South Asia
Senior officials from India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a virtual meeting on transnational crime. They stressed the importance of regional and international cooperation on the issue and discussed setting up institutional linkages and capability-building programmes to deter drug trafficking, international economic crimes, and cybercrimes. [MEA India]
Draupadi Murmu was elected as India’s first tribal president after securing over 53% votes and defeating opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. She is also the youngest person to hold the position and the second woman president in Indian history. Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha voted in the elections, alongside the Members of the Legislative Assemblies from all states in India and Delhi and Puducherry. [Times of India]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The leaders of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan refused to sign a Central Asian treaty of friendship on Thursday during a summit attended by all Central Asian presidents in Kyrgyzstan. The treaty seeks to end regional conflicts and calls on all five countries to resolve disputes only through diplomacy and dialogue. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan did not give any specific reason for their move. [Eurasianet]
United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said on Thursday that it is now “more important than ever” that Georgia and Ukraine stand together against Russian aggression, as both countries have experienced Russian occupation. She added that “any division between Georgia and Ukraine now only serves Russia’s purposes.” Degnan’s remarks came a day after Georgia’s ruling party accused her of interfering in Tbilisi’s internal politics and said the country would not join the European Union and Western sanctions aimed at punishing Russia. Degnan had previously called on Georgian authorities to release a journalist arrested for criticising the government. [Agenda,ge, RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The Japanese government has planned to hold former Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe’s state funeral on September 27. Government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said that the state funeral was a natural decision, given Abe’s time as the country’s longest-serving PM, his “truly praiseworthy” achievements, as well as his close relationships with many foreign leaders. [Channel News Asia]
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) special envoy to Myanmar, Prak Sokhonn, said on Thursday that the grouping will not jeopardise its own unity while trying to help Myanmar navigate its political crisis. “Whatever we do and will do to help Myanmar, our efforts, actions and dedication shall never put at risk, in any way, our unity, the Asean unity,” he said. [The Straits Times]
Europe
Richard Moore, the chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6, warned that it is critical for the West to win in Ukraine because China is “watching like a hawk” to inform its own strategy on a possible invasion of Taiwan. He said that it is important for Western allies to send a clear message and avoid any “miscalculation” by Chinese President Xi Jinping. [NBC News]
The British Supreme Court will hear the case on the Scottish independence referendum in October to decide whether Scotland can call for the vote without the United Kingdom’s permission. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has maintained that the independence vote is a “once-in-a-generation” event and has already been conducted and rejected in Scotland in 2014. [Euronews]
In a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó announced that Hungary would be buying an additional 700 million cubic metres of Russian gas to secure the country’s energy supplies, which, “whether we like it or not, would not be possible without sources from Russia.” Revealing that Budapest’s current gas storage is at 27.3%, he underlined, “In normal times, this would be enough, it would give us security, but we all know that we are not living in normal times, so we need to go even more secure.” [Hungary Today]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Thursday, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou refrained from signing the joint statement at the Mercosur (Southern Common Market) Summit in Asunción, citing a lack of any mention of flexibility within the bloc. Lacalle insisted on allowing members to negotiate unilateral trade deals with third parties, referring to ongoing negotiations with China. He asserted that he will “invite” Mercosur members to “join in” the free trade agreement (FTA) with China and stressed that Uruguay will be moving ahead with the deal with or without Mercosur’s approval. [Merco Press]
At least 18 people, including a police officer and one civilian, were killed on Thursday after four hundred heavily-armed military police were deployed to conduct a raid in the Alemão favela to arrest drug trafficking suspects in the area. Such raids are not uncommon in the country, with rights organisations condemning these operations for violating human rights in low-income communities. Anacrim Human Rights Commission official Gilberto Santiago Lopes denounced police operations in Alemão, claiming that they “don’t aim to arrest them, they aim to kill them.” [BBC]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
American peacekeepers stationed at the strategic Gulf of Aqaba, whose coastline is shared by Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, will be replaced by remote-controlled cameras soon to ensure that international shipping is not disrupted, officials told Reuters. The move comes after Egypt and Israel agreed to withdraw their peacekeepers from the Egyptian-controlled Tiran and Sanafir islands, which will be transferred to Saudi Arabia. [Reuters]
Israeli intelligence agents working in Iran captured a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer and interrogated him about Tehran’s weapons shipments to proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. In an alleged video of the interrogation, the officer confesses that Iran actively supplies weapons to proxies and urges the IRGC to stop such activities. The officer was later released unharmed. [Iran International]
North America
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that United States President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and experiencing mild symptoms. “Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation,” she added. [The White House]
The United States (US) confirmed its first polio case in almost a decade in an unvaccinated 20-year-old man in New York on Thursday. The individual, who had travelled to Poland and Hungary early this year, was hospitalised in June and treated for a possible case of acute flaccid myelitis, which results in severe muscle weakness and paralysis. However, subsequent tests revealed a type of polio that indicates transmission from outside the US. An anonymous official said that the patient was discharged, and is able to stand, but is finding it difficult to walk. [The Washington Post]
Following the Trudeau government’s announcement last week that it won’t be accepting new referrals after processing the last 18,000 applicants, Canada’s Conservative party and Afghan refugee supporters have urged Ottawa on Thursday to expand the special immigration programme that prioritises former members of Afghanistan’s armed forces or members of the Canadian government and their families. “To put a cap on the numbers was unacceptable, in our opinion, in the first place,” Conservative immigration critic Jasraj Singh Hallan said in a press conference on Thursday. [CBC News]
Oceania
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is receiving flak from environmental groups for gifting United States (US) President Joe Biden a kauri bowl during a visit to Washington. The swamp kauri bowl is made from glazed timber that was harvested from trees submerged in peat swamps for 60,000 years. The Northland Environmental Protection Society’s head, Fiona Furrell, condemned Arden’s choice as“appalling” and a “faux pas” due to the damage inflicted on the ecosystem in order to extract the timber. [New York Post]
For his government’s first parliamentary sitting, which begins next Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Albanese has shortlisted four priority bills that will help deliver a “better future.” Albanese’s Labor government will introduce a 2030 emissions reduction target, 10 days of paid domestic violence leave, an aged care law, and address the country’s employment crisis by creating an independent agency that gives advice on jobs and skills. [Triple M]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Thursday, Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Dussey met with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Dakhla and pledged his support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, claiming that his country has always been a “credible voice” in backing the “territorial integrity and national unity of Morocco.” On this occasion, the two ministers also concluded agreements enabling visa-free entry for their citizens into their two countries. [Republic of Togo]
At the East African Community (EAC) Summit in Arusha on Thursday, Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente vouched for “open skies” across the region through the removal of “aĺl restrictions in air transport services” by the seven-nation bloc. He called for the effective implementation of the 2010 Yamoussoukro Decision, which called for a full liberalisation of intra-African air transport services in terms of access, capacity, frequency, and tariffs, which can enable lower fares and stimulate passenger demand. [The New Times]