South Asia
Hundreds participated in protests in Jammu after army personnel shot dead two labourers near a military base in Rajouri on Friday. The Indian Army blamed “unidentified terrorists” for the incident in a Twitter post. Senior officers have assured local authorities that the families of the deceased will receive compensation and that they would take down the “wrongful tweets.” [Hindustan Times]
Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday urged the United Nations to address unsustainable debt by reallocating Special Drawing Rights. He stressed that several countries’ economic situations had worsened due to issues such as the Ukraine crisis and climate change. [Associated Press of Pakistan]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Saturday accused Armenian soldiers of opening fire at Azerbaijani military positions in Kalbajar and Lachin in Nagorno-Karabakh amid ongoing tensions in the Lachin Corridor. Last week, Azerbaijan blockaded the corridor, which is the only road connecting Armenia to Artsakh, accusing Armenian and Russian soldiers of “illegally exploiting” the region’s natural resources. [Azerbaijani Defence Ministry]
The World Bank on Saturday approved a $1 billion loan for Uzbekistan to implement financial reforms to support the growth of the private sector and ensure greater economic growth. [IANS]
East and Southeast Asia
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast on Sunday. They reached an altitude of 550 kilometres and flew a distance of 500 kilometres, an indication that they were not long-range ballistic weapons. This marked the 35th day this year that Pyongyang has conducted a missile test. [CNN]
An annual survey carried out by Chinese state-owned media house Global Times revealed that more than 62% of the respondents from 33 participating countries believe that China’s influence is rising, double the number that believes that the United States’ influence is greater. [Global Times]
Europe
In an interview with Russian state media RIA Novosti last week, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov accused Ottawa of trying to isolate Moscow by launching a social media campaign to spread disinformation about the Ukraine war. “When there is no real diplomacy on the Canadian side, no ability or appetite to deal with matters serious to Russia, they turn on this Twitter megaphone,” he asserted. Russia summoned Canadian Ambassador Alison LeClaire earlier this month over the “numerous unwarranted cases” of Canada having summoned Stepanov this year. [Global News]
Qatar warned the European Union against imposing “discriminatory restriction” against Qatari officials over the Qatargate scandal, saying it could impact security and energy cooperation. It criticised allegations that it has bribed European Parliament officials to influence decisions in the body, calling them “inaccurate” judgements that were founded on “preconceived prejudices.” [Politico]
Senior British government official Oliver Dowden declared that the government is “resolute” in its stance that it will not increase the salary of nurses despite massive strikes. He said it is necessary in order to keep “public finances under control.” Nurses have been offered a wage hike of just 4% despite inflation touching 10%. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Friday, Two days after declaring a nationwide state of emergency over protests in the wake of the impeachment and arrest of now-former President Pedro Castillo, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte imposed a curfew in 15 provinces. At least 22 people have died in the violent protests so far, while over 530 have been injured. [Bloomberg]
Forest fires in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego have destroyed over 10,000 hectares of land since late November, local authorities confirmed. Though rains have helped somewhat, firefighters continue to describe the situation as ‘extreme.’ [MercoPress]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Islamic State terrorists on Sunday claimed responsibility for an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk that killed at least nine police officers. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani vowed “urgent retribution” against the perpetrators. [Reuters, Rudaw]
Israel on Sunday deported Palestinian activist and lawyer Salah Hammouri to France, accusing him of having ties to the banned militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Hammouri had spent 11 years in an Israeli prison for murdering a rabbi but was released in 2011 during an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap. He was born in Jerusalem but holds French citizenship. France has condemned the move and vowed to ensure that Hammouri’s “rights are respected.” [Associated Press]
North America
In a letter sent to Congress members on Saturday, 24 former high-ranking United States (US) military officials, including former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Joseph Dunford and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Admiral Jim Stavridis, called on Congress to include the Afghan Adjustment Act in its spending bill to advance “the national security interests of the United States.” The letter cautioned that if it does not pass, the country “will be less secure.” “As military professionals, it was and remains our duty to prepare for future conflicts. We assure you that in any such conflict, potential allies will remember what happens now with our Afghan allies,” it added. [CNN]
On Friday, the United States (US) Department of Energy announced that it will begin buying three million barrels of crude oil starting January to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an effort to stabilise the oil prices. Describing it as a “good deal for American taxpayers” since the purchase price will be lower than the current price of $96 per barrel, it said the move would “strengthen energy security” as well. The SPR remains at its lowest level right now after President Joe Biden decided to withdraw 180 million barrels in March. [US Department of Energy, Associated Press]
Oceania
In an indication of thawing ties, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit China this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the two countries. Wong will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and hold the 6th Australia–China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue. [Prime Minister of Australia]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her government’s trade missions around the world were “the highlight” of her year, especially after more than two years of COVID-19 containment restrictions. “Trade missions seem like a no-brainer – and they were – but I did not anticipate how much satisfaction I would get from seeing those New Zealand businesses grow, benefit and really just succeed on the world stage,” she said. [Stuff]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Friday, Burkina Faso summoned Ghana’s ambassador to lodge a complaint against Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo’s claims two days earlier that Ouagadougou had reached an agreement with Mali to place paramilitaries from Russia’s Wagner Group at Ghana’s northern border. [Al Jazeera]
The South African government on Saturday deployed the military to protect the country’s electricity plants in response to rising anger against state-owned energy provider Eskom over increasingly frequent power cuts. A spokesperson from the president’s office said the emergency measure was “in response to the growing threat of sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption” at coal and diesel-powered plants. [africanews]