THE WORLD THIS WEEK

Contributed by National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru*

By Sourina Bej, Sukanya Bali, D Suba Chandran, Akriti Sharma and Lokendra Sharma

COVID-19: The UK government approves emergency vaccine rollout, sparking hope and questions

What happened?

On 2 December, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted emergency-use authorization to the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, seven months after clinical trials. The UK became the first country to grant vaccine approval to Pfizer and BioNTech. Marching ahead of the US and Germany, where both companies are based, the approval prompted international criticisms from both the EU and the US. Peter Liese, a member of the European Parliament’s public health committee, called the UK’s approval ‘hasty’; and the head of the US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, called the process a “kind of ran around the corner of the marathon and joined it in the last mile.” The UK defended its regulators and moved to order 40 million doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech jabs which can vaccinate 20 million people. Additionally, 100 million doses have been ordered for the shot developed by AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford.

What does it mean?

Quick approval by the UK has shown the world what is needed: a bureaucracy that will work for a health emergency. Challenges remain for the UK to ease access for the low-income group. However, the vaccine authorization is an important moment for the UK because it shows that the country can work without delays and defeats that have distinctively marked its political history since the beginning of the BREXIT. The authorization of the vaccine being within the ambit of EU law is not an argument in favour of BREXIT, but an indication of what the UK wants to do in future.

Escalating tensions between Australia and China: A tweet raises diplomatic heat

What happened?

On 30 November, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman tweeted with a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a blood-stained knife to the throat of an Afghan child captioned

“Don’t be afraid, we are coming to bring you peace”. He also posted, “Shocked by the murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts & call for holding them accountable”.

On the same day, Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister, condemned the image and demanded an apology for the “repugnant tweet”. He said: “It is utterly outrageous and cannot be justified on any basis. The Chinese government should be utterly ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world’s eyes.”

On 1 December, New Zealand became the first country to voice its criticism over China’s tweet. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said, “It was an unfactual post, and of course it concerns us. We have raised it directly, the way New Zealand does when we have such concerns.” Later the same day the Chinese Spokesperson said, “rather than demanding an apology for the post, Australia should be “ashamed”, as some of its soldiers on official duty in Afghanistan committed such cruelties”.

What does it mean?

Australia’s export to China constitutes 35 per cent of its total export, whereas imports from Australia account for 4 per cent of China’s total imports. This dispute would hurt Australia more than it would hurt China. However, with the rising tensions, as exemplified by the dispute over a tweet, Australia might not reverse its policy against China.

An Afghan agreement in Doha: A breakthrough reported between the government and the Taliban

What happened?

On 2 December, the New York Times reported an agreement between the negotiators of the Afghan government and the Taliban over “the principles and procedures that will guide the ongoing peace negotiations between them.” According to a tweet by Nader Nadery, on December 2, “the plenary meeting was held between two Intra-Afghan negotiation teams. In this meeting, a joint working committee was tasked to prepare the draft topics for the agenda.” and “the procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalized and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda.” Nadery is a part of the negotiation team by the Afghan government; he also

tweeted on the same day: “The current negotiations of both negotiation teams show that there is willingness among Afghans to reach a sustainable peace and both sides are committed to continue their sincere efforts to reach a sustainable peace in Afghanistan.”

On 5 December, Nadery tweeted again. He said: “The Committee discussed the issue related to the agenda of the negotiation. The working committee will meet again tomorrow.”

Earlier, according to Sediq Seddiqqi, the spokesperson of the Afghan President tweeted on the same issue in which the latter welcomed the “finalization of the negotiation procedures in Doha.”

What does it mean?

An agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban is important at this juncture. Not only because of Trump’s decision to reduce the troops level further but also because of declining international support to Afghanistan. The Afghan donor conference in Geneva last month could manage only USD 12 billion for the next four years when compared to USD 16 billion and USD 15 billion during Tokyo (2012) and Brussels (2016) conferences respectively.

The troubling aspect is the continuing violence. As mentioned above, more than 1000 people have been killed during the last two months (October-November 2020). This is unacceptable. Dialogue and violence cannot continue side by side. Unfortunately, there is more pressure on the Afghan government to accept this, as the Taliban continues to engage in Doha politically, and perpetrate violence in Afghanistan.

ALSO IN THE NEWS

Hong Kong: Young trio jailed

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong On 2 December, a Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong for 13 months in prison while fellow dissidents Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow were jailed for 10 and seven months respectively. The trio had pleaded guilty to the charges of inciting, organizing and participating in a rally near the Hong Kong Police Headquarter in 2019. The ruling was criticized by the US and the UK. Dominic Raab, UK’s Foreign Secretary, urged “the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to bring an end to their campaign to stifle opposition.”

Thailand: PM Prayut not guilty, rules Constitutional Court

On 2 December, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that Prime Minister Prayut was not guilty of occupying the army residence. Prayut, former chief of Thailand’s military, had seized power after the 2014 coup. However, he continues to stay in his army residence after assuming the post of prime minister. The Pheu Thai, Thailand’s largest opposition party, complained to the court regarding it in March this year. An adverse ruling would have made his continuation at the post of prime minister untenable.

New Zealand: Climate emergency declared

On 2 December, New Zealand’s parliament passed a motion declaring a state of ‘Climate

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Emergency’, joining 32 other countries which have declared it already. The government also committed to achieving carbon neutrality in the public sector by 2025. Addressing the legislators, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden called climate change “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and said that the country needed to “act with urgency”.

New Zealand: Visiting Pakistani cricket team barred from training

On 4 December, New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said that the exemption provided to visiting sports teams to train after completing 14-days isolation has been denied to the Pakistani cricket team which is staying in a Christchurch hotel. This comes after 8 cricketers tested positive for COVID-19 in the 53-member Pakistani squad and breach of isolation rules by team members. New Zealand’s Director General of Health said that there continue to be “concerns about the risk of cross-infection within the squad.”

Australia: Bushfires due to the heat wave

On 3 December, seventeen aircraft dumped water on the Fraser island that continues to burn due to the bushfires. Fires are raging for more than six weeks now and have engulfed an area of 187,800 acres. Fire bans have been imposed in the northern slopes and the northwestern districts. Bushfires though common in Australia, the intensity and occurrences have increased due to climate change. 2019-20 witnessed a devastating bushfire season which burned 30 million acres of land and killed more than a billion animals.

Japan: Space capsule returns, with samples from an asteroid

On 5 December, a capsule released by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft that was sent to collect asteroid samples, landed in a remote area of Southern Australia. Scientists believe that the samples, especially the ones taken from under the asteroid surface, contain valuable data unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors.

India: Farmers protests against the agriculture laws

On 5 December, the fifth round of talks between the Indian government and the farmers ended. Farmers are protesting against the three new agriculture laws: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act. Farmers have rejected the government’s offer to reform laws and demanded repealing of all three laws. On 1 December, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau extended support to the Indian farmers, following which India summoned Canadian High Commissioner as a mark of protest.

France: Crackdown on Mosques

On 3 December, France’s Interior Minister said that the government had identified 76 mosques as “suspected” of “separatism” out of the 2600 Muslim places of worship in the country. These mosques would be closed down if found to be spreading separatism. He also said that 66 radicalized undocumented migrants had been expelled from the country, while many others are being detained. These moves are part of the French government’s push for combating “Islamist separatism” after a string of recent terror attacks.

About the authors

Sourina Bej is a Project Associate, Sukanya Bali is a Research Associate, D Suba Chandran is a Professor and Dean, Akriti Sharma and Lokendra Sharma are PhD Scholars, at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, NIAS.

The report has been edited by India News due to space considerations.