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Foreign Affairs update - Dated 24th May 2021
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- Myanmar sanctions: The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada imposed coordinated sanctions on Myanmar’s ruling junta on 17th May, in the latest attempt to pressure the country’s military leadership. In announcing the sanctions U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said political and financial pressure on the junta would continue “as long as it fails to stop violence and take meaningful action to respect the will of the people. The United Nations General Assembly was due to vote today on a draft resolution calling for “for an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of all weapons and munitions” to Myanmar, but the move has now been delayed. More than 800 people have been killed since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 coup, the activist group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported.
- Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions: The White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke separately with both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a bid to cool tensions after Armenia accused Azerbaijani troops of invading its territory last week. Sullivan said that “military movements near un-demarcated borders are irresponsible and provocative” and called on both sides to “conduct formal discussions to demarcate their international border.”
- Vaccine diplomacy: President Joe Biden announced that the United States would share an extra 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries, adding to the 60 million already promised from the country’s AstraZeneca stockpile. The additional doses will come from U.S. stocks of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, marking the first time that U.S.-approved vaccines will be shared overseas. Taking a swipe at Russia and China, Biden said “we will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries.” The Biden administration has yet to announce where it will send its excess vaccines.
- War in Tigray: The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation in his native Tigray as “horrific” as the conflict enters its seventh month. Roughly five million people are in need of humanitarian aid, Tedros said, adding that sexual violence is “rampant.” The European Union condemned the Ethiopian government for using “humanitarian aid as a weapon of war,” as it continues to block aid to the region. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry has denied any problems with aid access.
- A thaw in France-Rwanda ties: Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that a French report from March concluding that the country had a “serious and overwhelming” responsibility for the 1994 Rwandan genocide was “a big step forward” during a visit to Paris. Kagame’s remarks may represent a turning point in relations between the two countries as French President Emmanuel Macron, who commissioned the report, works to confront Paris’s role in the genocide, which has been criticized for decades. Macron is set to visit Rwanda later in May. While the nearly 1,000 page French report stopped short of accusing Paris of being complicit in the massacres, Rwanda’s report, released a month later, blamed France for its knowledge of preparations for the killings. Despite such discrepancies that have arisen as both countries work to create a shared history of the event, Kagame said that the groundwork has been laid for better relations, and that “when you talk about overwhelming responsibility … that means a lot.”
- Divorces in China: The number of divorces in China dropped 70 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to data published by the Chinese ministry of civil affairs. Marital bliss is unlikely the reason for the decrease, however. On January 1, China introduced a “cooling off” period, making couples wait 30 days before finalizing their decision, with the petition voided if couples fail to show up for two appointments between 30 and 60 days after applying. Chinese media reported couples having difficulties finding appointments in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and other cities, which is likely to have contributed to the dramatic drop.
- Indian Covid and the world: India’s total reported coronavirus cases crossed the 25 million mark on 18th May, making it only the second country, after the United States, to record so many cases. The milestone comes as the country also reported its highest one day death toll as 4,329 people are reported to have died from the virus. Although the number of new recorded daily cases dropped below 300,000 for the first time since April 21 it may not point to a downward trend. World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan has warned that India’s high positivity rate in testing—around 20 percent—is a warning that the worst has not passed, especially because some parts of the country lack the infrastructure for mass testing. The world is worried about the Indian variants of the virus reaching other places, and leading to immune escape cases.
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