South Asia
Tomorrow, as part of his ongoing three-day trip to Tajikistan, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to attend the ninth Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP), which will focus on the Afghan peace process. He will be joined by his counterparts from Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and the meeting follows his meeting in Dushanbe with his counterparts from Iran and Turkey today on the same topic. [ANI News, Outlook India]
On Saturday, India joined hands with Russia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in attending the Myanmar military’s annual parade in Naypitaw, which celebrates what is known as ‘Tatmadaw Day’. This comes amidst intense popular protests against the military coup last month, which saw the arrest of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. Independent reports suggest that a harsh crackdown by security forces has led to at least 500 civilian deaths so far. [The Indian Express]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have signed a pact to end all border disputes between the two countries. Kyrgyz security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev said that “there is not a single patch of disputed territory left”, and that all issues around the border have been “resolved 100 per cent.” The deal comes after Kyrgyz president, Sadyr Japarov, visited his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent earlier this month in order to resolve all outstanding border issues. The agreement contains the final demarcation of all land boundaries, which would be achieved through land swaps. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have had a long-standing border dispute over numerous patches of land scattered along the boundary, including the fertile Ferghana Valley. [Eurasianet]
On Monday, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was elected as a member of the country’s new senate after receiving “100 per cent” of the vote, according to state media. The election for the upper house was held for the first time since constitutional reforms were undertaken in September last year. State media reported that the elections were “fair” and “independent”; however, foreign observers were barred from monitoring the elections. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
China will be setting up a small committee, comprised of fewer than 10 people, who will vet candidates for top elected positions in Hong Kong. The committee members of this vetting committee will be chosen by China’s National Security Office in Hong Kong as well as the Committee for Safeguarding National Security chaired by the territory’s chief executive. Both bodies have been created under China’s draconian national security law in Hong Kong. [The Straits Times]
On Sunday morning, two suicide bombers set off an explosion at a church in Makassar, Indonesia. While 20 people were injured in total, both bombers were killed. Police suspect that the husband-wife bomber couple were members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah extremist group. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
Belarusian authorities on Monday announced the launch of a criminal investigation into opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya on charges of terrorism. Prosecutor-General Andrey Shved accused Tsikhanovskaya and her supporters of plotting explosions and arson attacks in Minsk and other cities several days ago. [Euronews]
The British government on Monday announced that it had signed a deal with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to produce up to 60 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine to secure sufficient domestic supply. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the agreement would “further boost” the country’s vaccine rollout. [The Guardian]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Sunday, Argentina received more than 200,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the World Health Organization (WHO)-backed COVAX initiative, meaning that the country has now received upwards of five million doses of vaccines. Buenos Aires has also previously received shipments of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Currently, healthcare workers, teachers, elderly citizens and those with comorbidity risks are being vaccinated. [Merco Press]
Amid continued and vociferous opposition to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and a plummeting approval rating, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro replaced his foreign minister, defence minister, and justice and public security minister. [Associated Press]
Mexico’s Health Ministry released data that suggests that the country’s real coronavirus death toll is at least 61.4% higher, meaning that the official count of 201,623 deaths could be well short of a true death toll of 294,287. This is attributed to low testing rates. [NBC News]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, a firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to start manufacturing China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. This follows an agreement that was signed between China and UAE during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Emirates, which formed part of his Middle East tour. [Reuters]
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have expelled the last of the country’s remaining Jews away from their homes in Sana’a. Yemeni Jews have been facing increasing pressure from the Houthis ever since the civil war broke out in 2014. The country as a whole has been in the throes of a brutal humanitarian crisis after a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 by conducting regular airstrikes and imposing a naval blockade. [Asharq Al-Awsat]
On Monday, France reopened its embassy in Tripoli after being closed for seven years. The French embassy to Libya was relocated to Tunisia in 2014 after it was targeted in a car bombing in 2013. The decision to reopen the embassy in Tripoli was announced after the president of Libya’s newly elected Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris last week. [Al Jazeera]
North America
Canada on Monday, in coordination with Australia, announced new sanctions against several Russian individuals and entities, for their involvement in the country’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said that the measures highlighted Canada’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s sovereignty, and called on Russia to end its occupation and release all those who have been unlawfully detained. [Global Affairs Canada]
Canada has temporarily halted the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for adults below 55 years of age, while Health Canada “completes its updated risk-benefit analysis [of the shot] based on emerging data. The decision came after Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended the move, citing “substantial uncertainty” around the potential risk of developing blood clots. [Toronto City News]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the UN Security Council on Monday and urged the body to increase humanitarian access to Syria, by reopening border crossings into the country. “We have to find a way to do something – to take action to help people. That is our responsibility. And shame on us if we don’t,” the official said. [US Department of State]
Oceania
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that her administration will continue to deal with China in an “entirely predictable manner” that involves raising alarms over Beijing’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. In fact, just last week, the Ardern government joined hands with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union to levy sanctions against Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses in the region. On this topic, Ardern said, “We have raised those issues ourselves directly, face to face, and that is in keeping with the way that we as a nation deal with issues of concern and human rights concern to us.” [Newshub]
On Sunday, a cyberattack pushed Australian television channel Channel Nine to suspend its 5 pm news show. The channel is now investigating whether the attack as a “criminal sabotage or the work of a foreign nation”. On the same day, Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie reported that the e-mail system at the Parliament House was subjected to a cyber attack. In the past, the Australian government has hinted the Chinese government is behind these malicious attacks. [Sky News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Duclert Commission, which was set up by French President Emmanuel Macron in April 2019, has released its findings on France’s role in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The report says that France bears “overwhelming responsibilities” for the Tutsi genocide, which resulted in at least 800,000 deaths per some reports. To this end, it said that France was responsible for a “political, institutional, intellectual, moral, and cognitive failure”, especially “in regards to assessing the situation and in the decision-making process”. The findings were presented to Macron ahead of his trip to Rwanda next month. [The Africa Report]
Current Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina released a statement confirming the death of former leader President Didier Ratsiraka, who ruled from who rules from 1975 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2002, at the age of 84 from what has been reported as the flu. [Africa Feeds]
Mozambican security forces are attempting to drive out Islamic State-affiliated militants from the northern, oil-rich town of Palma, which was attacked by terrorists that identify themselves as “Al Shabaab” last week. According to local sources, the insurgents are “running out of ammunition and food, and [are] fleeing towards the Rovuma river (the border with Tanzania).” [All Africa]
World News Monitor: 30 March, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
March 30, 2021
SOURCE: ASIA TIMES