South Asia
Google has temporarily locked down an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts to prevent them from being exploited by the Taliban for tracking down former employees, as publicly available mail exchanger records show that almost two dozen Afghan government bodies used Google’s servers to handle official emails. [Al Jazeera]
Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall flooded over 380 houses and damaged several residential areas in Kathmandu on Monday. According to officials, Kathmandu witnessed 105mm of rainfall within four hours. [The Hindu]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
China supports Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong said during a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan on Monday. Yong noted that China supports the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and pushed for combining the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative to increase cooperation. [Armen Press]
Kazakhstan has banned Russian-American scholar Yevgeny Bunin, known for his criticism of China’s treatment of indigenous peoples in Xinjiang, from entering the country. In 2019 and 2020, Bunin was also denied entry to Uzbekistan. As China is a major trading partner in Central Asia, authorities have largely sought to avoid tensions with Beijing by silencing or jailing critics of China’s Xinjiang policy. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
North Korea has promoted general Pak Jong Chon, long seen as a powerful member in the country’s military and a major player in its missile programme, to a position in the Presidium of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) politburo. He will also serve as the secretary of the WPK Central Committee. [KCNA]
Britain presented its HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and senior Japanese military commanders on Monday at a naval base near Tokyo. This marks the start of the United Kingdom’s permanent military presence in the region. [The Straits Times]
Europe
At least 1,000 migrants making the journey from France to Britain attempted to cross the English Channel on Monday. It is thought to be the highest daily number of migrants entering the United Kingdom. [Sky News]
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau travelled to Vilnius, Lithuania to meet with his counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis, on Monday, the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Their discussion led to the adoption of a Joint Statement that outlined their collective efforts in tackling regional and global challenges. The statement was positioned “in response to common threats in the region in the wake of [the] aggressive military posture of the Russian Federation.” [Poland Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexico’s National Guard and its National Institute of Migration blocked a migrant caravan that was carrying 400 people, including Haitians, Venezuelans, and a number of Central Americans from reaching the United States. [Al Jazeera]
Argentina has suspended plans to reopen its border with Uruguay, citing the potential spread of COVID-19 as the reason. [MercoPress]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo overturned the suspension of the country’s intelligence chief Fahad Yassin on Monday, hours after Prime Minister Hussein Roble had dismissed Yassin. The spy chief was given his marching orders by Roble for the murder of a Somali agent by Al Shabaab militants. [The East African]
Sudan has accused Ethiopia of sending arms to counter-revolutionaries loyal to deposed leader Omar Al-Bashir, after Sudanese officials seized 72 boxes of weapons and military equipment aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Khartoum on Monday. Ethiopian Airlines denied Sudan’s claims, saying the weapons were a “legal and commercial” shipment of hunting guns. [Radio Dabanga, Africa News]
North America
On Monday, the United States Justice Department announced that “it would not tolerate attacks against people seeking or providing abortions in Texas.” The Department is committed to countering the newly enforced anti-abortion Law SB8 that came into force last week. President Joe Biden resolved to fight against the law, calling for the Justice Department to explore avenues to oppose Law SB8. One such avenue, Attorney Merrick Garland stated, could be the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) that withholds the implementation of bans on abortion. [Reuters]
United States Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken travelled to Doha, Qatar today to meet Deputy Prime Minister Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Their meeting focused on ways to strengthen the US-Qatar bilateral ties. Blinken’s discussion with his Qatari counterparts will traverse areas of peace, security, trade, education, culture, human rights. [US Dept. of State]
Oceania
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Monday that the world “desperately” needs rich countries to deliver on their pledges to donate COVID-19 vaccines to poorer nations. “The pledges are one thing, but we desperately need delivery on those pledges. As of last week, only 89 million doses have been redistributed from high-income countries out to the low- and middle-income countries,” Clark said. [CNBC]
Australia’s Northern Territory will host the biennial AUSINDEX maritime warfare exercises between the Royal Australian and the Indian navies this week. This cc omes ahead of the two countries holding their first “2+2” Foreign and Defence Ministers meet in New Delhi. [Mint]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives has temporarily banned the export of raw materials. State Minister for Trade Harriet Ntabazi said that 69% of Uganda’s raw materials are exported, leading to “revenue losses.” [Daily Monitor]
Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s APRC party has formed an alliance with the National People’s Party, the ruling party of President Adama Barrow. The APRC hopes that this will allow Jammeh to return to the country from exile in Equatorial Guinea and help him avoid prosecution for human rights violations during his rule from 1994 to 2017. [AfricaNews]
World News Monitor: 7 September, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
September 7, 2021
SOURCE: NAVAL NEWS