Useful foreign affairs updates - 30th August, 2021

Useful foreign affairs updates from all over the world

 Useful foreign affairs updates - 30th August, 2021

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• US pullout from Afghanistan: As the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops arrived, it became clear that the U.S. war in Afghanistan was not over. On 29th August, U.S. military officials reported that a suspected suicide bomber had been killed in a drone strike on the vehicle he was traveling in, a move that came in apparent retaliation for a double suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport, which led to the deaths of at least 170 civilians as well as 13 U.S. service members. The airstrike highlights the United States’ predicament as ISIS-Khorasan—a branch of the Islamic State operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan—asserts itself in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, making the country likely to join the handful of others where the United States is not officially at war, but reserves the right to conduct counterterrorism strikes at will.
• Kabul’s “safe zone.” As U.S. forces continued to root out enemies on the ground, the West was still trying to get its citizens in the air. At the U.N. National Security Council, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany put forward a proposal to create a “safe zone” around Kabul’s airport in order to facilitate evacuations. The plan was backed up by a recent Taliban agreement, reached with over 100 countries, to allow foreigners to continue to leave the country after the Aug. 31 deadline. In a reversal from previous statements, the Taliban said they would also allow Afghans to leave, provided they have been granted the necessary documentation by their future host countries.
• Hurricane Ida: Extreme weather continued to hit the southern United States on 30th August, after Hurricane Ida made landfall, with surging waters leading to power outages throughout the entire city of New Orleans exactly 16 years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Deaths were reported. Hurricane Ida—a Category 4 storm when it made landfall—is tied as the most powerful storm to ever hit the state of Louisiana, a record it shares with the Last Island Hurricane in 1856 and Hurricane Laura, which struck in 2020.
• EU travel restrictions: The European Council was set to recommend fresh restrictions on U.S. travelers wishing to enter the European Union, citing the increased spread of COVID-19 in the United States. It’s also a sign of European frustrations with U.S. restrictions: Most Europeans have been banned from entering the United States since March 2020. The Council’s recommendations are non-binding, so it’s unclear whether EU member states will carry out the advice, which would include mandatory quarantine requirements.
• Israeli-Palestinian ties: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in the first major dialogue between the two sides in years. The two discussed security and economic issues. The meeting comes days after U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House and as Hamas gains in popularity over Abbas’s Fatah party. Abbas continues a week of high-level meetings on Thursday, when he meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.
• Nuclear North Korea: It appears that NK has restarted a nuclear reactor that is thought to produce plutonium for weapons, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The UN watchdog said the reopening of the Yongbyon reactor—which may have happened in July—would be “deeply troubling”. IAEA inspectors were kicked out of North Korea in 2009; it now mostly monitors the country by satellite.
• Contaminated shots: Japan suspended another 1m Moderna vaccine-shots after they were found to be contaminated. In total, 2.6m doses have been affected and two people have died after being injected with spoiled Moderna jabs. Japan is battling its biggest surge in covid-19 infections amid a slow vaccine rollout. Support for the prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, reached a new low in two polls.
• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the dilemma facing US as it ends its Afghanistan engagement? (2) What are the tensions between the EU and America, regarding Covid management? (3) In what way is Israel behaving differently under the new Prime Minister? Explain.

 

#ForeignAffairs #US #Afghanistan #EU #NorthKorea #Israel