Category: Politics

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged his support to World Health Organization’s (WTO) plans for additional research into COVID-19 origins to better understand the Pandemics and prevent future ones. On Wednesday in Kuwait, WTO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met Antony who showed the US’s support when the UN health agency has been under intensifying pressure for a new and more in-depth investigation.

From the Gulf Arab State Antony tweeted about the U.S.’s support into COVID-10 origins, including in (the People’s Republic of China) to better understand the cause. The meeting was not on the US diplomat’s published schedule. The State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that Blinken stressed the need for the next phase of the investigation to be timely, transparent, evidence-based, expert-led, and free from interference. He emphasized the importance of international communities to come together in this matter as of critical concern.

The lab leak theory has been repeatedly being denied by Beijing and insisted that it is extremely unlikely, citing the conclusion reached by a joint WHO-Chinese mission in Wuhan. Earlier this month, on the second stage of investigation China, expressed its disappointment and said such a proposal showed “disrespect” and “arrogance towards science”.

On Wednesday, Senior US Deputy Secretary and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister officials restarted talks on easing tensions between the world’s largest nuclear weapons powers. The State Department said they agreed to reconvene in September after an informal consultation.

Wendy Sherman and Sergei Ryabkov headed their delegations in the meeting at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva. TASS news agency cited Ryabkov as saying the US showered readiness for constructive dialogue at the talks and he was satisfied with the consultations. It is known that Russia and the US hold 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. They have agreed to launch a bilateral dialogue on strategic stability to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures. The discussions were called “professional and substantive” by the State Department spokesman Ned Price. His statement included the U.S. side of policy priorities where the current international security environment “the prospects for new nuclear arms control” and the format for further talks were discussed.

The two sides are expected to discuss which weapons system and technologies are of greatest concern. Observing this as a violation of a nuclear testing moratorium, the Biden administration has asserted that Russia has engaged unilaterally in nuclear testing.

The United States secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in India on a two-day visit for talks on strengthening Indo-pacific engagement and New Delhi’s human rights record along with other issues. He touched down in New Delhi on Tuesday evening. Antony will hold bilateral talks with foreign minister S. Jaishankar on the situation in Afghanistan and the aftermath of the US troop pullout and global response towards Covid-19.

The top diplomat will meet Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval after assuming the office of the US Secretary of State in the Biden Administration. The agenda for the forthcoming Quad summit in October in the US will also be discussed. India is also eager to buy Predator drones from the US for national security.

India’s Jaishakar and US Blinken have met thrice and had the last meeting in the United States in May. The two leaders spoke on various issues including Covid-19 relief, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad initiative, the security situation in Afghanistan combating climate change were few issues discussed.

On Tuesday, the South Korean presidential office said that North and South Korea restored their cross-border communication lines that had been severed for over a year. The official statement came at 10:00 am local time from the two Koreas’ direct communication hotlines. After North Korea cut off all communication lines in June last year with South Korea due to the protest over Seoul’s supposed failure to stop activists from sending anti- Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the communist nation. Yonhap reported this issue got solved after a 13 months stalemate in The United State led diplomacy aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged personal letters several times since April to communicate about issues. The statement read that Moon and Kim agreed first to restore the severed inter-Korean communication line and also agreed to restore mutual trust and enhance inter-Korean ties at the earliest. The Spokesperson said the resumed inter-Korean communication lines would play a positive role in the improvement and will help the development of the inter-Korean relationship.

Lebanon has finally named a new prime minister after a year-long standoff. Lebanese parliament named billionaire tycoon, Najib Miqati as the new prime minister of Lebanon who led the country twice before. The only hope who can ward off a total economic collapse and save an estimated 2 million people from the brink of poverty.

Protesters had demanded the selection of a figure removed from the political elite who was accused by a state prosecutor in 2019 of embezzlement- a charge he denies and had described as politically motivated.

Lebanon’s financial and economic crisis surged in late 2019 and has worsened over time. Hassan Diab resigned in the wake of a massive explosion at Beirut’s port last august, since then Diab’s cabinet has acted as caretaker capacity compounding Lebanon’s paralysis future. Miqati was nominated after prime minister-designate Saad Hariri lost a protracted tussle for power with the country’s president Michel Aoun. Miqati became the third nominee so far since Hassan Diab’s resignation.

Mohanad Hage Ali who is the communication director of Carnegie Middle East Center showed his disapproval of the corruption allegations against Miqati from last time as they had not been addressed.

On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden sealed an agreement to formally end the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021. It has been more than 18 years since US troops have been deployed to the country. The U.S. forces will eventually still operate there in an advisory role.

The decision is seen as a booster for Baghdad after Kadhimi is pressured by Iran-aligned partied and paramilitary groups who oppose the U.S. military role in the country.

The first face-to-face talks between Biden and Kadhimi were held in the Oval Office. Biden addressed the reporters that the US role in Iraq is to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS as it arises but they will not be there by the end of the year in a combat mission.

The U.S. mission in the recent year was focused on helping defeat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The United State will provide $5.2 million to help fund a U.N. mission to monitor October elections in Iraq and also provide five lakh doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine under the global Covax vaccine sharing program.

The latest senior-level meeting between the United State and China saw a war of words to set the narrative. The Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials in Tianjin, China.

Zhao Linjian, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign minister said Chinese officials demanded the US to immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop harming China’s interest and stepping on the red line and warned them to stop playing with the fire. The US and China were trying to gain an advantage to manage the world’s most important bilateral relationship and set the stage for first leaders meeting President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G7 summit in October.

The state department painted Beijing as an international outlier that is subverting international norms and listed China’s genocide in Xinjiang and its refusal to cooperate with an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing officials described the talks as in-depth and frank where he responded with a torrent of condemnation and expressed strong dissatisfaction with Washington’s extremely dangerous China policy. They further accused it of hypocrisy on human rights.

The Deputy Secretary at the same time affirmed the importance of cooperation in areas of the climate crisis, counternarcotics, nonproliferation, and regional concerns including North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, and Burma.

The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a telephonic conversation with Tunisian President Kais Saied. On Monday, the secretary urged respect for democracy after he sacked the government.

The conversation over the call included top US diplomats who urged Saied to maintain an open dialogue with all political actors and the Tunisian people. They encouraged the President to adhere to the principles of democracy and human rights that are the basis of governance in Tunisia. Blinken promised to support the fight against Covid-19 and help Tunisia’s economy.

On Sunday, the protest that erupted around Tunisia led Saied to dismiss the prime minister and suspend parliament. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tunisia must not squander its democratic gains and the United States will continue to stand on the side of Tunisia’s democracy. He further added that the US was troubled by the closing of media offices and urged scrupulous respect for freedom of expression and over civil rights.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki took side and said it’s too early to blame Said if he had carried out a coup and a legal analysis will be carried out by the State Department.

Talibanese insists there won’t be any peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul. They want President Ashraf Ghani removed from his position. Taliban say they won’t monopolize power and will lay down arms only when a government acceptable to all is formed. The President has often said he will prefer staying inside the office until new elections can determine the next government.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, in an interview with the Associated Press, laid out the insurgent’s stance on what should come next in a country on the precipice. In recent weeks the Taliban has captured territory after the U.S. and NATO soldiers left Afghanistan. While Ghani was in power, the repeated demands for a ceasefire were tantamount to a Taliban surrender. Shaheen added there must be an agreement on a new government before any ceasefire. He wants a government that is acceptable to them and other Afghans.

Mr. Ghani was accused of using Tuesday’s speech on the Islamic holy day of Id-al-Adha to promise an offensive against the Taliban and called Ghani a warmonger. Mr. Ghani was surrounded by allegations of widespread fraud in the 2019 election win. After the vote, both Ghani and his rival Abdullah declared themselves President.

From July 15th, Maldives opened tourism for Indians. The country announced to South Asian travellers for on-arrival tourist visas. Top businessman of Maldives Mohamed Ali Janah said that his country is seeing an economic recovery after the impact of COVID pandemic.

Janah who is the chairman of Hotels and Resort Construction Pvt.Ltd, is currently on an India visit. In his interview with WION, Janah said they are now able to manage things. He further added, on the economic front they were hit very badly. The restaurants, boating, and hotels were largely affected. They had to remain closed for a prolonged period of time.

He said Indian tourists turned out to be saviours as they started going to Maldives for vacations. Since July this year, over one lakh Indians have visited Maldives. In may, Maldives has suspended the entry of tourists after the surge in covid cases in the region amid the second wave of the virus.

Maldives economy largely depends on its tourism industry and was greatly impacted after the virus hit the island. Janah was happy about the recovery and has high hopes for next year and 2023. He felt proud that his country was able to manage the crisis way beyond people’s expectations.