South Asia
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan has urged the Taliban to continue to “remain engaged”, adding that it would be in the interest of the greater good in Afghanistan. This, he said, was in response to the American side’s decision to pull out of the country on September 11. [Al Jazeera]
Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, announced the Pakistani government’s decision to seek the vote of the country’s legislature to decide on how to respond to calls for the expulsion of the French ambassador. This comes in response to the ongoing violent protests by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik, who have called off the demonstrations following the announcement. [Times of India]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
A Kazakh court has sentenced Muratbai Baimaghambetov to two years of “freedom limitation” and 170 hours of community service for supporting the outlawed Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. Baimaghambetov is a well-known rights activist in the country and has said that he will appeal the sentence. Several activists have been detained in Kazakhstan for their support of DVK, which was banned in 2018 after being labelled as an extremist outfit by the government. [RFE/RL]
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff has urged United States (US) President Joe Biden to formally recognise the Armenian Genocide, which saw the systematic murder and displacement of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923. Armenia is set to mark the 106th anniversary of the Genocide on April 24 and there have been increasing calls by both US lawmakers and the Armenian diaspora for Biden to recognise the genocide. However, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said that any such move by Biden would further harm US-Turkey ties. [Public Radio of Armenia, Reuters]
East and Southeast Asia
Singapore has been ranked ahead of all Asian countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Energy Transition Index (ETI). The ranking reflects the progress towards a more inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure energy system. The index, which surveys 115 countries, also assesses the performance of their energy systems and their readiness to transition across the three dimensions of the “energy triangle”: economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access indicators. [The Straits Times]
Executives of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine producers such as Sinovac and CanSinoBIO said at the 2021 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Tuesday that they are contemplating technology transfers to other countries struggling to contain the pandemic and in order to help address the global vaccine inequity issue. [Global Times]
Europe
The Danish Immigration Ministry has announced the tightening of citizenship laws in the country, adding that those who have been awarded prison sentences will be unable to acquire citizenship in the country. This is an amendment to the current law, which granted citizenship to those who had been awarded suspended prison sentences of less than a year. [Copenhagen Post]
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for peace talks in eastern Ukraine, in an effort to end the conflict in the region between the two sides and easing tensions. “Mr Putin: I am ready to go even further and invite you to meet anywhere in the Ukrainian Donbas, where war is ongoing,” Zelensky said. [France 24]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The US Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that it has reserved 6,000 seasonal guest worker visas for people from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador in an effort to normalise the immigration status of thousands. In fact, the latest move is in addition to the 22,000 H-2B visas that have already been set aside for the same purpose. [Al Jazeera]
Indigenous groups in Brazil congregated in the nation’s capital, Brasilia, to protest against a proposed bill by the Bolsonaro government that would legalise mining on Indigenous land for oil and gas projects as well as hydroelectric dams. Referring to the resource-rich regions they live in, President Bolsonaro has previously said, “The indigenous cannot continue to be poor over a rich land.” [CNN]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Sinopec, a Beijing-based oil and gas company, has won a 25-year contract to develop Iraq’s Mansuriya oil field. The oil field will be jointly developed by Iraq’s Midland Oil Company and Sinopec. Under the contract, Sinopec will help Iraq to “capture and process” natural gas from the field and increase output to 300 million cubic feet of gas per day. [Reuters]
Israeli Defence Minister (DM) Benny Gantz has warned Hezbollah of “serious consequences” if it challenges Israel. Gantz also said that Iran is supporting the Lebanese militant outfit and other terrorist organisations in the region. The DM’s comments come at a time when Israel has expressed alarm over intelligence reports of Hezbollah stockpiling medium to long-range missiles that could reach major Israeli cities in the event of a conflict between the two sides. [i24 News]
Greece has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to provide the Arab Kingdom with a Patriot missile defence system. Saudi officials have said that the American-made system will be used to protect critical energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. [Saudi Gazette]
North America
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes last year, has been found guilty of murder and manslaughter. Chauvin was convicted for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and now faces up to 40 years in prison. [NBC News]
Oceania
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare announced the deployment of a maritime patrol aircraft to support the efforts of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in “detect[ing] and deter[ing] illicit maritime practices in contravention of UNSC sanctions against North Korea, such as ship-to-ship transfers fo sanctioned cargo at sea.” Henare said that the deployment is indicative of New Zealand’s “commitment to collective security in the Indo-Pacific region.” [New Zealand Government]
A study by Australian news outlets The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, in collaboration with research firm Resolve Strategic, found that Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison continues to remain more popular than the leader of the Labor party and the Opposition, Anthony Albanese. Morrison holds the support of 47% of the population, while just 25% see Albanese as their “preferred PM”. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The International Court of Justice began hearing the cases of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) regarding reparations, wherein the DRC has accused the Uganda People’s Defence Forces of “destroying property, killing or injuring Congolese and exploiting natural resources” from 1998-2003. In fact, a previous ICJ judgment ruled that Uganda was obligated to pay reparations for violating human rights. However, the ICJ also ruled that the DRC must pay reparations to Uganda for an attack on the Ugandan embassy. The two sides are still disputing the exact amount of the reparations owed to the other. [The East African]
The Tanzanian government is reportedly "encouraging" Burundian refugees to return home, with the director of the Department of Refugee Services, Sudi Mwakibasi, saying, “It is of paramount importance that they go back home. Burundi is politically stable and it needs their contribution in building its economy.” He added, “We love you very much, there is no way you can live a dignified life and accomplish your dreams while in any refugee camp.” Thousands of Burundians fled to Tanzania in 2015 following former President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term. Tanzania insists that the situation has since stabilised and has been pushing for the repatriation of Burundian refugees. [The Citizen]