Category: Politics

The United States has no nuclear communication to Beijing. The two countries have never discussed the American missile defenses in the Pacific or China’s experiments to blind U.S. satellites. China has never been keen on having any nuclear talks, saying that the U.S. and Russia have five times more nuclear warheads than Beijing. But President Joe Biden is keen on having a conversation.

As per the New York Times, the U.S. is trying to get China to speak about its nuclear capability. U.S. officials have said that the American president Mr. Biden wants to start the talks by speaking on avoiding accidental conflict, followed by discussing each country’s nuclear strategy.

Earlier this month too, in a virtual summit, Biden raised the possibility of “strategic stability talks” with Xi Jinping, the president of China. And while the two Presidents have agreed to talk, there has been no strong word on whether the talks will include the topic of arms control. Earlier this year, the Pentagon said that China could have 1,000 nuclear warheads by the year 2030.

In world politics, the relationship between the U.S. and China is considered to be one of the most unfriendly bilateral relationships.

Just seven hours after being voted in as Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson has put down her papers after being faced with a budget defeat in parliament. Her coalition partner the Green Party left the government, which forced Andersson to resign. 

The government’s budget proposal was rejected and the one proposed by the opposition – the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats – was approved. The vote was 154-143 in favour of the opposition’s budget proposal.

Following the defeat, Andersson, who has also served as the finance minister of the country, told reporters that she does not find it appropriate to lead a government where she is not respected. However, she is still interested in leading a Social Democratic one-party cabinet.

The appointment of a female Prime Minister became one of the most historical days in Sweden’s history. Andersson took over the top post from Stefan Lofven, who stepped down in June, was later reinstated, and then stepped down again in August. The Riksdag – Sweden’s supreme decision-making body, will have to elect a new Prime Minister. The Green Party has said it would support Andersson, but not be a part of her cabinet. The next election is less than a year away in September 2022.

United States President Joe Biden has invited nearly 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy in December. The list of invitees also includes India.

While Taiwan is invited, rival country China has not been sent an invitation. In November, Biden had said the US opposed China’s unilateral efforts to disrupt peace in the Taiwan Strait.  

Among the countries of the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq have been invited. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, tha traditional Arab allies of the US are not invited. South Asian countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also been excluded.

Russia has been excluded from the list presumably because the US had accused Russian intelligence officers of hacking the presidential elections in 2016.  The While House has said in a statement that the summit urges initiatives across three areas -defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.

Among other major countries not invited is Turkey. The United States State Department has said in a statement that the summit will provide the US an opportunity to engage and learn from a diverse range of actors who are important to global democratic renewal. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is in Rome this week to sign a new treaty with Italy, which will strengthen ties between two founding EU members. Mr Macron will seal the pact with Prime Minister Mario Draghi and President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday, and on Friday, he will meet Pope Francis to talk about child abuse at the French Catholic Church.

The ‘Quirinal Treaty’ — named after the presidential palace in Rome where it will be signed – will reinforce ties on economy, tourism, trade and other areas. The two countries are already bound by cultural, historical, and linguistic ties.

The treaty was first proposed in 2018 under the then Italy Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, but after Gentiloni was succeeded by the populist government of the League and the 5-Star Movement, relations between Paris and Rome went south. Despite the fallout between the two countries under the Italian populist government, they are now trying to reinforce all ties under Mario Draghi, who was elected as Prime Minister in February.

As per several reports, the document is being signed only a few weeks before France takes over the EU Presidency and will thus hold “symbolic value”.

Wednesday, November 24 is a historic day for the South American country Colombia.  On this day five years ago, a peace agreement was signed between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which saw an end to six decades of conflict. On the eve of the historic agreement’s fifth anniversary, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lavished praise on the country’s peace deal efforts, saying that Colombia offers a fine example of peace in a world otherwise full of conflicts. 

Mr Guterres is in the country on a two-day trip which began on November 22. Upon his arrival in the country, he was welcomed by Colombia’s Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marta Lucia Ramirez along with two other officials.

On Tuesday, Mr Guterres travelled to the north western province of Antioquia to visit a site where former FARC rebels are being rehabilitated into a peaceful life. Colombian President Ivan also accompanied Mr Guerrillas. 

On his last day in Colombia, Mr Guterres will visit Bogota to be a part of a ceremony at the Special Jurisdiction of Peace, which is a judicial body formed by the peace agreement to investigate crimes committed during the conflict which killed thousands each year.

In less than 12 hours on Monday, Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) sold more than US$6 million worth of bonds to fund the “revolutionary movement” to overthrow the ruling military junta.

The NUG’s Public Voice Television said that the shadow government in Myanmar raised $6.3 million from 2 p.m. to midnight, and more than $2 million were raised in the first two hours itself. The television channel further said that the quick selling of the bonds, even though they will not generate interest income for buyers, showed that the public wants to uproot dictatorship at the earliest. The NUG, which has been called a “terrorist” movement by the junta, is yet to disclose how the funds will be used.

Those who purchased the bonds paid for it via international transfers to an account in the Czech Republic. A 27-year-old unnamed Myanmar citizen has revealed that she has invested $500 in the bonds. She further said that the buyers are not expecting to get the money back after two years, but are buying the bonds to be a part of the revolution.

While buying bonds is one way to help raise funds for the revolution, citizens can also voluntarily pay tax for the same. The NUG, which was formed in April, aims to raise $800 million for sectors like health care, education, and also for the military. 

On Sunday, after international criticism and large protests, a groundbreaking agreement was signed to reverse the military takeover. It has been nearly a month since the top general of Sudan ousted the prime minister.

In Khartoum, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan appeared for the televised ceremony at the presidential palace with a haggard-looking premier Abdalla Hamdok. Abdalla Hamdok had just been freed from his house arrest.

As a result of the 14-point agreement, a civilian transition has been restored that was interrupted by the October 25 coup, which threw the northeast African land into turmoil and set off street protests.

After weeks of crisis talks including Sudanese and outside players, the agreement declared that “the decision of the general commander of the armed forces to relieve the transitional Prime Minister is canceled” which released all the political detainees.

The country hopes that it will be able to return to its fragile transition process with the effect of full democracy that began post-2019 outset of president Omar al-Bashir.

On October 25, Mr. Burhan declared a state of emergency across the nation and ousted Mr. Hamdok’s government in an act that upended the two-year transition to civilian rule. This transition led to spark and protest in international condemnation.

On Tuesday, the current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a four-day morning for South Africa’s last white president Fredrik Willem De Klerk. 85-year-old Klerk died in Cape Town on Thursday after battling cancer.

Statement from the President’s office said that President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the National Flag to be flown at half-mast to show respect for the late former Deputy President. The mourning will start at sunset on November 17.

De Klerk was famous for overseeing the White minority rule in South Africa and peacefully transitioning it to a Black-majority government under his tenure. In 1994, he was appointed deputy president in a “government of national unity” after South Africa’s first all-race vote.

In preparation for this event to bring together government leaders, political party leaders, and civil society representatives, the government consulted with the De Klerk family and the FW de Klerk Foundation.

Despite winning praise globally for his role in ending apartheid, de Klerk’s legacy remains controversial at home. On Sunday, the speculations regarding giving De Klerk a state funeral were cleared by the De Klerk Foundation. They stated that his funeral will take place on November 21 in a private ceremony.

Post virtual summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Joe Biden has sparked fresh confusion regarding his administration’s approach over Taiwan. The meet was hours long which provided an early indication of whether the countries would be able to move beyond the issue after a generally positive meeting.

President Joe Biden said that Taiwan “makes its own decision” and the island is self-governing and “independent”. However, hours later he said that they are not encouraging independence” and expressed the historic US policy will remain the same for the island nation.

President said, “We are not going to change our policy at all, we are encouraging them to do exactly what the Taiwan Act requires. That’s what we are doing. Let them make up their mind”. He referred to the Taiwan Relations Act governing American policy.

Meanwhile, it is said that Biden’s choice of words might raise alarms in Beijing, as it considers Taiwan as its territory. Beijing has threatened to reclaim it if the people of Taiwan seek independence.

Earlier, according to the White House statement, Biden had assured Xi Jinping about his supports towards the One-China policy and will not change US strategy.

France President Emmanuel Macron has changed the shade of the blue in the official French flag. He switched the previously used brighter shade of blue to a darker navy blue on the national flag.

Though both the shades have been used for decades, a change in the flag color was brought by the president as a symbol of the French Revolution. The official said that it “evokes the memory” of the heroes who fought the trenches of World II, the French Revolution, and in the Resistance during World War II.

Under the presidential rule of Giscard d’Estaing in 1976, the government issued a brighter blue to match the blue on the European flag which was partly considered aesthetic. Navy blue is the color used by the French navy and many official buildings around the country. However, at the presidential palace, flags in the new hue were hoisted without fanfare last year.

Mr. Macron’s decision is reportedly facing some disagreements as some consider it ugly. The change in navy blue is also considered as a clash with the EU flag and another nostalgic for the pre-1976 version. Yet, all parties involved insist that the change in color should not be interpreted as anti-EU.