South Asia
Sri Lanka entered into an agreement to sign a $100 million loan from the Export Import Bank of India to bolster its solar power capacity. A statement by the Sri Lankan Presidential Media Division said that the plan includes providing access to “low-income families that are unable to access the national power grid.” [The Hindu]
Following a surge in attacks on polio field staff, Pakistani authorities have announced their decision to suspend the national polio drive. This comes as two police personnel were attacked and killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Almambet Saliev, a former Kygryz deputy chief and ally of ex-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, was detained on suspicion of corruption on Thursday. According to security officials, Saliev allegedly used his position to intervene in the work of the judicial and law enforcement systems, by lobbying for private companies. [RFE/RL]
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has emerged as the opposition’s top contender for Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Kocharyan, whose Armenia Alliance seeks to oust Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Civil Contract party, has attracted the support of many Armenians, especially following Armenia’s surrender to Azerbaijan in last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh war. As per a recent Gallup poll, Kocharyan has a slight lead over Pashinyan ahead of the June 20 election. [Eurasianet]
East and Southeast Asia
Malaysian Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Wednesday that the country’s government is considering mixing two different vaccines to boost efficacy against different COVID-19 variants. He added that data shows that this strategy increases the number of neutralising antibodies and provides better effectiveness against different variants. [The Straits Times]
Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily increased its Friday press run by more than six times in anticipation of strong demand after 500 police officers raided its newsroom yesterday. Apart from making high-level arrests, the police also seized reporting materials as part of a probe into whether the newspaper’s content threatened China’s national security. The newspaper increased the number of copies it printed on Friday to 500,000 copies, compared to Thursday’s 80,000. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss contentious issues, along with the COVID-19 crisis and climate action. This comes following a meeting of the G7 leaders wherein they urged Russia to “stop its destabilising behaviour and malign activities.” [Reuters]
At the International Donors’ Conference, the European Union pledged its support to Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and host communities and agreed to extend humanitarian assistance, conflict prevention interventions, and development assistance worth €147 million. [European Union]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Workers’ Intersindical Plenary and National Convention (PIT-CNT) in Uruguay held a protest against President Luis Lacalle Pou on Thursday. The secretary of the organisation, Marcelo Abdala, said, “The strike is against hunger, inequality, discrimination, and union persecution. It’s a fight for work and wages.” [Telesur]
A power outage in Puerto Rico has left 337,000 residents without power in the US territory. Luma energy, which controls the island’s power grid, has said that three of its units were “knocked offline” for reasons that remain undisclosed or unknown at this stage. In fact, power outages have become increasingly common since Hurricane Maria in 2017. The latest incident has also raised question marks about Luma, which took control of Puerto Rico’s power transmission and distribution system at the start of the month. [NPR]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh visited Morocco on Thursday as part of a wider tour of the Middle East to garner support for the Palestinian cause. Haniyeh’s visit to the North African country comes after being invited by the ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD). In December, Morocco became the fourth Arab country—after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan—to sign a peace agreement with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords. [i24 News]
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who congratulated him for forming a new government and for assuming office. Bennett hailed Germany’s “commitment” to ensuring Israel’s security, and thanked Merkel for “supporting Israel’s right to self-defence during Operation Guardian of the Walls,” which was conducted against Hamas during last month’s Gaza conflict. [Israel PMO]
North America
On Thursday, United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephonic conversation with Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to continue bilateral engagements with the new government in Israel. According to a statement released by State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, the pair discussed bilateral ties, the US’ commitment to Israeli security, the improvement of relations with Palestine, and the Iran threat. [US Department of State]
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is now recommending provinces to administer an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which include the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, for the second dose for those who received the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine for their first dose. Essentially, this means that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the preferred vaccines for Canada. [CBC]
Oceania
Australian Senator Rex Patrick has called for a ban on goods imported from China’s Xinjiang province, citing forced labour as the reason. If passed, the proposal could affect the import of products like cotton. Human rights groups have hailed the decision and called for immediate action. [ABC]
Sydney has been put on “high alert” due to rising COVID-19 cases. Mary-Louise McLaws, an epidemiologist based out of Sydney, told ABC: “We’re in trouble, now we know the strain is Delta,” which is the name for the variant of the virus that first originated in India and is more contagious and deadly. [NZ Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda, who was in office from 1964 to 1991, has died at the age of 97 from pneumonia. He is considered to be the father of the nation. However, his one-party regime is also held responsible for severe economic mismanagement. Towards the end of his reign, he gave into demands for elections following continued riots and was defeated at the polls in 1991. [Africa News]
South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Alvin Botes is scheduled to visit Turkey from 18-20 June for the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, which will be chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The event, which is being held for the first time, will hold a panel discussion called “Turkey-Africa Cooperation Opportunities” on 19 June. [South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation]
World News Monitor: 18 June, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
June 18, 2021
Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda SOURCE: SALIM HENRY / REUTERS