Overseas Advisory Council Newsletter 1/18/2023

 



January 18, 2023

Today's Headlines OSAC's daily selection of global security news

Africa

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday said the M23 rebel group had not fully withdrawn from areas it seized in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, accusing the militia of faking an agreed pullback of its forces.

In information revealed by RFI, 49 Ivorian soldiers who were arrested last year in Mali and accused of being mercenaries were part of the UN's Minusma mission and had been deployed at the request of the German contingent.

One of the sons of Equatorial Guinea's veteran ruler has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling a plane owned by the national airline, state TV said Tuesday.

Experts say the new wave of attacks takes insecurity in Nigeria into uncharted territory ahead of the elections.

East Asia & Pacific

Millions of Chinese are taking advantage of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to make an emotional journey back to their families for Lunar New Year holidays

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online news company were cleared Wednesday of tax evasion charges she said were among a slew of legal cases used by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to try to muzzle critical reporting.

Vietnam's legislature on Wednesday approved the resignation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, state media reported, amid a major escalation of the Southeast Asian country's anti-graft campaign. Vice-President Vo Thi Anh Xuan would be acting president,

Europe

A new EU border control IT system which sparked fears of summer holiday queues at Dover has been delayed again. The Entry/Exit System was due to be introduced in late May, having already been pushed back from last year. Under the scheme people enter...

France is to face severe public transport disruptions on Thursday, operators have warned, as workers join a nationwide strike against a widely unpopular pension reform plan.

The three main figures in Ukraine's interior ministry have been killed in a helicopter crash beside a nursery in an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, 42, died alongside his first deputy minister and state secre...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday signalled that he intended to bring the next general election forward by one month to May 14. The announcement sets the stage for what some analysts view as Turkey's most consequential vote in gene...

Thousands of nurses in Britain have walked out in a new strike over pay, with no end in sight to a wave of industrial action that has piled pressure on the U.K.’s overburdened public health system

Middle East & North Africa

Iran has ordered air defence systems from Russia and Moscow's most advanced fighter jet

The United States expects Israel, under a visa-waiver deal being discussed between the allies, to enable free passage for Palestinian-Americans into the occupied West Bank, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday.

South & Central Asia

Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam on Saturday said that GMP will close several roads after midnight to avoid traffic congestion as thousands of Muslim devotees will join the final day of Bishwa Ijtema in Tongi.

Provided by Firstpost Balochistan unrest unnerves Pakistan, Army chief Munir blames 'external enemies' Islamabad: After a string of terror attacks of various natures in Balochi

Seeking to force Pakistan to hold an early national election, the opposition party led by former prime minister Imran Khan dissolved its provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, three days after doing the same in Punjab province.

Western Hemisphere

The office of Brazil’s prosecutor-general has presented its first charges against some of the thousands of people who authorities say stormed government buildings in an effort to overturn former President Jair Bolsonaro’s loss in the October electio...

Cuba’s state-run media has created a stir among economists, diplomats and creditors by publishing an estimate of the Communist-run island’s international reserves, an elusive data long considered a "state secret" there.

Authorities said Tuesday that they had unearthed 10 dismembered bodies from under the floor of an events hall in central Mexico. The grisly discovery was made in the town of Tenango del Valle, just west of Mexico City, after an investigation into th...

OSAC Analysis Unclassified OSAC analytical reports and other resources

Global

Published: January 11, 2023

Some of the most damaging security breaches for U.S. organizations come from insider threats, whether malicious or negligent. It can be difficult to detect these threats, but a deeper understanding of the observable and reportable indicators that ma...

East Asia & Pacific

Published: January 11, 2023

The 2023 Australian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Melbourne, the country’s second-largest city. This year’s competition will commence on January 16 and finish on January 28 with the men’s singles final. While COVID-19 measures institut...

Middle East & North Africa

Published: January 17, 2023

OSAC reissued this Country Security Report (CSR) on January 17, 2023 following minor updates.

Western Hemisphere

Published: January 17, 2023

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 ...

Events - Upcoming OSAC meetings, webinars, and training courses

Global

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.

Event Start Date: January 18, 2023

Please join our monthly meeting of security professionals to discuss ATFP related issues and the current security environment.

East Asia & Pacific

Event Start Date: January 19, 2023

All Jakarta country chapter members are invited to attend a meeting on 19 January 2023 from 1300 to 1500 (local) at the US Embassy.

OSAC members based in New Zealand are invited to attend OSAC New Zealand's country chapter relaunch on 23 February 2023.

Event Start Date: January 19, 2023

OSAC Manila country chapter members are invited to attend a hybrid meeting on 19 January 2023 from 2-4 PM local.

Europe

Event Start Date: January 25, 2023

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.

The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or any affiliated organization(s). Nor have these opinions been approved or sanctioned by these organizations. This product is unclassified based on the definitions in E.O. 13526. OSAC’s full disclaimer and copyright policy is available on our site



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