India has announced $1 million in immediate relief assistance to Papua New Guinea (PNG) as the Pacific island nation faces a humanitarian crisis owing to a major volcanic eruption. On 20 November, Mount Ulawun in PNG erupted, forcing over 26,000 people to evacuate. India extended deep sympathy to the government and the people of PNG for the damage and destruction caused by the disaster. Additionally, New Delhi has provided immediate relief assistance to support relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts in the island nation.
71-year-old British-Indian Samir Shah has been appointed the chair of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) by the UK government. Shah is a former BBC non-executive director and the owner of the production company Juniper TV. Previous chair Richard Sharp resigned in April after he failed to disclose that he played a role in securing a $1 million loan for then-PM Boris Johnson. Shah was born in Aurangabad and moved to the UK in 1960. He will take over the public broadcaster as it undergoes a financial crunch and questions are raised over its independence.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice filed war crime charges against four Russian-affiliated soldiers. Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press briefing that the four men are accused of torturing, mistreating, and unlawfully confining an American in Ukraine. Garland described the charges as an “important step toward accountability” for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The US Senate on Wednesday blocked a new $110.5 billion security aid bill meant for Ukraine and Israel, as Republicans pressed for tougher immigration controls at the US-Mexico border. The procedural vote was 49 to 51, falling short of the 60-vote threshold required to commence debate on the bill. The bill was intended to provide Ukraine with an additional $50 billion in security support, along with funding for the government in Kyiv’s humanitarian and economic efforts, and $14 billion for Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza.
China’s military said on Wednesday that it had scrambled fighter jets to monitor and warn away an American patrol aircraft over the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft flew over the strait in international airspace. The US said that the transit demonstrated its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Philippine police named two Filipino members of a pro-Islamic State militant group on Wednesday as suspects in the deadly bombing of a Catholic mass in the southern region of Marawi. Four people were killed and 50 were wounded in Sunday’s attack on worshippers gathered inside a university gym.