South Asia
More than 1,000 containers of essential food items remain stuck at the Colombo port as importers struggle to meet their bills due to a shortage of US dollars in the country. Prices of most essential goods have risen in recent weeks due to the depreciating local currency and high global market prices driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Outlook India]
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said on Sunday that the international community will soon recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government, pointing to how officials from several countries have already visited the country. The Taliban has also sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General for recognition. Mujahid added that the Taliban has a right to be recognised. [India TV]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Tajik officials say they have received reports that Tajik militants who fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan plan to cross the border into Tajikistan. The former Soviet republic, which shares a 1,400-kilometre border with Afghanistan, has been on high alert since the Taliban’s seizure of power in August. [RFE/RL]
Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that Armenia is willing to engage in talks to achieve peace in the South Caucasus following last year’s war with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan also called on Azerbaijan to return Armenian prisoners of war and stressed the importance of resuming the peace process to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. [Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia]
East and Southeast Asia
In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu, the newly elected leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is “complex and grim.” Chu has pledged to renew stalled high-level officials with China’s ruling Communist Party. [Channel News Asia]
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, a Hong Kong group that organises annual vigils on June 4 in memory of protesters killed in China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, said on Saturday that it will disband after being charged with violating the national security law. [The Straits Times]
Europe
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday that the United Kingdom has identified ships “acting in suspected breach” of United Nations sanctions against North Korea that ban the sale of fuel to the country. [Reuters]
According to the preliminary results, an overwhelming majority in Switzerland approved a motion to allow same-sex marriage. Research institute gfs.bern revealed that the move was supported by 64% of Swiss voters. Switzerland is one of the last Western European countries where same-sex marriage is still outlawed. If the reform is voted in, it will allow couples to marry and adopt children. [Euronews]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that stabilisation in Afghanistan is Russia’s “top priority” during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. He said that Russia, China, Pakistan, and the United States are working together to hold the Taliban rulers to the promises they’ve made with regards to forming a “genuinely representative government and preventing violence from spreading.” [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Against the backdrop of the forceful and inhumane deportation of several Haitian migrants from the United States, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said at the United Nations General Assembly: “We do not wish to challenge the right of a sovereign state to control the entry borders into its territory, or to send back to the country of origin those who enter a country illegally,” but added, “human beings, fathers and mothers who have children, are always going to flee poverty and conflict.” [Associated Press]
On Friday in New York, in his address at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez hit out at the World Health Organization-led COVAX initiative. He said that while COVAX intends to “guarantee equitable distribution” of COVID-19 vaccines, the delivery of these vaccines has been severely delayed. [MercoPress]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Sudanese military said on Sunday it had repelled an attack by the Ethiopian army in the border area of Al Fashaqa, a disputed area claimed by both sides. [Sudan Tribune]
The Israeli Defence Forces said on Sunday that they had conducted a raid against Hamas operatives in the West Bank who were planning an imminent attack on Israel. Five Palestinians were killed and two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in the ensuing shootout. [Jerusalem Post]
In an interview with CBS News on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey intends to defy the United States and go ahead with the purchase of the Russian-made S-400 anti-aircraft missile defence system. “In the future, nobody will be able to interfere in terms of what kind of defence systems we acquire, from which country, at what level […] We are the only ones to make such decisions,” Erdoğan said. [CBS News]
North America
Three people were killed and several were injured in the United States on Sunday when a train from Amtrak went off the rails in the state of Montana, Starr Tyler, a dispatcher at the Liberty Country Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press. “Amtrak is working with the local authorities to transport injured passengers, and safely evacuate all other passengers,” said Amtrak. [Reuters]
14 Mexican soldiers were detained by American border agents at El Paso, Texas on Saturday morning for several hours. “Just after midnight today CBP officers working at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing in El Paso noted two Mexican military vehicles crossing the boundary and entering the US,” United States Customs and Border Protection told Reuters. [Reuters]
Oceania
While speaking to CBS’ Face of the Nation, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it had been two years since China’s President Xi Jinping had answered his call. Morrison said, “There is no Australian obstacle to direct dialogue at a political level between Australia and China. But that opportunity the China side have not shown an interest in.” Morrison made the remarks when asked if the AUKUS military partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom could inflame tensions between Australia and China. [News.com.au]
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is yet to decide if he will fly to Glasgow later this year to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said, “The government was still working through who would represent Australia at the event. It is a significant undertaking, as you know it involves the two-week domestic quarantine as well, so no final decisions have been made.” [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Saturday in New York, in his address at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mali’s transitional prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga, expressed his dissatisfaction at France’s ‘unilateral’ decision to withdraw its troops from the country and bring an end to Operation Barkhane. He described it as a “kind of abandonment in mid-flight” that has forced Mali to seek other options, such as Russian paramilitary companies. [Africa News]
A report by the International Monetary Fund says that Tanzania is in dire need of “Emergency imports of medicines, testing materials, protective equipment,” and vaccines to deal with the third wave of COVID-19 cases. The report further says that Tanzania needs an “immediate balance of payments financing of $1.1 billion (1.5% of GDP), that if not addressed would result in severe economic disruption.” [The East African]
World News Monitor: 27 September, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
September 27, 2021
Malian Transitional Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS