OSINTSUM: Monday 22 April 2024

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OSINTSUM
Global Situation Update
Monday 22 April 2024

International

Conflict: The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that 49.8% of the more than 47,000 verified instances of children killed and maimed globally between 2018 and 2022 were caused by explosive weapons, and is calling for the end of their use in populated areas.
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Defence: Ongoing wars and increasing geopolitical tensions in 2023 drove the most significant increase in global defence spending in over a decade, causing it to reach a new high of $2.4tn, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
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Africa

Europe: Newly-released date shows high visa rejection rates are posing a significant barrier for Africans looking to travel to the Schengen zone in Europe. Africa accounts for 7 of the 10 countries with the most visa rejections from the zone, despite submitting the fewest applications per capita.
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Namibia: Portuguese oil company Galp Energia said it has concluded the first phase of its exploration in the Mopane field off the coast of Namibia, and estimates it may contain at least 10 billion barrels of oil.
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Asia/Oceania

China: Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and US, during a visit to Papua New Guinea over the weekend, accusing them of “stoking confrontation” with attempts to bring more countries into the alliance.
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China: China’s second-highest ranking military official, Zhang Youxia, said the sea should not be an arena where countries flex their “gunboat muscles” in a speech at the opening ceremony of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, adding China was committed to resolving maritime disputes through dialogue.
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Maldives: The People’s National Congress, the party of Pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu - won 70 of 93 seats in yesterday’s parliamentary elections, giving it absolute control of parliament.
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Myanmar: Fighters from the Karen National Union ethnic rebel militia group attacked troops from Myanmar’s military hiding near the 2nd Thailand-Myanmar Friendship bridge - a central crossing point for trade between the two countries - on Saturday, causing 1,300 people to flee into Thailand.
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North Korea: The South Korean Joint Chief of Staff reported North Korea had launched several short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off the peninsula’s eastern coast earlier today.
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Philippines/US: The US and Filipino navies have launched their largest joint combat exercises - which will run until 10 May and involve over 16,000 military personnel from the countries training alongside over 250 French and Australian forces - in years, in what is being seen as a show of allied force in the South China Sea.
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Solomon Islands: Counting is still underway in the country’s national election with early results showing opposition parties - some of which have promised to scrap the country’s security pact with China - have gained seats. Final results are expected by tomorrow.
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Europe

Canary Islands: Tens of thousands of residents of Spain’s Canary Islands have protested under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit” in opposition to the mass tourism economic model they say is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago.
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Europe: Climate monitoring organisation Copernicus reported the continent suffered a record number of “extreme heat stress” days - days where the temperature “feels like” more than 46 degrees Celsius - in 2023, adding that July’s heatwave saw the biggest area of Europe under “strong to extreme heat stress” on record.
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European Union: Foreign ministers from the bloc’s member states are to meet in Luxembourg today to discuss issues including the bolstering of Ukraine’s air defences and expanding sanctions on Iran, as well as the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
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Germany: Authorities have detained three people on suspicion of passing information on German military technology to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, as well as purchasing a “special laser” and exporting it to China without authorisation according to prosecutors.
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Kosovo: A vote on whether to remove ethnic Albanian mayors in the ethnic Serb-majority north has been declared null and void after a boycott by ethnic Serbs meant only 253 out of 45,000 possible votes were cast - meaning the mayors will remain in post.
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Turkey: Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities have detained 36 people with suspected ties to the Islamic State group following operations carried out across four provinces.
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Israel/Hamas

Gaza: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to suggest the Israel Defence Forces would launch an offensive on the Gazan city of Rafah in the coming days, saying this was the only way to free hostages taken by Hamas.
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Israel: Israel abandoned plan to conduct a more extensive counterstrike on multiple military targets across Iran last week, including near Tehran, following diplomatic pressure from the US and other foreign allies.
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Israel: The head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate, Major General Aharon Haliva, has resigned over the intelligence failure surrounding Hamas’s incursion on 7 October than saw over 1,200 people murdered and 250 hostages taken. Other leading officials are expected to follow in the short term.
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Qatar: Hamas’s political leadership is looking to move from its base in Qatar, as US legislators build pressure on the Gulf state to deliver on cease-fire negotiations that look likely to fail.
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Latin America

Brazil: Former president Jair Bolsonaro - who is currently under investigation for his alleged role in a campaign to undermine faith in the country’s voting system - led a rally of tens of thousands of his supporters in Rio de Janeiro yesterday in an attempt to raise his political capital.
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Colombia: Tens of thousands of people protested in several cities including capital Bogota in opposition to leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has floated the possibility of rewriting the country’s constitution to help him pass social reforms he has so far been unable to implement due to a hostile congress.
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Ecuador: Voters have approved strict new security measures aimed at fighting rising levels of gang-related crime in a referendum yesterday, including the expansion of military and police powers, tightening of gun controls, and harsher penalties for terrorism.
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Middle East

Iraq: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to make his first official visit to Iraq in more than a decade today as his country looks to expand ties with Baghdad, and is set to request greater cooperation in his country’s fight against Kurdish militia group the PKK, which has a foothold in Iraq.
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Iraq/Syria: Five rockets were fired at a US military base in the north-east of the country from the Iraqi town of Zummar in an attack claimed by Iraqi militia group Kataib Hezbollah. No major damage was reported, and Iraqi forces burned the vehicle used to launch the strike.
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Iraq/Syria: Kataib Hezbollah said they would resume attacks on US interests in the region after a recent pause in response to what they see as the lack of progress on talks to achieve the exit of US troops during Iraq Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s recent visit to Washington
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Saudi Arabia: A new airline targeting the African market based in Riyadh has been approved by Saudi regulatory bodies and the African Civil Aviation Commission, paving the way for new air corridors between Saudi Arabia and Africa.
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Saudi Arabia: The first group of Iranian pilgrims in nine years made its way to Saudi Arabia on Monday for the umrah, or minor pilgrimage, according to Iran's official news agency, in a sign of improving ties between the two nations.
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US/Canada

US: Prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former president today for the first time in history as Donald Trump’s trial over the alleged falsification of business records - which could see him receive up to four years in prison - begins in earnest.
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