South Asia
Addressing the ninth convocation of the Babasaheb Bhimarao Ambedkar University in Lucknow on Thursday, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind claimed that the country will become a developed country by 2047. He said India will soon play a “decisive role in creating an inclusive world order.” [ANI]
Following India’s all-party meet on Afghanistan, which featured 37 leaders from 31 different parties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India will approach the unfolding situation in Afghanistan “very much in the spirit of national unity.” India has thus far evacuated 565 people from the country through six flights, including 175 embassy personnel, 263 other Indian nationals, and 112 Afghan nationals. [WION]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenia’s National Security Service has said that dozens of Azerbaijani soldiers have blocked a road between two parts of Armenia’s Syunik region. Azerbaijan claimed that the move was in response to the stabbing of an Azerbaijani border guard by Armenian soldiers. [RFE/RL]
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat on Thursday to discuss the Afghan crisis and bilateral relations. “Pakistan is determined to further strengthen its economic relations with Turkmenistan through different projects such as TAPI [Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline],” Qureshi said. [The Express Tribune]
East and Southeast Asia
In a press conference on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin once again hit out at the United States (US) for demanding an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. He said, “The US moves of relying on its intelligence apparatus instead of scientists to trace the origins of COVID-19 will only undermine science-based origins study and hinder the global effort of finding the source of the virus. Why is the US doing so although this is not the way the relevant work should be conducted? What is the US true intention of drawing on the intelligence community? These questions are worth pondering.” [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China]
North Korea left calls made by South Korea through the inter-Korean liaison office unanswered, said a South Korean unification ministry official. The communication lines between the two countries were restored last month after they were suspended for a year. [The Korea Herald]
Europe
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the United Kingdom’s evacuation operations in Kabul will continue despite yesterday’s suicide attack. Johnson noted that an “overwhelming majority” of those approved for evacuation have now left Afghanistan. [Independent]
In an interim decision released on Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights asked Latvia and Poland to help Afghan and Iraqi migrants stuck on the border with Belarus until September 15. The court further asked the countries to provide the migrants with food, shelter, water, and medical aid. However, the Court added, “This measure should not be understood as requiring that Poland or Latvia let the applicants enter their territories.” [Politico]
The remains of between 5000 and 8000 people were discovered at a mass grave in Ukraine on Thursday. Historians report that these bones possibly belonged to the many victims of Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror (1937-39), back when Ukraine was a Soviet state. [The Independent]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes once again reiterated the Bolsonaro government’s stance that Mercosur must modernise and be made more flexible in order to remain a “valid and important tool.” Brazil and Uruguay for months now have pushed for a removal of the bloc’s common external tariff and for members to be allowed to enter into independent agreements with third parties. However, they have faced stiff opposition from Argentina. [MercoPress]
Following the swearing-in of socialist Peruvian President Pedro Castillo in July, Peru has adopted a more accommodative tone with the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In fact, Foreign Affairs Minister Oscar Maurtua said that Peru can be used as a host venue for dialogue between the Venezuelan government and opposition. In response, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia welcomed this “new stage of rapprochement between brother countries.” [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Qatar received its first batch of new generation F-15 fighter jets, produced by the United States (US) and Boeing. Qatar signed deals to purchase warplanes from the US and Europe in 2017 after a diplomatic fallout with its neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. [Al Jazeera
According to Amnesty International, Tunisia has banned at least 50 officials, politicians, and businessmen from travelling abroad since President Kais Saied staged a coup last month. Saied has made “widespread use of arbitrary travel bans in Tunisia while bypassing the judiciary,” Amnesty noted. [Reuters]
North America
Following the attack on the Kabul airport, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement saying that the incident serves as a “devastating reminder” of the situation in Afghanistan. The US has already evacuated over 100,000 people from Kabul. Blinken also honoured the 800,000 American service members who have served in Afghanistan, including the 2,300 who have died and the over 20,000 who have been injured. [US Department of State]
On Thursday, Canada announced that it would be delivering $50 million worth of humanitarian aid towards responding to the crisis in Afghanistan. The Canadian government will work with a number of international organisations, including the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. [Global Affairs Canada]
Oceania
New Zealand’s dropped 26 places in Bloomberg’s ‘Covid Resilience Rank’ due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases. New Zealand held first place for a long time on the list; however, its ranking plunged after 347 people tested positive across Auckland and Wellington for the Delta variant of COVID-19. [Stuff]
Two major hospitals in Sydney had to set up emergency outdoor tents after the city recorded 1,000 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, “Authorities had quadrupled the number of the state’s intensive care ventilators to 2,000 early last year. Although the system is under pressure, it can withstand the current crisis once vaccination rates rise.” [Reuters]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Zimbabwe is now set to administer COVID-19 vaccines to citizens as young as 14 years old, which in turn makes it one of the first African countries to offer vaccinations to children. The country has seen a gradual drop in cases in conjunction with its vaccination drive following a Delta variant-led surge. [Bloomberg]
Rwandan President Paul Kagame flew to Germany, where he will take part in the G20 Compact With Africa Summit hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The summit will largely focus on how to drive investment in Africa and how to support post-pandemic economic growth in the continent. Aside from Rwanda, the summit will also be attended by representatives from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia. [The New Times]
World News Monitor: 27 August, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
August 27, 2021
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS