Overseas Security Advisory Council Daily News 3/8/2023

 

March 08, 2023

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

Africa

Ghana's Deputy Defence Minister Kofi Amankwa-Manu has apologised for military excesses after soldiers were deployed early Tuesday in Ashaiman, a suburb of capital Accra.

Mali’s Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga spoke to Al Jazeera about the ongoing fight against rebels in Mali, as well as Bamako’s relations with France, Russia and the African Union.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, yesterday, adjourned till today for ruling in an application by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking to vary the court’s order for inspection of materials used for the conduct of the February 25 ...

Ugandan police have declared the Entebbe Expressway safe after a bomb scare earlier Wednesday morning. “Update! Entebbe Expressway now open for public use," the police tweeted after the bomb squad was sent to investigate an object suspected to be an...

East Asia & Pacific

A Philippine official says the country's coast guard has launched a strategy of publicizing aggressive actions by China in the disputed South China Sea, which has countered Chinese propaganda and sparked international condemnations that have put

Residents of Taiwan's outlying islands near the Chinese coast have been without the internet for the past month

A woman checks the surrounding of her shophouse, as the floodwaters recede, in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia, March 5.

Europe

French train and metro drivers, refinery workers, garbage collectors and others are holding further strikes against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64

The Georgian interior ministry said people on both sides had been injured in what it called an extremely violent protest.

Greece faces a fresh round of mass strikes and nationwide protests on Wednesday as anger mounts over the country's worst rail tragedy that killed 57 people last week.But public anger remains widespread in Greece over decades of government mismanagem...

While millions of Turks are also in need of shelter and supplies, some asylum seekers say they were denied basic help after the deadly disaster.

Middle East & North Africa

The Israeli army raided a home in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, triggering a battle that killed at least six Palestinians and wounded more than two dozen others, Palestinian health officials said.

Lebanon's commercial banks do not have enough liquidity to pay back depositors, the secretary general of the country's banking association said on Wednesday in a letter that laid out the banks' positions.

An explosion in eastern Syria on Wednesday killed at least three people, according to reports. A war monitoring group said the blast was likely caused by a drone strike that targeted Iran-backed militiamen.

South & Central Asia

Firefighters are carrying victims out of the wreckage on stretchers. Officials are investigating the cause of the blast. Two other recent explosions were blamed on gas leaks.

Revelers in Kathmandu filled the Bashantapur Darab Square with color, smearing each other with paint and dancing in the streets.Ancient Indian traditions forbid widows from participating in celebrations as their presence is considered a bad omen.

NO rallies, gatherings permitted in Punjab Section 144 imposed in District Lahore People of Lahore reporting road closures, barricades across the city and arrests of @PTIofficial workers pic.twitter.com/ghM3ia3gZY It may be noted that the PTI was sc...

The Export-Import Bank of China has told Sri Lanka it will try to finalise in the months ahead how it treats debt owed by the crisis-hit nation, according to a letter seen by Reuters which also reiterated a moratorium for debt due in 2022 and 2023.

Western Hemisphere

Argentina’s president says he will send hundreds more federal security forces to the central city of Rosario where drug violence has drawn international attention due to a recent threat against soccer

Barreras, an ally of leftist President Gustavo Petro, made his request as the government faces a scandal which alleges that the president's brother and eldest son received money from accused drug traffickers looking to benefit from the total peace p...

Two surviving Americans who were were kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros, Mexico last week are being treated at US hospitals. Their two friends who were also abducted died during the incident. One man,

OSAC Analysis Unclassified OSAC analytical reports and other resources

Africa

Congo, Democratic Republic of the / Rwanda - Armed Group's Advances in Eastern DRC Threaten Critical Supply Routes
Published: March 03, 2023

The March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwanda-backed, UN- and U.S.-sanctioned armed group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) gained significant territorial control in the region in the past several months and controls key supply routes to Gom...

Middle East & North Africa

Published: March 01, 2023

As violence in the West Bank continues, OSAC will update the private sector as needed. Since our last report on Israel, tensions have worsened between Israelis and Palestinians. OSAC continues to support our previous assessment that as the security ...

South & Central Asia

Published: March 07, 2023

OSAC reissued this Country Security Report (CSR) on March 7, 2023 as part of a periodic update.

Consular Messages - Department of State travel advisories and alerts

Europe

Public sector employees have announced a 24-hour Panhellenic General Strike for March 8, 2023. In Athens, demonstrations related to the strike are scheduled at the Propylaia (Central Athens) at 12:30 p.m., in Klafthmonos Square at 12:30 p.m. and Syn...

Western Hemisphere

Miners in Antioquia and Cordoba Departments have been on strike with more than 3,500 miners blocking the road from Medellin to Monteria (Route 25), along with other roads, causing food, fuel, and medicine shortages. Additionally, protesters vandaliz...

Multiple social organizations have called for demonstrations March 8 in Quito. In the past, some protests in Quito have turned violent. The demonstrations are scheduled to take place in several locations, including: Arbolito Park, Central University...

Events - Upcoming OSAC meetings, webinars, and training courses

Global

All Full Access OSAC members are invited to participate in OSAC's 1.5 day intensive "Topical Forum" on mitigating and managing the threats most impacting U.S. organizations operating around the world today May 9-10, 2023 at the US Department of Stat...

All OSAC Members are invited to attend the Malabo Chapter Reception on 14 March at the Magno Suites Hotel and Restaurant.

The OSAC Academia Sector Committee cordially invites all ASC members to attend the Spring Health, Safety, & Security Seminar hosted by Vanderbilt University, April 13 - 14.

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.

The OSAC Energy Sector Committee (ESC) invites all ESC members to attend 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...

Event Start Date: March 29, 2023

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.

Event Start Date: March 09, 2023

OSAC Perth Country Chapter members are invited to an in-person meeting on 09 March from 0900-1130 am local.

Event Start Date: March 28, 2023

OSAC Phnom Penh country chapter members are invited to attend a chapter meeting at the US Embassy on 28 March from 3:30 - 5:30p local.

Event Start Date: March 29, 2023

OSAC Tokyo country chapter members are invited to a meeting at the Disney Ambassador Hotel from 3-5p local on 29 March.

Event Start Date: March 29, 2023

Join the Japan Country Chapter for our first in-person OSAC meeting in several years. During this kickoff meeting we will introduce the Japan Country Chapter Team and formulate OSAC priorities for the rest of 2023.

Event Start Date: March 15, 2023

OSAC Port Moresby Country Chapter members are invited to an in-person (hybrid TBC) meeting on 15 March 2023 from 1000 - 1200 local at the US Embassy Compound.

Europe

Event Start Date: March 15, 2023

Please join the OSAC Germany for a country chapter meeting on March 15, 2023.

Middle East & North Africa

The OSAC Middle East and North Africa Regional Committee (MENA RC) will hold its 9th annual conference May 31 - June 1 on the campus of NYU Abu Dhabi.

Event Start Date: March 16, 2023

OSAC Bahrain - Manama Chapter will hold a Formal Network Gathering on Thursday, March 16 at 1:00pm local time (7:00am ET).

Event Start Date: March 16, 2023

The OSAC Egypt - Cairo Chapter will meet at 1:00pm on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

Event Start Date: March 22, 2023

The OSAC Iraq-Baghdad Chapter will meet in-person on Wednesday, March 22.

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.

Western Hemisphere

Event Start Date: March 16, 2023

OSAC Recife country chapter members are invited to a meeting + Happy Hour at the U.S. Consulate from 4:30-7:30 PM local on March 16, 2023.

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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