Situation Reports

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and China's President Xi Jinping signed 37 bilateral cooperation agreements in areas ranging from trade and investments, finance, technology and mining to communications, sustainable development, tourism, sports, health and culture, Reuters reported on Nov. 20.

Voting concluded for the second and final phase of the mineral-rich Jharkhand legislative assembly elections, as well as for the single-phase assembly elections in Maharashtra, India’s western industrial hub, India Today reported on Nov. 20.

Leaders of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party for the People released a statement on Nov. 20 pledging to consider raising the minimum annual threshold for income tax to 1.03 million yen ($6,600), cutting gasoline taxes, and "increas[ing] the take-home pay" in an upcoming economic support package.

China reclaimed its status as the second-largest bilateral donor to Pacific island countries (after Australia) following a pandemic lull, supplanting the United States with a surge in official development financing, loans and grants, according to findings published in a Lowy Institute report on Nov. 19.

Austria is set to lift its veto on Romania's and Bulgaria's full accession to Europe's free-passport Schengen area during a meeting of interior ministers from Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary in Budapest on Nov. 22, the Financial Times reported on Nov. 19, citing sources close to negotiations.

The European Council has allocated an additional 20 million euros to support the Rwanda Defence Force's mission in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, aimed at countering an Islamic State-linked insurgency in the region, Radio French International reported Nov. 19.

Spokesperson for the opposition National Democratic Congress Sammy Gyamfi accused outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo of tasking Brig. Gen. Michael Opoku with rigging the country's upcoming Dec. 7 general election in favor of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Modern Ghana reported on Nov. 19.

A U.S.-Israel panel will discuss civilian harm during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in early December, AP reported on Nov. 19.

Vladimir Putin is open to peace talks in Ukraine mediated by Donald Trump, provided they exclude significant Russian territorial concessions and require Kyiv to abandon NATO aspirations in favor of neutrality, Reuters reported Nov. 20, citing five sources close to the Kremlin.

China's Ministry of National Defense announced on Nov. 19 that it will send troops from the Western Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army to participate in "Warrior-VIII" joint counterterrorism exercises alongside Pakistani troops in Pakistan.