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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Apr 12, 2021

Israel Vows to Work with US on Tehran

The Israel Defence Minister pledged to cooperate with the United States on Iran, voicing hope that Israel's security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches.
"Israel views the United States as a full partner across all operational theatres, not the least Iran," Benny Gantz said after hosting visiting US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin
Netanyahu said that will not be bound by a renewed deal, which he describes as a temporary cap on Iranian nuclear capabilities that would pave the way to bomb-production in the longer run. Tehran says its atomic ambitions are purely peaceful.
Israel and Iran have in recent weeks reported sabotage to their ships at sea. Syria has accused Israel of air strikes on its territory. Israel says it is trying to stem a build-up of Iranian forces within next-door Syria.

Conservative Ex-banker Ecuador's New President

A conservative former banker, Guillermo Lasso, won Ecuador's presidential election following a run-off vote.
His opponent, the left-wing economist Andrés Arauz, conceded defeat hours after polls closed.
With almost all the ballots counted, Mr. Lasso had won 52.5% of the vote compared to Mr. Arauz's 47.5%.
Mr Lasso will assume office on 24 May.
The former banker, who has twice finished second in presidential votes, represents the country's business sector. He has vowed to break away from the leftist policies of past administrations that he says have dragged Ecuador down.

US Warns of Consequences to Russian Aggression

The Biden administration is carrying a review of its policies against Russia over its escalating aggression in eastern Ukraine and there will be consequences, some seen and some unseen, to Kremlin, the White House has warned.
The long-running conflict in Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking east has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2014.
Fighting in the conflict, which erupted after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, subsided in 2020 as a new ceasefire agreement took hold last July.
From his first phone call with President Putin, President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to a number of destabilising Russian actions, in a manner and timing of our choosing.

Apr 11, 2021

Vietnam National Assembly Selects PM and President

Vietnam's legislature voted to make Pham Minh Chinh, a member of the Communist party with a history as a security official, the country's next Prime Minister. Outgoing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was appointed the new President. The votes of the nearly 500 members of the National Assembly rubber-stamped the leadership picks the Communist party made during its National Congress in January.

Singapore Deputy PM To Step Aside as Future PM

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will step aside as the designated successor to current premier Lee Hsien Loong, in an unexpected decision that disrupts the city-state's succession plans.
Heng, who will turn 60 this year, is set to give up his portfolio as Finance Minister at the next cabinet reshuffle, which is expected in about two weeks.
Succession in the wealthy Southeast Asian city state - which has been governed by the People's Action Party (PAP) since independence in 1965 - is normally a carefully planned affair.
The pandemic, however, has set back a handover of power. Lee, 69, has flagged that he may delay his plan to pass the reins to a successor by the time he is 70 to see Singapore through the aftermath of the pandemic.

US President Biden Introduces Limited Gun Control Measures

President Joe Biden and his Attorney General Merrick Garland announced limited measures to tackle gun violence in the United States, in what the White House described as a first step to curb mass shootings, community bloodshed and suicides.
The new measures include plans for the Justice Department to crack down on self-assembled "ghost guns," and make "stabilising braces" - which effectively turn pistols into rifles - subject to registration under the National Firearms Act.
Biden said he will also ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to release an annual report on firearms trafficking in the United States, and make it easier for states to adopt "Red Flag" laws that flag at-risk individuals who own guns.

Apr 10, 2021

Mozambique Rules out Foreign Forces to Fight Militants

The President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi has ruled out foreign military intervention to deal with the growing jihadist conflict in the north of the country.
He called for the strengthening of the country's defence and security forces.
Last month's attack by Islamist militants on the town of Palma focused international attention on a three year old conflict that has displaced nearly 750,000 people.
President Nyusi said that the jihadists had been chased out of the town but said that victory could not be declared because the country was fighting terrorism.
The government of Mozambique has in the past recruited mercenaries from Russia and South Africa.

Virginia Becomes First Southern US State to Legalize Pot

Virginia became the first southern US state to approve the use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
The state Senate and House of Delegates voted to allow adults to possess marijuana, in a measure approved despite fierce opposition by Republican lawmakers.
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam in a statement said that his state had made history as the first state in the South to legalise the simple possession of marijuana.
Several other US states, including New York and Colorado, have approved similar measures, but Virginia is the first to do so in the socially and politically conservative US south.

Ukraine Conflict: Moscow could Defend Russia-backed Rebels

A top Russian official has warned that Moscow could intervene to help Russian-speaking residents in eastern Ukraine if Ukraine launches an all-out assault on separatists there.
Russian-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian troops have been clashing in the east of the country.
Russia has also been building up troops on the border with Ukraine.
The official, Dmitry Kozak, said that everything depends on the scale of the conflagration.
The United States and Germany have both expressed concern at the increase in tensions.

South Korea Ruling Party Suffers Crushing Defeat in Mayoral Elections

South Korea's governing Democratic Party has suffered a crushing defeat in mayoral elections in the country's two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan.
Candidates from the opposition People Power Party (PPP) won both cities by big margins.
Both former mayors from President Moon's Democratic Party were accused of sexual misconduct while in office.
In Busan, the incumbent resigned. Seoul's mayor was found dead in a suspected suicide.
The vote is seen as an important barometer of public opinion ahead of a presidential election next year.
The popularity of President Moon Jae-in and his party has plummeted to record lows in recent months due to sex abuse scandals, rising house prices and deepening inequality.

Apr 09, 2021

Carl Bildt New WHO Special Envoy for ACT-Accelerator

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), appointed Carl Bildt as WHO Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator). Bildt succeeds Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Andrew Witty in the special envoy role. He will help lead the collective advocacy for the ACT-Accelerator in his new role, mobilising support and resources so it can deliver against its strategy for 2021.
The ACT-Accelerator is a groundbreaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests, treatments and vaccines, according to the WHO website.
It brings together governments, scientists, businesses, civil society, and philanthropists and global health organisations.
Bildt has served as both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden and is a renowned international diplomat, having been the European Union Special Envoy to erstwhile Yugoslavia; High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; UN Special Envoy to the Balkans and Co-Chair of the Dayton Peace Conference, according to a press statement by the WHO.

U.S. Restores Assistance for Palestinians, to Provide $235 Million in Aid

US President Joe Biden's administration plans to provide $235m (£171m) of aid to Palestinians, restoring part of the assistance cut by Donald Trump.
Two-thirds will go to the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, which has suffered a financial crisis since it lost $360m of US funding in 2018.
Mr. Biden wants to restore credible engagement by the Palestinians in long-stalled peace talks with Israel.
Palestinian leaders accused Mr. Trump of being heavily biased towards Israel.
They rejected a peace plan he unveiled last year that envisaged recognising Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, and Jerusalem remaining Israel's undivided capital.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Voting in Djibouti

Voting started in Djibouti where President Ismail Omar Guelleh is seeking a fifth term.
More than 200,000 voters are expected to cast the ballots before polls close.
President Guelleh has led the country for 22 years.
President Guelleh is projected to win in a landslide.
His sole competitor is a little known former army officer turned businessman, Zakaria Ismael Farah.
The strategic tiny nation in the Horn of Africa has a population of less than a million people and hosts several military bases for world powers including US and China.

Apr 08, 2021

Global Powers Urge Somali Leaders to Compromise

Somalia's international partners including UN, the US, Canada, the African Union and several European nations have called on leaders to compromise to allow elections to take place in the country.
As Somalis prepare for the Holy Month of Ramadan, the international partners appeal to federal and regional leaders to reach agreement and make necessary compromises to ensure elections can be held without further delay, to allow Somalia to move forward.
The Somali government is committed to making fruitful consultations between the government and member states of the federal government possible.

Turkey Summons China's Ambassador over Twitter Posts

Turkey summoned China's ambassador after the embassy suggested on Twitter that it could take action against two Turkish politicians who criticised Beijing's treatment of its Muslim Uyghur community.
The Chinese Embassy tagged Meral Aksener, the head of the opposition Good Party, and Ankara's mayor, Mansur Yavas, in two Twitter posts in which it defended Beijing's policies and said "the Chinese side reserves its right to a rightful response." The comment was widely interpreted as a threat against the two politicians and caused a social media outrage in Turkey.
The embassy tagged Ms. Aksener and Mr. Yavas after the two marked with Twitter posts the killing of Uyghurs by Chinese forces during an uprising in 1990.

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