South Asia
Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi arrived in Washington, DC on Wednesday for a three-day visit to the United States (US). He is set to meet Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga today. [Hindustan Times]
Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina was given the ‘SDG Progress Award’ by the United Nations (UN)-sponsored Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the country’s consistent progress in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. [Jagran Josh]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The European Union (EU) has summoned Georgia’s envoy to Brussels after leaked files alleged that the country’s intelligence agency spied on EU diplomats. Georgian media has reported that thousands of leaked files, released by a whistleblower, revealed that Georgian intelligence spied on EU, American, Israeli, and other diplomatic missions in Tbilisi. [RFE/RL]
Settling Afghan refugees in Central Asian countries for humanitarian reasons cannot be ruled out, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told TASS on Wednesday. He said, “The right to decide what to do with Afghan refugees lies primarily with the countries of the region.” [TASS]
East and Southeast Asia
Taiwan submitted its formal application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Wednesday. This comes less than a week after China applied to enter the free trade agreement. [Channel News Asia]
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is set to hold a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, today on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The pair already met on Wednesday in a trilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. [The Straits Times]
Europe
The United Nations Refugee Agency has criticised British Home Secretary Priti Patel’s new asylum plan, saying that it stigmatises those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom as “unworthy and unwelcome” and it violates international law. In July, Patel introduced the UK Nationality and Borders Bill, which, if enacted, would make it a criminal offence for an asylum seeker to arrive in the UK without permission. [Independent]
On Wednesday, the European Union and the United States announced a new COVID-19 vaccine partnership to vaccinate 70% of the world by next year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly. The European Commission said in a statement: “The U.S. and EU are calling for all countries that can vaccinate their populations to double their donation commitments or make meaningful contributions to vaccine readiness.” [Politico]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina’s newly-appointed Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, Juan Manzur, announced that the country will be gradually reopening its borders at the start of next month and also lifting a number of other COVID-19 restrictions, such as quarantine periods upon return from abroad. [MercoPress]
On Tuesday, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia met the undersecretary of the United Nations Development Program, Ushad Rao Monart. During the meeting, the Venezuelan official spoke about the negative impact of sanctions by the United States, saying it has caused “suffering.” [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Algerian presidency has announced the closure of the country’s airspace to all Moroccan planes—civilian and military. The move was announced by the Algerian High Security Council on Wednesday and was made in light of “the continued provocations and hostile practices on the Moroccan side.” [Al Jazeera]
The Lebanese government raised the price of fuel on Wednesday by 16% for the second time in five days as the country faces severe fuel shortages. The new hike comes after the central bank warned that it can no longer subsidise fuel purchases that have drained foreign reserves. [Naharnet]
North America
On Wednesday, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his counterparts from Japan and Korea, Toshimitsu Motegi and Chung Eui-yong, in New York on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The trio talked about climate action, strengthening supply chains, the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and the need to restore democracy in Myanmar. [US Department of State]
All Canadian provinces have stopped requesting new doses of COVID-19 vaccines and the federal government has told suppliers not to deliver any more shipments to the country for now. 80% of eligible citizens have already been fully vaccinated while a further 7% have now received their first shot. Furthermore, the country has a stockpile of 18.7 million doses. [Toronto Star]
Oceania
On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the “disgraceful and disrespectful” anti-lockdown and anti-vaxx protests at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance as protesters vowed to continue to create chaos. The comments came after Victoria recorded 766 new cases of COVID-19 in a day. More than 200 people were arrested by the police at the site of protests. [RNZ]
On Wednesday, Australia, Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey reaffirmed their commitment to open societies, democratic values, and multilateralism. A joint statement read: “As leaders of geographically, culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse nations – our commitment to democracy and working collaboratively in the multilateral system is significant.” [Prime Minister of Australia]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Mozambican government has approved a reconstruction plan for the crisis-torn northern province of Cabo Delgado, which has been ravaged by Islamist terrorists over the past few years. Some of the reconstruction efforts will centre around restoring the power grid in several districts. [AllAfrica]
Tensions are once again flaring up in Ghana after the shops of several Nigerian traders in Accra and Koforidua were closed down by their Ghanaian counterparts. The Ghana Union of Traders Association has accused the Nigerian traders of failing to provide proper documentation for foreign retail trade, a claim that has been denied by the Nigerians. [Africa Feeds]
World News Monitor: 23 September, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
September 23, 2021
Indian PM Narendra Modi SOURCE: MEA INDIA