Daily News Brief

 

January 29, 2024 (Monday)

Asia Pacific

1.       China, US Should Respect Each Other's Core Interests: Wang Yi. China and the United States should treat each other as equals rather than take a condescending attitude, seek common ground rather than accentuate differences and earnestly respect rather than undermine each other's core interests, China's senior diplomat Wang Yi has said.

2.       North Korea Fired Multiple Cruise Missiles Off East Coast. North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, its second such launch in less than a week, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Russia/Europe/West

3.       Ukraine Says It Uncovers $40m Arms Corruption Scheme. Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with Ministry of Defence officials to embezzle almost $40m earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported.

4.       Ukraine Hit by Overnight Russian Drone and Missile Strikes Across Country. Russia carried out overnight drone and missile attacks on four regions of Ukraine, wounding at least three people, the Ukrainian armed forces said.

India/South Asia

5.       VDV Killed, 4 Injured in Gunfight in Manipur. A Village Defence Volunteer (VDV) was killed and four others were injured in a clash in disturbed Manipur state of India.

6.       India's United Opposition Faces Major Setback. A key regional leader broke away from India's opposition alliance on Sunday and was set to join hands again with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a major blow to Modi's challengers months before general elections.

7.       Indian Navy Rescues 22 Indians from Tanker Hit By Houthis' Missile. The NBCD (nuclear, biological and chemical damage control) team, with fire-fighting equipment, from guided-missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam boarded Marshall Island-flagged Marlin Luanda to help the 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members on board the tanker.

IIOJK

8.       Indian Police Arrest Five Youth in Kupwara. According to Kashmir Media Service, the police arrested the youth, including Zahoor Ahmad Butt, Khursheed Ahmad Rather, Mudassir Shafiq, Ghulam Sarwar Rather and Qazi Fazal Illahi, in the Karnah area of the district.

9.       Kashmir Hospitals Wrestling with Staff Shortages. The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Member of the Parliament from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi on Sunday said the shortage of health care staff is adversely affecting patient care in hospitals across Kashmir.

Afghanistan

10.      No ‘Formal Border’ between Afghanistan and Pakistan: Taliban Minister. Taliban Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Noorullah Noori, emphasized that Afghanistan does not have an officially recognized border with Pakistan, and instead, there exists a “hypothetical line” between the two nations during his visit to the Torkham crossing, addressing the border situation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

11.      China-Afghanistan Relations to Improve: Officials. The Deputy Director of the Asian Department at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ming, in a meeting with the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate to China, Bilal Karimi, discussed several issues between Afghanistan and China.

Middle East/Africa

12.      UNRWA Funding Cuts Condemned as ‘Collective Punishment’. The UN is urging countries to keep funding UNRWA, its agency for Palestinian refugees, after some of its biggest donors suspended aid donations following accusations by Israel that some staff had been involved in the 7 Oct Hamas attack.

13.      Royal Navy ‘Scandal’ Sees UK Ships Unable to Strike Houthis in Yemen. Royal Navy vessels are unable to attack Houthi positions in Yemen because they lack the necessary missiles, it has been revealed, in what one former defense chief called a “scandal.”

Iran

14.      Iran Launched 3 Satellites into Space.  Iran said it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles.

15.      Iran Guards Seize Foreign Vessel Carrying ‘Smuggled’ Fuel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a foreign oil tanker carrying around two million litres of “smuggled fuel” near the country’s southern coast, local media reported.

PAKISTAN

Security

16.      TTP Top Militant Among 11 Terrorists Arrested. The Counter Terrorism Department police during targeted search operations in various districts across Punjab have arrested 11 terrorists including a key commander of banned Tehreek- e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

17.      CTD, Police Kills Three Terrorist in Lakki Marwat. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Bannu police on Saturday reportedly killed three terrorists affiliated with a banned outfit during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Ghazni Khel area of Lucky Marwat.

Economy

18.      Hub Industrialists Demand Smooth Gas, Water Supply. Production units in the Hub Industrial Area of Balo­chistan have been struggling to keep running due to high energy costs, disruptive gas supply and water shortages.

19.      Industries Seek Rs7b Under Incremental Power Package. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and industrialists have appealed to the government to release Rs7 billion and decide about the remaining Rs21 billion pending against the incremental consumption of electricity.

Politics

20.      Iran Offers Condolences to Pakistan over Killing of Nine Labourers. Iranian envoy to Pakistan in his statement condemned the killings of Pakistani labourers in Iran and said Tehran and Islamabad will not tolerate affliction of damage to the countries’ relations.