South Asia
Amidst ongoing tensions along their shared border, India and China conducted bilateral discussions on issues related to the United Nations Security Council and agreed to “continue their engagement on key issues.” According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, India briefed the Chinese side about its priorities during its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the council. [Hindustan Times]
While addressing a seminar on “Coordination Among Security Agencies in the International Border Security and Management of Nepal”, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli spoke of the need to resolve its border dispute with India “through dialogues.” He further said that the relations between the two countries needed to be worked upon “on the basis of facts and evidence, equality, dignity and justice.” [NDTV]
Speaking at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between Afghanistan and India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an “immediate comprehensive ceasefire” in Afghanistan. Further, he condemned the “cowardly” attacks on “innocent citizens, journalists, and workers” that have ravaged the country recently. [The Hindu]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
On Tuesday, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev signed a bill approved by parliament regarding conducting the presidential, parliamentary and general elections of the country at an earlier date. The new law mandates that the elections, which were originally supposed to be held in December, will now be held in October. Last month, lawmakers proposed this date change on the basis that holding presidential polls in December has previously “led to delays in postelection political activities, including the adoption of a state program and other reforms.” The reason for the delay was not specified. Uzbek critics are of the opinion that the true reason for the date change was because December is when the government usually faces harsh criticism over its “continual poor handling of meeting heating needs”, as winters are severe in the country. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The 21st round of the Cambodia-Japan public-private sector meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday. The meeting will be conducted under the framework of the agreement signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on June 14, 2007, which expands the scope for liberalization, promotion, and protection of investment. Cambodia is hoping to use the meeting as a launching pad for increased Japanese investment in the country. [Khmer Times]
On Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu held a telephone call with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne to discuss concerns related to the recent Myanmar coup, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, and China’s activities in the East China Sea. Both ministers agreed to “strongly oppose any attempts that seek to unilaterally change the status quo” in the international waters. [MOFA Japan]
Europe
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday said that meaningful talks between Athens and Ankara to reunify Cyprus were unlikely if the other side insisted on pursuing a two-state solution to the issue. The leader noted that such a proposal would be outside the parameters of a UN and EU endorsed framework for a Cypriot federation. [Associated Press]
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell said on Sunday that his recent trip to Moscow confirmed that Europe and Russia were “drifting apart,” and that Moscow was progressively looking at democratic values as an “existential threat.” Opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s imprisonment has heightened tensions between the two sides, and Borell noted that EU foreign ministers will debate possible sanctions against the Kremlin in the coming weeks. [EU External Action Service]
A Warsaw court on Tuesday ruled that two historians dishonoured the memory of a Polish villager named Edward Malinowski in their book about the Holocaust, and ordered them to apologise for accusing him of giving up Jews to Nazi Germans. The case was brought to the court by Malinowski’s niece, and supported by the Polish League Against Defamation, which opposes any claims of Poles’ involvement in the killing of Jews. [Reuters]
As the European Parliament prepares for the approval of the bloc’s grants and loans offered for its members’ recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis urged members to “balance between reforms and investments.” He added that the countries should focus on furthering the European Union’s commitments towards “green and digital reforms.” [Hindustan Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentinian President Alberto Fernández called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide more “flexible” repayment terms on its $57 billion loan amidst a continued spike in the country’s inflation rate, which is expected to hit 50% in 2021. Fernández warned that the government is considering raising export taxes and implementing quotas. [Merco Press]
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernándezand other “high-ranking officials” within his administration are being investigated by American prosecutors for their involvement in drug trafficking, namely by accepting “millions of dollars in drug-trafficking proceeds” and "promising drug traffickers protection from prosecutors, law enforcement, and extradition to the United States”. [Al Jazeera]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi warned in an interview with a state-owned television channel that, although “nuclear weapons are against sharia law” and are viewed as “religiously forbidden” by both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the government as a whole, Western pressure has made Tehran a “cornered cat” that “may behave differently from when the cat is free”. [Middle East Online]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) led the first-ever interplanetary mission to Mars by an Arab State through its Hope Probe. [Gulf News]
North America
A new study has found that the mutant coronavirus strain first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, is doubling its reach in the US every 10 days. The team of researchers looked at half a million coronavirus tests and hundreds of genomes to document the spread of the variant and found that it accounted for 3.6% of all COVID-19 cases in the US in the last week of January. [medRxiv]
The Biden administration said on Tuesday that it will continue to seek the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the UK, despite international calls for the US to drop the charges against him. Assange is facing 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse, which carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. [Al Jazeera]
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) chief David Vigneault said on Tuesday that China posed a serious strategic threat to Ottawa through its attempts to steal state secrets and campaigns to intimidate political opponents in Canada. The biopharmaceutical and health, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, ocean technology, and aerospace sectors were most at risk from state-sponsored hackers, he added. [Reuters]
Oceania
Following the Pacific Islands Forum meeting on February 3, which appeared to widen fractures within the 18-member grouping, Prime Minister Scott Morrison reiterated that Australia remains committed to “providing immediate relief to help Pacific partners respond to the emerging health, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19”. He said that this assistance comes in the form of COVID-19 testing kits, PPE, and critical care equipment. He mentioned that Australia has pledged $80 million to Gavi’s COVAX initiative, and $304.7 million towards its Pacific Islands COVID-19 Response Package. [Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said that New Zealand does not “recognise the legitimacy of [Myanmar’s] military-led government” and thus “call[s] on the military to immediately release all detained political leaders and restore civilian rule”. As a result, New Zealand has suspended any financial aid to Myanmar that may “benefit the military government” and imposed a travel ban on military leaders. [New Zealand Government]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin announced that Ghana would be suspending parliamentary sittings for three weeks due a rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and more specifically in the government itself, with 17 MPs and 151 parliamentary staff testing positive for the virus. [African Eye Report]
After more than 400 Islamist attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province in 2020, it has been reported that terrorist attacks in the province have decreased in the new year. With a relatively low ten strikes recorded in January, after 30 in December, it is thought that the military’s ground and airstrikes are beginning to yield positive results. [Africa News]
World News Monitor: 10 February, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
February 10, 2021
SOURCE: 1 TV NEWS