Indian PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to further strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of defence, security, and innovation. Netanyahu tweeted that he discussed “advance security and economic” relations, with a special “focus on high-tech.”
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday that New Delhi was working with “friendly neighbours” to develop infrastructure projects to enhance connectivity along the Line of Actual Control. He said that given the “obvious” threat posed along the Chinese borders, India was working with all its neighbours except Pakistan.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday published a report expressing “considering alarm” about religious rights. The document condemned the frequency of forced conversions, attacks on places of worship, and the ostracisation of the Ahmadi minority group.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, demanded on Wednesday that the White House comment on the “facts” presented in a report published by US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh earlier the same day. The report alleges US involvement in the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden last September. Although Danish and Swedish authorities have confirmed that the explosions resulted from sabotage, they have yet to implicate the culprit.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the US to “put aside geopolitical obsessions” and “immediately lift the unilateral sanctions on Syria” in the wake of the devastating Kahramanmaras earthquake, which has reportedly killed over 15,000 people in both Turkey and Syria. Citing previous military involvement, and the current presence of US troops, in Syria’s “principal oil-producing regions,” Mao asserted that the US has “plundered more than 80%” of the country’s oil production and “smuggled and burned” its grain stock, worsening the humanitarian crisis it faces.
South Korea’s parliament on Wednesday voted to impeach Lee Sang-min, the interior minister responsible for responding to the deadly Halloween crush that resulted in the death of 159 people and injured 196. The motion was passed by 179 lawmakers in the 300-member single chamber.
The US is rebuilding its military base in the Philippines after more than 30 years of closure to counter an increasingly aggressive China. Rotating batches of American troops will gain access to four Philippine military camps in addition to five other local bases, where US-funded construction has accelerated.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday displayed a ballistic missile with the words “Death to Israel” etched on it in Hebrew. Iranian news site Tasnim posted the picture as part of a collection of photos from a recently held IRGC weapons exhibition in Isfahan. The article included images of modern Iranian weapons and a person trampling on an Israeli flag.