Useful foreign affairs updates from across the world
SHARE:
Foreign affairs update - 28th October 2021
- Israeli treatment of Palestinians: Israeli officials went to US for talks with the Biden administration as the two countries appeared increasingly at odds over the treatment of Palestinians. The meeting was to reassure U.S. officials of secret intelligence that explains Israel’s decision to designate six Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist groups. The visit came as the Israeli government has taken steps to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the first round of new construction to take place since an ideologically diverse anti-Netanyahu coalition came to power. Both moves have been met with international condemnation, including from the Biden administration, with State Department saying that the United States was “strongly opposed” to new settlement expansion and was effectively blindsided by the decision to blacklist the Palestinian civil society organizations.
- Iran nuclear deal: Iran is prepared to return to the nuclear negotiating table in Vienna by the end of November. The announcement came after Bagheri, who would serve as Iran’s chief negotiator, met with Enrique Mora, a senior EU diplomat in Brussels. Bagheri said the exact date for the talks would be finalized “in the course of the next week.” The talks in Vienna will continue to follow an “indirect” format with no face-to-face talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.
- Big Oil on Capitol Hill: Top executives from the world’s major oil firms, including the CEOs of ExxonMobil and Chevron, face a grilling from U.S. lawmakers as they appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform over what the committee has billed as “their organization’s role in supporting disinformation and misleading the public to prevent action on the climate crisis.” Democratic lawmakers intend to follow the example of Big Tobacco investigations in the 1990s by building a case over the course of 2022.
- Sudan’s coup: The World Bank has paused payments to Sudan in the wake of its military takeover, piling more pressure on coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan after the United States announced it would freeze aid. The announcement came as internal resistance to the power grab has grown, with Sudan’s pilots, doctors, central bank employees, and workers at the state oil company all going on strike. The civil disobedience campaign is expected to peak on Saturday, when a planned “march of millions” takes place.
- Poland vs. the EU: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will fine Poland $1.2 million per day in an effort to force Polish officials to abide by EU calls to dismantle a controversial Supreme Court disciplinary chamber, which critics say undermines judicial independence. In July the ECJ ordered Poland to suspend the chamber, but it is still operating. Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the chamber would be abolished as part of other reform efforts, but has yet to announce a timeframe.
- Japanese power shift in Covid: After Prime Minister Fumio Kishida surprised observers by bringing up the election date to Oct. 31, city employees in Ota were forced to spring into action to make sure its 100,000 voters could cast ballots safely amid coronavirus fears. The solution? Rather than disinfect pencils used to mark paper ballots as was done in April’s mayoral elections, Ota will instead distribute 100,000 individual pencils for voters to use at their voting station and then take home. There’s a catch, however: The pencils don’t come pre-sharpened, leaving the city’s civil servants to finish the job—even during their breaks.
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank update: The Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 6th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference. Every year at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Governors meets to take key decisions on important matters relating to AIIB, and its future vision. India is a Founding Member and the second largest shareholder in AIIB. India also has one of the largest project portfolios within AIIB. This year’s Annual Meeting has been jointly organized by AIIB and the Government of United Arab Emirates on the theme of "Investing Today and Transforming Tomorrow". India shared thoughts in the Governor’s Roundtable Discussion on the theme "COVID-19 Crisis and Post-COVID Support". Sitharaman appreciated AIIB’s prompt actions in providing financial support to Member Countries, including India, in their efforts to contain and combat COVID-19. The Finance Minister stated that the social protection and economic stimulus packages brought out by the Government of India, along with timely structural reforms in various sectors, have been pivotal in India’s economic recovery process.
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the divergence in US and Israeli views on territories in Palestine regions. (2) What direction is the Iran nuclear deal taking now? (3) What is India's role in the AIIB scheme of things? (4) Why is Poland's relation with EU strained?
#foreignaffairs #Poland #Iran #Iraq #US #Israel #Palestine #America
* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.
COMMENTS