South Asia
The Indian government’s intelligence agencies reported that China has been funding organizations responsible for propagating anti-India protests along the India-Nepal border. The report notes that the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu has provided around 2.5 crore Nepalese Rupees to such groups. [Tribune India]
The Indian military has accused the People’s Liberation Army of kidnapping five Indian civilians in Arunachal Pradesh. Responding to the allegations, the spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry denied having any information on the incident. Further, he added that Arunachal Pradesh was “never recognized” by China as it considers the region to be a part of China’s “South Tibet region”. [BBC]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened a limited edition election observation mission (LEOM) for Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary vote on 4 October. The mission of 12 experts and 18 long-term observers, led by Thomas Boserup, will be deployed throughout the country to assess whether the elections are being held in line with international commitments. [OSCE]
Several Georgian opposition parties, including the United National Movement (UNM), have nominated ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili as their Prime Ministerial candidate for the upcoming October election. Saakashvili served as President from 2004 to 2013. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
As tensions grow between Beijing and Washington in the South China Sea, China is sending Defence Minister Wei Fenghe to meet his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian leader Muhyiddin Yassin. The visits come ahead of the virtual ASEAN meetings, which US Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo is to attend. [SCMP]
Thousands of ethnic Mongolians are protesting Beijing’s plans to replace the Mongolian language with Chinese school subjects. The new policy aims to gradually transition the instruction language in Inner Mongolian schools from Mongolian to Mandarin Chinese. [Guardian]
As part of its Covid-19 outreach efforts, Japan gave four Vietnamese hospitals $19.6 million in aid. Through the grant, Japan wants to provide both technical assistance and medical equipment to the hospitals. Thanking Japan, Vietnam’s acting Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that aid was “very valuable”. [VNExpress]
Europe
The Competition and Market Authority of Italy has initiated six investigations into Apple iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox’s online storage platforms over several concerns raised over the tech-giants’ violation of Italian data privacy laws and other “unfair commercial practices.” [CNBC]
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, “The rise in the number of cases that we’ve seen today is concerning” as a majority of reported cases are “predominantly among younger people.” With 2,988 cases reported on Sunday, the United Kingdom is facing the highest daily surge in numbers since May. [Al Jazeera]
Doctors treating the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in Germany have said that he has successfully come out of a medically induced coma. He was suspected to be poisoned by a Nerve Agent on a flight to Moscow from Tomsk on August 20. [CNN]
Greece has bolstered its military capabilities with new weapons and troops amid a tense standoff with its neighbor Turkey, sparking concerns of open conflict. Turkey is against Greece and Cyprus over oil and gas exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean sea. [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness began his second consecutive term in office, after his party, the Labour Party (JLP), garnered 57.1% of the votes and 49 seats in Parliament. His focus, he said, remains on economic growth, job creation, attracting private sector and foreign investment, and reducing foreign debt. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, was sentenced to an equivalent of 40 life sentences without parole by a Turkish court for shooting and killing 39 people in Istanbul’s Reina nightclub on new year’s day, 2017. [Reuters]
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium amounts to 2,105kg, ten times the limit set by the 2015 JCPOA signed by Tehran and world powers. [BBC]
On Monday, the final ruling of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi took place in Saudi Arabia. The court overturned the five death sentences of the convicts, instead of jailing the eight defendants for sentences between seven and 20 years. The change in the ruling was due to Khashoggi’s son “pardoning” the killers. [Guardian]
North America
Thousands of firefighters are battling to contain at least 22 wildfires in California, where dry and windy weather conditions and a record-breaking heatwave have continued to feed the blaze. More than 2 million acres of land have been scorched so far, and the fire-induced power-cuts have affected almost 170,000 people across the state. [CNN]
An e-petition that calls on the Canadian central government to repeal its firearm ban has received more than 230,000 signatures. It was sponsored by Conservative Calgary Nose Hill MP Michell Rempel Garner, who has said that the ban will do little to address violent crime in Canada, which is a result of widespread illegal procurement of guns. [CBC]
Oceania
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has been criticized for making an unfounded equivalence between Black Lives Matters protests and a surge in cases in Victoria. He also came under fire for the federal government seemingly prioritizing trade over the repatriation of Australians, many of whom remain stranded abroad. [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
A whistleblower has accused senior executives of South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) of financial mismanagement and mistreatment of employees. These practices apparently begin right from the top, with the chief commissioner, deputy chief commissioner, and general manager all named in the dossier. [Mail & Guardian]
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, is meeting with his counterparts from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Angola to discuss “peace and security in the region, diplomatic and political relations among the states and the revival of economic activities in the current context of the fight against COVID-19”. [Nation]
New locust swarms have emerged in southern Africa, with Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe particularly hard hit. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization says that the damage to crops will “compound existing food insecurity in communities already affected by floods, drought, and the impacts of COVID-19”. [Africa Times]
World News Monitor: 8 September, 2020
A quick look at events from around the globe.
September 8, 2020
SOURCE: REUTERS