South Asia
In a letter to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 11 coalition allies from the ruling government called for the removal of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The letter also provided the Sri Lankan leader with recommendations to overcome the political and economic crisis, including setting up an all-party national executive council. [Colombo Page]
The Nepalese government has dismissed Central Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari as the country faces a looming threat of depleting foreign exchange reserves. Nepal reportedly only has enough funds to cover the cost of imports for another six months. Adhikari was suspended over his disagreement with Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma on the economic crisis. [The Hindu]
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT chief Hafiz Saeed has been sentenced to 31 years in prison over his involvement in terror financing. Terror group LeT has been held responsible for the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which resulted in the death of 166 people. His sentencing is believed to be an effort by the Pakistani military to mend ties with the United States after ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly accused Washington of being behind the foreign conspiracy to unseat him. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Four Kazakh opposition activists were detained by the police on Saturday for protesting in front of the Russian consulate in Almaty against the mass killings of civilians by Russian troops in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. [RFE/RL]
Georgia condemned the presidential election held in the Russian-occupied breakaway region of South Ossetia on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry said it was “another illegal act” by Russia against Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. “Such provocative actions are aimed to legitimise the illegal occupation of the Georgian regions and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians,” the Ministry added. [Agenda.ge]
East and Southeast Asia
China made a ‘semi-secret’ delivery of HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems to Russian ally Serbia this past weekend. The incident raised eyebrows because the Y-20 transport planes flew over North Atlantic Treaty Organization members Turkey and Bulgaria to make the delivery. The Western alliance is also concerned that this could precede a period of heightened unrest in the Balkans, worried that Serbia could use weapons deliveries by China and Russia against de-facto state Kosovo. [Associated Press]
Despite rising unrest and anger over prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stood firmly behind his zero-Covid policy. Shanghai, a city of more than 25 million people, is currently under lockdown due to record-high case numbers. On Friday, the city reported 21,000 cases, the highest number it has posted throughout the pandemic. Officials have claimed that the benefits of the strict measures are underscored by the fact that just one person from 130,000 infections during the current outbreak is in a “severe condition.” However, several citizens have said that the decreased severity of the virus is proof that such a heavy-handed approach is not required. [BBC]
Europe
According to a report by The Times, Finland and Sweden plan to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) within months, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. American officials told the newspaper that membership for both Nordic countries is “a topic of conversation” among NATO members. [The Times]
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is considering stepping down from his position over questions about his wife’s non-domicile status in the United Kingdom. An article in the Sunday Times reported that Sunak is worried about his family withstanding the pressures posed by the controversy. His wife, Akshata Murty, the daughter of one of the founders of Indian IT giant Infosys, has agreed to pay British taxes on all her foreign income. [Reuters]
On Saturday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov confirmed that the country has received the roadmap for accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Following a meeting with OECD chief Mathias Cormann, Petkov said that Sofia will accelerate its move toward full membership in the upcoming months. [Novinite]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Saturday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that his government does “not accept Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” calling for a “peaceful solution.” His comments may come in light of an increasing amount of revelations of war crimes by Russian troops, including the Bucha Massacre. López Obrador had earlier refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine due to close economic ties and spoken out against “censorship” of Russian state-owned media outlets. He has also gone out of his way to refute allegations by the United States military that Mexico is home to the largest number of Russian spies in the world. [Reuters]
Data from Brazilian national space research agency Inpe has shown that deforestation in the country during the first three months of this year is 64% higher than during the same period last year. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has severely weakened environmental regulations and empowered farming, logging, and mining groups since he took office in 2019. [Al Jazeera]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Annual urban consumer price inflation in Egypt hit 10.5% in March, the highest in almost three years, the country’s statistics agency reported on Sunday. Analysts have blamed the sudden jump in prices on the war in Ukraine and subsequent commodity shortages, including food items like wheat; they expect inflation to reach record levels of 12.5%-13% in April. [Reuters]
The United Nations (UN) has proposed an $80 million plan to clean up the 45-year-old FSO Safer oil tanker that is moored off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. Per the UN, the plan involves “an emergency operation to transfer the oil to a safe temporary vessel over four months.” FSO Safer has been described as a “time bomb” as it holds more than 1.1 million barrels of oil and is at “imminent risk” of spilling a huge amount, an event that will “unleash a massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe” in Yemen. [UN News]
North America
Lawmakers from the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States (US) Congress, visited Poland this past weekend in a display of solidarity between Washington and Warsaw amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The bipartisan group of American lawmakers met Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other high-ranking officials. They also met US troops stationed in Poland. The group was led by the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who hailed Poland for accepting millions of Ukrainian refugees. [The Hill]
Canada’s Federal Court has dismissed a case calling for the Canada Border Services Agency to prohibit the import of all goods made in China’s Xinjiang region. The case was brought forward by a group of activists who raised concerns about forced labour in the region, referring to human rights violations against China’s Uyghur Muslim minority. Federal Court Associate Chief Justice Jocelyne Gagne justified her ruling by affirming that the Canadian Border Services Agency lacks the jurisdiction to impose such a ban. [The Globe and Mail]
Oceania
A poll conducted in Australia on Monday showed that despite the popularity of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, his Liberal party coalition could lose 10 seats to the opposition Labor party in the upcoming general election, which will be held on May 21. [Reuters]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to travel to Singapore and Japan later this week in an effort to boost trade ties. The visit will be Ardern’s first international trip since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New Zealand. [New Zealand Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Islamic extremists are suspected to be behind an attack on a military unit in the town of Namissiguima in Burkina Faso on Friday that killed at least 16 security forces. The attack in the Centre-North region is part of a wider struggle against jihadist violence by groups linked to the Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State that has killed thousands and displaced at least two million people. Moreover, it is also an indication of a rise in attacks against the military; around 40 soldiers were killed during the last two weeks of March. [Associated Press]
After signing the accession treaty to the East African Community (EAC) on Friday, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now has five months to ensure the approval of its own parliament, ministries, and internal organs, particularly with regards to the Customs Union and Common Market protocols. The DRC will also have to ensure integration with the EAC’s trade infrastructure, intermodal connectivity, One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs), and trade systems. [The East African]