South Asia
United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman commenced her three-day visit to India on Tuesday. She will meet several Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to discuss regional and global issues such as the conflict in Afghanistan. [MEA India]
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has vowed to take “immediate steps” and make changes to its anti-terror laws. This comes after the European Union threatened to suspend its trade deal with Sri Lanka if it doesn’t take steps to improve the human rights situation in the country. [The Hindu]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
On Tuesday, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov promised to “protect human rights” at the inauguration of his fourth term leading the Caucasus region, two weeks after he won 99.97% of the votes during the Russian parliamentary elections. Kadyrov is known for his brutal rule, including the killing of critics and the persecution of Chechnya’s LGBTQ minority. [RFE/RL]
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Both leaders stressed that “peace and stability in Afghanistan are the key to sustainable development in the entire Central Asian region.” [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Ousted Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not call any defence witnesses at her incitement trial in the junta court, her lawyer said on Tuesday. [Channel News Asia]
United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s Yang Jiechi, who is a member of the politburo, in Switzerland this week. [The Straits Times]
Europe
A report released Tuesday by an independent commission revealed that approximately 216,000 children have been subjected to sexual and religious abuse since 1950 by France’s Catholic Church. Sauvé added that more than 80% of the victims were male. [Euronews]
Several senior British officials met with representatives of the Taliban in Kabul as the militant group works to gain recognition from countries across the globe. According to a spokesperson of the British government, they discussed the “treatment of minorities and the rights of women and girls.” [Al Jazeera]
The Pandora Papers claim that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has owned a network of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, Belize, and Cyprus since 2012. The president defended himself on Monday by saying that he had created the offshore companies as “protection” against the “aggressive actions” of the “corrupt” government of former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero is scheduled to travel to Brazil this week in a bid to resolve tensions between President Alberto Fernández and his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro. The leaders disagree on the future of regional trading bloc Mercosur, with Brazil calling for a removal of the common external tariff and for members to be allowed to enter into unilateral trade deals with third parties. [MercoPress]
In his latest attack on anyone who speaks out against his rule ahead of the November election, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called Roman Catholic bishops “terrorists at the service of the Yankees,” after the country’s council of bishops proposed a ‘pro-democracy plan’. Ortega has already jailed dozens of would-be opponents in the upcoming election. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Turkey registered 29,802 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest number of daily infections since April 30. The Health Ministry also recorded 228 COVID-19 related deaths on the same day. [Reuters]
The Czech Republic signed a $630 million deal with Israel to purchase a new Israeli air defence system, Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. [Associated Press]
North America
United States President Joe Biden held talks with both progressive and moderate Democrats on Monday and Tuesday to facilitate the passing of the multi-trillion dollar infrastructure and social spending bills. According to a White House statement, Biden was successful in striking an agreement with the defiant Progressives on “what mattered most with respect to Build Back Better.” Similarly, he had a “productive discussion” with the assenting Moderates. [The White House, Reuters]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised Canada’s “inadequate” efforts in aiding vulnerable groups of individuals affected by June’s fatal heatwave that killed 486 people in British Columbia. HRW also urged the Canadian government to stop subsidising fossil fuels in order to prevent “the most catastrophic climate outcomes”. [Reuters]
Oceania
Australia and South Korea are on the cusp of signing a bilateral clean energy agreement that would allow them to use hydrogen to make steel and transform the iron ore export industry. The deal is set to boost the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, ahead of the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference in November. World leaders have criticised the Morrison government for its refusal to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott reached Taiwan on Wednesday to speak at an international forum amid increased tensions with China after the latter flew over 100 warplanes into Taiwan’s air space last week. Abbott will address the Yushan Forum, organised by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation think tank, on Friday. [The New Daily]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Burkina Faso’s junior defence minister, General Aime Barthelemy Simpore, announced that 14 soldiers were killed and a further seven were injured by jihadists in the northern Centre-Nord region. The country frequently deals with attacks by Islamist groups, many of which operate across the region, including in neighbouring Mali and Niger. [Africa News]
South Sudan and Uganda have removed all visa requirements for citizens travelling between the two countries. This forms part of a larger effort by South Sudan to more closely engage with east African states, given that it is now a member of the East African Community regional trade bloc. It formed an identical policy on visas with Kenya back in July. [The East African]
World News Monitor: 6 October, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
October 6, 2021
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa SOURCE: THARAKA BASNAYAKA / BLOOMBERG