North America:
- US President Joe Biden announced last Thursday (Oct 6) that thousands of Americans convicted for marijuana possession would be pardoned in a step towards the federal decriminalisation of the drug in the United States. Penalties for marijuana usage have affected Black Americans disproportionately, and posed difficulties in finding subsequent housing, employment and educational opportunities. The pardon would apply to those charged with “simple marijuana use”, without the intent to distribute.
- US Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency in New York City on Friday (Oct 7), due to a large influx of migrants into the city. Thousands of asylum-seekers were transported by bus from the nation’s southern border amid political disputes over the United States’ border security. The city expects to spend US$1 billion (S$1.44 billion) to manage the influx of the migrants. More than 17,000 had arrived in New York since April. The Mayor criticised his Texan counterpart for the “manufactured crisis”, as part of Republican Party’s bid to draw attention to the record number of US-Mexico border crossings.
- Thousands of women marched across cities in the United States on Saturday (Oct 8), demanding abortion rights ahead of the US midterm elections next month. The protests, dubbed The midterm elections are expected to have key implications on abortion law and access in states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as determine if the Democratic Party may retain its narrow control of Congress.
- US President Joe Biden warned of the risk of a “nuclear Armageddon”, on Thursday (Oct 6). According to the President, the threat of nuclear warfare is at its highest since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, as Russia was “not joking” about the “potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons”. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday (Oct 7) that there currently are no signs of an imminent nuclear threat, highlighting that Biden was addressing Russia’s “reckless and irresponsible” rhetoric. US officials have warned for months of Putin’s possible nuclear threat, and continually asserted the country will defend itself.
- Canada’s Supreme Court has heard for the first time a Canada-US asylum pact case will determine whether Canada can consider the US “safe” for those seeking refugee status last Friday (Oct 7) Canada’s Supreme Court judges questioned if there was enough evidence to suggest widespread systemic issues in how the US treats migrants that would deem the Safe Third Country Agreement – a pact between Canada and US that requires refugee claimants to request protection in the first “safe” country they reach – unconstitutional. The outcome could determine whether Canada trusts that the US treats its migrants properly and whether or not Canada is responsible for migrants turned back at its border.
South America:
- The United Nations Human Rights Council renewed its mandate of its fact-finding mission in Venezuela on Friday (Oct 7). The decision would extend the Independent Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela (FFM), originally created to investigate alleged human rights violations in the country. Venezuelan government officials opposed the mandate, considering it “hostile” and a “new attack on Venezuela”.
- Haiti called for international aid to tackle rising gang violence in the nation on Thursday (Oct 6). Hatitian authorities requested assistance from its international partners for the “immediate deployment of a specialised armed force”, specifying a police force instead of a military group. Speaking at the Organisation of American States (OAS) summit, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was committed to restoring peace in Haiti, where the escalating gang violence has disrupted water distribution, transportation and hospital facilities.
- Wildfire destroyed more than 100 hectares of forest in Chile’s Easter Island since last Monday (Oct 2). The blaze affected the island’s sacred Moai, stone figures of the Rapa Nui culture, which date back to 1400 – 1650 AD. The fire came just three months after the island was reopened to tourism in August, following a two-year closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his week-long tour of Latin America last Tuesday (Oct 3). His tour included visits to Colombia, Chile and Peru, with key meetings being with Colombia’s newly-elected left-wing President, Gustavo Petro, as well as with officials at a ministerial summit. The United States seeks to strengthen ties with Colombia and the wider Latin American region amid China’s growing influence in the continent, and to re-establish its policy interests and commitment to Latin American interests despite its focus on current geopolitical issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war.
- At least 15 prisoners were killed and more than 20 were wounded in a riot in Cotopaxi No 1 jail in Latacunga, Ecuador on Monday (Oct 2). The incident was the latest in a series of escalating violence in Ecuadorian prisons. More than 400 inmates have died in prison violence since February 2021, with President Guillermo Lasso attributing the conflicts to gang warfare over control of territory and drug trafficking routes. The United Nations raised “grave” concerns about the continual violence, saying Ecuador’s crisis is a result of ‘decades of state abandonment’.
Asia Pacific:
- In an outline of Taiwan’s national day speech released last Sunday (Oct 9), Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen pledged to bolster the island’s combat power and determination and improve its defences amid rising tensions with China. China’s position on Taiwanese sovereignty has been consistent, claiming that the nation is Chinese territory. A source told Reuters that “in addition to reaffirming Taiwan’s determination to augment its self-defence and its position on maintaining regional peace and stability, the President will also elaborate on efforts to strengthen national defence combat power and resilience.”
- Hong Kong evoked its National Security Law against under-18s for the first time last Sunday (Oct 9), sentencing five teenagers to a three-year detention for advocating the overthrow of the Chinese government. Introduced by China in 2020 to make prosecution of protesters easier, many opponents of the Chinese government have since been jailed. The arrested teenagers, aged between 16 and 19, were members of Returning Valiant, a pro-Hong Kong independence group.
- A former police officer, Panya Khamrab, stormed a childcare centre last Thursday (Oct 6). At least 38 people were killed, including 23 children, and at least 12 people were wounded in the attack on Uthai Sawan Child Development Centre in northeastern Thailand. National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat told reporters that the police sergeant was suspended from the force over drug use in January and dismissed in June. However, a drug test revealed that the attacker was not under influence during the attack.
- North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan last Wednesday (Oct 5), travelling 4500 kilometres before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was the first missile launch over Japan since 2017, causing the nation to issue an alert to some citizens to take cover. In what appears to be a deliberate escalation to get the attention of the US and Japan, this distance is observed to be far enough to hit the US island of Guam if it took another trajectory. South Korea and the US have staged drills with an aircraft carrier following the missile launch.
- A Pakistani court accepted an apology by former Prime Minister Imran Khan last Monday (Oct 3) and dropped a contempt of court case against him; a ruling that prevented his participation in politics for at least five years. Khan’s defence lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that “Imran Khan extended his apology in honour and respect for the judiciary, and the court today reciprocated by discharging the case against him.” The former cricket star-turned-politician has faced a series of legal woes since his ouster in a confidence vote in April.
Europe:
- The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned last Friday (Oct 7), of rising COVID-19 infections in many European countries, including the UK, France, and Italy. Experts have attributed this to a Winter surge as colder weather arrives and people head indoors. In France, COVID-19 rates increased 31% overall, with a marked increase in those aged 80 and older. Meanwhile, the current seven-day average of deaths in England is at its highest figure recorded in more than one month. Public health experts say the Europe COVID-19 situation is likely a foreshadowing of what is to come for the rest of the world.
- European Union leaders struggled last Friday (Oct 7) to agree on a natural gas price cap as winter approaches, and the Russia-Ukraine war drives up prices for both consumers and businesses. Russia has reduced or cut off natural gas supplies to 13 EU member nations due to their support for Ukraine amid the war. The price cap is one of several measures that the EU introduced to mitigate the energy crisis, which has sparked concerns of rolling blackouts, factory shutdowns, and a deep recession in economies already weakened by the pandemic.
- The Ukrainian military recaptured 2,400 square kilometres of territory in the Kherson region of the south of the country last Friday (Oct 7), according to a senior Ukrainian official. An evacuation of civilians continued amid massive destruction to critical infrastructure in towns like Arkhanhelske, Vysokopillia and Osokorivka. Ukrainian forces had been making steady progress in Kherson since beginning an offensive at the end of September.
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for European Union entry bans and asset freezes against those responsible for what she described as “brutal repression” against anti-government protestors in Iran, last Sunday (Oct 9). This came after protests over the death of Kurdish journalist Mahsa Amini, following her detention by Iran’s ‘morality police’ for an alleged violation of strict dress codes for women. “We will ensure that the EU imposes entry bans on those responsible for this brutal repression and freezes their assets in the EU,” she added. “We say to people in Iran: We stand and remain by your side.”
- An explosion occurred last Saturday (Oct 8) over the only bridge connecting the annexed Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland, affecting a key supply route for Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine. While the exact cause of the blast is yet to be confirmed, Russian officials said an explosion from a truck caused Crimea-bound sections of the bridge’s roadway to fall. The bridge is strategically important because it links Russia’s Krasnodar region with the Crimean Peninsula, which was previously annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move condemned by the international community.
Middle East:
- Israel agreed to compensate the family of an elderly Palestinian-American Omar Abdulmajeed Asaad last Sunday (Oct 9) who died in January, after being detained by force in the occupied West Bank. The US$141,000 (S$202,660) settlement is a rare case of compensation for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Days earlier, Israeli forces killed two teenagers, aged 14 and 17, in separate incidents on Friday (Oct 7), during the use of live fire to disperse Palestinian protesters.
- Iranian leaders President Ebrahim Raisi, Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, met last Saturday (Oct 8), as street protests sparked by the death of journalist Mahsa Amini stretch into its fourth week. The leaders sought to emphasise the need for “security and calm” and for Iranian’s to unify “regardless of language, religion or ethnicity to overcome hostility and division by Iran’s enemies”. Iranian state television was hacked the same day, with the display and chant of the slogan “woman, life, freedom”.
- Lebanese banks suspended their front-office client services indefinitely, according to bankers on Friday (Oct 7), after an unexpected series of delays prevented depositors from accessing their savings. Under the suspension, depositors are only to withdraw a limited amount of money each day, while foreign currency withdrawals may lose up to 80 per cent of its value upon conversion. Prior to the closures, aggravated locals attempted to demand their savings, some even while armed. The World Bank defined Lebanon’s economic crisis as the “worst the world has witnessed since the 1850s. The government has also been slow to propose the reforms necessary to qualify for assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Yemen failed to extend its UN-backed ceasefire past its deadline last Monday (Oct 2). The Yemeni government blamed Iranian-backed Houthis for the failing of negotiations, citing the government had “made many concessions to extend the truce” while Houthis obstructed the ceasefire. The United Nations called for both sides to refrain from provocation while talks continue, amid fears of the resumption of airstrikes.
- Iran’s Forensic Organisation concluded last Friday (Oct 7), that the death of journalist Mahsa Amini while in ‘morality police’ custody was due to an underlying illness rather than multiple blows to her body. The findings, published in an official medical report, are likely to be rejected by Iranian protesters. The nation’s judiciary additionally denied last Thursday (Oct 6), reports that a teenage girl, Sarina Esmailzadeh, was killed by security forces during a protest last month. Rights group Amnesty said her death was caused after being severely beaten with batons.
Africa:
- The South African government announced Former President Jacob Zuma was freed from prison last Friday (Oct 7), following the expiration of his 15-month sentence for contempt of court. Zuma received his sentence after he ignored instructions to participate in a corruption inquiry. His incarceration last year triggered the worst violence in the country in years. The former President’s freedom came after the High Court failed to determine the outcome of his appeal to remain on parole before his sentence expired.
- The Somali government initiated a crackdown on media organisations in the country, banning the proliferation of propaganda coverage related to the Al-Shabab group. Deputy Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism Abdirahman Yusuf said on Saturday (Oct 8) that any such coverage, including that of its activities or ideology would be considered punishable crimes. The move comes as Somalia’s recently re-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged to defeat the group following countless deadly attacks, the most recent of which killed 21 people in a ‘gun-and-bomb’ assault during a deadly 30-hour siege of a hotel, in August this year.
- Peace talks between the African Union (AU) and Ethiopia were delayed for “logistical reasons” according to diplomatic sources on Friday (Oct 7). The talks, intended to be held over last weekend, would attempt to end the two-year conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions. Regional government spokesperson from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Getachew Reda, said the AU did not consult with Tigrayan leaders before sending out invitations, likening such an arrangement to a “get-together”.
- South Africa confirmed an investment plan of US$8.5 billion (S$12.22 billion) to help the nation transition to renewable energy on Thursday (Oct 6). Among the donors are Germany, France, the EU and the UK, which have pledged support, mostly in the form of concessionary loans, during the COP26 summit last year. South Africa’s ambitious proposal would cut carbon emissions by a larger amount than that under its current climate agreements. Officials are working to finalise the deal before the COP27 next month. If successful, South Africa’s plan may serve as a model for other emerging economies seeking to reduce dependence on coal.
- US President Joe Biden announced US-bound travellers from Uganda would be screened for the Ebola virus upon arrival in the United States, last Thursday (Oct 6). The measures came into effect immediately, and are considered ‘additional precaution’. No Ebola cases have yet been found outside Uganda as the nation’s current outbreak is currently limited to five districts in central Uganda.
