South Asia
On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic meeting with European Council President Charles Michel, wherein the pair discussed the unfolding situation in Afghanistan and its regional and global implications. They both condemned the attack on the Kabul airport last week that resulted in close to 200 deaths and stressed on the importance of a “stable and secure” Afghanistan. [Indian Ministry of External Affairs]
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States (US), Asad Majeed Khan, criticised Republican Congressman Michael G Waltz’s push to sanction Pakistan for its support to Taliban militants and its role in the group’s seizure of Kabul on August 15. Majeed said, “The issues of low morale, desertions and ghost soldiers had long plagued” the Afghan forces, adding, “Demoralised soldiers do not fight for a corrupt, kleptocratic leadership that will bolt at the first hint of trouble.” [Dawn]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian prisoners of war without preconditions during a press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow on Tuesday. [Armen Press]
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) blamed Russia for failing to properly investigate the 2009 murder of Natalya Estemirova, a human rights activist, in Chechnya. However, the ECHR ruled that there was insufficient evidence to conclude Russian state involvement in Estemirova’s killing. In 2009, Estemirova was kidnapped and shot in Chechnya for exposing human rights abuses in the region under leader Ramzan Kadyrov. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
In a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin once again criticised the United States’ (US) involvement in Afghanistan, saying, “The US withdrawal from Afghanistan shows that wanton military intervention in other countries and the policy of imposing values and social systems onto other countries will lead nowhere and is doomed to end up in failure.” [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China]
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday and met with Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, to discuss the need to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The officials also looked ahead to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) event in Glasgow in November. [Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
Europe
British officials are holding talks with the Taliban in Doha to secure the safe passage of a number of British nationals and Afghans remaining in the country. The talks come following a pledge by the Taliban to allow further departures. [BBC]
An Austrian newspaper on Monday quoted a Taliban spokesperson saying that the Taliban government in Afghanistan would accept Afghan migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected by European states. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, “Yes. They would be taken to court. The court would then have to decide how to proceed with them.” However, the spokesperson refused to comment on why the migrants would be taken to court or the judgment they may receive. [Euractiv]
Hungary and Russia reached a long-term gas agreement on Monday that paves the way for gas deliveries from the former to the latter and bypasses Ukraine. The agreement will come into effect on October 1 and will remain in force for the next 15 years. [Intellinews]
Latin America and the Caribbean
A report by MapBiomas released on Monday revealed that 65% of mining activities in the Brazilian Amazon are illegal, and further posited that illegal mining had increased by 495% between 2010 and 2020, largely under the government of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. [MercoPress]
On Monday in Colombia, Bogotá’s Superior Tribunal halted efforts by prosecutors to press charges against Mario Montoya, a retired army general who is accused of bribing soldiers to kill 104 civilians and then presenting the deaths as guerilla fighters killed in combat. The court ruled that the case does not fall under the jurisdiction of ‘ordinary’ courts. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front rebels of looting warehouses belonging to the agency in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. “Any interference or theft of humanitarian aid is unacceptable and prevents critical assistance from reaching people in need,” a USAID spokesperson said on Tuesday. [Reuters]
Tunisia issued an arrest warrant for former presidential candidate Nabil Karoui and his brother on Tuesday for “illegally” leaving the country. The order comes a day after the duo were detained in Algeria. Karoui was runner-up in the 2019 presidential election, which was won by Kais Saied. In July, Saied dismissed the Prime Minister, indefinitely suspended the parliament, and granted himself sweeping presidential powers. [Al Jazeera]
North America
The death toll for Hurricane Ida rose to four as New Orleans imposed a city-wide curfew on Wednesday. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, the 16th anniversary of the destructive Hurricane Katrina. The National Hurricane Centre has deemed it a Category 4 hurricane, reportedly the most powerful to strike the US in more than 160 years. [BBC]
On Tuesday, a United States House of Representatives panel announced that it will conduct a hearing on September 22 regarding the risks related to Chinese companies listed in US markets. The hearing has been scheduled concerning Beijing’s increasing regulation on Chinese firms, which has negatively impacted American stock prices. [Al Jazeera]
Oceania
On Wednesday, Australia and the United States (US) marked 70 years of the ANZUS treaty and reaffirmed their commitment to their “unbreakable alliance.” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison celebrated the occasion by laying a wreath at the Australian-American Memorial in Canberra with Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton and US Chargé d‘Affaires Mike Goldman. US President Joe Biden said, “On this anniversary we reaffirm our commitment to our shared values, democratic norms, global security and the prosperity for the next 70 years and beyond.” [News.Com.Au]
On Wednesday, New Zealand reported 75 new cases of COVID-19 amid a strict lockdown. However, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said, “The latest modelling was more positive news, showing we are breaking the chains of transmission.” New Zealand announced a lockdown after the first community case of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 was detected. [The Age]
Sub-Saharan Africa
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that France would deliver a further 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to the African Union over the next three months. [The East African]
Zimbabwean authorities are scrambling to defend the country against the spread of a new coronavirus variant that was detected in South Africa last week. At this stage, South African scientists are yet to determine whether this new variant is more contagious or whether current vaccines offer protection against it. Given the high level of illegal border crossings between the two countries, this has prompted a new wave of fear. [New Zimbabwe]
World News Monitor: 1 September, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
September 1, 2021
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov SOURCE: AP