South Asia
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured that the country’s economy remains “vibrant and safe” despite the global crisis. She emphasised that the government is prepared to overcome the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. [BSS News]
Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal met with Gulf Cooperation Council representatives to resume discussions on a free trade agreement, with a focus on food and energy security. The two sides have previously held such talks in 2006 and 2008. [Reuters]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the United Kingdom firmly supports Georgia’s territorial integrity in a letter addressed to his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili. “We will continue to call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and press for the provision of unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to these regions,” Sunak stressed. In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia and has since occupied the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [Agenda.ge]
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday that the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh reported one incident of Azerbaijan violating the ceasefire. No casualties were reported. Azerbaijani forces have reportedly repeatedly opened fire at Armenian military positions over the past few weeks. [TASS]
East and Southeast Asia
United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said that China has made a note of the international community’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is probably taking steps to insulate itself from international sanctions in the future. “You have to believe that they’re thinking along those lines, if they were considering doing something in the future,” he said. [Taipei Times]
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned that his government will have to intervene and force truckers on a nationwide strike to go back to work. Yoon said that it is illegal to take the national supply chain “hostage” in the face of an economic crisis. According to the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, 25,000 of its members, about 6% of the country’s total truckers, are participating in the rallies. [Reuters]
Europe
The French National Assembly voted on Thursday to include the right to abortion in the constitution. It will now be voted on by the lower house of parliament and the Senate. The lawmakers said that the United States Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade highlighted the need to take new steps to protect the right. [France]
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said on Thursday that he would check the efficiency of the country’s migration system to bring net migration down from the current record-high levels. Statistics show that migration surged to 504,000 from the beginning of the year to June. [Reuters]
On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange of 100 troops after negotiations. Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak revealed that in the last couple of days, about 86 Ukrainians returned, and 1,269 people in total have been released during the Ukraine war. [CNN]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Peru’s unicameral opposition-controlled Congress on Thursday turned down leftist Prime Minister Anibal Torres' request to hold a trust vote for the government of embattled President Pedro Castillo, who has survived two impeachment attempts since coming to office last July and is also currently embroiled in a corruption investigation. [Reuters]
Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Thursday declared a state of emergency and a war on criminal gangs in order to address the growing number of extortion cases across the country. The emergency measures enable the suspension of some constitutional rights in certain areas, wherein the president can deploy around 20,000 police and implement new security controls on roads and measures against money laundering. [News 360]
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/GZZQ345EZJM2HBXUTWBDFMM654.jpg "IMAGE SOURCE: LUC GNAGO/REUTERS")
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Turkish Central Bank on Thursday slashed interest rates by 1.5 percentage points from 10.5% to 9% despite inflation at a 24-year-high of 85%. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unorthodox economic policy of cutting interest rates despite rising commodity prices has been blamed for the country’s runaway inflation. [Associated Press]
On Thursday, Iranian hacker group Moses Staff hacked several security cameras in Jerusalem and published footage of Wednesday’s bombing on its Telegram channel. Israeli police have blamed Palestinians for the twin blasts near two bus stops in Jerusalem that killed one person and injured 18. The group said it has been monitoring every step of Israeli security forces for years. [Times of Israel]
North America
During the second day of his bail hearing on Thursday, alleged Chinese spy Yuesheng Wang, who was arrested for economic espionage in Quebec earlier this month, told the court in Montreal that he is not a flight risk and that he wants to fight the charges to “clear his name.” “For many reasons, he feels he’s being charged unjustly, and the recriminations made against him, what they say or allege against him, isn’t truthful. He’s entitled to fight back,” his lawyer Gary Martin told reporters. [The Canadian Press]
The Pentagon, which is supplying the majority of weapons to Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion, is taking stock of its weapons storage, as American officials feel that its defence production capacity is not enough to continue supporting a major war in case another conflict breaks out in the world. “We’ve not been in a position where we’ve got only a few days of some critical munition left. But we are now supporting a partner who is.” Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord said earlier this month, referring to Ukraine. [Associated Press]
Oceania
Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese announced that his government successfully passed its National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation on Thursday. Referring to former PM Scott Morrison illegally holding secret portfolios last year, Albanese said that “The actions of the former Prime Minister were extraordinary. They were unprecedented and they were wrong.” [Prime Minister of Australia]
Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong held the first minister-level dialogue on police cooperation with South Pacific nations. Police department heads from Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea were present at the meeting, which was co-chaired by the Solomon Islands’ minister of police, Anthony Veke. [The Guardian]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia revealed on Thursday that the government is formulating a new policy to purchase oil with gold instead of US dollars. The proposal is designed to protect the country’s dwindling foreign reserves, as oil purchases in dollars have depreciated the currency of the local cedi currency and created inflationary pressures. Ghana has just around $6.6 billion in foreign reserves now, well below the $9.7 billion figure from the end of last year. [Al Jazeera]
Members of parliament in Sierra Leone engaged in a fistfight during a session on Wednesday as they debated a proposal to change the country’s electoral system to one of proportional representation for next year. The change would impact local and parliamentary elections, but not the presidential vote. [Africanews]