South Asia
United States (US) Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said that the US would continue with its sanctions against the Taliban and bar the group from accessing Afghan central bank reserves. The reserves, which amount to over $9 billion, are largely held in the US. [TRT]
Bangladesh’s ruling party, the Awami League party, held a rally to condemn recent violent communal incidents that resulted in the death of two Hindus in the country. The rally saw the participation of thousands of members of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party. [Al Jazeera]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
At the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing” and continuing to lay landmines in its territories in Nagorno-Karabakh, even after a ceasefire ended the war last year. Armenia denied the claims and called it “manufactured.” [RFE/RL]
A court in Dushanbe has sentenced well-known Tajik human rights defender Izzat Amon to nine years in prison on fraud charges. Amon, who was living in exile in Russia, was forcibly deported from the country in March due to his criticism of the Russian and Tajik government’s poor treatment of migrants. [RFE/RL, Reuters]
East and Southeast Asia
Poverty levels in Myanmar have dipped to a two-decade high. 20 million residents, who collectively account for nearly half of the country’s population, now live below the poverty line. This has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the military coup. [The Straits Times]
North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a new, smaller ballistic missile from a submarine. The White House urged the country to refrain from further “provocations.” [Channel News Asia]
Europe
On Tuesday, Spain announced its decision to ease restrictions for young unaccompanied migrants to obtain residence and work permits. According to the new rules, young migrants will be eligible for documentation after three months in Spain, compared to the current nine months. The new rules have also reduced the income they have to show to obtain a residence permit. The amendment is likely to benefit around 15,000 refugees. [Euronews]
Ukraine has successfully persuaded the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unfreeze its $5 billion Stand By Agreement after convincing the organisation about its commitment to making institutional reforms. Ukraine already received $2.1 billion last summer; however, funds were stalled after the IMF was left unconvinced by Ukraine’s attempts to fight corruption. The IMF has thus extended the current deal by six months and also released $700 million. [bne IntelliNews]
Britain’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has warned that the United Kingdom will have to invite young immigrants from the European Union into its labour market in order to address the current labour shortages. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian senators have drafted a 1,200-page report that recommends that President Jair Bolsonaro be indicted on 11 charges relating to mismanagement of the pandemic, ‘charlatanism,’ “inciting crime,” homicide, and genocide. The document will be presented to an 11-person committee that could approve it to be sent to the prosecutor general, who will then decide whether or not to approve an investigation and pursue charges against the president. [Associated Press]
The Bolivian government claimed that many of those implicated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse back in July were also present in La Paz in October 2020 to try and assassinate then-candidate and now-Bolivian President Luis Arce. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Tuesday, 98 women became the first female judges to join Egypt’s State Council, a judicial body that deals mostly with administrative disputes. The move comes after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi earlier this month asked for women to join the State Council and Public Prosecution, two bodies that until recently were all-male. [Associated Press]
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Tuesday that “10,000 children [were] killed or maimed” in Yemen’s brutal civil war that began in 2015. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder called the figure a “shameful milestone” and said, “Yemen is the most difficult place in the world to be a child.” [UN News]
North America
On Tuesday, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at the house of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington, DC. Motives for the raid remain unclear but Deripaska was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2018 and had business ties with Paul Manafort, who was convicted of fraud for interference in the 2016 election. [The Hill]
The Haitian gang that kidnapped 16 Americans and one Canadian has demanded a ransom of $17 million, confirmed Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Federal Bureau of Investigation officers were on the ground working with the Haitian government to ensure the safe return of the hostages. [NBC News]
Oceania
After a record jump in New Zealand’s COVID-19 caseload on Tuesday, daily cases fell on Wednesday. New Zealand currently has 2,158 active cases, with most of them limited to Auckland. Authorities have warned of a further surge in infections until vaccination gains momentum. 67% of the population is fully vaccinated, while 85% have received at least one dose. [Reuters]
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) issued a warning regarding cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure, particularly in the telecommunications and energy sectors. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the attacks would “undermine Australia’s sovereignty, democratic institutions, economy and national security capabilities.” [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé hosted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Lomé on Tuesday. The meeting forms part of Turkey’s wider goal of increasing trade with Africa, which accounts for just 10% of its exports. In fact, while in Lomé, Erdoğan also met with the leaders of Burkina Faso and Liberia. Furthermore, he met Angolan President João Lourenço on Monday and will meet Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on the final leg of his Africa tour. [Africa News]
The Rwanda Defence Force admitted to an incursion into the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, but said it was an “unintentional” act committed while “pursuing smugglers who were carrying unidentified packages and believed to have been armed.” Some Congolese politicians have labelled the incursion as an “act of provocation,” but Rwanda has played down these allegations. [The East African]