Overseas Security Advisory Council Feb 16, 2023
February 16, 2023
Today's Headlines - OSAC's daily selection of global security news
Africa
Rwanda’s army has said its troops briefly exchanged fire with soldiers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at a border post, as tension continues to spike between the neighbours.
A Marburg virus outbreak has been detected in Equatorial Guinea, prompting an urgent meeting by the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid fears it could spread.
At least 50 people were killed in Ethiopia's Oromiya region this month in an attack by a banned rebel group, the state-appointed human rights commission said on Wednesday.
In a bid to calm tensions over a lack of cash in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that one of the three banknotes being phased out will be reintroduced into circulation.
East Asia & Pacific
China has imposed trade and investment sanctions on U.S. military contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan, stepping up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its terr...
A fifth person has died in New Zealand in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, police said Thursday, amid fears the death toll could climb further. More heavy rain was forecast for the badly-hit eastern areas of the country, where the disaster has se...
South Korea released its latest defence white paper on Thursday, describing North Korea as its "enemy" for the first time in six years and reporting an increase in Pyongyang's stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium.
Europe
French unions on Thursday called workers out on a new strike against a bitterly opposed pension reform being debated in parliament, but turnout was sharply down.
Munich airport, Germany's second-biggest, said there would be no regular passenger flights on Friday but special flights, including those for the MSC would not be affected. However, an MSC spokesperson said the strike would have an effect on the con...
Moscow fires deadly barrage of missiles at targets in Ukraine Russia again pummeled Ukraine with a barrage of cruise and other missiles on Thursday, hitting targets from east to west. Ukrainian authorities said one of the strikes killed a 79-year ...
Turkey’s disaster management agency has raised the number of fatalities in in the country from two quakes that struck nine hours apart last week to 36,187
Middle East & North Africa
Seif al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer who is a high-ranking member of al Qaeda with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, is now the "uncontested" leader of the militant group, according to a new U.N. report on the organisation.
Amid chilly temperatures and heavy security, thousands of black-clad pilgrims from across Iraq marched Thursday in the annual procession in marking the death of a Shiite saint.
Turkey’s disaster management agency has raised the number of fatalities in in the country from two quakes that struck nine hours apart last week to 36,187
South & Central Asia
China and Iran have urged mutual neighbor Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education. The call came in a joint statement Thursday issued at the close of a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during which the two si...
Pakistan laid a supplementary finance bill before parliament on Wednesday, proposing to raise the goods and services tax (GST)to 18% from 17% to help raise 170 billion rupees ($639 million) in extra revenue during the fiscal year ending July.
Pakistan has hiked the price of petrol by 22.20 rupees ($0.0835) a litre to 272 rupees ($1.02) effective on Thursday because of the plummeting value of the country's currency, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Officials say a powerful explosion inside a moving passenger train has killed at least one person and wounded eight others in eastern Pakistan
Western Hemisphere
Thousands of people took to the streets of Colombia's major cities on Wednesday to protest social and economic reforms that leftist President Gustavo Petro presented to Congress, policies he says will improve access to health care and protect people...
The committee’s chair, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), called on Mexico to do more. “This means asking Mexico to do more to disrupt the criminal organizations from producing and trafficking fentanyl, although a politicized judiciary and incidents of ...
Peru’s culture ministry has announced that Machu Picchu, an Inca-era stone
OSAC Analysis - Unclassified OSAC analytical reports and other resources
Europe
The 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC) will take place February 17-19 in Munich, Germany at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof (HBH). Almost one year after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the 2023 MSC will convene a series of high-ranking interna...
Consular Messages - Department of State travel advisories and alerts
Africa
Demonstrations are scheduled for the greater Conakry area on February 16, 2023, with a planned protest route starting at Tanerie circle and ending at the People’s Palace.
The government of Kenya has announced the deployment of additional security elements in the six Rift Valley counties to address threats to security, public order, and safety.
The government of South Africa has declared a “State of Disaster” in response to ongoing power shortages. The country’s energy crisis includes sustained load-shedding (controlled rolling blackouts), at varying intervals and is expected to extend be...
East Asia & Pacific
On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, Hong Kong banned products containing cannabidiol, also known as CBD. Possession of products containing CBD is now punishable by up to seven years in prison plus significant fines. The trafficking and manufacturing of...
Events - Upcoming OSAC meetings, webinars, and training courses
Global
All OSAC Somalia Chapter members are invited to attend meeting on Wednesday, 01MAR23 at 1300 local time. The meeting will focus local and regional ATFP issues and include a presentation from HALO Trust.
Please join the OSAC Council for a webinar on "How to Stop a Crisis" led by Michelle Newcome on 01 March 2023 at 11 a.m. ET.
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.
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...
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.
Africa
The OSAC Africa Regional Committee cordially invites all Full-Access Members to attend a two-and-a-half day conference hosted at the Hilton Sandton in Johannesburg, South Africa.
East Asia & Pacific
All OSAC Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) members are invited to attend the "Bouncing Back: Security in 2023 & Beyond" PARC Summit on April 26 - 27, 2023 at Bloomberg in Singapore.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, from 10:00 - 11:00 AM EST, OSAC's Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) invites all OSAC Full-Access members to participate in a VIRTUAL discussion on climate security in Asia with Dr. Scott Moore of the University of P...
OSAC members based in New Zealand are invited to attend OSAC New Zealand's country chapter relaunch on 23 February 2023.
Manila country chapter members are invited to a hybrid meeting on 17FEB2023 from 2-4 pm local (GMT +8).
Europe
Please join the OSAC Germany for a country chapter meeting on March 15, 2023.
Middle East & North Africa
OSAC Bahrain - Manama Chapter will hold a Formal Network Gathering on Thursday, February 16 at 3:00pm local time (7:00am ET).
The OSAC Iraq-Baghdad Chapter will meet in-person on Wednesday, March 15.
The OSAC UAE-Dubai Chapter will meet on Friday, February 24th to discuss crisis management desktop exercise fundamentals.
South & Central Asia
All OSAC Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) members are invited to attend the "Bouncing Back: Security in 2023 & Beyond" PARC Summit on April 26 - 27, 2023 at Bloomberg in Singapore.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, from 10:00 - 11:00 AM EST, OSAC's Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC) invites all OSAC Full-Access members to participate in a VIRTUAL discussion on climate security in Asia with Dr. Scott Moore of the University of P...
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 from March 7-9.
Join the OSAC Energy Sector Committee (ESC) on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 12:00 PM EST for the second session of the ESC's monthly "coffee chat" series. This session will highlight country-level threats in Mexico, how threats translate into spec...
All OSAC Uruguay Chapter members are invited to attend a hybrid meeting on Thursday, February 16 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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