In an address during his visit to Belfast on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden called on all the political stakeholders in Northern Ireland to compromise and protect lasting peace in the region. He extended support for a solution to the political stalemate, which has resulted in the suspension of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government since February.
On Wednesday, India demanded that British authorities increase their monitoring and surveillance of Sikh separatists in the UK. In particular, Indian and British home ministry officials spoke in New Delhi about pro-Khalistan elements misusing British asylum laws to orchestrate terrorist activities in India.
The US imposed sanctions on four Turkey-based entities, including electronics companies and technology traders that allegedly assisted in the transferring of “dual-use goods,” on Wednesday, as they allegedly breached US export restrictions and aided Russia in its war efforts. These designations were part of global sanctions on over 120 entities. Sanctions were placed particularly on organisations and individuals in Turkey’s marine and commerce sectors, which were “primarily” Russian-owned or indirectly related to Russia.
The World Bank announced a $200 million grant to rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The Bank claimed Russia damaged over 50% of Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure during fall and winter. The funding will come from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, and Reform Facility (URTF), which the World Bank established to assist the Ukrainian government during the war with Russia. The grant will cover the costs of emergency repairs to electricity supply networks and heating plants.
Continuing its series of weapons tests, on Thursday, North Korea launched another ballistic missile that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. In response, Japan issued an evacuation order for its northern island of Hokkaido, later retracting it. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile had a medium or long range but did not specify how far it flew.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived in Shanghai, China, late on Wednesday. Lula is set to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping, in Beijing, on Friday. Today, he will attend the inauguration of Brazilian ex-president Dilma Rousseff’s appointment as head of the BRICS development bank.
The Qatari foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it would restore formal ties with Bahrain. “This step stems from the mutual desire to develop bilateral relations and enhance the Gulf unity and integration,” the ministry stated. Manama and other Gulf allies cut ties with Doha in 2017 over the former’s support of Islamist groups and ties with Iran.
Iran is exploiting earthquake relief flights to smuggle weapons to proxy militias in Syria, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Several Syrian, Israeli, and Iranian sources told the news agency that Tehran aimed to quickly deliver the weapons to bolster its Syrian defences against arch-rival Israel. These supplies would also strengthen Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s hold on power, the agency said.