South Asia
Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, MK Stalin, convened a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss securing citizenship and other rights for Sri Lankan Tamils. On the same day, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, also conducted discussions with representatives from the Tamil National Alliance. [India Today]
On Monday, Indian authorities administered 7.5 million vaccines, the highest since the beginning of its vaccine drive. This came on the first day of the newly introduced vaccine administration plan, which was announced by Indian premier Narendra Modi, to inoculate all adults in the country free of cost. [Reuters]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenian acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan secured re-election by a landslide despite being criticised over his handling of last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh war, which Armenia lost to Azerbaijan. After the final tally was counted, Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party won 54% of the votes compared to 21% for the opposition Armenia Alliance led by former President Robert Kocharyan. [RFE/RL]
Chingiz Akhmadov, the director of Chechnya’s Grozny State Television, has issued death threats against critics of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Akhmadov said any “enemy of Ramzan Kadyrov is the enemy of the Chechen people.” Kadyrov’s brutal rule in Chechnya is notorious for its severe crackdown on human rights, including torture, abduction, and extra-judicial killings. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The European Union (EU) expanded its sanctions blacklist by adding eight officials from Myanmar’s military and three firms linked to the military on Monday. Those targeted with asset freezes and visa bans included the interior, security, finance, natural resources, and transport ministers. [Channel News Asia]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to jail people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday. In a televised address, the leader said: “You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed.” The Philippines is battling one of Asia’s worst outbreaks, with over 1.3 million cases and more than 23,000 deaths. [Nikkei Asia]
Europe
A bill calling for the legalisation of assisted dying was submitted before the Scottish Parliament on Monday, making it the third such attempt to approve euthanasia for “terminally ill and mentally competent adults.” If passed, Scotland would become the first country in the United Kingdom to pass such a law. [Politico]
The European Council has decided to renew its sanctions on Crimea and Sevastopol for another year. The sanctions include restrictions on imports and export of goods concerning the energy, telecommunications and transport sector from the EU. The sanctions come against the backdrop of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. [European Council]
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that she was “dismayed” by the Kremlin’s actions to undermine the right to voice critical opinions and participate in Russia’s forthcoming elections. She urged Russia to uphold civil and political rights and fall into line with international standards. She highlighted, in particular, the recent moves to dismantle the movement of Russia’s main opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, who is currently behind bars. [Moscow Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Both Argentina and Mexico have recalled their ambassadors from Nicaragua over President Daniel Ortega’s rising suppression and arrests of opposition figures and candidates ahead of the country’s election in November. A statement released by both countries expressed concern over the “worrying political-legal actions carried out by the Nicaraguan government in recent days that have put the integrity and freedom of various opposition figures at risk.” [Buenos Aires Times]
A survey conducted by Brazilian economist Daniel Duque found that the “unhappiness index” in the country, which is the sum of inflation and the unemployment rates, is at its highest in five years, with the figure standing at 19.83% during the first quarter of 2021. [The Rio Times]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Iran and the P4+1—China, Russia, France, Britain, and Germany—concluded the sixth round of Vienna talks aimed at restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Monday. The heads of the delegations expressed satisfaction at the level of progress made so far and vowed to continue efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Syed Abbas Araqchi, called on all parties to “adopt the necessary measures seriously, realistically and resolutely in order to protect and revive the JCPOA.” [Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
Ethiopians have voted in the country’s parliamentary elections amid a brutal civil war in the Tigray region. The elections are a crucial test for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was criticised for postponing the elections last year, and for his poor handling of the Tigray conflict. [Associated Press]
North America
On Monday, the Biden administration announced its plan to distribute the remaining 55 million of the 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that the president pledged to allocate by the end of this month. The shipments will consist of the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The White House did not provide exact figures for how many doses would be sent to each country, only estimates for regions in general. [CNN]
The White House confirmed that there are currently no plans for United States President Joe Biden to meet with Iran’s newly elected leader Ebrahim Raisi. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: “We don’t currently have any diplomatic relations with Iran or any plans to meet at the leader level.” Raisi, a staunch critic of the West, will take over from pragmatist Hassan Rouhani on August 3rd following the recently-concluded election. [Reuters]
Oceania
Barnaby Joyce was sworn in as the deputy prime minister of Australia today. Joyce defeated former deputy PM Michael McCormack during a spill motion. Joyce has also replaced the former PM as Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. [news.com.au]
New Zealand approved COVID-19 vaccinations for young people between 12 to 15 years of age. The approval was granted to Pfizer by NZ’s medical regulator, Medsafe. The cabinet is yet to discuss this provisional approval. [The Conversation]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was re-elected in January and has been in power since 1986, has remained tight-lipped on a succession plan, possibly indicating that he intends to run for office once again in 2026. [The East African]
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta met with Belgian King Philippe in Brussels as part of his two-day visit to Belgium, during which he will meet with European Council President Charles-Michel, hold talks Organization of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretary-General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikotiwith, and attend a Kenya-Belgium business forum. [Office of the Kenyan President]
World News Monitor: 22 June, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
June 22, 2021
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte SOURCE: ERIK DE CASTRO / REUTERS