South Asia
Pakistani authorities arrested 50 suspects over their involvement in last week’s attack on a Hindu Temple in the Punjab province. The Chief Minister of the province, Usman Buzdar, said that the arrests were made through “analysis of video footage.” [The Hindu]
Further raising concern about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the Taliban has seized control of three provincial capitals: Kunduz, Sar-e-Pol, and Taloqan. The cities were captured following “heavy clashes” with security forces. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Armenian Defence Ministry has accused Azerbaijani troops of firing at Armenian military positions in Syunik as tensions continue to escalate near the border. The United Nations has called on both sides to “refrain from any action that could escalate tensions, and address related concerns through dialogue.” [Armen Press, Public Radio of Armenia]
The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan met in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan on Friday to discuss the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and their response to potential security threats. “A quick settlement of the situation in Afghanistan is a key factor for preserving and strengthening security and stability in Central Asia,” the five leaders said in a joint statement after the talks. [Associated Press]
East and Southeast Asia
At least six different protests broke out all over Myanmar against the military government on Sunday, which marked the anniversary of the bloody suppression of a 1988 uprising against a previous army junta. [Channel News Asia]
Protests returned to the streets of Bangkok on Saturday, albeit on a smaller scale, amid growing anger against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of mRNA vaccines in the country’s inoculation drive. Riot police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to prevent a thousand demonstrators from advancing. [The Straits Times]
Europe
The United Kingdom’s Home Office is facing legal actions launched by immigration lawyers for disallowing European citizens from meeting their relatives in the UK. This is the latest criticism being targeted towards the Home Office regarding its treatment of European citizens since Brexit. [Politico]
Italy allowed two ships with rescued migrants to dock after they were stuck at sea for days with no instructions on disembarkment. SOS Méditerranée, said, “These inhuman stand-offs cannot become the norm. European countries urgently need to revive the process towards the predictable disembarkation mechanism.” Sea-Watch 3, with 257 migrants, docked on Saturday at the port of Trapani in western Sicily, and Ocean Viking, with 549 migrants, docked in Pozzallo in southern Sicily on Sunday. [Euronews]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The United States has imposed visa restrictions on 50 immediate family members of a number of officials within Nicaragua’s government. Washington aims to place pressure on the administration of President Daniel Ortega to relent in its political suppression of opposition ahead of the November election. This follows recent sanctions by the European Union against First Lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo and seven other senior officials. [Associated Press]
Peru received a shipment of 101,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Spain, with Vice Minister Bernardo Ostos also confirming another imminent shipment of a further 800,000 vaccines via the COVAX initiative. This will be supported by the purchase and delivery of 2.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 3 million of the Sinopharm vaccine later this month. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Tunisia’s Interior Ministry put Anouar Maarouf, a senior official of the Ennahda party, under house arrest on Friday. Maarouf is the most prominent member of the party to be targeted by President Kais Saied since the leader fired the Prime Minister and suspended the parliament in a “coup” last month. [Reuters]
On Sunday, Iran reported 39,600 new COVID-19 cases and 549 deaths from the virus, its highest ever since the pandemic began. The new figures push Iran’s total number of infections over 4.1 million and the death toll above 94,000, the highest in the Middle East. [Associated Press]
North America
On Friday, the United States condemned Hezbollah’s rocket attacks against Israel, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying that this “violence puts Israelis and Lebanese at risk and jeopardises Lebanon's stability and sovereignty.” [US Department of State]
On Friday, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held a phone call with Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz. The pair talked about the attack on the M/T Mercer Street oil tanker that killed two crew members and which a range of international actors have blamed Iran for. According to a statement put out by Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby, Austin and Gantz “expressed concern about Iran’s proliferation and employment of one-way attack UAVs across the region and committed to continue cooperating closely on regional security.” [US Department of Defense]
Oceania
During the virtual summit of the Pacific Islands Forum on Friday, leaders agreed to prioritise the global recognition of maritime boundaries. Member states are seeking to delineate maritime boundaries in case shorelines diminish as sea levels rise, as boundaries are taken from points on land. [RNZ]
On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the government will soon issue COVID-19 vaccine passports to allow its citizens to travel the world. Ardern said, “But when it comes to movement around the world, increasingly we will see countries say you can’t come in unless you’re vaccinated, so we are working on documents trying to identify people who have been vaccinated so you can move around.” [Otago Daily Times]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The United Nations has reported that around 4.4 million people in northeastern Nigeria fast acute hunger and malnutrition due to armed insurgencies, many of which are led by militant group Boko Haram. These attacks have forcefully displaced thousands of farmers and led to food scarcity. [Africa Feeds]
Mozambican and Rwandan troops have reportedly recaptured the port town of Mocimboa da Praia, which fell under the control of Islamic State-affiliated militants last year. The spokesperson of the Rwandan Defence Force, Col. Ronald Rwivanga, said that the Mozambican town represented the “last stronghold of the insurgents” and that this marked the “end of the first phase of counter-insurgency operations.” [AllAfrica]
World News Monitor: 9 August, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
August 9, 2021
SOURCE: DAILY MAVERICK