South Asia
As the Taliban took control over governance in Afghanistan, the Taliban said that the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan is a “bilateral and internal matter” of the two countries. This comes as the Indian government has raised concern about the prospective use of Afghan land for terrorist activities that could pose a threat to India’s national security. [Hindustan Times]
India hit an all-time high in its COVID-19 vaccine program, administering over 8.8 million doses on Monday. This comes as the cases have dropped to their lowest level since the devastating second wave in March. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Armenian Foreign Ministry condemned the provocative measures by Azerbaijani forces on the Armenian border on August 16-17. The Ministry said Azerbaijan’s actions “are clearly aimed at undermining the efforts towards de-escalation and hindering regional security and peace.” [Armen Press]
The Deputy Prime Ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia, and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia met in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the prospects of resuming transport communications in the South Caucasus within the framework of the trilateral working group of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. [Armen Press]
East and Southeast Asia
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seeking a record $99.13 billion budget for 2022 to help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed budget is 11.5% higher than 2021 and will be submitted to Congress for approval on Monday. [Channel News Asia
China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command launched joint live-fire assault drills in multiple locations near the island of Taiwan on Tuesday. This included joint live-fire assaults and testing the troops’ integrated joint operation capabilities. [Global Times]
Europe
On Wednesday, Sweden announced its decision to suspend aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban captured the country. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said his government would re-evaluate the best way to deploy aid to Afghanistan and would not abandon the Afghan people. However, Löfven stressed that Sweden would not give any aid to the Taliban under any circumstance. [The Local]
Speaking about the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the UK and its allies had to adopt a pragmatic approach. He said that while they had to continue to pressurize the Taliban, it should be done in a comparatively “moderated” manner than in the past. [Politico]
On Tuesday, the Russian government levied increased penalties on Google for defying Russia’s tech norms and not removing content that has been banned in the nation. Content that includes extremism, substance abuse, or suicide is banned in Russia. The US-based tech giant that has been fined about three times in the past, this time faced a fine of $190,000. [The Moscow Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The death toll from the earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14 has now risen to 1,941. Search and rescue efforts have been impeded by Tropic Storm Grace, which has resulted in flooding and mudslides. The number of people injured has now increased to 9,900. [Associated Press]
In response to international sanctions and condemnation for arresting political opposition and figures ahead of the November election, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the suspension of the operating permits of six American NGOs, including Oxfam. Charities from Spain, Denmark, and Sweden also met with the same fate. [Buenos Aires Times]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
At least one civilian was killed in the Turkish bombardment of Syria’s Rojava on Tuesday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one child was killed and five other civilians were injured in strikes. [Rudaw]
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday that Turkey is in talks with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban. “We view positively the messages that the Taliban has given so far, whether to foreigners, to diplomatic individuals or its own people. We hope to see these in action as well,” Çavuşoğlu added. His comments came a day after Turkey dropped plans to operate the Kabul airport. [Reuters]
North America
On Tuesday, the Secretary of Defense of the United States (US) and the Minister of National Defence of Canada released a joint statement of their consultation on ‘modernizing’ and amplifying the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in order to complete pre-existing missions as well as combat any possible threats to their security. NORAD is a coalition between the US and Canada that came into power first in 1956; it aims to detect, deter, and counter any aerospace threats against North America. [US Dept. of Defense]
At a campaign stop on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Liberal government is “unequivocal” about all of Canada’s federal public servants being vaccinated, and warned that those who remain unvaccinated will face workplace consequences. The opposition, the Conservative Party, has retorted that Trudeau’s enforcement of the vaccine was “all for show” and lacks practicality. [CBC]
Oceania
Australia’s rescue mission to evacuate stranded Australians and Afghan workers from Afghanistan is underway. A Royal Australian Air Force transport aircraft flew out of Kabul on Wednesday morning with 26 people, including Australians, a foreign national, and Afghan workers and landed at Australia’s military base in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft also dropped officials from Australia’s department of defence, home affairs, and foreign affairs and trade to Kabul to process people for future flights. [Brisbane Times]
The Cook Islands suspended its travel bubble with New Zealand, citing new community cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the COVID-19. Prime Minister Brown said, “While the epidemiological variance and transmission link for the community case in New Zealand is still being investigated, we must act swiftly here to minimize exposure risk for the Cook Islands so we remain safe.” Brown also announced that the Cook Islands has been placed on Alert Level 2. [RNZ]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Southern African Development Community held its 41st annual heads of state summit on Tuesday. The leaders celebrated the peaceful transition of power in Zambia, where opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema secured a landslide victory over incumbent Edgar Lungu. Furthermore, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera officially took over from his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi as the rotating chairperson of the regional bloc. [AfricaNews]
Uganda’s Ministry of Health confirmed a Polio outbreak in the country after testing two samples from two sewage plants in Kampala. The Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Henry Mwebesa, said that this “undetected transmission” has drawn doubts about the effectiveness of the national surveillance strategy. Over the last 12 months, Polio cases have also been reported in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and The Gambia. [Daily Monitor]
World News Monitor: 18 August, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
August 18, 2021
SOURCE: XINHUA