South Asia
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Army Formation in Dinjan, Assam in order to assess troop preparedness along the Line of Actual Control with China. He will visit Arunachal Pradesh next as part of a three-day tour of "frontline locations." Singh is accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command Lieutenant General RP Kalita. [Indian Ministry of Defence. [Indian Ministry of Defence]
Newly reappointed Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar pledged to “revive” the country’s struggling economy, which he said was “critically damaged” under the rule of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf party. He said his priority would be to raise the value of the currency and reduce inflation and interest rates. [Associated Press of Pakistan]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Three Armenian soldiers were killed in renewed Azerbaijani attacks in Nagorno Karabakh on Wednesday, the Armenian defence ministry said. Condemning the incident, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reasserted his call for the deployment of an international observer mission to the region to prevent further attacks. [Public Radio of Armenia, Armen Press]
Georgia’s breakaway region of North Ossetia on Wednesday imposed restrictions on cars arriving from Russia as an influx of Russian men flees mandatory conscription. Russian cars have jammed traffic along the border crossing, and North Ossetian officials said they could not ensure order and security if the situation is left unaddressed. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Wednesday met with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on the sidelines of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s funeral in Tokyo. Kishida expressed his willingness to strengthen security cooperation and promote investment by Japanese companies in Cambodia. Hun Sen expressed his condolences and stated that his government would like to continue working in close coordination with Tokyo. [Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on Wednesday that North Korea could carry out a nuclear test between 16 October and 7 November. Legislator Youn Kun-young said the NIS “cannot calculate the probability” but “assumed that North Korea would make a comprehensive decision based on international relations and its COVID situation.” [Channel News Asia]
Europe
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Singapore today to emphasise on the importance of bilateral relations, as well as the United Kingdom's ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Indo-Pacific region at large. He will meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan. Cleverly is expected to announce a new regional investment initiative during his trip. [UK Government]
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned Western countries for accusing Russia of sabotaging the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Calling the allegations “stupid and absurd,” he asserted, “This is a big problem for us… This gas costs a lot of money, now this gas is escaping into the air.” [TASS]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Former Brazilian President and current opposition leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is leading incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro by 13 points in the polls ahead of the first round of voting this Sunday. His projected leads jumps to 14% in the 30 October runoff election. [Al Jazeera]
The Cuban Electrical Union on Wednesday said there has been "considerable progress" in restoring power across the country after Hurricane Ian are ongoing. The category 3 hurricane left virtually the entire island nation without electricity. Though power has been restored in some parts, access remains intermittent. [teleSUR]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday blamed the United States (US) for unfair treatment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. He criticised the US for favouring Greece over Turkey, despite Ankara releasing evidence that Athens has been provoking tensions in the Aegean islands. [Anadolu Agency]
Satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies on Wednesday showed a massive military buildup by Eritrean troops near the Tigray border, indicating that the country could launch a fresh offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels. Eritrean soldiers have recently been accused of partnering with their Ethiopian counterparts to fight the TPLF. [Associated Press]
North America
Over two million people in the United States have been hit with power outages after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday near Fort Myers, Florida. Though it was classified as a Category Four storm with severe flooding and wind speeds of 241 kilometres per hour, it has been downgraded to Category One as it moves inland. [BBC]
Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra announced on Wednesday that Ottawa and the Railway Association of Canada will help rebuild Ukraine’s railways to “ensure the continued movement of people and crucial commodities and products that are vital to supporting the wellness and livelihoods of Ukrainians.” [Transport Canada]
Oceania
New Zealand’s Statistics NZ announced that the country’s next census, which is held once every five years, will be held on 7 March, 2023. “Census data is used to plan infrastructure like water and roads, to build and resource services such as hospitals and schools, to support community applications for funding, and in the setting of electoral boundaries,” said Statistics Minister David Clark, adding, “So it is critical we get it right.” [NZ Herald]
Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Tokyo on Wednesday. The Australian leader said they discussed their “full strategic and economic agenda, including on clean energy technology. ” Albanese added that the two countries’ ties “have never been closer.” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said their discussion revolved around “trade and investment, defence manufacturing, renewable energy including green hydrogen, education, science and technology, agricultural research, sports, and people-to-people ties.” [The Indian Express]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday formally announced that he will be running for office next February, when the country will vote on incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor. 75-year-old Abubakar served as vice president from 1999-2007 and has failed in his two previous bids to become president. [Reuters]
Kenya has strengthened surveillance measures along its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, South Sudan, and Uganda amid an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda, where at least 23 people have died from the virus so far. [Africanews]