South Asia
The Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance established by nine opposition parties in Pakistan, spearheaded country-wide protests urging Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down from his position. The demonstrations are in furtherance a 26-point joint resolution that was adopted by the coalition last month. [Times of India]
On Monday, India and Sri Lanka commenced their three-day military exercise to display the two countries’ growing collaboration on strategic and operational issues in the region, specifically on maritime issues. [The Print]
Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, accused Pakistan of supporting Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Responding to the allegation, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry released a statement wherein they rejected the Pashinyan’s claim and called it “baseless and unwarranted.” [Eurasian Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday condemned Armenia and Azerbaijan’s fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, stating that “indiscriminate attacks on populated areas anywhere, including in Stepanakert/Khankendi and other localities in and around the immediate Nagorno-Karabakh zone of conflict”, were “totally unacceptable”. [UN News]
The foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia met virtually on Thursday for the third iteration of Central Asia + Russia format. The leaders discussed cooperation in terms of economic, cultural, and humanitarian work, including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border migration, and ways to improve anti-crisis mechanisms in these states. [ASIA-Plus]
East and Southeast Asia
China approved amendments to a law that will criminalize the intentional desecration of the national flag and emblem. The legislation will go into force on January 1; those who burn or deface the symbols will be investigated for criminal responsibility. [Channel News Asia]
Anti-government protests continued in Bangkok on Sunday for the fourth consecutive day, with thousands of demonstrators chanting “down with dictatorship” and “reform the monarchy”. [The Straits Times]
Europe
On Friday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain released a joint statement condemning Israel’s construction of over 3,000 settlements in the West Bank region. The statement said that Israel’s decision violated international law. [Al Jazeera]
Following Finland’s decision to suspend its extradition treaty with China over the introduction of the national security law Hong Kong, the Chinese embassy in Helsinki released a statement urging Finland to avoid interfering in China’s internal affairs. [Politico]
Turkey-backed right-wing nationalist leader Ersin Tatar has won a runoff vote in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. [Al Jazeera]
For the tenth straight weekend, tens of thousands of Belarusian demonstrators opposing President Alexander Lukashenko took to the streets of Minsk to demand his resignation, despite open threats from security forces to open fire on the protestors. [DW]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Despite his waning popularity due to the extension of coronavirus restrictions and the deepening recession, Argentinian President Alberto Fernández remarked that he remains confident in the unity of his coalition government, which appears to be a fragile alliance between his centrist bloc and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's more leftist grouping. [MercoPress]
The United States arrested former Mexican Defense Minister Gen. Salvador Cienfuego at the Los Angeles International Airport on charges that he accepted bribes to offer protection to a drug cartel. He served in his post from 2012 to 2018 under former President Enrique Peña Nieto. [NBC News]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, arrived in Tehran for a three-day visit on Sunday forpeace talks with the Afghanistan government and the Taliban continue in Doha. In a tweet, Abdullah said that he was in Iran to “exchange views on Afghanistan Peace and all other relevant bilateral issues to promote long-term cooperation & friendship.” [RFE/RL]
A delegation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrived in Sudan on Saturday to discuss the prosecution of those related to the conflict in Darfur, including ex-President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the body on charges of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The Sudanese government has agreed to his trial being held in the Hague. [BBC]
A 13-year international arms embargo imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council has expired, much to the chagrin of officials in Washington. According to the Iranian foreign ministry, the end of the ban means that Tehran can now “procure any necessary arms and equipment from any source without any legal restrictions, and solely based on its defensive needs”. [Al Jazeera]
North America
Thousands of Americans took to the streets in multiple cities on Saturday for the Women’s March to protest the Trump administration’s attempts to rush the confirmation of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. [The Washington Post]
The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that a delegation of top US officials, led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin would travel to Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE from October 17-20 “to support expanded economic cooperation” under the recently signed normalisation deals between the three countries. [Al Jazeera]
Oceania
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews appears to have accepted that his state will be a part of the travel bubble with New Zealand despite him informing the Federal government that Victoria was neither ready nor willing to be included. [news.com.au]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ahead of Guinea’s presidential election, in which incumbent Alpha Condé is running for a third consecutive five-year term amid intense public backlash, senior army officer Col Mamady Condé was murdered, displaying the instability in the nation. [Africa Feeds]
World News Monitor: 19 October, 2020
A quick look at events from around the globe.
October 19, 2020
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA