ASIA
Myanmar- Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, has canceled on this month’s UN General Assembly meet as the unrest in the Rakhine state of her country increases. The unrest, which is caused by the minority community of Rohingya Muslims, has which has forced more than 370,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since August 25, as reported by the United Nations.
Suu Kyi’s spokesperson said that there were two reasons for Suu Kyi to cancel. First, the current state of Rakhine and second, there might be terrorist attacks in the rest of the country. The UN Security Council plans to meet on Wednesday to discuss this ongoing crisis, as it has killed more than a 1000 people till now.
Japan- Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe has said in a statement that Japan will never tolerate any of North Korea’s dangerous actions, as North Korea fired its second ballistic missile across Japan. The country has been trying not to give into these provocative moves, but PM Abe said that, “If North Korea continues down this path, there will be no bright future.”
Rex Tillerson, who is the US Secretary of State, has condemned the move and has said that China and Russia should do the same, as they are North Korea’s main economic partners.
Tillerson said, “China and Russia must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own”, thus pressurizing them to give a statement. So far, none of them has commented.
Europe
Russia- Zapad-2017 is a large-scale joint military exercise launched by Russia and Belarus that is making the nearby NATO countries nervous. Russia’s defense ministry has reported that 12,700 troops are participating in this exercise, but NATO says that the number is higher. This has led to an increase in tension in and around Europe, as war seems to be in the undercurrents with Belarus and Russia prepping with armored troops, aircrafts and warships.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says that Zapad-2017 could be preparation for an invasion of Ukraine and has thus increased security on the Ukrainian borders. NATO is accusing Russia of supplying rebels with heavy arms and troop reinforcements. Russia has denied this claim, but says that some Russian “volunteers” are helping the rebels. The official end date for Zapad-2017 is 20th September, as told by Belarus.
Africa
Nigeria- “Chibok girls’ were 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamists militants and kept in the Boko Haram in 2014. 100 of these girls were rescued and put through rehabilitation therapy. Now young women, they will reunite with their families in a party in the capital city of Abuja.
The government traded five militants in exchange for the release of these women in May. They were in government custody since, undergoing therapy after the trauma they had to endure at the hands of the militants. Still, 100 girls are held hostage in the Boko Haram camp.