South Asia
Addressing a meet with Indian Members of Parliament during his visit to New Delhi, the President of the Portuguese Inter-Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco, extended his support for India’s inclusion as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. He also celebrated India’s friendship with Portugal and applauded it as a crucial player in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. This came on the same day as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's telephonic conversation with his Portuguese counterpart, António Luís Santos da Costa, wherein the two leaders discussed their collaborative response to the pandemic, the upcoming India-EU Leaders’ meeting in May, as well as the India-EU Strategic Partnership. [ANI, Press Information Bureau]
On Tuesday, Qatar’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Ambassador Mutlaq Alqahtani, confirmed Qatar’s participation in the summit being hosted in Moscow to discuss the intra-Afghan peace negotiations. He further expressed Qatar’s determination towards “international and regional consensus over the process”. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kyrgyzstan has become the latest nation in Central Asia to repatriate its citizens from Iraq. Yesterday, as part of the repatriation mission, named “Meerim” (Grace), the country brought back 79 children who were born to Kyrgyz parents in Iraq and Syria to Bishkek. According to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, the repatriation happened “with the consent of the children’s imprisoned mothers in Iraq and on the commitment of relatives in Kyrgyzstan to accept the children into families for upbringing”. [RFE/RL]
Azerbaijan and Turkey are holding joint military exercises near the eastern border of Armenia from March 15-17. Simultaneously, the Armenian military is also expected to hold drills in the area from March 16th to 20th. [Armen Press]
East and Southeast Asia
On Tuesday, South Korea pledged $10 million towards Cambodia’s mine clearance and victim assistance efforts from 2021 to 2025. According to the joint press statement, the project is being executed by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) along with “strategic and technical advisory support” from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). [The Star]
As of Tuesday, Chinese embassies in at least 20 countries have started providing an expedited visa service to those that have received doses of the China-made COVID-19 vaccine. According to a notice sent by the Chinese embassy, “visa applicants are required to have both injections of one of China’s inactivated vaccines or other types of Chinese vaccine with a single-dose injection at least 14 days before application”. [Global Times]
Europe
Russia has accused the US of unfairly targeting its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by pressuring Brazil to reject it. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is tasked with marketing the shot worldwide, highlighted the US Health Department’s January report, in which it said that officials had taken measures to dissuade Latin American countries from accepting assistance from “ill-intentioned states”, including Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. “We believe countries should work together to save lives. Efforts to undermine the vaccines are unethical and are costing lives,” RDIF said on Monday, via Sputnik V’s official Twitter account. [The Moscow Times]
Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) on Tuesday accused Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) of conducting a massive cyber attack against the country’s government networks, saying that the goal was to “get access to classified data of the highest institutions of state power of Ukraine.” The SBU said that the breach had been thwarted and provided no additional details on whether any damage was caused by the incident. [Reuters]
Addressing a meeting with his Czech, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Latvian, and Croatian counterparts, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz spoke of the need for the European Union to establish a “corrective mechanism” to assess claims alleging discrimination in the distribution of vaccines to the bloc’s members. [Euronews]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Mexican Foreign Ministry approved the extradition of Luis Rabbe, who was the chairman of Guatemala’s parliament from 2015 to 2016. Rabbe is accused of abusing his power to embezzle funds and approving the hiring of 164 people who were not qualified to be employed in Congress. He has been living in exile in Mexico since August 2016, after it became clear that he was set to lose his immunity. [Telesur]
On Monday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom the United States (US) recognises as the legitimate and interim President of Venezuela, thanked US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for offering Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to roughly 320,000 Venezuelans in the US. As expected, he used his speech to once again attack President Nicolás Maduro, saying, “Maduro’s dictatorship has caused the largest regional humanitarian and security crisis in the Western Hemisphere. Millions of people have been forced to flee to neighbouring states and around the world, which has put pressure on those nations that have welcomed Venezuelans around the world.” [Latin American Herald Tribune]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit out at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after Johnson earlier announced that the United Kingdom (UK) has abandoned plans to reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile. Zarif tweeted, “In utter hypocrisy, Boris Johnson is “concerned about Iran developing a viable nuclear weapon”. On the very same day he announces his country will increase its stockpile of nukes. Unlike the UK and allies, Iran believes nukes and all WMDs are barbaric & must be eradicated.” The UK is set to increase its cap on warheads to 260 from 180. [Middle East Monitor, BBC]
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Palestinian Territories released a report on Tuesday that revealed that Israel “demolished or seized” 153 Palestinian structures across the occupied West Bank in February, representing the fourth-highest monthly total since OCHA first began recording this data in 2009. As a result, 305 Palestinians, including 172 children, have been displaced, and the livelihoods of at least 435 people have been severely impacted. OCHA noted a 65% increase in the demolition of Palestinian structures in 2021 compared to the monthly average in 2020. [Middle East Eye]
North America
The Pentagon’s special inspector for Afghanistan reconstruction, John Sopko, on Tuesday told Congress that a withdrawal of US troops from the country in the absence of a proper peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban would result in “a disaster”. Sopko warned that without sufficient military and financial support, the Afghan leadership “would probably lose the capability of flying any of its aircraft within a few months and, to be quite blunt, would probably face collapse.” The remarks come just days before the conflict parties’ meeting in Moscow on the peaceful settlement of the crisis. [Al Jazeera]
Oceania
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, said that despite a number of European countries suspending their use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Australia would continue to administer the vaccine. He said, “Based on the evidence, there was no reason to pause the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia.” He reaffirmed, “I remain confident that it is safe,” adding, “The Therapeutic Goods Administration is aware of the issue and also doesn’t see any link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots.” [ABC News]
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will investigate Australia’s claims that China “unfairly” imposed tariffs on Australian barley exports last May. Beijing alleges that Australia had dumped barley in China, meaning that its barley producers were selling their goods at below production cost to price out Chinese competition. Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said that the two countries had failed to resolve the issue bilaterally, which prompted Australia to use the WTO dispute settlement system. [7 News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reveals that the country has an unemployment rate of 33%, the second-highest in the world, and the country’s highest in more than 13 years. Aside from the fact that 23.2 million people are unemployed, inflation in the country also crossed 17.3% in February, the highest level in four years. This has greatly increased the cost of food and other basic goods in the country. [National Bureau of Statistics, Premium Times]
On Tuesday, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor virtually met with Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigrant Affairs Dr. Ahmed Bin Mubarak. Pandor expressed concern about the “deepening humanitarian crises” in Yemen, while Mubarak stressed that Yemen remains committed to furthering the peace process and abiding by the United Nations’ “mediation efforts”. [South African Department of Foreign Affairs]
World News Monitor: 17 March, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
March 17, 2021
SOURCE: AZERNEWS