US President Joe Biden on Tuesday expressed concerns over Israel’s judicial overhaul legislation, urging PM Benjamin Netanyahu to “walk away” from the proposed change. “Like many strong supporters of Israel, I am very concerned,” Biden said. Netanyahu, however, asked Biden to stay away from Israel’s domestic issues, saying, “Israel is a sovereign country, which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Tuesday India’s commitment to working with African countries to promote regional security, foster stability, and enhance defence capabilities. Speaking at the first India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave in Pune, Singh pledged to conduct more joint exercises between India and African states and called for the Indian military to train African counterparts. He also urged African countries to explore Indian defence equipment and technologies to meet their security requirements.
China said on Wednesday that if US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned transit through the US next month, the move will be viewed as a “provocation.” The country further threatened to retaliate against any such move. Tsai is heading to Guatemala and Belize today, requiring her to transit through New York and Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, China announced that its new ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, has taken up his post in Pyongyang. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that Wang’s appointment will further the traditional friendship between the “close neighbours sharing mountains and rivers.” The appointment indicates the two countries are reopening ties following reports that the North is facing severe food shortages due to its stringent COVID-19 restrictions.
In a statement on its official Telegram channel on Wednesday, the Russian embassy in the US claimed that Washington wants to downplay damaging information about the “likely direct involvement of American intelligence services” in last year’s Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion. Following Moscow’s failure on Monday to get international backing at the UN Security Council regarding conducting an independent enquiry against the unexplained blasts, the Kremlin said it would continue demanding for an international investigation.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev will visit India on Wednesday to attend the annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states’ security chiefs. The meeting will be hosted in New Delhi and chaired by Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Ukraine secured its first heavy tanks from the UK and Germany on Tuesday. This comes after weeks of pressure on Germany to provide the tanks. Meanwhile, the UK has consistently expressed its desire to increase military ties with Ukraine.
Greece’s police have arrested two Pakistanis for planning to attack a Jewish restaurant/synagogue in Athens. The pair, men aged 27 and 29, were members of a Pakistani jihadi group and were reportedly offered 15,000 euros for each person they managed to kill.
At least 38 migrants from South and Central America perished in a fire at a detention centre in Mexico’s northern border town of Ciudad Juárez on Tuesday. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported that authorities believed some migrants had set fire to mattresses in the detention centre to protest their deportation. Those “directly responsible” for the tragedy were handed over to the Attorney General’s office, said Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.