Today’s news: new Israeli raids against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after missiles on Haifa. Quad strengthens cooperation between coast guards in the South China Sea. US returns illegally trafficked archaeological finds to India. Alert in Myanmar over the execution of 5 political prisoners that could take place tomorrow.
SRI LANKA
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a member of the Marxist-oriented National People’s Power (NPP), is the winner of the presidential elections in sri lanka. He won thanks to a recount of voters’ second choices, after no candidate had obtained more than 50% of the total votes in the first ballot. Dissanayake had secured 42.31%, while his closest rival, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, obtained 32.76%. Only in third place was the outgoing president, Wickremesinghe.
ISRAEL-LEBANON
The Israeli army is carrying out New airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as mutual attacks between the two sides continue to escalate. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari has warned Lebanese civilians to stay away from areas used by the Iran-backed group for military purposes. Over the weekend, Hezbollah struck deep into Israel, hitting targets in the city of Haifa.
USA-INDIA-JAPAN-AUSTRALIA
In one Quad Summit At a summit chaired by Joe Biden in Claymont, Delaware, the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States agreed to expand joint security measures in Asian waters. Operations involving Australian, Japanese and Indian personnel aboard a US Coast Guard vessel were announced for next year. Although the White House claimed the summit was not “targeted at other countries”, the new initiatives are believed to send a message to Beijing and represent a further shift in emphasis of the Quad’s activities towards security issues in the South China Sea.
INDIA-UNITED STATES
During the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United States handed over to India 297 archaeological objects that had been smuggled out of the country. These objects date from between 2000 BC and 1900 AD, and come from various regions of India. Most are terracotta objects from the east of the country. In July 2024, India and the United States signed their first “Agreement on Cultural Property” to prevent and combat the illicit trafficking of antiquities from India to the United States.
MYANMAR
Human rights groups have raised the alarm over the possible capital execution of five political prisoners Myanmar’s military junta plans to carry out the killing tomorrow. The five, Kaung Pyae Sone Oo, Kyaw Win Soe, San Min Aung, Zayyar Phyo and Myat Phyo Pwint, were sentenced to death by a special court on charges of shooting and killing a police officer at Yangon’s Ahlone station on 14 August 2021.
RUSSIA-CENTRAL ASIA
According to data from the Interior Ministry in Moscow, there are currently almost 4 million Central Asian citizens permanently residing in Russia, 1.8 million from Uzbekistan, 1.2 million from Tajikistan, 600 thousand from Kazakhstan, 262 thousand from Kyrgyzstan and 92 thousand from Turkmenistan, out of a total of 6.174 million foreigners. In addition, there is a flow of seasonal migrant workers, which will reach 10 million by 2023.
KYRGYZSTAN-TAJIKISTAN
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Žaparov signed a decree on the redefinition of the “territorial-administrative units of regions and cities” of the country, concerning the Batken region, which is the focus of border negotiations with Tajikistan, preparing the cities in the area for the final demarcation of the borders, approved by the Žogorku Keneš in a closed session.
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