World roundup: July 21 2023

Stories from Armenia, Sweden, Guatemala, and elsewhere

TODAY IN HISTORY

July 21, 1774: The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

July 21, 1798: The Battle of the Pyramids

French painter François-Louis-Joseph Watteau’s The Battle of the Pyramids takes some liberties with the battle’s location, which was not that close to the pyramids. (Wikimedia Commons)

INTERNATIONAL

In today’s global news:

• Worldometer is tracking COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

• The New York Times is tracking global vaccine distribution.

MIDDLE EAST

YEMEN

The head of the World Food Program’s office in the Yemeni city of Taiz was gunned down on Friday in an apparent drive-by shooting. There’s no indication as to responsibility. Taiz is contested by Houthi rebels and the pro-government coalition but there’s no obvious reason why either belligerent would target a WFP employee, particularly one who had only recently arrived in Yemen. Which suggests a third party, most likely al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula though there are other possibilities including Islamic State.