Forty trade unions in Sri Lanka participated in a strike on Wednesday to oppose the government’s spending cuts and tax spikes, which are a prerequisite to secure the IMF’s bailout programme. The measures have forced hospitals, banks, and ports to shut down, adding to the workers’ woes.
Pakistan’s inflation soared to an all-time high of 31.5% in February — a direct result of the spike in food and transport prices. This development will force authorities to re-evaluate their financial measures to secure the $1.1 billion bailout from the IMF.
Bola Tinubu, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, was declared as the winner of the presidential election in Nigeria on Wednesday. Tinubu received 37% of the vote (8.8 million), followed by Atiku Abubakar with 29% (7 million), and Peter Obi with 25% (6.1 million). Both Abubakar and Obi have demanded a revote due to their belief that the elections had been compromised by vote rigging and widespread violence. Meanwhile, Tinubu thanked his supporters, and appealed to the opposition to go along with the results, saying, “It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together.”
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently serving a 33-year-long prison sentence, has been denied meetings with her lawyers as they prepare her appeals. A legal official said that Suu Kyi’s lawyers applied for permission from prison authorities to meet the leader in mid-January, to discuss the appeals, but have yet to receive any confirmation.
Vo Van Thuong was elected as Vietnam’s new president during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, as the country reshuffles its top leadership amid an anti-graft campaign. In his first speech to the parliament, Thuong pledged to “resolutely” continue the fight against corruption.
Four anonymous Biden administration officials revealed that the US is trying to garner support from its allies, including the G7, to consider imposing sanctions on China in case it offers military support to Russia in Ukraine. According to one official from a country that Washington conferred with, the US has shared only minimal intelligence related to Beijing’s support for Moscow. However, a US official disclosed that Washington would share comprehensive accounts with its partners soon.
A US intelligence report released on Wednesday concluded that “it is ‘very unlikely’ a foreign adversary is responsible” for the mysterious Havana Syndrome cases in Cuba, and that there was no credible evidence of any enemy having a weapon or collection device that could be capable of causing the “anomalous health incidents.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Iraq on Wednesday, for the first time in six years, to express support for Baghdad’s reform agenda and the new government. Guterres also met with Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, praising him for combatting corruption, improving public services, and diversifying the economy. Guterres’ visit also comes just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US’ 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The Israeli police on Wednesday used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse demonstrators protesting the Israeli government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary. Violent clashes between protesters and the police broke out in Tel Aviv, with at least 11 people injured and over 50 arrested. The police said it is committed to allowing protests as long as they are peaceful. “Violence against police officers, such as throwing stones and objects at police officers is, for me, crossing a line, which we will not allow,” police chief Kobi Shabtai said.