Week 169 (29/08-04/09/2022)
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, explained in a press conference in Nicaragua that the world cup will be unique and comparable to Disneyland. Picture: FIFA
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
In Qatar, the preparation for FIFA World Cup 2022 is going to be finalized (30/08). FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, explained in a press conference in Nicaragua that the world cup will be unique and comparable to Disneyland. This edition of World Cup will be the first that is held in the Middle East.
Protesters stormed the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, Iraq (30/08). Moqtada al-Sadr, the country’s famous political leader, has departed after a political impasse over creating a cabinet. Two individuals were murdered in a clash with police forces as Mr Sadr’s followers stormed the palace.
A Ukrainian ship carrying wheat for Ethiopia has docked in neighboring Djibouti (31/08). Ethiopia and Africa in general, are in need of wheat grain to feed its people, but the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has halted the wheat shipping for all the destinations around the globe. This shipment is the first ship from Ukraine to Africa since the conflict torn out.
The government of Liberia asked Oman to pause issuing visas for Liberian domestic workers (31/08). The demand followed a publication of graphic photographs of sexual abuse and other types of harassment experienced by a group of Liberian female domestic workers in Oman. They claimed to be suffering as homeworkers at the hands of their masters.
ASIA
Indonesia’s authorities have arrested (02/09) six Indonesian soldiers this week suspected in the killing and mutilation of four indigenous West Papuans. The authorities claimed the victims were insurgents and were allegedly on their way to meet someone in Timika to purchase weapons. The victims’ families, however, denied the statement and said they were carrying money from the village fund to purchase agricultural equipment.
Myanmar’s deposed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was found (02/09) guilty of electoral fraud and sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor. Her sentencing came the same day as former British ambassador Vicky Bowman and her husband who were sentenced to one year in prison. The couple were detained in Yangon last month because their visa did not match their residence.
Catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, described as the worst the country has ever seen, has recorded surging number of victims. The cumulative number of deaths since June 14 rose to 1,282 on Saturday (03/09), almost a third of which are children. Humanitarian agencies have warned that Pakistan is in need of long-term aid and that as the disaster continues to unfold children will be among the most vulnerable.
Reported in Deccan Herald (04/09), India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will have a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan next week to expand India’s defense and security ties. The meeting with Japan, which will take place from September 8-9, will be under the framework of “2+2” foreign and defense ministerial dialogue. In the dialogue, two sides are expected to deliberate on ways to further expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of defense and security in addition to taking stock of the developments in the Indo-Pacific.
AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA
Australia wants to have “the closest possible relationship” with Papua New Guinea (PNG) amid competition with China (29/08). Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the two countries had traded together for years and should continue to have the closest ties. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a speech revealing that Canberra will host the Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos Horta.
The Solomon Islands are set to ban all foreign navy ships from its ports pending new approval process (31/08). The country’s prime minister officially issued a moratorium for all countries while working on a new process for docking military ships. The goal is to make the new process run smoothly and on time. Meanwhile, US Navy Ship Mercy obtained diplomatic clearance before a moratorium was implemented for the two-week mission.
Australian naval officers will practice inside British nuclear submarines for the first time (31/08). This exercise will serve as preparation for Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) to face the growing threats to the liberal democratic order, especially in the Indo-Pacific. The arrival of the nuclear submarine is part of Australia’s new partnership with Britain and the United States (US). Australia is the seventh country to operate a nuclear-powered submarine.
Fiji received $91.7 million in reimbursement between 2015 and 2022 for the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission (01/09). Minister of Defense and National Security Inia Seruiratu said Fiji had made the first contribution in 1978 to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon or UNIFIL. It will be an ongoing commitment between the Government of Fiji and the UN. In February next year, there will be a meeting in New York to discuss the latest rates and the equipment used in the mission.
EUROPE
Russia launches the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) military drill and deploys tens of thousands of soldiers to participate (01/09). The drills, held in Siberia, the Far Eastern Federal District, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan for the next few days, is also attended by Russia’s allies including Belarus, China, India, Mongolia, and Tajikistan. This is to show the West that Russia still has strong forces and loyal allies despite the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader who was responsible for the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the reunification of East and West Germany (01/09). This also means that Putin denies Gorbachev the full state honors granted to Russian first president Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev died on Tuesday (30/08) at the age of 91 following a “serious and long illness”.
An estimated 70,000 people took to the streets in Prague, the Czech Republic to protest against the government, the European Union (EU), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (04/09). They blamed the increased gas and electricity prices on the government’s decision to join the EU sanctions on Russia. They also called for Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s resignation.
Gas prices in Europe are expected to surge to record highs after Russia closed the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely (04/09). The pipeline was closed last week for maintenance. Prior to the shutdown, gas prices in Europe has increased nearly 400% due to the low gas flow from Russia.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Argentina’s vice president nearly escaped assassination after a gunman’s firearm jammed as he aimed at her (02/09). The moment Cristina Fernández de Kirchner came face to face with the loaded weapon is captured on camera. A crowd of people who support the former president in her defence against corruption allegations have gathered around her outside of her residence. Police reported that the shooter, a 35-year-old Brazilian man, had been apprehended. They are trying to determine why the left-leaning politician, who served as Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015 and as its first lady for four years before to that, was attacked. Five bullets were placed into the gun, but it did not discharge when it was pulled back.
In Argentina, a strain of pneumonia that has so far claimed the lives of nine people has claimed a third victim this week (03/09). Each case revolves on a private medical facility in the province of Tucuman in the northwest. Authorities claim to have ruled out Covid and common flu kinds, but they are still performing additional infection testing. In the search for the cause, tests are also being conducted on the local water supply and air conditioners. A 70-year-old woman who had been admitted to the facility for surgery was the third victim. She may have been “patient zero” for the respiratory ailment, according to doctors. The centre’s medical staff members were among the other patients who developed the lung disease.
In Colombia, there was an explosion and shooting that resulted in the deaths of seven police officers (04/09). Their car struck a road mine while it was leaving a social gathering in Huila’s south-western department. Then, according to a police spokesperson, they were ambushed and killed by gunfire. Since Gustavo Petro, a former rebel, was inaugurated as Colombia’s first left-wing president less than a month ago, this attack on security personnel has been the worst.
In Chile, a new constitution that would have replaced one imposed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship 41 years prior was soundly rejected by Chileans, giving a crushing defeat to President Gabriel Boric who said the document would have ushered in a new progressive age (04/09). In the Sunday plebiscite, which saw high turnout and lengthy line-ups at voting stations, the rejection side received 61.9% of the support, compared to 38.1% for the approval. Voting was mandatory. Vlado Mirosevic, a spokesman for the approval camp, announced the defeat by saying, “We recognize this result, and we listen with humility to what the Chilean people have spoken.”
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
On Thursday (01/09), US President Joe Biden delivers an evening speech about the threat of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) Movement towards American democracy. Biden accused former President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement of hijacking the Republican Party and pushing the country towards extremism after previously describe the MAGA movement as “semi-fascist”. Several Republican Party Official has rebuke Biden and describe his speech as dividing the nation. This speech aims to help the Democrat in the upcoming November Midterm elections by painting the election as a choice between authoritarianism and democracy. Several polls predicted close race between Democrats and the Republican in the Midterm election in both the House and the Senate.
The Group of Seven (G7) 7 countries has announced on Friday (02/09) a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to curb Russian revenues from oil export. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the price cap will help fight inflation while limiting Moscow’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine. The Russian Federation has described the decision will destroy the oil market and stated that any countries or companies that impose the price cap will not receive any Russian oil. The detail regarding the level of the price cap will be publicly communicated in a clear and transparent manner in the future according to the G7 document.
The US Congress has approved a USD 1.1 billion dollar of military equipment sells to Taiwan. Arms deal include an advanced radar warning system and anti-ship and anti-air missile like Harpoon and Sidewinder. China firmly opposed to the arms sale and warns that “legitimate and necessary countermeasure might soon follow”. This arms sale comes after US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which was followed by two US Navy ships conducting navigation in the Taiwan Strait, also drawing negative response from Beijing.
On Thursday (01/09) Canada has formally approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that target specifically the Omicron variant. The vaccine was released by Moderna and has been approved for use in adults 18 and older. It will become the first COVID-19 vaccine available in Canada that targets both the Omicron and the original variant. In a decision released to the Public, Canada said the new vaccine shows "significantly higher responses" to the Omicron in comparison to the original coronavirus vaccine.