South Asia
Kabul Mayor Mawlawi Abdul Rashid met with members of the Hindu and Sikh minority communities who have sought help to reclaim land that was snatched from them after the Taliban’s takeover. Several members of the minority religious communities have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban’s rise to power over fears of persecution. [Khaama News Press Agency]
The Indian government reported that it successfully rescued 130 Indians that had been held captive in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia and forced to commit cyber-fraud. The individuals had been lured to the Southeast Asian countries with the false promise of jobs in companies in the information technology sector. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday blamed each other for opening fire along the border and violating the ceasefire. The Armenian Defence Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces “opened fire from firearms of different calibres” at Armenian military posts in the eastern sector. Conversely, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry claimed that Armenian soldiers fired at positions in Lachin and Kalbajar. No casualties were reported by either side. [Public Radio of Armenia, Azer News]
Kyrgyzstan announced on Sunday that it is cancelling the upcoming Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Russia-led ‘Indestructible Brotherhood – 2022’ military exercises, which were to be held in Kyrgyzstan from 10 October to 14 October. While Bishkek gave no official reason for its move, it is believed that recent tensions with CSTO member Tajikistan contributed to Kyrgyzstan’s decision. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that more than one million people have been displaced in Myanmar since the military coup last year. “As of last month, 1,017,000 people have been internally displaced,” the international organisation said. It noted that this presents “significant challenges” to delivering humanitarian assistance to the region. [Mizzima]
Ahead of the 111th Double Ten Day, which celebrates the founding of Taiwan, United States (US) senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch said in a statement that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s increasing aggression toward the island highlighted the growing need to support its sovereignty. The senator pledged to continue fighting for US legislation that gives the nation the “critical technologies and training” to protect itself against Chinese aggression. [Taiwan News]
Europe
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to “never” give up the fight for Scottish independence even as British ministers oppose and reject the plans. She said that Scotland could hold another independence referendum next year and sparked further controversy after saying she “detests” the Labour party, later clarifying that she was referring to the government’s policies and not individual politicians or supporters. [BBC]
Germany Transport Minister Volker Wissing said that Saturday’s outage that disrupted train traffic was a result of “deliberate and malicious” acts of “sabotage.” He said that after the communication systems were disrupted for three hours, the authorities’ investigation found out that the cables had been cut at two locations. [Politico]
On Friday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov met with his Cuban counterpart Ricardo Cabrisas to discuss issues of industrial cooperation, especially focusing on cooperation in aircraft and heavy engineering industry. [Russian Government]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Honduras on Sunday declared a ‘Red Alert,’ the highest level in its risk scale, in 10 regions of the country in anticipation of tropical storm Julia. The rest of the country is also on ‘Yellow Alert,’ the second highest level. The storm has already led to intense thunderstorms and heavy rains. [teleSUR]
On Friday, the International Monetary Fund approved a new $3.8 billion loan to Argentina after reviewing the country's 30-month-long $44 billion Extended Fund Facility, under which it has already received $17.6 billion. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Argentina must reduce the fiscal deficit to 2.5% of the GDP by the end the of the year and 1.9% by the end of next year. [Buenos Aires Times]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
African Union (AU) diplomats told the Associated Press on Friday that peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had collapsed. The AU had planned to hold the talks over the weekend in South Africa after the two parties agreed to hold negotiations to end the two-year-old conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions. [Associated Press]
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Assadzadeh said on Sunday that Russian state petroleum company Gazprom plans to develop six oilfields and two natural gas fields in Iran. Moscow-Tehran energy ties have expanded following Western sanctions on Russia since February. [Press TV]
North America
The United States (US) Department of Treasury sanctioned Malaysian citizen Teo Boon Ching, his organisation, and Malaysian company Sunrise Greenland Sdn. Bdn. on Friday for the trafficking of endangered wildlife by illegally transporting rhino horn, ivory, and pangolins from Africa through Malaysia and Laos to consumers in Vietnam and China. “Wildlife trafficking groups are cruel and inhumane, and they also perpetuate corruption and illicit finance,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, adding that Washington “considers wildlife trafficking to be not only a critical conservation concern, but also a threat to global security.” [US Department of Treasury]
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its top leaders, including over 10,000 officers and senior members, for their engagement in terrorism and systemic and gross human rights violations. Addressing the Iranian Canadian community, he said, “We hear your voices, we hear your calls for action. That is why today, we’re using the most powerful tools we have to crack down on this brutal regime and the individuals responsible for its heinous behaviour.” [Prime Minister of Canada]
Oceania
Two climate activists have been arrested after they glued their hands to the glass covering Pablo Picasso’s ‘Massacre in Korea’ painting at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Extinction Rebellion, the group that staged the protest, stated that “No arts were harmed” during the protest. It said on Twitter that it had carried out the demonstration to “highlight the connection between climate breakdown & human suffering.” [Sky News]
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said that as China’s presence in the Pacific grows, at least 28 of the country’s multi-billion dollar defence projects had been collectively delayed by 97 years. “All of this has occurred at a time when our strategic circumstances are very complex and extremely challenging,” he said during a media briefing. To this end, Marles also criticised the previous conservative government for leaving him “a complete mess.” [The Straits Times]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Chad’s national forum on Saturday announced that junta leader Gen. Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who took power in a military coup last April after his father, President Idriss Déby, was assassinated, will remain in power for the next two years. Crucially, the forum also established his right to run for president in the election at the end of the now-extended transition period. [Africanews]
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday hosted his newly-elected Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Kampala for the country’s 60th independence day. Ruto's trip came against the backdrop of Museveni’s son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, tweeting last week that Ruto’s election may not have been legitimate and claiming that his troops could capture Nairobi within two weeks. In fact, Museveni subsequently delivered a personal apology and dismissed Muhoozi from his role as the head of the Land Forces, after the Ruto administration threatened to cancel the trip. However, Museveni also promoted his son to the rank of a full general, raising doubt about his commitment to repairing ties. [The East African]