Okinawa prefecture will remain under a state of emergency during the noted time period, while the state of emergency declarations in Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures have been annulled. As part of the quasi-state of emergency, restaurants and bars may serve alcohol until 1900 local time (1000 UTC) and must close by 2000 local time.

EUROPE

France (Security threat level – 3): On 17 June 2021, authorities lifted the nationwide face mask mandate in outdoor public areas in response to decreasing COVID-19 case numbers. Face masks will still be required indoors and in public areas such as markets and sporting venues. Additionally, the nationwide nightly curfew, which has been in effect since October 2020, will be canceled on 20 June; it was originally scheduled to expire on 30 June.

Germany (Security threat level – 3): On 16 June 2021, approximately 200 squatters occupying a building along Rigaer Strasse in the capital Berlin clashed with police officers who were attempting to enter the building. The officers were attempting to secure the area prior to a planned fire inspection on 17 June. The residents, fearing they could be evicted, attempted to disrupt the operation by throwing stones at police officers and igniting barricades on the street. According to officials, at least 60 officers suffered injuries during the event.

Ireland (Security threat level – 2): On 16 June 2021, the Irish government imposed new entry restrictions on travelers arriving from the U.K. Until further notice, all travelers arriving from or traveling through the U.K. within the 14 days prior to arrival in Ireland are required to self-isolate for 14 days. The quarantine period can be shortened with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken after the fifth day of quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers, and after 10 days for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Tunisia (Security threat level – 3): On 16 June 2021, protests against police brutality occurred in multiple areas of the capital Tunis. In the impoverished northwestern neighborhoods of Ettadhamen and Intilaka, protesters burned tires, blocked roads and clashed with police officers during the nighttime hours. Protesters threw stones and other projectiles at police officers, who used tear gas and anti-riot tactics in an effort to dispel the demonstrators. There were no reports of significant injuries or deaths. Protests originated in the Sidi Hassine suburb following the 8 June death of a local man in police custody shortly after his arrest on suspicion of dealing drugs. In addition, a video clip showing police officers assaulting and stripping the clothes off another man circulated on social media platforms, further angering the protesters. A total of 43 organizations, including trade unions and human rights groups, have called for large-scale countrywide demonstrations on 18 June to demand an end to alleged police impunity in Tunisia.

WORLD

World: On 17 June 2021, internet outages briefly disrupted access to numerous websites, including those of major international airlines, financial institutions and other firms, across the world. In Australia, the outages affected websites for Virgin Australia and the Reserve Bank of Australia, the country’s central bank, among other entities. In addition, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website went offline for more than 15 minutes. Airlines based in the United States, including Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, also experienced disruptions to their websites. Most of the disruptions lasted less than one hour. The outages in Australia are being linked to technical issues with the content delivery system of the Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies firm. In a similar occurrence on 8 June, an hour-long global outage of dozens of websites was attributed to a software failure of the San Francisco-based Fastly company’s content delivery system.