Overseas Security Advisory Council Daily 1/30/2023

 

January 30, 2023

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

Africa

At least 22 people were killed and nearly two dozen injured when a public bus crashed into a truck in the center of Benin, the government on Monday.

It took years for Marie Louise Wambale to re-establish her life after fighting between M23 and the Congolese army forced her to flee with almost nothing more than a decade ago.

Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped 20 workers of Dangote Cement Factory, located in Adea Berga district in West Shewa Zone of Oromia region, a staff member of the company with the knowledge to the matter told Addis Standard.

US Ambassador to the UN Security Council (UNSC), Linda Thomas Greenfield, said on Saturday, in Nairobi that the that Eritrean troops did not withdraw from Ethiopia, contradicting a claim by an Ethiopian army general who said there was no other secur...

The Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court will be relocated from Shanzu to a new site in Mtwapa, as efforts are made to roll out the specialised courts across the country, Chief Justice Martha Koome has said.

Gunmen killed eight people and wounded three others at a birthday party in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, police said, adding that manhunt was underway to find the killers.

The People's Unity Party (PUP0 says it will stop at nothing to ensure that the 2023 elections are not held as the opposition party alleges that the ruling party is planning to rig the polls.

East Asia & Pacific

"The overall epidemic situation in the country has entered a low level, and the epidemic situation in various places has maintained a steady downward trend," National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng told a media briefing on Monday .

Hundreds of Indonesian Muslims marched to the heavily guarded Swedish Embassy in the country’s capital on Monday to denounce the recent desecration of Islam’s holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.

The remote atoll nation of Kiribati said on Monday it would rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum, ending a split that had threatened unity at a time of increased superpower tensions in the strategically-located region.

MetService has issued a series of orange and red heavy rain warnings for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty.

Europe

Hundreds of Indonesian Muslims marched to the heavily guarded Swedish Embassy in the country’s capital on Monday to denounce the recent desecration of Islam’s holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Middle East & North Africa

The Iranian defence ministry says it has foiled a drone attack on a military facility in the city of Isfahan.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel and the Palestinians on Monday to ease tensions amid a spike in violence that has put the region on edge. The bloodshed has alarmed the Biden administration as it attempts to find common ground wit...

South & Central Asia

There is a common fear regarding if Bangladesh is next in line for an unmanageable economic crisis like its neighboring peers Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

It’s getting harder to breathe here, as the number of post-Covid construction projects explodes and sends pollution levels to new highs.

Jammu-Srinagar highway has been closed due to shooting stones and mudslides at a number of places in Ramban-Banihal stretch of the road.

ISLAMABAD: An earthquake hit several parts of the country, including Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi on Sunday.

An explosion inside a mosque killed at least 28 people and wounded 150 more in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, a government official said, and many of the casualties were police officers who had gathered for noon prayers.

Western Hemisphere

Human Rights Watch says it has obtained a database leaked from El Salvador’s government that corroborates massive due process violations, severe prison overcrowding and deaths in custody under the emergency powers put in place last March to confront...

Mexico City prosecutors said Friday that severed cables and a speeding driver were responsible for a Jan. 7 subway crash that killed one person and injured dozens. One subway train slammed into another between stations, leading city officials to sus...

A protester has been killed in Lima during brutal clashes between police and demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte. It was the first such death in Peru’s capital. Víctor Santisteban Yacsavilca, 55, suffered a severe head...

OSAC Analysis Unclassified OSAC analytical reports and other resources

Western Hemisphere

Published: January 26, 2023

After over a month of unrest throughout Peru, demonstrations escalated in Lima on January 19. The spread of unrest to the capital posed an operational challenge to many private sector members, since until then Lima had been spared the violence and e...

Events - Upcoming OSAC meetings, webinars, and training courses

Global

Event Start Date: March 15, 2023

Please RSVP to mcnicholsjv@state.gov or wartenberglg@state.gov RSVP with your contact information; Company Represented; Full name and Nationality Refreshments will be served.

OSAC's Energy Sector Committee (ESC) invites all ESC members to save the date for the upcoming ESC Spring Meeting at ExxonMobil Houston Campus in Spring, Texas on March 22 - 23, 2023.

Event Start Date: January 31, 2023

All OSAC Cameroon Chapter members are invited to attend an in-person meeting on Tuesday, January 31 at 11:00 local time.

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.

Event Start Date: March 29, 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.

East Asia & Pacific

All current and prospective OSAC Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) members are invited to attend a networking reception hosted at the Executive Order Bar & Lounge in San Francisco, CA on Wednesday, February 8th from 5:00 – 7:00pm PST.

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

Middle East & North Africa

Event Start Date: January 31, 2023

The OSAC Qatar-Doha Chapter will meet on Tuesday, January 31.

South & Central Asia

All current and prospective OSAC Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) members are invited to attend a networking reception hosted at the Executive Order Bar & Lounge in San Francisco, CA on Wednesday, February 8th from 5:00 – 7:00pm PST.

Western Hemisphere

Event Start Date: February 08, 2023

All OSAC Ecuador – Guayaquil Chapter members are invited to attend an in-person meeting on Wednesday, February at 10:00 Guayaquil local.

Event Start Date: February 21, 2023

All OSAC Uruguay Chapter members are invited to attend a hybrid meeting on Tuesday, February 21 at 14:00 Uruguay local (12:00 Eastern).

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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