South Asia
On Thursday, Saad Rizvi, the head of the previously banned Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan group, was released from custody. This follows a compromise reached between the Pakistani government and the right-wing extremist group after days of intense protests that left the country on edge. [Times of India]
The Pakistani legislature passed a law allowing chemical castration for repeated sexual offenders. This punishment has previously been introduced in Poland, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and parts of the United States. [Straits Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Thursday accused the Armenian military of violating the recent Russian-brokered ceasefire by shelling Azerbaijani army positions in the Tovuz region. [Azer News]
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that even though “Russia’s vigorous mediation efforts” helped curb the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the recent shooting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border shows that “the region has not yet fully stabilised.” [Kremlin]
East and Southeast Asia
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday. The leaders discussed regional security issues, including North Korea and the Indo-Pacific. [MOFA.JP]
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration is set to approve a record economic stimulus package worth 55.7 trillion yen ($486.9 billion) as the country prepares for a possible sixth wave of COVID-19 infections. Welfare workers are expected to receive a pay rise of up to 12,000 yen a month. [The Straits Times]
Europe
The United Kingdom and the United States convened a meeting of their Cyber Management Review committees to discuss interoperability in cyberspace campaigns. The meeting also sought to combine military and intelligence efforts on the matt. [UK Government]
On Thursday, France accused the Channel Island of Jersey of not respecting the Brexit agreement and refusing to cooperate on the post-Brexit rift over fishing licenses. Under the Brexit deal, European fishers can continue fishing in British waters, provided they furnish evidence that proves their history of fishing in certain water before Brexit. France’s sea minister Annick Girardin said authorisation for 46 boats remains unanswered, with others waiting for the renewal of licenses, which expired on 31st October. [Euronews]
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for escalating tensions at its border with Ukraine by flying bombers and conducting drills in the Black Sea. In a speech to the Foreign Ministry, Putin said, “Western partners are escalating the situation by supplying Kyiv with lethal modern weapons and conducting provocative manoeuvres in the Black Sea.” Putin’s comments come after several Western countries raised alarm over Moscow’s troop build-up at the border over the past months. [The Moscow Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is set to run against incumbent leader Jair Bolsonaro in the country’s presidential election next year, received a vote of confidence from French President Emmanuel Macron during his tour of Europe, during which he also met Olaf Scholz, Germany's incoming Chancellor, and officials from the European Parliament. Macron hailed Lula’s “political courage,” after he was recently cleared of all corruption charges and allowed to run for office. [MercoPress]
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has proposed a law that would require individuals and organisations who receive foreign funding to register themselves as “foreign agents.” Failure to do so would enable the government to shut the organisation down or impose financial penalties or prison sentences. Likewise, registration would bar these foreign agents from “realizing activities for political or other ends, with the objective of altering public order, or that put at risk or threaten national security, the social and political stability of the country.” The proposed law has thus generated huge concern among civil society leaders. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Israel has charged a housekeeper who worked at Defence Minister Benny Gantz’s residence for offering to spy for Iran-affiliated hackers. Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, said it was reviewing the current vetting procedures for individuals working for high-level Israeli officials. [Associated Press]
The United Nations (UN) announced on Thursday that Ethiopia has released six of its detained staff and freed the 72 World Food Programme (WFP) truck drivers it arrested earlier this month. [Associated Press]
North America
On Thursday, United States President Joe Biden told reporters he is “considering” a diplomatic boycott from next year’s Winter Olympics in China. If he goes through with the move, American athletes would still compete but government officials would not attend the event in Beijing in any capacity. It would serve as an act of protest against China’s human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. [The Washington Post]
The United States (US) Government agreed to buy 10 million doses of pharma giant Pfizer’s experimental COVID-19 pill in a deal worth $5.29 billion. Pfizer’s anti-viral pill is yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). President Biden hailed the deal as “positive news” and called the pill a “critical tool in our arsenal that will accelerate our path out of the pandemic.” [Newsweek]
Oceania
Australian Trade minister Dan Tehan hopes to resume high-level contact with China after a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden earlier this week. Tehan said Australia is looking for constructive engagement with China to resolve their difference. Relations between Australia and China deteriorated significantly last year, when senior Australian ministers called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. [ABC News]
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton have been criticised over their plans not to segregate people who refused COVID-19 jabs from society. Dutton remarked, “You cannot segregate a part of the community even if you disagree with the decision they’ve made. At some stage, you’ve got to allow people to come back into society.” [The Canberra Times]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Guinean transitional president and junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya vowed to complete a smooth transition of power within a “limited” but unspecified amount of time. Doumbouya took control of the country on September 5 via a military coup that deposed President Alpha Condé. [Africa News]
Rwanda, which has one of the African continent’s best COVID-19 containment strategies, has begun vaccinating residents against COVID-19 at all public bus stations in the capital city Kigali. Minister of Health Daniel Ngamije said this is an effort by the government to further increase the vaccination rate in Kigali, which has been stuck at 93% for two weeks. [The East African]