South Asia
The provincial government in Pakistan’s Punjab reconstituted a Joint Investigation Team to look into the assassination attempt against former Prime Minister Imran Khan for a third time. The Supreme Court previously criticised local authorities for failing to register a First Information Report on the incident in Wazirabad. [Dawn]
A Pakistani anti-terror court handed two men death sentences for their role in the suicide bomb attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last July that killed 13 people, including nine China engineers. The Pakistani government was under immense pressure from China, which repeatedly called for assurances about the safety of its citizens and projects. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
On Tuesday, the French Senate adopted a resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s violation of Armenian sovereignty and refusal to withdraw troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. The resolution demanded that Azerbaijan withdraw all troops, return all Armenian prisoners of war, and stop all forms of aggression. It noted that Paris is considering sanctions against Baku and reinforcing Armenian defence capabilities. [Armen Press]
Dozens of Kazakh opposition and rights activists across the country have been detained by the police over the past few days as the day for the presidential election approaches. The election is scheduled for 20 November. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with his United States (US) counterpart Joe Biden, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that China “will not yield to any acts of hegemonism or bullying” and that the US must “earnestly translate” Biden’s “positive statements into concrete policies and actions.” He also urged Washington to stop “containing and suppressing China,” “interfering in China’s internal affairs,” and “undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.” [Chinese Foreign Ministry]
Indonesia, the world’s eighth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, signed the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal with the United States, Japan, the European Union, and other developed nations to help with its transition to clean energy. The historic multilateral deal will allow the country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, a decade earlier than planned. [South China Morning Post]
Europe
The European People’s Party presented a resolution to the European Parliament urging the members to declare Russia a terrorist state for its war in Ukraine. Two other parties – Renew Europe and the European Conservatives and Reformists – are preparing to present similar resolutions. [Euronews]
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukrainian cities, saying the “callous targeting” showed Moscow’s weakness. He argued that Russia is losing the war both on the battlefield and the diplomatic arena, as evidenced by the G20 summit. [Reuters]
In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR) accused both Russia and Ukraine of abusing prisoners of war during the ongoing Ukraine war, including dog attacks, mock executions, electric shocks with tasers and military phones, sexual violence, and forced nudity. [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Tuesday, after meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Argentine President Alberto Fernández announced that the country has expanded its currency swap agreement with China by $5 billion, up from $18.5 billion. Argentina is suffering from dwindling foreign reserves and an inflation rate that is expected to touch 100% by the end of the year. The peso has also depreciated by at least 40% against the United States dollar. [Buenos Aires Times]
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Tuesday made a plea for $145.6 million in humanitarian assistance to address the cholera outbreak in Haiti. Official statistics say over 7,200 have already been hospitalised with the disease and at least 155 have died, though independent reports suggest the true numbers could be much higher. A two-month-long gang-imposed blockade at a critical fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince caused cases to spike, as it led to severe water, electricity, and medicinal shortages. [United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
United States President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met on the sidelines of the ongoing G-20 summit in Bali on Tuesday. The pair discussed efforts to revive the grain deal between Ukraine and Russia and the sale of American F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. Biden conveyed his condolences to Erdoğan over the Istanbul terror attack. [Daily Sabah]
Israel on Tuesday swore in its 25th parliament, the most right-wing in its history. President Isaac Herzog urged all new lawmakers to end their “addiction to never-ending conflict” and “verify the facts and consider everything carefully before any speech.” Herzog was referring to the controversial comments made by certain lawmakers, including ultra-conservative Itamar Ben Gvir, who has called on expelling disloyal Arab citizens and supported settler violence. Gvir is touted to be named in new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. [Times of Israel]
North America
During the House Homeland Security Committee’s annual “Worldwide Threats hearing on Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray revealed, “China’s vast hacking program is the world’s largest and they have stolen more Americans personal and business data than every other nation combined.” He also raised concern about national security with respect to Chinese app TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, which some officials think should be banned. [ABC News]
According to an anonymous Trudeau administration source, Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau raised “serious concerns” about alleged Chinese “interference activities” in Canada during his talks with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday. The pair also discussed the Ukraine war, North Korea, and “the importance of continued dialogue.” [The National Post]
Oceania
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday that he explained Australia’s position on trade blockades in the country’s thorny relationship with China during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “It was a positive discussion. We put forward our position. It was not anticipated that a meeting such as that you get immediate declarations. I believe if people thought that would happen, then that was not realistic,” Albanese told reporters. [Australian Prime Minister]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia that the Myanmar military government’s repression of its opponents was “devastating” and “a stain on our region.” [RNZ]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Tuesday, lawmakers in Sierra Leone passed a law to introduce a gender quota in parliament, fulfilling a campaign promise by Julius Bio in 2018. Women are now required to make up one-third of MPs and local councillors. [AFP]
Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday announced that it will gradually withdraw all of its troops from the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in Mali by August 2023. The decision was hastened by Mali’s continued refusal to release 46 Ivorian soldiers deployed as part of UN mission MINUSMA who were detained in July for being “mercenaries.” [Africanews]