South Asia
88 Rohingya refugees who had been camping outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ office in New Delhi have been detained. According to one of the Rohingya community leaders, the refugees had come from Jammu following the detention of 160 members of their community last week. [Al Jazeera]
In the Swedish V-Dem Institute’s fifth annual democracy report, India has been demoted from the “world’s largest democracy” to an “electoral autocracy.” To justify this, the report cited the “muzzling” of journalists and media houses, and the use of defamation laws and sedition laws to shut down criticisms against the country’s government. [The Print]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
On Wednesday, India and Uzbekistan participated in a joint military exercise called the DUSTLIK II. The exercise began at the Foreign Training Node Chaubatia in Uttarakhand and will continue till March 19th. The current exercise is the Second Edition of the annual bilateral joint exercise of both armies that were first conducted in Uzbekistan in November 2019. 45 Soldiers from both armies are participating in the exercise. [News On Air]
The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Kazakhstan is moving ahead slower than planned due to vaccine distrust among the population. So far, only 0.25% of the population above the age of 15 has been inoculated, with only 0.12% receiving the booster shot. [Eurasia Net]
East and Southeast Asia
Security forces of Myanmar were ordered to shoot protestors. They have been accused of killing over 50 people during the protests against the country’s imposed military junta now. Several from the police force have now taken asylum in India because they were afraid of being ordered to harm civilians. “I was afraid that I would be forced to kill or harm innocent people who are protesting against the military,” said an officer who has taken asylum in India. [BBC]
On Thursday, Japan marked the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster that claimed the life of 22,000 citizens. Millions of Japanese citizens prayed and at precisely 2:46 pm to mark 10 years leading up to the exact minute. The tsunami also engulfed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which caused three reactors to meltdown and consequently led to what was one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents. [The Straits Times]
Europe
Poland and Hungary on Thursday filed a complaint at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that challenges an EU mechanism that links the bloc’s funding to respect for rule of law. The conditionality was included in the EU’s COVID-19 recovery package, which was approved last year despite tough opposition from Budapest and Warsaw. The complaint means that implementation of the new rule could be delayed by up to two years. [Associated Press]
Ukraine and Brazil held their first-ever inter-agency consultations on cybersecurity on Wednesday. The participants presented their national cybersecurity systems, as well as shared information about the cases of malicious activities in cyberspace. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine]
According to Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia will hold an informal UN Security Council meeting on Crimea on March 17. The diplomat said that this was in response to Ukraine and other Western nations holding an Arria formula meeting on the issue on March 12, which he stressed would paint an incorrect picture of the peninsula. “That is why, without any delays… we announced our own Arria meeting on Crimea. Residents of the peninsula selected great delegates, representing the Crimean society, for taking part in it,” Polyanskiy said. He added that Russia expected its Western colleagues to attend the event. [TASS]
According to a study by the Eurofound, the COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in the loss of over six million jobs in the European Union. It also concluded that the impact of the pandemic on temporary contractors, women, and young employees has been worse than the 2008-2009 financial crisis. [Al Jazeera]
Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic health authorities announced the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, citing incidents of blood clots following the administration of the jabs. However, responding to these reports, the European regulator continues to insist that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the harms caused by it. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazil recorded 2,286 deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, which represents the highest number of deaths in a single day for the South American nation during the ongoing pandemic. The country has now registered around 11.2 million cases and over 271,000 deaths. Efforts to contain the virus have been dealt another significant blow by the emergence of a new and deadlier variant late last year, which has led to severe medical shortages, including of oxygen. [Merco Press]
During the ongoing trial of a Honduran drug trafficker in a United States federal court, the former leader of the Cachiros cartel, Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, claimed that he had successfully bribed Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández with $250,000 in exchange for protection from arrest and extradition to the US in 2012. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) released a report that accused Ethiopia of providing “logistical support”, including arms, to rebel groups in its southern state of Blue Nile. Sudanese officials claim that this is an effort to “disperse” the Sudanese army on the ‘eastern front’. [The East African]
Although Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, Netanyahu nonetheless held a phone call with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Following their call, the UAE announced the establishment of a $10 billion investment fund that will boost investment in Israel’s energy, manufacturing, water, space, healthcare, and agri-tech industries. The two countries normalised ties as part of the Abraham Accords last September. [The New Arab]
North America
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration would order an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The planned purchase would bring the country’s total vaccine order to 800 million doses split among three manufacturers: Pfizer, Moderna and J&J. [The White House]
The US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that it was imposing sanctions on two children of Myanmar’s military general, Min Aung Hlaing, and six companies they control in response to the Tatmadaw’s February 1 coup and the violence that has followed. [US Department of the Treasury]
A Canadian court on Wednesday sentenced Corey Hurren—who stormed the gates of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s estate at Rideau Hall last summer with multiple firearms—to six years in prison, minus a year served in custody. “This was an armed aggression against the government which must be denounced in the strongest terms,” Justice Robert Wadden told the court, adding that Mr. Hurren “committed a politically motivated, armed assault intended to intimidate Canada’s elected government.” [CBC]
Oceania
Australian Dan Tehan once again reiterated his strong opposition to the European Union’s push for climate tariffs, which could severely impact Australian exports. Tehan said, “We want a trade liberalisation approach, not a protectionist approach, in terms of how we deal with emissions reduction.” He added, “If the EU uses a carbon border adjustment mechanism, it not only raises serious concerns about WTO compliance, but also the negative impact it could have on trade between nations which as we know creates jobs and in particular helps developing countries grow jobs and their economies.” [The Age]
Officials within the military and the federal government have expressed concern about the fact that a Hong Kong-based company has been granted a mining license on a remote West Australian island that is near a military training area. Even members of the opposition, such as Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who is a former Minister for International Development and the Pacific, have made clear their reservations. Fierravanti-Wells sad, “The Cockatoo Island ‘transaction’ is yet another example of why [the] acquisition of strategic assets from governments in Australia by ‘private companies’ with links to Beijing should come within the scope of both FIRB and foreign relation legislation.” She added, “This ‘transaction’ is another glaring example of our defective federal laws.” [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister, Hamed Bakayoko, died from cancer at the age of 56 in Germany this week. He had previously contracted the coronavirus. Bakayoko doubled up as a defence minister and assumed the post of prime minister last year, after his predecessor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died last July. [Africa Feeds]
Just a few days after banning maize imports from Tanzania and Uganda due to concerns over high levels of mycotoxins, Kenya has now suspended its ban with strict conditions. Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture will now require all trading parties to be registered and provide a “certificate of conformity” on aflatoxin levels, which have been linked with cancer. [The East African]
World News Monitor: 12 March, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
March 12, 2021
Ivory Coast Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko SOURCE: SAHELIAN TIMES