Your Tuesday Briefing

Over 2000 fossil fuel lobbyists were present at COP28 this year - a record number. This occurs as the leader of COP28 talks about how we don’t actually need to reduce the size of the fossil fuel industry, and carbon capture is sufficient (most carbon captured in current programs is piped underground into oil reservoirs to boost their production).

The Kremlin has announced that Putin will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, and then the next day meet with Iran.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan seem to be heading towards a border demarcation deal which could put an end to decades of border violence.

Xi Jinping and Lukashenko met in Beijing yesterday to strengthen coordination, etc etc.

Chinese scientists have developed the Havana Syndrome gun, which can fire microwaves while attached to drones, allowing electronic warfare on mobile platforms to disrupt enemy radars on planes.

After Nepal’s Supreme Court allowed the registration of same-sex marriages earlier in the year, and some government infighting, a couple of the same legal gender have become the first in Nepalese history to be officially married - although one is a trans woman whose legal gender is still nonetheless male. Sunil Babu Pant, a key figure in the LGBTQIA+ movement was present at the registration.

The United States has announced that Ugandan officials and their family members, if they have been found to play a role in the repression of members of marginalized or vulnerable populations (environmental and human rights defenders, journalists, LGBTQIA+ people, etc) will not be allowed visas. This measure was prompted by the recent decision of the Ugandan government to enforce life imprisonment or even the death penalty on people who have gay relations or “promote” them.

Niger is ending two EU security and defence missions in the country - EUCAP Sahel Niger, and EUMPM - and simultaneously welcomed a Russian delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Defense to discuss military matters. Additionally, Burkina Faso and Niger are quitting the G5 anti-jihadist force, which was created in 2014, initially consisting of those two countries, Chad, Mauritania, and Mali (Mali quit the G5 last year), as it is failing to achieve its objectives and France has an outsized role in it.

Nigeria accidentally killed 85 people in a drone strike in Kaduna state - intended to kill insurgents, but instead killing dozens of civilians and injuring many others to gathered to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed.

An attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau has led to President Embalo to dissolve the opposition-dominated parliament, whom he accuses of having relations with the National Guard, which clashed with the Presidential Guard last week.

Argentinian trade unions have stated that they will not accept any rollback of rights or delays in bargaining negotiations, and rejected Milei’s threats to paralyse public works and privatize railways and airlines.

The US, Japan, and South Korea will fully operationalize a missile warning system by the end of December, as the steps towards an Asian NATO continue.

IBM has announced the first ever quantum chip with over 1000 qubits, following the doubling-every-year roadmap.