South Asia
Sri Lankan Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila announced his decision to reacquire 99 oil storage tanks that had been leased to the Indian Oil Company since 2003. This will be the second deal the Sri Lankan government has scrapped with India, the first being the trilateral agreement with India and Japan to develop the East Container Terminal of the Colombo Port. [Hindustan Times]
Foreign delegates from 24 countries, including representatives from European, Asian, and South American nations, concluded their two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. This was the third visit by foreign envoys since the Indian government’s decision to abrogate the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. [Hindustan Times]
On Friday, the official Chinese military newspaper, PLA Daily, reported that five of its officials were killed in the clash with Indian soldiers in Galwan in June. While the Indian side reported 20 deaths immediately following the incident, the Chinese side refrained from disclosing the exact number of casualties until this morning. [NDTV]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Irakli Garibashvili has been elected as Georgia’s new Prime Minister (PM) by the ruling party, Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia. This announcement came hours after PM Giorgi Gakharia handed in his resignation due to disagreements within his party over the recent court decision to arrest Nika Melia, the chairman of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), the country’s main opposition party. [RFE/RL]
The European Union (EU)-Tajikistan Partnership Council meeting will be held today under the framework of the EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement via video conference. The meeting aims to develop bilateral relations through development initiatives and trade. [Foreign Brief]
East and Southeast Asia
After the recent uproar over sexism within Japan’s Olympics Organizing Committee, athlete-turned-politician Seiko Hashimoto has been chosen as the new President of the group. [News Deal]
As the Myanmar government continues to intensify its crackdown on online activity through internet blockades, a group called Myanmar Hackers disrupted government websites including the Central Bank, the Myanmar military’s propaganda page, state-run broadcaster MRTV, the Port Authority, and the Food and Drug Administration. [The Hindu]
Europe
Reports suggest that the EU is ready to move forward with imposing sanctions on Russia over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. A decision is expected as early as next week. [Euronews]
The European Commission sent an official notice to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán for violating EU law on Thursday for instituting a controversial law requiring foreign-funded NGOs to disclose their donors to authorities or face fines. If Budapest does not respond within 60 days, the body could ask the European Court of Justice to impose financial penalties on the country. [DW]
Speaking to the Financial Times, French President Emmanuel Macron called upon European countries and the United States to donate 5% of their coronavirus vaccine supplies to poorer developing and under-developed countries in Africa. He said that the uneven distribution of the COVID-19 jabs was resulting in an “unprecedented acceleration of global inequality.” [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
During a United Nations Security Council Meeting, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called on rich Western countries to stop hoarding vaccines. He said, “The countries that produce (vaccines) have very high vaccination rates, and Latin America and the Caribbean much less,” arguing that this disparity was “not fair”, as poorer countries are almost entirely dependent on the “small” supplies from the Covax initiative. [Merco Press]
Police in Guatemala blocked the Farmer Development Committee (CODECA) from reaching Guatemala City, where they intended to protest against President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras. They wish to raise awareness about crime, poverty, and corruption in the country. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) spokesperson, Gebre Gebretsadik, claimed that rebel forces had killed 502 soldiers from the Ethiopian military last week. His claims have not been verified but point to the fact that violence is still rife in the highly unstable and volatile Tigray region. [Nation]
The United Nations’ (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a statement saying that 1.3 million people were displaced in Somalia in 2020. The statement read: “Out of a total of 2.9 million IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] in the country, 1.6 million are most vulnerable and will require humanitarian assistance in 2021.” This is attributed to floods and droughts, as well as violence and political instability. [Middle East Online]
North America
Canada on Thursday announced that it was imposing sanctions against nine Myanmar military officials in response to the February 1 coup d’état in the country. The foreign ministry said that the officials have been “engaged in a systemic campaign of repression through coercive legislative measures and use of force, including mass arbitrary detentions, restrictions on access to information and the right to freedom of opinion and expression, association and assembly”. [Global Affairs Canada]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday spoke with his Quad counterparts from Australia, India, and Japan. The leaders discussed cooperation on COVID-19 response and recovery and climate change, as well as “countering disinformation, counterterrorism, maritime security, the urgent need to restore the democratically elected government in Burma, and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience in the broader region”. [US Department of State]
In his first meeting with NATO allies, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed Washington’s commitment to “revitalise” its relationship with the alliance, and emphasized that NATO’s most important task is “protecting our populations and territories by presenting credible deterrence and a strong military.” Austin also pointed to multiple threats facing the alliance including “destabilizing behaviour by Russia, a rising China, terrorism, and global challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change”. [US Department of Defence]
Oceania
After Facebook controversially removed Australian news outlets and a number of government pages from its platform, Australian PM Scott Morrison denounced the social media giant for “cutting off essential information” from health and emergency services. He said the decision was “arrogant” and warned that Australia will “not be intimidated by BigTech”. [news.com.au]
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi and Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications David Clark announced that New Zealand is joining the 65 other nations who are signatories to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention. The pair said that this will bolster New Zealand’s ability to tackle “criminal activity” and “eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online”. [New Zealand Government]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Ugandan army physically assaulted three journalists in Kampala who had gathered to cover a speech by opposition politician Bobi Wine at the United Human Rights Council (UHRC); two of them required stitches on the back of their heads. This represents yet another act of political suppression by the ruling administration of Yoweri Museveni, who was recently re-elected under highly controversial circumstances. [News Zetu]
Just one day after the two-day summit between the G5 Sahel countries and France, 35 people died in the Salamat Province of Chad due to communal clashes between farmers and herders who belong to different ethnicities. [Africa Times]
World News Monitor: 19 February, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
February 19, 2021
The newly appointed Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili SOURCE: AGENDA.GE