South Asia
The Union Health Ministry of India said today that COVID-19 cases are spiking faster than they did last year and that the next four weeks are critical for India. Addressing a press conference, Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said “We can still control the pandemic, people’s participation is vital to control the second wave of pandemic, next four weeks are very critical for us.” [Live Mint]
India inaugurated two infrastructure projects in Nepal—a hospital and a cold storage facility—that it helped build through grant assistance of Nepal Rupees 89.2 million ($763,300). The projects were completed under the ‘Nepal-Bharat Development Cooperation’ program as High Impact Community Development projects. [Business Standard]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
In an interview with Russian news agency Interfax, Armenian Prime Minister (PM) Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia-Russia strategic relations are “rich and extensive” and that Yerevan is committed to “broad and long-term military-technical cooperation” with Moscow. Pashinyan also expressed his interest in purchasing “advanced weapons and ammunition” from Russia. When asked about the normalisation of relations with Turkey, the PM stressed that Yerevan has “always been in favour of normalising relations” with Ankara and that in order for lasting peace to be achieved “Turkey needs to change this aggressive policy toward Armenia.” [Interfax]
Azeri and Turkish troops have started joint tactical drills under a plan approved by Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that the exercises were being conducted with the use of “modern communications and automated control systems” and that its aim was to enhance combat readiness, interoperability and decision-making skills among troops. [Azer News]
Uzbekistan’s Erk (Freedom) party, which was banned in the 90s and had its leader exiled, is planning to field a candidate for the country’s presidential election scheduled for October. According to the party, Erk has been conducting its activities for 30 years under “pressure and persecutions” after it became Uzbekistan’s first-ever opposition party in 1991. However, Uzbek authorities have refused to officially recognise the party and have prevented its relaunch. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Indonesia is planning on slowly reopening its tourism industry, said the country’s tourism minister, Sandiaga Uno. The minister said that Indonesia is in “active discussions” with Singapore to allow limited travel to Indonesia. It is being speculated that travellers will have to download apps on their phones to allow contact tracing if needed and may be subject to swab tests before and after they fly. [The Straits Times]
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said yesterday that there is a chance he might call a snap general election before the end of his current term as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ends in September. “There’s certainly a chance of dissolving parliament before the LDP leadership race,” Suga was quoted as saying. However, the leader has also warned of the risks of conducting a snap election during a spike in COVID-19 cases in Japan. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged NATO to speed up Kyiv’s path toward membership, arguing that it was the only way to end the conflict in the country’s eastern Donbas region. Following a call with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Zelensky stressed that purely defence reform—which has been a prerequisite to join the alliance—will do nothing to deter Russian aggression, and that a Membership Action Plan (MAP) would serve as a “real signal” to Moscow. [DW]
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday in Ankara. The top EU leaders stressed that an improvement in EU-Turkey ties would be based on the latter’s record on human rights and rule of law, as well as its ability to create and maintain a “stable and secure environment” for nations like Greece and Cyprus. [France24]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephonic conversation with his Argentinian counterpart, Alberto Fernández, on Monday, in which he invited Fernández to Moscow to bolster bilateral relations. Their conversation comes on the back of Fernández testing positive for the coronavirus despite receiving the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine in January. Nevertheless, Fernández thanked Putin for delivering its vaccines to Argentina, and separately said, “The vaccine works. It must be administered. If I had not had the vaccine, I would have felt very bad now.” [Merco Press]
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley has tested positive for COVID-19 and has now entered a period of isolation and remains under medical supervision. Trinidad and Tobago has thus far recorded 8,000 cases and 145 deaths and recently received 33,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In fact, prior to his diagnosis, Rowley was scheduled to be vaccinated on Tuesday. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began commercial operations at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, which is the first nuclear power station both in the UAE and across the Arab world. Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum called the event “historic” and said that it was due to ten years of efforts by 2000 engineers and young men. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Shiekh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, tweeted that the start of commercial operations “significantly enhances the sustainability of our entire power sector.” [Khaleej Times]
Algeria’s National Human Rights Council Head (CNHD) chief, Bouzid Lazhari, has called on France to compensate victims of landmines planted by its forces during the colonial era. Lazhari said that the French had laid more than nine million mines along the eastern and western borders of Algeria, resulting in permanent injuries for 7300 Algerians. [Middle East Monitor]
North America
The White House on Tuesday confirmed that Americans will not be required to carry COVID-19 vaccine passports, saying that the administration wanted to protect people’s privacy. Press Secretary Jen Psaki however noted that private firms and non-profit organisations were free to explore the idea. She added that the government will provide guidance and information on questions relating to “privacy, security, or discrimination,” but did not give a timeline for such efforts. [The White House]
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced the final instalment of the government’s $19 billion Safe Restart Agreement, saying that the $700 million will “help provinces and territories to further increase their testing capacity and support Canadians” through the COVID-19 crisis. The money is not earmarked for specific pandemic spending, and the leader said that it could be used by provinces per their needs. [CTV News]
Oceania
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced the establishment of a Trans-Tasman travel bubble, which will allow quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia starting on April 19. Ardern remarked, “The Director-General of Health considers the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from Australia to New Zealand is low and that quarantine free travel is safe to commence.” [New Zealand Government]
Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan announced the launch of the Australia India Business Exchange (AIBX), which he said will “help generate jobs and business opportunities in Australia and India”. He said that, as a result of the deal, Indian consumers would now have greater access to Australia’s “premium food, beverage, and consumer products” and allow the two countries to “build resilient supply chains in the mining, resources, and infrastructure sectors”. [Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Tanzania reportedly denied entry to a number of Mozambican citizens who sought to enter the country in order to escape the rising violence in the crisis-torn Cabo Delgado region, which has become overrun by Islamist insurgents. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that roughly 600 Mozambican asylum seekers were asked to turn back. The conflict in Mozambique has killed at least 2,600 people and displaced over 700,000, meaning that the number of asylum seekers is only likely to increase in the coming weeks and months. [The East African]
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has undermined Africa’s ability to tackle climate change, as “multiple systemic shocks are now simultaneously threatening African communities: a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a food security crisis.” This, he argues, has diverted crucial resources away from what would have otherwise been spent on climate change. He said that the pandemic has pushed 40 million Africans into extreme poverty but that governments also have to simultaneously wrestle with the fact that the effects of climate change also causes losses to GDP. [Office of the President of Kenya]
World News Monitor: 7 April, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
April 7, 2021
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley SOURCE: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO NEWSDAY