Indonesia’s navy said on Thursday that it forcibly sent a boat packed with Rohingya refugees back to international waters after the vessel reached the shores of Aceh province. The boat was found around 63 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast before being driven out, “ensuring that the boat did not return to Indonesian waters,” the navy said in a statement.
China and Myanmar signed a supplementary agreement for the Kyaukphyu deep water port. Chinese state-owned Citic Group will hold a 70% stake in the port, which is expected to give China access to the Bay of Bengal as an alternative route for oil imports.
On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that a British warship’s arrival in waters off the coast of Guyana violates the “spirit” of a deal struck by the Guyanese and Venezuelan officials. Earlier this month, Venezuela and Guyana came to an agreement to refrain from using force to defuse the long-running border conflict over the oil-rich Essequibo area. The 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 square miles) region is officially recognised as part of Guyana; nevertheless, following significant oil and gas discoveries, Venezuela has recently reaffirmed its claim to the region and its offshore territories.
According to reports, weeks after a court reversed two graft convictions, Nawaz Sharif, the former PM of Pakistan, submitted his nomination for the 2024 elections to the election commission on Thursday. However, Sharif's candidature remains subject to the lifting of a lifetime ban on holding public office. Therefore, the process of accepting his nomination was not immediately apparent. There will be a hearing on that prohibition in January. When the Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that Sharif was dishonest for failing to disclose his income from a company held by his son, the court prohibited him from participating in elections. After living in self-imposed exile in London for four years, Sharif returned home in October and is vying for a fourth term as PM.
The Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk on 26 December “completely destroyed” the vessel, according to the UK Defence Ministry’s intelligence update on Thursday. The ship is one of three Landing Ship Tanks (LST) lost by Russia since the start of the full-scale war, the Ministry confirmed. Open source evidence suggests that “it is highly likely the vessel was carrying explosive cargo when it was hit.”
Georgia will be fully prepared to join the EU by 2030, said IaiIrakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia Party. “We can give you our word that by 2030 Georgia [...] will be ready to become a member of the European Union,” Kobakhidze told Imedi Television on Thursday. Kobakhidze compared Georgia’s and Moldova’s chances, stating that his country’s economy has increased significantly in the last two years. “In the end, when the issue of membership comes up on the agenda, the main criterion will be economy,” he added.