South Asia
Four separate bombings across Afghanistan resulted in the death of 11 people, leaving 13 others injured. This came just a few hours after the beginning of the three-day ceasefire, which was announced by the Taliban for Eid al-Fitr. [Al Jazeera]
Following a risk assessment of the situation in India, the World Health Organisation released a report that argues that the “resurgence and acceleration” of COVID-19 cases in India is a result of “several religious and political mass gathering events which increased social mixing.” Further, the report said that the B.1.617 virus was first detected in India in October 2020. [NDTV]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law a long-debated controversial bill that bans selling and leasing agricultural land to foreigners. The new law prohibits foreigners, stateless individuals, foreign companies, Kazakh companies with foreign ownership, international organisations, and scientific groups that involve foreign countries from owning or leasing agricultural land in Kazakhstan. [RFE/RL]
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is on an official visit to Yerevan, where he met with his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan. The two discussed the deepening of trade ties, particularly in the energy sector. In his statement, Garibashvili said the meetings focused on “how to develop additionally our trade and economic relations, our cultural relations [and] cooperation in fields such as transportation and logistics.” [Agenda.Ge]
East and Southeast Asia
In a surprise move reflecting growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said today that the country will declare a state of emergency in three more prefectures hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, Hokkaido, Okayama, and Hiroshima will join Tokyo, Osaka, and four other prefectures in being under a state of emergency until May 31, said the minister, who is also in charge of coronavirus countermeasures. [CNA]
Myanmar’s security forces have arrested 39 civilians suspected of carrying out explosions and arson attacks across the country. They are also accused of attempting to get military training with an ethnic minority rebel group, junta-controlled media said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but the military has blamed “people bent on destabilising the country.” [The Star]
Europe
A Ukrainian court on Thursday placed pro-Russian politician and business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk under house arrest, days after charging him with treason. Medvedchuk, who has a close relationship with President Vladimir Putin, is accused of transferring oil and gas production licenses from a field in Crimea to Russian authorities. He is also suspected of disclosing confidential information on the deployment of Ukrainian military units last year. [ABC News]
Speaking about the French bill on “Islamist separatism”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the law a “guillotine” on democracy. Further, he said that the bill was “in contradiction of human rights, freedom of religion, and European values” and forced young French citizens to “choose between their belief and their education.” [The Local]
Latin America and the Caribbean
A survey conducted by Brazilian polling company Datafolha forecasted that, as things stand, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would defeat Jair Bolsonaro by some margin in next year’s election, predicting that he would gather 41% of votes compared to Bolsonaro’s 23%. In a run-off election, it projects that Lula would receive 55% of votes to Bolsonaro’s 32%. [Merco Press]
Trade Representative Katherine Tai invoked the US’ first labour complaint with Mexico using the “rapid response” provision in the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) after a union at a General Motors plant in northern Mexico was allegedly discovered to be destroying ballots. As per the agreement, all three countries must ensure that workers are able to choose their union and vote on contracts and union leadership, failing which sanctions can be levelled. Tai said, “Using USMCA to help protect freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in Mexico helps workers both at home and in Mexico, by stopping a race to the bottom.” [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Israel on Friday pressed ahead with its military offensive in the Gaza strip, carrying out airstrikes and sending troops to the area in response to Hamas’ rocket attacks. The violence has greatly intensified, killing more than 100 Palestinians, but neither side has shown a willingness to back down. Meanwhile, clashes between Israelis and Palestinians are ongoing in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The continued deadly violence has prompted great international concern, with world leaders calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. In this regard, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to convene an emergency meeting on the matter, which will take place on Sunday in a virtual format. [Al Jazeera, AP, GeoTV]
North America
Canada’s federal ethics commission has cleared PM Justin Trudeau of wrongdoing in the WE Charity scandal. The organisation was picked by the government to manage a multi-million-dollar summer youth volunteer program last year. However, it was later revealed that Trudeau and his finance minister Bill Morneau had personal ties to the charity, which triggered the ethics probe. The ethics watchdog found Morneau guilty of breaching the Conflict of Interest Act for failing to recuse himself from the cabinet discussions on the matter. [CBC News]
US President Joe Biden on Thursday accused Russian criminals of carrying out the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack earlier this week but stressed that the administration did not believe that the Russian government was involved in the strike. The leader said that US officials were in direct communication with Moscow on ways to take action against such ransomware networks. [The White House]
A Minnesota judge on Wednesday ruled that there were four aggravating factors in the death of George Floyd, a decision that could pave the way for a longer prison sentence for Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter last month, and is set to be sentenced on June 25. [CNN]
The US CDC on Thursday updated its COVID-19 guidelines and said that fully vaccinated people could “participate in indoor or outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing.” In justifying the change, the agency said that there was growing evidence that vaccines are effective against variants, and that fully vaccinated people are at low risk to spread the virus to someone else. [Reuters]
Oceania
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Associate Health and Foreign Affairs Minister Aupito William Sio announced further COVID-19 related assistance to the Pacific Islands, this time for the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. This includes the delivery of vaccines and PPE. New Zealand has also offered similar assistance packages to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu. [New Zealand Government]
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta released a statement expressing “grave concern at the escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Gaza.” She remarked, “The growing death toll and the large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes and Gazan rockets is unacceptable.” While condemning Hamas for launching rockets into Israel, Mahuta also called on Israel to bring a halt to its “continued violation of international law and forced evictions” in East Jerusalem. [New Zealand Government]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The military of the Democratic of Congo (DRC) has teamed up with the Ugandan army to launch a joint operation against Islamist rebels in eastern DRC who the Congolese government says have killed hundreds over the past year. In fact, earlier this month, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi declared a ‘state of siege’ in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces to “deal with the situation of insecurity.” As a result, civil courts and tribunals transferred their jurisdiction to military courts. [Africa News]
African Business’ annual ranking of the top 250 companies in the continent features 120 South African companies, demonstrating the clout of Africa’s biggest economy. That being said, the South African economy contracted by 8.2% in 2020 due to the pandemic. Moreover, even before the pandemic, it only recorded GDP growth of 0.2% in 2019, suggesting that the country is in a continued period of economic downturn, further evidenced by the fact that unemployment in South Africa reached 31% last September. [African Business]
World News Monitor: 14 May, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
May 14, 2021
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES