Daily News Brief

January 12, 2024 (Friday)

Asia Pacific

1.       China Tells US to ‘Refrain from Intervening’ in Taiwan Election. China called on the US to “refrain from intervening” in self-ruled Taiwan’s elections, slamming official visits between the island and the US after Washington said it would send a delegation there following this week’s polls.                                           

2.       US Announces $250M Tomahawk Missile Support Sale to Australia. The US State Department has approved a potential foreign military sale of weapon system support for Australia’s Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Russia/Europe/West

3.       Russia Doubles Down on Fast, Cheap, Unguided Bombs to Attack Ukraine. Russia appears to be doubling down on glide bombs and ballistic missiles – unsophisticated, inexpensive bombs difficult to intercept – as well as drones, as its strategy for inflicting a new wave of destruction on Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure.

4.       Russia’s Medvedev Warns of Nuclear Response if Ukraine Targets Missile Launch Sites. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council warned that any Ukrainian attacks on missile launch sites inside Russia with arms supplied by the United States and its allies would risk a nuclear response from Moscow.

India/South Asia

5.       Yogi Govt Halts Grant to Madrassa Education System in UP. In yet an another Islamophobic act, the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh has stopped payment of honorarium to madrassa education system in the Indian state.

6.       Indian Army Chief Says 416 Myanmar Soldiers Crossed into India in 2 Months. More than 400 Myanmar Army personnel entered India through the porous border in the last two months, India's army chief General Manoj Pande said, as fighting continues between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta-regime.

7.       UK to Deploy Two Key Naval Groups to Train and Operate with Indian Forces. The UK announced it will deploy a littoral response group, a specialised formation for amphibious warfare, in the Indian Ocean in 2024 and its carrier strike group in 2025 to train and operate with Indian forces.

IIOJK

8.       Mehbooba Mufti Escapes Unhurt in Road Accident. Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti met with a road accident while she was on her way to Islamabad district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.      

9.       Protest Demonstrations Held in Jammu Region. The activists of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference staged a protest at Mankote in Mendhar area of Poonch district against absence of fundamental democratic rights in the territory.

Afghanistan

10.      Blasts Hit Kabul, Balkh Leaving Several Killed. At least two civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in a grenade blast in PD 18 of Kabul, a spokesman for the Kabul security department, Khalid Zadran said. Meanwhile, sources in Mazar-e-Sharif said that an explosion took place in the city.

11.      Afghan Soil Should Not Be Threat to Pakistan or Region: Kakar. The prime minister of the caretaker government of Pakistan, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, claimed that Afghanistan’s soil is used against Pakistan.

Middle East/Africa

12.      ICJ Hears South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel over Gaza War. Israel faces accusations that it is subjecting Palestinians in Gaza to genocidal acts, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) commenced a hearing on South Africa’s genocide case against it.

13.      Yemen’s Houthis Leader Says Any US Attack Would Not Go Without a Response. Any US attack on Yemen’s Houthis will not go without a response, the group’s leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said and added any such response would be bigger than the recent strike in which its drones and missiles targeted a US ship in the Red Sea.

Iran

14.      Iran Navy Seized Oil Tanker off Oman.  Iran has said that its forces seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, which was reported earlier in the day to have been boarded by armed men in military uniforms.

15.      Iran Arrested 35 People in Relation to Deadly Kerman Attacks. Iranian authorities have arrested 35 people in relation to the January 3 attacks in the southeastern city of Kerman, the intelligence ministry said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

PAKISTAN

Security

16.      UN Alarmed by Reported ‘Police Harassment’ as Pakistani Officials Question Baloch Protesters’ Motives. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor expressed concern over the allegations of police harassment by a group of Baloch protesters, as a provincial minister in Balochistan’s caretaker setup said the people leading the demonstration only wanted to move abroad to seek asylum.

17.      Pakistan Has No Intention of Holding Talks with TTP: FO. The Foreign Office (FO) said that Pakistan does not intend to hold talks with the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Economy

18.      ‘Political Turmoil’ in Pakistan to Slow Private Sector Growth: World Bank. In its latest publication ‘Global Economic Prospects — January 2024’ released, the World Bank shared that Pakistan’s economic outlook for FY2023/24 (July 2023 to June 2024) remains subdued, with growth projected at only 1.7%.

Politics

19.      Time Will Come When Intelligence Officials Face Prosecution for Enforced Disappearances: IHC Judge. Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani remarked that there will come a day when intelligence officials will also be held accountable and face prosecution for cases regarding enforced disappearances.

20.      SC Senior Judge Justice Ijazul Ahsan Resigns. Following the resignation of Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, the Senior judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Ijazul Ahsan has also resigned from his post according to Pakistani media.