South Asia
Following a long hiatus, representatives of the Taliban and the Afghan government met in Qatar and resumed peace talks. This comes as violent attacks continue to take lives across the country, despite the declaration of a three-day ceasefire by the Taliban for Eid-al-Fitr. [Al Jazeera]
Cyclone Taukatae, which has been classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm” by the Indian Meteorological Department, caused heavy rainfall in several regions along the coast of the Arabian Sea, with four people reported dead in Karnataka and one in Kerala. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah conducted a review of the states’ response forces and urged healthcare facilities, specifically those for COVID-19 treatment, to prepare to secure patients. [Indian Express]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Minor clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek residents along the two countries’ contested border have re-erupted. Law enforcement agencies from both sides were able to quickly contain the situation from escalating further. In March, officials from both countries stated that “all border issues between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan” have been solved. The incident also takes place following violent clashes between local villagers along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. [RFE/RL]
Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia, who was recently released from prison on bail with help from the European Union, has said that he intends to speak soon with exiled former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The former president announced last month that he would return to Georgia from Ukraine ahead of local elections scheduled for October. Georgia has been in a political crisis since protests broke out in the country following the declaration of the 2020 election results, which saw the ruling Georgian Dream party win. Opposition parties, led by Melia’s United National Movement, claimed that the vote was fraudulent and called for new elections. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Hong Kong (HK) media tycoon Jimmy Lai, along with veteran activist Albert Ho and eight others, will plead guilty in a trial beginning today, as authorities in HK continue to prosecute prominent pro-democracy figures. The activists will plead guilty to organising and attending an unauthorised assembly to mark China’s national day on October 1, 2019. [The Straits Times]
An anti-junta defence force made up of civilians in Myanmar reported that six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes. In the western town of Mindat, which has emerged as a hotspot for unrest, some residents have formed the Chinland Defence Force (CDF). “Six members of our CDF who tried to protect the security of the people in Mindat attacked (junta forces) and sacrificed their lives for the national revolution,” said a CDF statement released on Sunday. [The Straits Times]
Europe
On Friday, the Russian government formally listed the Czech Republic and the US as “unfriendly states,” thereby limiting their abilities to employ local staff in their diplomatic missions. Under the terms of the designation, the Czech embassy will not be able to employ more than 19 Russian nationals, whereas the US embassy will no longer be permitted to employ any local personnel at all. [The Moscow Times]
An Irish High Court upheld the decision of the country’s Data Protection Commission, which is responsible for regulating Facebook in the European Union, to launch an inquiry into the tech giant’s practice of transferring data from the bloc to the United States. The regulator’s decision was a result of the European Union’s concern about the standard of data protection and privacy rights in the US, which they believe allows the bloc’s citizens’ data to be misused for commercial purposes. [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazil’s Butantan Institute has reportedly halted production of the Coronavac vaccine due to a reduction in exports of the necessary ingredients from China. This follows suggestions by President Jair Bolsonaro that China had purposely unleashed the coronavirus on the world and by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes that the “Chinese invented the virus and its vaccine is less effective than the American vaccine.” [Merco Press]
Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum has resigned amid ongoing protests demanding structural reform that began on April 28. Her resignation follows that of Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, who stepped down earlier this month when protesters were demanding the withdrawal of a controversial new tax reform. Although the reform has since been cancelled, the protests have not died down and have also invited criticism about excessive and arbitrary force by the police. [NBC News]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq reached an agreement for the joint deployment of forces to combat the Islamic State (IS), which has mounted several attacks on security forces in the region since last month. The IS has been exploiting security gaps created by a lack of coordination among forces. According to the Peshmerga, the IS has been using these gaps to gain strength and carry out attacks on forces as well as civilians. [Rudaw]
Ebrahim Raisi, the current head of Iran’s judiciary, has registered for the upcoming presidential election in the country. He is considered by analysts to be most likely to win the election on June 18. Raisi, a staunch conservative, lost to outgoing President Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 elections. He has also been tipped as a potential successor to current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. [Al Jazeera]
North America
US President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu about the current Israel-Palestine tensions. While reaffirming America’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself, Biden expressed concern about the mounting inter-communal violence within Israel and encouraged the PM and his government to take steps to hold violent extremists accountable and to establish calm. The president also stated his support “for steps to enable the Palestinian people to enjoy the dignity, security, freedom, and economic opportunity that they deserve” and affirmed his backing for a two-state solution. Biden reasserted this position during his call with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas later in the day as well, wherein he spoke of the US’ commitment to strengthening the US-Palestine partnership. The leaders discussed the situation in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, and lamented the loss of innocent lives. They also “expressed their shared desire for Jerusalem to be a place of peaceful coexistence for people of all faiths and backgrounds.” [The White House]
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Friday announced that he would make a formal apology in the House of Commons for the internment of Italian Canadians during WWII on May 27, 2021. In the aftermath of Italy declaring war against Canada in 1940, hundreds of Italian Canadians were not only interned but thousands more were also declared “enemy aliens” and faced discrimination. “Canadians of Italian heritage have made, and continue to make, immense social, economic, and cultural contributions to our country. We cannot undo our past failures, but through this apology we hope to help bring closure to those who were harmed and ensure the lessons we learned are never forgotten,” Trudeau said. [Prime Minister of Canada]
Oceania
Faced with a number of new trade restrictions by China in the face of Beijing’s enduring diplomatic spat with the Morrison administration, Australian farmers have over the past year expanded their portfolio by increasing exports to other trading partners. For example, China placed tariffs of up to 80% on Australian barley, and in response, farmers have exported 1.5 million tonnes of barley to Saudi Arabia since October last year. In comparison, they exported only 33,000 tonnes to China. [ABC News]
New Zealand Minister of Climate Change James Shaw revealed that $67.4 million of the federal government’s budget for 2021 is directed towards supporting the move towards achieving carbon neutrality in the public sector by 2025. This includes $19.5 million for the State Sector Decarbonisation Fund and $41.8 million for leasing low-emissions vehicles. [New Zealand Government]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Uganda and Kenya are holding discussions over the development of a railway line between the two countries to facilitate greater regional trade and open up new opportunities with the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. In fact, China Roads and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) have been discussing the details of the construction plan. [The East African]
Kola Ologbondiyan, the spokesperson of Nigerian opposition party People’s Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that more than 82.9 citizens can “no longer afford their daily meals” due to mismanagement by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, under whom food inflation, which stands at roughly 23%, has “soared beyond the reach of Nigerians.” To emphasise his point, Ologbondiyan said that Nigeria now ranks 98th on the Global Hunger Index and has an unemployment rate of 33.3%. [Vanguard]