South Asia
During a court hearing on the fire on the MV X-Press Pearl cargo ship, investigators reported that a Sri Lankan local official had deleted emails about an acid leak on the vessel. The local agent failed to inform authorities about the email, resulting in the incident that is being referred to as the “worst marine disaster.” [Straits Times]
The Taliban released a statement reassuring Afghan citizens who worked with foreign forces that they will not be attacked if they “show remorse for their past actions” and if they do not “desert the country.” This comes in preparation for American and NATO troops’ departure from the country by September 11. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The chief of Uzbekistan’s conservative National Revival party, Alisher Kadyrov, has called for stripping the citizenship of the country’s LGBTQ community and deporting them. Kadyrov remarked that depriving the community would force other countries to take them in. Rights groups have criticised Uzbekistan’s criminal code for containing an article that penalises same-sex relations. [Eurasianet]
Two men were arrested by Armenia’s National Security Service in Yerevan on Monday on the charge of spying for Azerbaijan. A statement by the Service said that the two men were recruited by the Azerbaijani secret service in Turkey and were responsible for providing Azerbaijan with classified intel related to Armenian military personnel and equipment. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
On Monday, at the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, the foreign ministers of Singapore and Indonesia called on their regional counterparts to double down their efforts to resolve the political crisis in Myanmar and appoint a special envoy to mediate the conflict. [The Straits Times]
According to an update released by China’s Ministry of Commerce, Beijing intends to offer vaccine assistance to 88 countries and four international organizations as part of its vaccine diplomacy efforts. As of Sunday, it has already shipped vaccines and syringes to 66 countries and one international organisation. [Global Times]
Europe
The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement announcing reciprocal sanctions against nine Canadian officials, including David Lametti, the country’s Justice Minister. The release said that the sanctions have been imposed “for an undetermined period.” [Al Jazeera]
German Defence Minister Heiko Maas said that the European Union is being “held hostage” by countries using their veto power to block crucial decisions on foreign policy. Consequently, he called for the right of individuals members of the bloc to veto decisions to be scrapped. [RTE]
Latin America and the Caribbean
A number of citizens in El Salvador took to the streets to protest against President Nayib Bukele’s administration’s push to reduce transparency and criticised the ruling government for increasing corruption and human rights violations. One activist accused Bukele of being a dictator. [Telesur]
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s MORENA party and its allied parties are set to maintain their majority in the country’s lower chamber of congress. This victory will renew the ruling government’s ability to pass budgetary and legislative proposals. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman met with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in Saudi Arabia on Monday to “review aspects of joint cooperation in various fields.” They discussed the “latest developments” in the Middle East and stressed the importance of promoting “stability and security” in the region. [Saudi Press Agency]
The United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that if Iran does not show readiness to comply with the 2015 nuclear deal, the breakout time needed for it to stockpile enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon would come down to a “matter of weeks.” [Reuters]
Clashes between the Arab Taaisha and non-Arab Falata tribes in the western Darfur region in Sudan have killed at least 36 people. Additional troops were deployed to contain the fighting, which erupted as a result of a land dispute between the two tribes. [Associated Press]
North America
In an interview with Mike Allen from Axios that was broadcasted on HBO Max, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We’ve certainly seen China try to fill voids where we’ve been relatively disengaged. Or maybe just as bad, no one does it and then you are likely to have chaos before you have anything else—nature, of course, a vacuum.” [US Department of State]
Following her meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, US Vice President Kamala Harris told migrants in a news conference: “Do not come,” saying that they would be “turned back” if they come to the US border. Harris and Giammattei discussed the Biden administration’s push to tackle the root causes of migration, and to this end announced a host of new measures to address human trafficking, smuggling, and corruption in Guatemala. [Reuters]
Oceania
A Kiwi tax expert has expressed his doubts about the G7’s recent pledge to make multinational companies pay taxes and make them pay more taxes in the countries where they are selling their goods or services and not just where they declare their profits. PWC tax partner Geof Nightingale told RNZ: “We’ve got some big exporters, so it’s not all one-way traffic. It’s not just about the inbound multinationals into New Zealand, we also need to think about our own outbound,” before adding, “We’ll have to work out if that provides a net benefit for New Zealand, or a net detriment.” [RNZ]
In an interview with Sky News Extra, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan said, “We’ve taken China to the WTO on barley, and we’ve begun that process and, at the moment, we’re at the last stages of considering whether we would also take China to the WTO with regards to wine.” [Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo offered the Kenyatta administration’s assistance for “broad-based reform” in Sudan as the country transitions to a full democracy under Prime Minister (PM) Abdalla Hamdok. Omamo visited Khartoum over the weekend and met with Hamdok and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mariam Al Mahdi. Omamo welcomed the fact that Sudan has now been removed from the US’ state sponsors of terrorism list and said that Khartoum and Nairobi should expand ties in “trade, investment, education, people to people relations, natural resource management, agriculture, and capacity building.” [Nation]
Malian junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta, who ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister (PM) Boubou Cissé last August and their replacements Bah N’Daw and Moctar Ouane last month, said that as the new interim president he would honour the transitional council’s pledge to return the country to civilian rule next year within the stipulated 18 month transition period. To this end, he guaranteed that an election would be held next February as scheduled. [Africa News]
World News Monitor: 8 June, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
June 8, 2021
Malian coup leader Assimi Goïta SOURCE: HABIB KOUYATE / XINHUA