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Foreign affairs updates - 19th August, 2021
- Afghanistan aftermath: U.S. President Joe Biden said he was willing to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan past an Aug. 31 deadline if all U.S. citizens are not evacuated by that date. Biden said there were 10,000-15,000 Americans and as many as 65,000 Afghans still to be evacuated. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman criticized the Taliban for blocking Afghans from accessing Kabul’s airport, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said U.S. officials have spoken with the Taliban to “emphasize that people who are trying to get to the airport and have the right credentials need to be allowed through right now.”
- No free pass for the Taliban: The Afghan city of Jalalabad became the first site of protest against impending Taliban rule, with witnesses reporting at least three people killed by Taliban militants after they opened fire on protesters. Meanwhile, there were news that in many cities, citizens had taken down the Taliban flag and raised the Afghan national flag once more. The now-deposed Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who has appointed himself the caretaker President, tweeted to congratulate the bravery of Afghan citizens and promised to lead the resistance.
- U.S. booster shots: The United States will soon begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots beginning Sept. 20, as per the Department of Health and Human Services. Reason is the diminishing protection the two-shot regimen gives over time. If the move is approved by regulators, those who received their second dose eight months ago will be first in line. The decision has the potential to disrupt the global vaccine rollout, as the United States had already begun donating spare supplies overseas. The World Health Organization has for months warned against administering booster shots until more of the global population receive vaccines. To date, only 31 percent of the world has received one dose. WHO emergencies chief put the disparity in stark terms - “We are planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we are leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket.”
- Violence in Burkina Faso: At least 47 people, including 17 soldiers, were killed by rebels in northern Burkina Faso, the third attack in two weeks targeting Burkinabé soldiers. The attack occurred while a convoy was traveling near Arbinda, a town close to the “three border zone” shared with Mali and Niger which has seen repeated acts of violence, including one in Niger on Monday which killed 37 people. No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack.
- Germany’s election: Germany’s Green party has slipped into third place in a recent Forsa poll ahead of Germany’s federal election, now less than six weeks away. The Greens had briefly led polls back in March, but a recent surge in support for the Social Democrats led by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has shifted the balance. The poll gave the conservative Christian Democrat bloc, led by Armin Laschet, a thin lead with 23 percent support—down from 30 percent in June—with the SPD at 21 percent and the Greens at 19 percent. The same poll showed Scholz was the number one choice for chancellor, with 29 percent support—17 points ahead of Laschet.
- Belarus’s migrant gambit: Poland has deployed more than 900 troops to its border with Belarus to assist border agents dealing with a dramatic increase in migrants from third countries—primarily Iraq and Afghanistan—attempting to make the crossing into EU territory. The move comes as other countries bordering Belarus have also seen a surge in crossings. Lithuania accused Belarus of illegally entering its territory with police to force migrants over the border, while Latvia declared a state of emergency on its border earlier this month. EU officials have accused Belarus of flying in migrants and encouraging them to enter European Union states as retaliation for recent sanctions. A joint statement of EU interior ministers issued a statement condemning “Belarus’ attempts to instrumentalize human beings for political purposes.”
- Brexit troubles: Brexit is gradually leading British officials to better understand the value of poultry workers, as a shortage of them has led to a supply crisis, causing many popular chicken restaurants like KFC and Nando’s to close outlets. Roughly 60 percent of British poultry sector workers come from the European Union, but new British immigration rules classify the workers as “low skilled,” meaning visas are in short supply. The British Poultry Council has called on the government to reclassify the jobs as skilled before the Christmas rush, as the group warned that the supply of turkeys could be reduced by a fifth.
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