French speed limits: Paris is set to introduce a maximum speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour (19 miles per hour) on almost all its streets by the en
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Foreign affairs update - 12-07-2021
- French speed limits: Paris is set to introduce a maximum speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour (19 miles per hour) on almost all its streets by the end of August in a bid to reduce noise, traffic accidents, and carbon emissions. Roughly 60 percent of Paris streets currently adhere to the limit but after August’s expansion only the Paris ring road and major boulevards will allow higher speeds. The move is part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s drive to reduce car dependency and make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Hidalgo plans to remove almost half of the city’s 140,000 street-level parking spaces and introducing metered parking for motorcycles and scooters which currently park for free.
- Haiti’s assassination: A Haitian physician usually based in Florida has been arrested by police in Haiti in connection with last week’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Police accuse Christian Emmanuel Sanon of organizing the killing of Moïse in order to elevate himself to the presidency. Police say Sanon hired the primarily Colombian hit team from a Venezuelan security firm based in the United States with the mission of providing his security detail. Speaking to a judge, the two Americans arrested in the plot have claimed to have only been translators for the group and that their mission was to abduct Moïse rather than kill him.
- Cuba protests: Thousands of Cubans took to the streets around the country in a rare protest against the government and deteriorating living conditions in the country. Cubans continue to face a severe economic crisis amid a U.S. blockade and Trump-era sanctions that remain in place as well as a drop in tourism due to pandemic travel restrictions. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the protests a form of “systemic provocation” by U.S.-backed dissidents, alleging Washington was attempting to “provoke a massive social implosion.”
- Third booster shot: Representatives from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer met with White House officials to make the case for giving the public a third booster shot of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. The meeting comes after Pfizer’s recent release of early data from a study showing a five- to 10-fold increase in antibody levels after a third dose was administered. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical advisor, said it was too early to consider a further dose. The White House meeting came as officials are increasingly worried about the rise of the delta variant of the coronavirus, even as most vaccines appear to provide good protection against its worst effects. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said she was “concerned” that delta and other variants could threaten a global economic recovery.
- Europe's vaccination efforts: Europe’s efforts to vaccinate its residents and outpace the delta variant face a major gap: undocumented immigrants. Millions of undocumented immigrants are estimated to be living in Europe. But, in policy or in practice, many have been left out of vaccination programs. The struggle to vaccinate this “invisible” population against covid-19 has underscored existing health care disparities on the continent.
- Dalai Lama's birthday: Chinese nationals displayed banners in protest from across the Indus river near the Line of Actual Control, when Indian villagers were celebrating the birthday of the Dalai Lama in Demchok in eastern Ladakh. They were seen across the Indus from Koyul, one of the last Indian settlements in the Demchok sector in eastern Ladakh. Meanwhile, apprehensions of a long haul in eastern Ladakh have started manifesting on the ground as Chinese forces have been creating permanent structures wherever the PLA troops are deployed. Earlier, the Indian Air Force chief had confirmed that the Chinese are improving their air infrastructure in the area.
- India in Afghanistan: About 50 diplomats and security personnel returned to Delhi from Kandahar, with the Modi government evacuating all Indians at the Indian consulate there after the Taliban advanced into areas formerly held by the government. A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force brought back diplomats, officials and other staff including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel. Now, only the Indian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif remain open in Afghanistan. Facilities in Kandahar, Herat and Jalalabad are closed, the latter two due to Covid. On Tuesday, the Indian embassy in Kabul had said that there was no plan to close the embassy and the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
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