South Asia
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced $23,090 in compensation for families of victims that died during Imran Khan’s long march. Three victims were crushed by Khan’s container, while one other died in last week’s shooting in Wazirabad. [Geo TV]
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Thursday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the 2020 Galwan Valley skirmish was an attempt by China to depart from the status quo. He reiterated that unless agreements are adhered to, bilateral telations “cannot be, and is not, normal.” [Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Thursday conferred the Imam Bukhari Order—one of Uzbekistan’s highest awards—on his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a meeting in Tashkent. Erdoğan is in the Central Asian country to attend the ninth summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States. [Turkish Presidency]
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday proposed the creation of a demilitarised zone around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with “international guarantees.” He noted that such a zone would help prevent military mobilisation in the region. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are meeting in person for the first time in three years this week in Phnom Penh. The meeting, which will be chaired by Cambodian President Hun Sen, will focus on addressing the Myanmar crisis. Little progress has been made on the grouping’s five-point peace plan for Myanmar’s political crisis, which has been under military rule for more than a year. [The Straits Times]
Cambodia’s Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Kung Phoak, said the relationship between China and the United States is of utmost importance not just to Cambodia but to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) at large. “I can’t emphasise enough that ASEAN remains neutral in this competition. We don’t want to choose sides and frankly speaking, we want to work closely with both countries,” he said. “For us, it is important that the two major powers can look at ways on how they can collaborate at the same time (that) they are competing in some other areas,” he asserted. [CNBC International TV]
Europe
The United Kingdom has joined the European Union’s military mobility project, which aims to facilitate the movement of troops and military equipment across the continent. European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the defence policy was designed in light of a dramatic change in Europe’s “security environment.” [Politico]
Nurses in the United Kingdom have launched a strike for the first time in history, demanding a pay increase. The Royal College of Nursing announced that nurses in several hospitals would initiate industrial action before the end of the year. [The Guardian]
On Thursday, the European Parliament approved a report to allow Croatia to become a full member of the Schengen area and allow passport-free travel into the bloc, with 534 in favour, 53 against, and 25 abstaining. Rapporteur Paulo Rangel revealed that Zagreb “underwent the most comprehensive evaluation for Schengen membership of any EU country so far,” and that “lifting internal border controls must happen by the end of this year.” The final approval now lies with the European Union Council comprising 27 government leaders. [European Parliament]
Latin America and the Caribbean
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday reiterated his call for the Dominican Republic to stop deporting Haitians, saying “unremitting armed violence and systematic human rights violations in Haiti do not currently allow for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians to the country.” [United Nations]
High-level officials from Cuba and the United States met in Havana this week to iron out migration issues as the number of Haitians seeking refuge in the United States continues to rise. The US is legally obligated to grant a minimum of 20,000 visas to Cuban immigrants on a yearly basis. However, the Biden administration has continued the trend under the previous Trump government of issuing only 4,000 such visas each year. [El País]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog remarked on Wednesday that the “entire world” is worried about the possibility of far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir becoming a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. Ben Gvir, elected on the ticket of the ultra-conservative Religious Zionism party, has previously made racist statements about Arabs and supported Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. [Times of Israel]
The Somali army and allied militias killed at least 20 Al-Shabaab terrorists during a major operation in the Galmudug state. “We are determined to liberate all the towns which are controlled by Al Shabaab. As we pursued them, six of our soldiers were wounded,” the military said. [Reuters]
North America
In a statement released on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Pierre-Jean confirmed that United States President Joe Biden will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday along the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. The pair will discuss “efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication” between the two countries, “responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community.” [The White House]
In a telephonic conversation on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his newly-appointed Italian counterpart Giorgia Miloni “agreed to work closely to advance international peace and security, to promote the development and adoption of clean technologies, and to help create good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic by strengthening bilateral investment and trade.” The pair will meet in person at the G20 summit in Bali next week. [Prime Minister of Canada]
Oceania
In a joint statement with Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced $89.2 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar and Bangladesh for 2022-2023. The aid will be directed to provide food, water, and shelter and will also support the delivery of “essential protection, education, and health services” for women and those with disabilities. [Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit Vietnam from 14 to 17 November to meet with her counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. New Zealand will provide Vietnam with around $16 million in official development assistance from July 2021 to June 2024. [VN Express]
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Kenyan parliament voted to approve a $37 million mission to deploy around 1,000 troops to join the East African Community Regional Force to combat rebels in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. [Al Jazeera]
On Thursday, thousands of public workers across South Africa, led by the Public Servants Association labour union, began a nationwide strike over a wage dispute with the government. The labour unions are demanding a 6.5% increase in pay to match the rise in inflation, which hit almost 8% in July. Among the protesters are nurses, immigration workers, and police officers. [Africanews]