South Asia
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe launched discussions with private sector and government officials on the need to resume free trade agreement negotiations. Wickremesinghe seeks to revive talks with South Asian and East Asian countries, including India, China, and Thailand. [News.lk]
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif confirmed on Monday that a new Chief of Army Staff will be appointed by 25 December. Although he said that the government is looking at five or six individuals, he did not provide further details about who could replace incumbent army chief General Qamar Bajwa. [The News Pakistan]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Armenian Defence Ministry on Monday once again accused Azerbaijani forces of violating the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh by firing at Armenian military positions. Azerbaijan rejected the allegations, calling them “disinformation” spread by Armenia. No casualties were reported. [RFE/RL]
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday held a phone talk with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to congratulate him on his re-election and call for greater ties between the two countries. Tokayev agreed to “deepen and strengthen relations, especially in the economic field.” [Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
East and Southeast Asia
United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris told the Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday that “ an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific would invoke US mutual defence commitments.” The leaders also discussed the expansion of their coast guard partnership and maritime law enforcement cooperation. [The White House]
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s main island of Java killed at least 162 people and injured hundreds of others on Monday. 13,000 people have been moved to evacuation centres and the death toll is expected to further rise. [Japan Today]
Europe
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched the next phase of the United Kingdom-South Africa Infrastructure Partnership today to expand cooperation in infrastructure projects and green hydrogen. British companies will invest around $6.4 billion in South Africa in the coming three years. [UK Government]
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced his decision to attend the Visegrad Group meeting on Thursday alongside Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. His attendance comes as several European countries grow increasingly concerned about Hungary’s soft stand against Russia regarding its war in Ukraine. [Intellinews]
The United States (US) Department of Justice on Monday announced that two Estonians were arrested in Tallinn on 18 counts of indictment for defrauding hundreds of thousands of people in a $575 million cryptocurrency and money laundering scheme. The Western District of Washington convicted them last month. “They tried to hide their ill-gotten gain in Estonian properties, luxury cars, and bank accounts and virtual currency wallets around the world. [The] US and Estonian authorities are working to seize and restrain these assets and take the profit out of these crimes,” US Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington noted. [US Department of Justice]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Dominican Republic has once again “profusely” rejected criticism of its deportation of Haitian migrants, saying it is critical to ensure national security. Rights groups and even the United Nations have argued that it is not safe to deport them to Haiti at a time when the country is beset by gang violence, inflation, and severe water, fuel, and medicinal shortages. The Dominican Republic deported 43,900 migrants, mostly Haitians, between July and October. Moreover, deportations rose by around 50% between September and October. [Associated Press]
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faría hosted Indian Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar in Caracas for a meeting on trade, energy, science and technology, culture, education, and health. The pair pledged to reactivate the Political Consultation Mechanism and hold a third meeting of the Venezuela-India High-Level Joint Commission. [teleSUR]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday that the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) plans to send $5 billion in food assistance over the next three years amid rising hunger levels and skyrocketing inflation. The WFP will disburse the aid in cash handouts to two million people, split evenly between Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees. [Middle East Monitor]
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Swedish ambassador Staffan Herrstrom after images and statements insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were displayed in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, allegedly by Kurdish militants. Officials told Herrstrom that Sweden should identify the perpetrators and take necessary action against them. [Anadolu Agency]
North America
During a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lieutenant General Aviv Kohavi in Washington on Monday, United States (US) National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan underscored the Biden administration’s “ironclad support for Israel’s security” and reiterated that a “negotiated two-state solution remains the best avenue to achieve a lasting peace” between Israel and Palestine. He also affirmed US President Joe Biden’s “commitment to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.” [The White House]
On Monday, Canada launched the $500 million Ukraine Sovereignty Bond in denominations of $100 till 29 November to give an opportunity to Canadians to “directly support the brave” Ukrainians. According to a press release, the funds will assist Kyiv in continuing to “provide essential services to Ukrainians this winter, such as pensions, the purchasing of fuel, and restoring energy infrastructure.” [Department of Finance Canada]
Oceania
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her government will draft legislation to lower the country’s legal voting age to 16. “It is our view that this is an issue best placed to parliament for everyone to have their say,” she said on Monday. The announcement comes after Make It 16, a group of young activists, argued that younger citizens should also have a say in the electoral process, as issues such as climate change will disproportionately affect their lives. [The Guardian]
Deliberations on two separate free trade agreements (FTAs) with India and the United Kingdom have reached the Australian Senate, as the Albanese government pushes for the deals to be ratified by the end of the year. While Albanese’s Labor party holds a majority in the House of Representatives, where it was easily passed, it does not hold a majority in the Senate. Moreover, the deals must still be ratified by the British and Indian parliaments as well. [Associated Press]
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa’s Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Monday that the assassin of apartheid-era politician Chris Hansi should be released on parole. The assassin, Janusz Walus, has been in prison since 1993. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said that while Walus had committed a “very serious crime...cold blooded murder” and “nearly plunged this country into civil unrest,” he is still legally entitled to parole. [Deutsche Welle]
Uganda will send 1,000 troops to join the East African Community regional military (EAC) force in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the end of this month. The regional force will be made up of troops from the seven countries of the EAC: the DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. They will be tasked with thwarting rebel groups such as the Rwanda-backed M23 and the ISIL-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). [Al Jazeera]