Overseas Advisory Council Daily Newsletter 1/20/2023
January 20, 2023
Today's Headlines - OSAC's daily selection of global security news
Africa
Ethiopia's tourism authorities say the industry lost $2 billion during the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in the Tigray region. With the November peace deal between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People'...
Kenyan security forces have killed 10 fighters from Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist group in eastern Kenya, a government official said on Thursday.
France's former president François Hollande has questioned the role of the Russian paramilitary outfit Wagner in the fight against jihadists in Mali - branding the group neo-colonials.
A Niger Delta-based transparency group, known as the Coalition of Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the alleged complicity of the Nigerian Navy personnel in cases of crude oil theft, cases of gross miscond...
During the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023 that took place from January 16 to 19, the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan participated in a panel session hosted by Masdar, alongside the President of Palau, Surangel S. Whipps Jr., according ...
A new law designed to increase the number of women in positions of power in both private and public sectors came into force in Sierra Leone on Thursday.
The South African rand was on the backfoot on Friday and set for a weekly loss against the U.S. dollar, as crippling power cuts continued to heighten economic uncertainty.
Hundreds of industrial workers in Harare's busy Workington area have been laid off by different companies struggling to operate due to an electricity crisis that has seen the area going almost a month without power.
East Asia & Pacific
More bodies were found Friday following an avalanche that buried vehicles outside a highway tunnel in Tibet, raising the death toll to 20 with eight people still missing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Friday to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 this spring to a Class 5 disease, the same level as seasonal influenza, a move that would lead to a major shift in the pandemic restrictions that have bee...
Hundreds of people have had to be evacuated after a fire broke out in a shanty town in South Korea's capital, Seoul. Roughly 60 homes are reported to have been destroyed in Friday morning's blaze in Guryong Village.
Europe
In the background of Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the only road in and out of Nagorno-Karabakh lies the fate of another critical transportation route: the would-be “Zangezur Corridor.”
More than a million people took to the streets in France on Thursday to protest the government's plans to raise the retirement age to 64 pension reform, while public transport, schools and much of the civil servicewere disrupted by strikes. Unions a...
Poland could send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine even without Germany's re-export approval, a deputy foreign minister said on Friday, ahead of a crunch meeting on weapons for Kyiv. Warsaw and other NATO allies have been urging Germany to give them the g...
Serbian and pro-Ukraine activists filed criminal complaints against Russia's Wagner paramilitary group and its supporters on Thursday, accusing it of recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg and other prominent environmentalists are staging a protest on the last day of meetings at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Middle East & North Africa
European Union foreign ministers are expected to agree further sanctions targeting members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps at their meeting in Brussels on Monday, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Office said on Friday.
Two politicians have spent the night inside Lebanon's parliament building in protest at MPs' failure to elect a new president for the 11th time.
Three suicide drones attacked a U.S. base in eastern Syria on Friday, wounding two Syrian opposition fighters, the U.S. military said. No Americans were hurt in the attack.
South & Central Asia
The Delhi Police have deployed additional pickets, intensified anti-terror measures, and enhanced patrolling ahead of Republic Day celebrations in the national capital, officials said on Friday.
At least eight people were injured in an explosion near a railway track in the Paneer area of Balochistan’s Bolan district on Friday, a senior Railways official said.
Western Hemisphere
The family of one of two environmental activists killed in a rural part of northern Honduras say authorities are not properly investigating the slayings of the pair who had faced threats for their work. Aly Domínguez and Jairo Bonilla were riding a ...
Concern grew in Mexico Thursday over the fate of two environmental and community activists who disappeared five days ago in a dangerous corner of western Mexico. Farmers blocked roads on the border between the western Mexico states of Michoacan and ...
Thousands of protesters in Peru, many from the country's heavily indigenous south, descended on Lima, the capital, on Thursday, angered by a mounting death toll since unrest erupted last month and calling for sweeping change. Police estimated the ma...
OSAC Analysis - Unclassified OSAC analytical reports and other resources
Western Hemisphere
Following the December 7 removal of Pedro Castillo from the presidency, protests throughout the south of Peru forced road and airport closures, stranding many tourists and travelers. Protests resumed on January 4 following a holiday hiatus and have ...
Consular Messages - Department of State travel advisories and alerts
Africa
The U.S. Embassy in Bangui advises U.S. citizens to remain cautious in and around Bangui Thursday January 19 through the end of the month, due to the potential for fuel-related economic disruptions or politically motivated civil unrest.
Europe
Event: Countrywide strikes on Thursday, January 19, will have significant impact on flights, long distance and local trains — including TGVs, international, regional and local trains, metros, and trams — as well as local buses and a wide range of o...
Western Hemisphere
Due to ongoing civil unrest in Peru, authorities have temporarily suspended operations at Alfredo Rodriguez Ballon International Airport in Arequipa. Please contact your airline for information on rescheduling flights. Train service between Machu ...
A large demonstration is expected today in Lima and reports indicate that as many as 10,000 people may participate. The march is expected to begin during the afternoon, starting in the historic center, and likely to move towards the Miraflores neig...
Large protests continue to impact various neighborhoods in Lima including Cercado de Lima, San Isidro, and Miraflores. Local firefighters are currently battling a large structural fire near Plaza San Martin, in downtown Lima. Do not attempt to app...
Events - Upcoming OSAC meetings, webinars, and training courses
Global
The Europe Regional Committee (ERC) in partnership with the OSAC United Kingdom Country Chapter will be delivering a half day Crisis Management Workshop for Young Professionals in London on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. A full day Spring Conference and...
The Africa Regional Committee invites all Full Access Members to "Save the Date" for their Spring Conference taking place in South Africa, March 28 - 30, 2023.
All OSAC ASC members are encouraged to "save the date" for our next in-person Health, Safety, and Security Seminar hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN on April 13 - 14.
Join the OSAC Energy Sector Committee (ESC) on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 11:00 AM ET for the launch of the ESC's monthly "coffee chat" series.
East Asia & Pacific
OSAC members based in New Zealand are invited to attend OSAC New Zealand's country chapter relaunch on 23 February 2023.
Europe
Western Hemisphere
OSAC's Latin America Regional Committee (LARC) invites all members to save the date for the LARC's Spring Conference in Miami, FL on March 8.
All OSAC Uruguay Chapter members are invited to attend a hybrid meeting on Tuesday, February 21 at 14:00 Uruguay local (12:00 Eastern).
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