South Asia
Seeking to combat the trust deficit in bilateral trade, India and the United States (US) revived their Trade Policy Forum on Wednesday, and discussed “emerging issues” such as child and forced labour. The meeting was conducted after a four-year gap following the appointment of Donald Trump as US President. [The Print]
According to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Office, $28 million has been released as humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan. This includes food, medical supplies, and other essential commodities for the Afghan people. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Sochi on Friday. The trilateral talks will “outline further steps to strengthen stability and establish a peaceful life” in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and centre around establishing trade, economic, and transport links in the region. [Kremlin]
Uzbekistan’s security service on Tuesday detained several members of banned Islamist outfit Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which was labelled as a terrorist organisation in 2016. Authorities accused the group of “propagating” Islamist material through video and audio formats. The group is also accused of raising funds for Uzbek nationals fighting in Syria. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced that navy vessels had successfully completed a resupply mission at a South China Sea outpost on Tuesday, after they were earlier blocked by the Chinese coast guard. The news comes just one day after President Rodrigo Duterte criticised China’s actions at the China-ASEAN Special Summit on Monday. [Japan Times]
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees condemned Thailand for deporting a third Cambodian refugee in two weeks. Thavry Lanh, who represented the now-dissolved Cambodian opposition party, was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government and fled to Thailand over four years ago. Similarly, the country deported another female former Cambodian politician last week. [Bangkok Post]
Europe
On Tuesday, Germany and France urged their citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately, after Tigrayan rebels claimed they are advancing towards the country’s capital, Addis Ababa. The United States also issued a similar advisory, while the United Nations ordered an immediate evacuation of family members of international staff in Ethiopia. [DW]
The United Kingdom (UK) will host a conference on freedom of religion and belief next summer that will see the participation of 33 other countries. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that this is in furtherance of the UK’s goal of promoting fundamental freedoms as the current President of the G7. [UK Government]
Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Sochi for bilateral talks. The two leaders discussed Russia’s Middle East agenda and Moscow’s involvement in the Palestine-Israel conflict. Putin also highlighted Russia’s Covid assistance to Palestine, noting: “We are providing medicines and vaccines; Russian specialists and medical workers visit Palestine.” [Kremlin]
Latin America and the Caribbean
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Bogotá on Tuesday to mark the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas. Under the agreement signed in 2016, around 13,000 men and women renounced fighting to rejoin civilian life, from which 7,000 combatants surrendered their weapons. However, at least 290 former FARC combatants have been killed since the deal was signed. [MercoPress]
The European Union opined that although Venezuela’s regional and municipal elections on Sunday had better “electoral conditions” than previous elections, largely due to the participation of the country’s main opposition parties for the first time since 2017, there was nonetheless a “persistence of structural deficiencies.” A number of opposition candidates were barred from running, and a citizen was also shot near a polling station. Moreover, voter turnout was reported at just 41.8%, in an election that saw the PSUV secure landslide victories. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
An investigative report by the Associated Press found that 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar has for years employed a former CIA official to spy on FIFA officials as part of a “no-expense-spared effort to win and hold on” to the tournament. [Associated Press]
Apple on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Israeli ‘hacker-for-hire’ company NSO Group for the “surveillance and targeting of Apple users” with the Pegasus spyware. Apple also seeks to ban the company from using any of its “software, services, or devices.” [Apple]
Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, reappointed Shiekh Sabah al-Khalid as Prime Minister (PM) and tasked him with forming a cabinet amid a domestic political standoff. The move comes days after the PM tendered the resignation of his government to the Emir following a standoff with opposition lawmakers, who accused the government of corruption. [Reuters]
North America
On Tuesday, The United States (US) and five other countries announced that they will increase oil production from their national stockpiles in a joint effort to drive down soaring prices. President Joe Biden made available an additional 50 million barrels of crude, while Britain, India, South Korea, and Japan together pledged approximately 15 million barrels; China has yet to announce details of its plan. The move could result in retaliation from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, also known as OPEC+, in their meeting next month. [The New York Times]
On Tuesday, The United States (US) Department of Justice sued US Sugar and Imperial Sugar in an effort to block a merger between the two multi-billion-dollar corporations. In a civil antitrust lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said, “This deal substantially lessens competition at a time when global supply chain challenges already threaten steady access to important commodities and goods.” [The Hill]
Oceania
On Wednesday, Australia listed white supremacist neo-Nazi group The Base and a Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah as terrorist organisations. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews described the neo-Nazi group as violent and racist, and said its members are known to be planning attacks in several nations. Regarding Hezbollah, Australia had until now only placed the group’s External Security Organisation (ESO) on its terror list, before adding its military and political wings this week. [ABC News]
The Australian and Fijian militaries completed another round of t joint raining during the Coral Warrior exercise in Fiji. These annual bilateral training activities aim to promote public affairs skills, physical training, and military policing. Coral Warrior is one of several exercises undertaken in collaboration with Fiji that involve reciprocal training and exchange opportunities. [Department of Defence, Australia]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Tuesday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta began a two-day visit to South Africa and was received by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria. During his trip, he will visit the Aspen Pharmacare factory, where it is estimated that 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine can be produced each year, greatly increasing the continent’s self-sufficiency. [Africa News]
The East African Community’s Council of Ministers, which is currently chaired by Kenya, agreed to approve the Democratic Republic of Congo’s bid for membership. The DRC shares borders with five EAC members: Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan. It is thought that DRC’s addition will boost member states’ connectivity to the Atlantic coast and to northern and western Africa. [The East African]