South Asia
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on authorities to set up a “world class” dashboard for flood relief and weather alerts. He lauded the dengue dashboard that he had set up as Punjab’s chief minister, which he claimed attracted international appreciation for facilitating relief efforts. [Associated Press of Pakistan]
Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar vowed to bring the value of the Pakistani Rupee against the United States dollar down from Rs. 226 to 200. He accused former Prime Minister Imran Khan of ruining the economy, in particular by delaying progress in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. [Geo.Tv]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kyrgyz officials said on Monday that security forces had arrested seven members of the banned Islamist militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Kyrgyz national security committee said the militants were arrested after investigators found books and electronic devices with “extremist” content in their possession. Kyrgyzstan banned the group in 2003 and labelled its supporters extremist. [RFE/RL]
Armenia on Monday submitted footage of the alleged execution of captured Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Armenia has called the video authentic and blamed Azerbaijan for committing war crimes. It has also demanded an international investigation into the incident. [Armen Press]
East and Southeast Asia
Chum Sunry, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, confirmed that the country has not extended an invitation to Myanmar’s junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and related meetings next month in Phnom Penh. “We have sent out invitations to all ASEAN member states but Myanmar… We have suggested that Myanmar send only a non-political representative,” he said. [Phnom Phen Post]
Former United States (US) Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said at the Asia Society in New York on Monday that he believes that Chinese President Xi Jinping “will attempt to form and reserve the issue of confrontation” with the US and Taiwan “for later in his administration.” “Xi gave a rather blank check to Putin. He must have thought the invasion would succeed. He must need to recalibrate,” Kissinger said. [South China Morning Post]
Europe
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, met with Israeli Minister of Intelligence Elazar Stern and expressed his support for a two-state solution to Israel’s conflict with Palestine. It was the first such high-level meeting between the two countries in over 10 years. [DW]
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau sent Germany a diplomatic note demanding $1.27 trillion in reparations for atrocities committed during World War II. Apart from assisting families of victims of Nazi Germany’s occupation from 1939 to 1945, the reparations would also address the issue of returning artwork, archives, and bank deposits to Poland. [Euronews]
On Monday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused Russia of having “weaponised energy” and called on the European Union to impose a price cap on Russian natural gas. “No matter how high prices go, Europe, as a whole cannot, in the short term, fully replace the volumes it has lost from Russia,” he noted, adding, “Europe should take back control of its gas market.” [Greek City Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Colombian President Gustavo Petro hosted United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Bogotá on Monday for talks on intelligence-sharing and other measures to combat drug trafficking. The two sides did not reach any agreement, however, with the left-wing Petro having previously denounced the US’ war on drugs strategy, particularly its insistence on extradition. [Reuters]
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday congratulated former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his victory in the first round of the country's presidential election and expressed hope that he would also win the run-off against incumbent leader Jair Bolsonaro on 30 October. [teleSUR]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced on Monday that it had killed one of the co-founders of the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab in an airstrike in Mogadishu over the weekend. The Somali government said that Abdullahi Nadir died in an airstrike after US and Somali forces launched a joint operation to target Al Shabaab fighters. “The government is grateful to the Somali people and international friends whose cooperation facilitated the killing of this leader who was an enemy of the Somali nation,” the government stated. [Reuters]
Turkey and Libya on Monday signed an MoU on hydrocarbon and gas exploration in the Mediterranean during a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Tripoli. Although the details of the deal are not clear, it was opposed by Greece and Egypt, which said the agreement would violate their exclusive economic zones. Athens and Cairo vowed to work together to prevent such activity in the Mediterranean. [Anadolu Agency, Reuters]
North America
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be expected to testify at the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings next week regarding the government’s decision to implement the Emergencies Act for nine consecutive days back in February to crack down on the Freedom Convoy protests. Trudeau implemented the Act for the first time in Canada’s history to end the anti-mandate protests, which had taken over Ottawa and blocked border crossings in Alberta and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. [CTV News]
Senior Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials revealed on Monday that Chinese and Russian government-related individuals and organisations are amplifying a disinformation campaign about the integrity of American elections ahead of next month’s midterm elections. They also said that even Iran is willing to “take advantage of election-integrity narratives that come up in the US ecosystem.” [CNN]
Oceania
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will begin a week-long visit to New Zealand and Australia on Wednesday. On Thursday, he will participate in an event in Auckland alongside New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to felicitate members of the Indian community in New Zealand for their exceptional achievements and contributions. He will also meet his counterpart Nanaia Mahuta. In Australia, Jaishankar will hold the 13th Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong. [Indian Ministry of External Affairs]
New Zealand Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Ardern said that the country is now processing visas faster than they’re being received. Ardern told AM co-host Ryan Bridge on Monday that some visas are “still waiting to be processed,” as “there was a big rush of people who applied” for visas when the country reopened its borders after lifting COVID-19 measures. She added that according to Immigration New Zealand, the country is “now in a position where [it is] processing more than [it is] receiving,” so the backlog “will speed up.” [Newshub]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Now-former Burkinabé junta chief Col. Paul-Henri Damiba has fled to neighbouring Togo after he was ousted last Friday by Capt. Ibrahim Traoré. It marked the country’s second military coup this year, given that Damiba himself came to power in January after deposing democratically-elected President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. Damiba’s ouster led to temporary unrest in the country, particularly outside the French embassy in Ouagadougou, where Traoré alleged he was hiding. The Togolese government, however, granted him refuge in order to ensure “peace in the sub-region,” thereby reinstituting a sense of calm in Burkina Faso. [AFP]
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to the United Kingdom next month at the invitation of King Charles III, whose meeting with the South African leader will mark the first state visit since his accession to the throne last month. [Al Jazeera]