OSINTSUM: Friday 5 April 2024

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OSINTSUM
Global Situation Update
Friday 5 April 2024

International

Economy: The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that its managing director Kristalina Georgieva is the only candidate in the running to lead the global financial institution when her first term expires later this year.
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Election Interference: Software company Microsoft has warned China will use artificial intelligence to disrupt upcoming elections in the US, South Korea, and India, after making a “dry run” with Taiwan’s presidential poll earlier this year.
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Africa

Ethiopia: Senior officials from various countries and international organisations will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 April for an event aimed at raising $1bn to support the United Nations’ humanitarian plan for Ethiopia.
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Somalia: Somalia has expelled Ethiopia's ambassador in Mogadishu and ordered the closure of two consulates - one each in the semi-autonomous Puntland region and the breakaway Somaliland region - in a dispute over the regions providing Ethiopia access to the Red Sea.
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Asia/Oceania

India: Intelligence operatives from both India and Pakistan have told The Guardian that the Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil.
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Myanmar: Myanmar’s escalating conflict is having a devastating impact on human rights, fundamental freedoms and basic needs of millions of people, as well as “alarming spillover effects” in the region, according to United Nations officials.
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New Zealand: Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would agree a “partnership programme” with NATO in the coming months as the country rethinks security policy in the face of regional tensions and increasingly aggressive posturing by China.
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Pakistan: Pakistan is refusing to hold talks with militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan despite Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers calling for negotiations as ongoing violence between the two parties was spreading to Afghanistan.
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Philippines: Details of a “gentleman’s agreement” between former President Rodrigo Duterte and China’s government in relation to the South China Sea have emerged, with Duterte allegedly permitting Chinese ships to observe the status quo in the disputed waters in exchange for not building military outposts.
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Europe

Denmark: Airspace and shipping lanes have been closed in the Green Belt strait - one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes - due to fears a faulty missile launcher on a Danish navy vessel could accidentally fire.
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Europe: Police in Italy, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia have arrested 22 people in connection with an investigation into the suspected siphoning of hundreds of millions of euros of post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union.
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France: President Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the Paris Olympics, adding France will be “ready” if the threat evolves.
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Germany: Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has announced a plan to streamline and reorganise the country’s military as part of efforts to make the military of NATO’s most populous European member “war-capable”.
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Turkiye: The election authority in Turkiye has reinstated the pro-Kurdish winner of the mayoral elections, Abdullah Zeydan in the eastern city of Van following widespread protests in opposition to his removal.
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Slovakia: Pro-Western Ivan Korcok and pro-Russia Peter Pellegrini, the speaker of the Slovakian parliament who is backed by pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico, will face a run-off in the country’s presidential elections.
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Switzerland: An event organised by the International Institute for Rights and Development and held on the sidelines of the 55th UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva has discussed espionage activities allegedly carried out by Swiss company Alp Services on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
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Israel/Hamas Conflict

Israel: GPS signals have been blocked across Israel and the Israel Defence Forces has cancelled all leave for soldiers in combat units in an apparent preparation for a retaliation by Iran for its strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
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Israel: Fast-food outlet McDonald’s is to take over ownership of its branches in Israel after global sales have been negatively impacted by boycotts over Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
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US: President Joe Biden has threatened to withdraw US support of Israel’s offensive in Gaza if it doesn’t take concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians.
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Latin America/Caribbean

Cuba: President Miguel Diaz-Canel has announced his government has secured subsidised food rations in an attempt to quell tensions two weeks after protestors took to the streets over widespread food shortages.
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Ecuador: Mexico’s ambassador to Ecuador, Raquel Serur Smeke, has been declared “persona non grata” by Ecuador’s foreign ministry and ordered to leave the country in response to comments by Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador relating to the assassination of Ecuadorian political candidate Fernando Villavicencio last year.
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Guyana: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticised Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s move to sign the results of a recent referendum laying claim to the Guyanese region of Essequibo - which accounts for two-thirds of the country - into law.
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Haiti: The top United Nations expert on human rights in Haiti, William O’Neill, has warned the country is rapidly moving towards becoming “like Somalia in the worst of its times” due to the criminal uprising which has displaced tens of thousands and largely cut the capital city Port-au-Prince off from the world.
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Haiti: Rights groups are calling on countries across the Americas, most notably the US and the Dominican Republic, to halt deportations of migrants and asylum seekers to Haiti in light of its rapidly deteriorating security state.
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Panama: The New York Times reported that the sexual assault of migrants in Panama has risen to a level rarely seen outside of war.
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Middle East

Middle East: China Oilfield Services has suspended operations of drilling rigs related to a multibillion-dollar contract in the Middle East in a setback for China’s largest offshore drilling contractor in one of its most important international markets.
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OPEC+: The OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing nations has announced it will keep its current oil production cut policy as it is in an attempt to maintain global stability in crude oil prices.
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Syria: The co-founder of the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, Abu Maria al-Qahtani, has been killed by a suicide bomber in Idlib.
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Russia/Ukraine

Russia: Reports are emerging that Russia is targeting migrants from Tajikistan with entry denials and deportations in response to the 22 March Moscow concert hall attack which was carried out by Tajiks on behalf of Islamic State.
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Ukraine: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has ruled out Western troops being sent to Ukraine to avoid giving Russia “a target”, but called on allies to step up their support in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
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And finally…

Space: The White House has directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies, as the US aims to set internationally-agreed norms in space as part of a growing lunar-race.
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