South Asia
The Central Bank of Afghanistan confirmed that it received $40 million as a part of the United Nations’ assistance program. Since the Taliban’s rise to power, Afghanistan has received four cash assistance packages amounting to $1.2 billion. [Khaama News Press Agency]
Indian Joint Secretary to the United Nations Srinivas Gotru dismissed Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remarks on the Indian ruling government’s alleged plan to “obliterate India’s Islamic legacy” and spread an “ideology of hate against Muslims.” Gotru said Bhutto-Zardari’s statement was “ironic,” considering Pakistan’s own history of abductions, forced marriages, and forced religious conversions. [Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kazakhstan’s largest bank, Halyk Bank, on Wednesday suspended the use of Russian Mir payments cards. The measure was announced after the United States warned Kazakhstan about imposing sanctions if banks continued accepting Mir cards. “Cutting off Mir is one of the best ways to protect a bank from the sanctions risk that comes from doing business with Russia,” a US official said. [RFE/RL]
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set 20 November as the date for an early presidential election. Tokayev said he signed a decree to make the date official and stressed that “launching an electoral cycle […] will lead to a radical reset of the entire political system.” While Tokayev would seek a second term in the upcoming election, future presidents can only run for one term. [Akorda, RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the first time in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly Debate. The 30-minute talks were informal, without a specific agenda, and barred reporters from sitting in. Yoon’s office said that they “shared serious concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program, including the legislation of nuclear weapons and the possibility of a seventh nuclear test, and agreed to work closely with the international community to respond.” [The Korea Herald]
North Korea on Thursday said that it had “never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before” and nor does it “plan to export them.” Calling the news a “rumour” being spread by the United States to “tarnish” its image, North Korea added that not only was “the development, production, possession of military equipment” lawful, “but also their export and import are the lawful right peculiar to a sovereign state, and nobody is entitled to criticise it.” [Korean Central News Agency]
Europe
Denmark became the first country to offer “loss and damage” aid to developing countries that are most vulnerable to climate change. While announcing the $13 million package, Danish Development Minister Flemming Møller said that it is “grossly unfair” that the poorest nations have to suffer, considering that “they have contributed the least” to climate change and environmental damage. [Politico]
British Prime Minister (PM) Liz Truss and American President Joe Biden reiterated their commitment to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and vowed to protect peace in Northern Ireland. As a member of parliament before her appointment as PM, Truss had nullified the Northern Ireland Protocol, which the United Kingdom signed as a part of its post-Brexit deal. [Reuters]
On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine conducted an exchange of 300 prisoners, the largest such swap during the war. It included 10 foreigners and commanders who defended Mariupol. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Turkey and Saudi Arabia helped mediate the prisoner swap. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Addressing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting in New York on Wednesday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faría called for the grouping to have a greater role in global politics in light of the ‘polarised’ geopolitical landscape and the “worrying and growing persistence towards unilateralism.” He also demanded the removal of sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the United States. [Venezuela Ministry of External Affairs]
On Wednesday, the United States (US) Department of State revealed its plans to resume full immigrant visa processing in Havana by early 2023, which will enable Cubans applying for family visas to undergo the interview process in their own country. The measure was suspended in 2017 following strained ties between Washington and Havana over the Cuban government’s crackdown on protests and stringent US sanctions. [Reuters]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
A United States (US) defence department delegation on Wednesday renewed an MoU with the Kurdistan region’s Peshmerga ministry to support the Kurdish fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani thanked Washington for supporting the Peshmerga, which played a crucial role in defeating ISIS in Iraq. The Peshmerga is the armed force of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). [Rudaw]
Speaking at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi demanded that ex-United States President Donald Trump should be prosecuted for ordering the killing of Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Raisi also accused Washington of creating ISIS and not being serious about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. [Iran International, Al Monitor]
North America
On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against former United States President Donald Trump and three of his children—Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump—for brazenly manipulating real estate values to dupe lenders, insurance brokers, and tax authorities into giving them better loan and insurance policy rates and reducing their taxes. She also sought to recover $250 million received through deceitful practices. Calling the claims “meritless,” Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said in a statement, “We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority.” [Washington Post]
During a meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed the importance of the Moldova Support Platform and Canada’s ongoing efforts to help mitigate the pressures of the humanitarian crisis on Moldova and its institutions due to the Ukraine war. Sandu, meanwhile, reiterated Chișinău’s interest in joining the European Union. [Prime Minister of Canada]
Oceania
Speaking at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Debate in New York on Wednesday, the foreign affairs minister of Palau, Gustav Aitaro, said the climate crisis is “an insidious diabetes which exhausts us year after year.” Aitaro added that in Palau, “hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires, lack of access to drinking water are absorbing human energy and financial resources at the expense of education or even child nutrition.” He also reaffirmed his country’s support for a moratorium on mining activities in the deep sea, which accounts for 90% of the marine environment. [GA Debate]
In his speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Debate in New York, Marshall Islands President David Kabua condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as China’s military drills around Taiwan. He noted that as a co-chair of the Group of Friends of Accountability, the Marshall Islands supports the independent investigations of the Human Rights Council and International Criminal Court. [GA Debate]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Wednesday, along the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting with his Rwandan and Congolese counterparts—Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi—to frame a coordinated regional response to insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trio agreed to hold a “frank and constructive dialogue” and to “intensify their cooperation to fight against impunity and put an end to the activities of armed groups in the Great Lakes region” in accordance with the Luanda peace deal and the Nairobi Process. [KT Press]
African Union (AU) Chairperson and Senegalese President Macky Sall in his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday called for better representation for Africa in global platforms and demanded more seats for the AU in the G20 so that the continent “can, at last, be represented where decisions are taken that affect 1.4 billion Africans.” He also asserted that Africa “does not want to be the breeding ground of a new Cold War,” hitting back at pressure to take sides in the Ukraine war. [Africanews]