South Asia
The World Bank’s board members are set to meet on Tuesday to finalise the details of the proposal to redirect up for $500 million funds from the frozen Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund towards the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country. The discussions will see the participation of officials from the United States and the United Nations. [Al Jazeera]
On Monday, Sri Lankan troops cracked down on Tamil memorials that were organised to commemorate the members of the Tamil Tigers who perished during the country’s 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. The armed troops also attacked journalists who were covering the event, which took place in a former battle zone. [The Hindu]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Kazakh police on Monday detained six protestors in Almaty for demanding the release of relatives who are being forcefully held by China in Xinjiang. The protest, which took place in front of the Chinese consulate, was the latest in a series of demonstrations in Kazakhstan linked to the mass incarceration of Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, including Uyghurs and Kazakhs. [RFE/RL]
Turkmenistan announced on Monday that a new rule that seeks to restrict access of families of Turkmen migrant workers and prisoners to subsidised food will come into force early next year. The number of Turkmen migrants working abroad is estimated to be around one million and the country has almost 35,000 inmates. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The United Nations on Monday urged the Philippines government to allow Nobel Prize-winning journalist, Maria Ressa, to travel to Norway next month to accept the award. Several government-imposed travel restrictions are currently in place on Ressa. [Channel News Asia]
A Myanmar court deferred the first verdicts in nearly a dozen cases against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to December 6. The former leader is on trial for nearly a dozen offences that together carry a combined maximum jail sentence of more than 100 years. [Reuters]
Europe
On Monday, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asserted that the alliance must display unity in order to deter a Russian attack on member states. During a visit to the Adazi military base in Latvia, Stoltenberg emphasised, “We do not want to wage war. On the contrary - we want to prevent any Russian aggression.” Stoltenberg also noted that NATO would seek to engage in dialogue, saying, “I believe in dialogue with Russia, it is our neighbour.” [The Baltic Times]
Richard Moore, the chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service, the MI6, warned that China and Russia will overtake the United Kingdom in mastering artificial intelligence. He said this development could revolutionise geopolitics over the next ten years. [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Early on Monday, after Honduras’ National Electoral Council had tallied the votes from 51% of polling stations, leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro held 53% of the votes. She is well ahead of the ruling National Party’s candidate, Nasry Asfura, who had just 33% of the votes. Castro is thus set to replace outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández, who has come under fire over allegations of corruption and alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Simultaneously, his party is set to lose its grip on power after 12 years. [Associated Press]
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced that he will resume dialogue with the elected opposition and independent parties over the next few days. Earlier this month, his government suspended ongoing dialogue by saying that it would refuse to restart negotiations until the United States releases businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of the government who was extradited to the US on money-laundering charges back in October. [Telesur]
Today, Barbados will become an independent republic, after recently voting to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state, following in the footsteps of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominica. Barbados gained independence from Britain in 1966, but the governor-general continued to be appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the prime minister and acted as the Crown’s representative. The ceremony for the official decoupling is being attended by Prince Charles, while the Queen offered her congratulations from London. [The Guardian]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Monday, Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom resumed direct talks in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that was abandoned by the United States (US) in 2018. Iran once again refused to directly meet with the US, stating that Washington was not a member of the accord. The leader of Iran’s delegation, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that as long as the US’ “maximum pressure campaign” continues, reviving the nuclear deal is “nothing more than exorbitant talk.” [Al Jazeera]
Ethiopia has denied attacking Sudanese forces in the disputed Al-Fashaqa region along their shared border. The Ethiopian government instead blamed the Tigray People’s Liberation Front rebels for ambushing the Sudanese soldiers and killing several of them last week. [Al Jazeera]
North America
United States (US) Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday announced a deeper investigation into a 2019 US airstrike in Baghuz, Syria that killed dozens of women and children. The new investigation comes in light of a New York Times report last month that accused top officials and civilians of hiding the killing of 70 civilians. The US military did not publicly acknowledge the strike until earlier this month. [The Hill]
On Monday, United States (US) President Joe Biden met the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of major retail giants such as Walmart, Best Buy, and CVS Health to discuss the ongoing supply chain crisis that is driven by backlogged ports and a shortage of truck drivers to distribute goods. Supply chain issues along with rising fuel prices have significantly contributed to rising inflation in the US. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, however, that “port and transit delays are improving,” citing a 26% increase in shipping containers getting through US ports this past month. [Voice of America]
Oceania
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of the Solomon Islands vowed on Sunday to stand up against the pressure to resign, saying violence in the capital had been incited by a few people with the “evil intention” to topple him. “I want to show the nation that the government is fully intent and nothing will move us. We must and will never bow down to the evil intention of a few people,” he said. [Al Jazeera]
Australia, which was set to reopen its borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and international students from 1 December, has paused plans amid fears over the new Omicron variant. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a two-week delay is “necessary.” [BBC]
Sub-Saharan Africa
All incoming travellers to Rwanda from countries affected by the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 will be required to undergo a seven-day quarantine period. Meanwhile, all direct flights between Rwanda and southern African countries have been temporarily suspended. [The Citizen]
The East African Community, a regional bloc made up of six countries, has issued a ban on the dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) in the region. This includes a ban on the import of cathode rays tubes and desktop computer monitors from the start of July next year. There are rising concerns that developed countries are exporting e-waste as “refurbished and good for use” products that are ultimately becoming waste in countries that have severely lacking or non-existent recycling practices. [The East African]