South Asia
At least six people have died in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as the onset of monsoon triggered landslides and flash floods. The National Disaster Response Force was dispatched and continues to carry out rescue operations. [Straits Times]
Nepalese political leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was appointed as the country’s Prime Minister (PM) on Tuesday, replacing KP Sharma Oli following a Supreme Court order. This will be Deuba’s fifth term as PM. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenia condemned the visit of diplomats of some countries to the “occupied territories” of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), especially the city of Shushi, as part of a tour organised by Azerbaijan. The Armenian foreign ministry summoned the heads of the diplomatic missions of the countries that participated in the visit and called it unacceptable. The ministry said, “It is regrettable that foreign diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan have succumbed to Baku’s manipulative actions.” [Public Radio of Armenia, Armen Press]
The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline between Eastern Turkey and Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave is set to start soon. The pipeline is a major effort to strengthen strategic ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan, especially following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The 160-kilometre pipeline will pass through the territories captured by Azerbaijan from Armenia. [Azer News]
East and Southeast Asia
China’s State Council Information Office issued a white paper on Wednesday detailing the country’s progress in protecting the rights of all ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. No other details of the paper have been released yet. [Global Times]
The quarantine-free travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore was hit with another delay after months of postponement. An announcement on the arrangement was originally expected on Tuesday but was scrapped at the last minute. Amid rising COVID-19 infections, Singapore reasons that having zero COVID-19 cases is a requirement before it opens its borders to Hong Kong. [The Straits Times]
Europe
The Lithuanian Parliament on Tuesday passed new legislation that fast-tracks the deportation of migrants and reduces the processing time of asylum applications from several months to 19 days. The legislation was passed to control the influx of migrants from Belarus into Lithuania. However, non-governmental organisations and human rights groups condemned the legislation, citing human rights violations. [Euro News]
The British Parliament passed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call to temporarily cut down on foreign aid, citing the economic strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after Johnson faced significant backlash in the Parliament, with opposition leaders vehemently opposing the reduction in foreign aid to countries on the brink of social and political crises. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Monday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that opposition politician Freddy Guevara had been arrested for “crimes of terrorism, attacks against the constitutional order, [and] conspiracy to commit a crime and treason.” The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) detained him due to his alleged “links with extremist and paramilitary groups associated with the Colombian government.” [Al Jazeera]
Argentine President Alberto Fernández called on the United States to lift its economic blockade on both Cuba and Venezuela, saying that it has gravely impacted their countries’ health industries. He remarked that if the US is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba and Venezuela, it must bring an end to its sanctions on the embattled countries. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
92 people have died from a fire in the coronavirus ward of the Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq. The incident, which took place on Monday, was the second time a fire broke out in a COVID-19 ward of an Iraqi hospital in less than three months. In April, at least 82 people died in Baghdad’s Ibn al-Khatib hospital after a faulty oxygen tank caused a fire. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and arrest of officials in charge of the safety of the hospital. Kadhimi also launched an official probe into the incident. [Associated Press]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday to discuss bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, transportation, and health. Erdoğan hailed the “deep-rooted friendship” between the two countries and said, “There is a wide potential for cooperation between the two countries in all areas of the regional and global economy and diplomacy.” President Xi mentioned that Uyghur Turks in Xinjiang are “living in prosperity, freedom, and peace as equal citizens of China.” [Anadolu Agency]
North America
On Monday, another 160 unmarked graves were found at a former Canadian residential school, this time by the Penelakut Tribe in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. This follows the discoveries of hundreds of other such graves at the sites of other former residential schools across the country in recent weeks. [Global News]
On Tuesday, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with his British counterpart Ben Wallace at the Pentagon. According to a statement put out by Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby, the pair discussed “transatlantic cooperation,” “strategic competition” in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. [US Department of Defense]
Oceania
As part of its commitment to provide Indo-Pacific partners with at least 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Australia announced its decision to provide Vietnam with 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this year. This decision comes as a part of Australia’s $40 million package to Vietnam. Apart from aiding Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine programme, Australia is also helping the nation with technical advice and vaccine delivery support. [Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia]
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian extended the lockdown in Greater Sydney by two weeks due to 97 new infections of COVID-19. The Premier said, “It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown for at least another two weeks,” and indicated that restrictions will remain in place until July 30. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
At least 45 people have died in South Africa since the beginning of protests over the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma; hundreds have also been arrested. Yesterday, the government deployed the military to quell civil unrest. Zuma began his 15-month sentence last week for failing to appear in court for his corruption trial. [Africa Feeds]
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced on Monday that the Southern African Development Community had approved the deployment of roughly 1,000 Rwandan troops to the crisis-torn Cabo Delgado province, which has become overrun by Islamist insurgents. [All Africa]
World News Monitor: 14 July, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
July 14, 2021
Argentine President Alberto Fernández SOURCE: ESTEBAN COLLAZO / ARGENTINIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP