South Asia
After months of protests by farmers from Punjab and Haryana, the Indian government has agreed to suspend the controversial farm laws for a year and a half until a compromise is reached with the demonstrators. However, the farmers have not accepted the government’s proposal and continue to call for a complete repeal of the laws. [Live Mint]
The Indian Ministry of Defence announced its decision to conduct complex military drills off the shores of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands next week. The drill aims to improve coordination between the Naval Force, the Armed Force, and the Air Force. [Hindustan Times]
As the chances of receiving the COVID-19 vaccines from its rival neighbour India grow dimmer, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan will be receiving half a million doses of the China-produces Sinopharm vaccine free of cost. [NDTV]
Two fires broke out at the Serum Institute in Pune, India, resulting in the death of five. This pharmaceutical giant is responsible for the production of the Oxford-Astrazenca COVID-19 vaccine. However, according to the institute’s Chief Executive Officer, Adar Poonawalla, the fire did not affect the COVID-19 vaccines, as the organisation runs “multiple production buildings” in preparation for “such contingencies”. [Indian Express]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Two Tajik lawyers, Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Makhkamov are facing jail sentences after attempting to defend Tajik opposition figures in court. Despite the lack of evidence, they were convicted of “fraud, inciting national, racial, local, or religious hostility, and extremism”. Yorov faces 23 years in prison while Makhkamov faces 21 years. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Japan has denied reports claiming that the already delayed Tokyo Olympics have been cancelled this year. It was earlier reported that the government had “privately” called off the event due to concerns related to the coronavirus. However, Japanese officials have insisted that the games will go ahead as scheduled on July 23 this year, after they had to be postponed in March last year. [Strait Times]
Vietnamese police are prosecuting two Cambodian men for “organising for others to illegally enter Vietnam”. The smugglers allegedly receivde $350 for every person they smuggled into Vietnam. In 2020, about 31,000 people were caught entering Vietnam illegally. Out of those caught, 25,000 were from China, and the remaining were from Cambodia and Laos. [Khmer Times]
Europe
Tensions between the European Union and the United Kingdom continue, as the British government has refused to grant EU representatives “full diplomatic status.” According to the BBC, this status was denied to European officials as the bloc was not a “nation-state.” [Reuters]
Russian authorities have begun detaining several opposition activists, including close allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, in a bid to quell protests and unrest scheduled for this weekend, sparked by Navalny’s arrest. Social media companies are also being asked to silence calls for people to join the unsanctioned rallies on Saturday in support of Navalny. [CBS News]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Bermudan prosecutors have charged former Premier Ewart Brown, who was in office from 2006 to 2010, on 13 charges of corruption for his participation in a multimillion-dollar scheme that dates back at least ten years. Brown is also accused of illegally receiving over $350,000 in political donations. The ex-Premier, however, said that these were “specious charges” and part of a “ten-year, ten-million-dollar witch-hunt”. [Associated Press]
Representatives from the European Union (EU) and Cuba held a virtual Joint Council meeting that was attended by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla. The two sides pledged to bolster ties thrugh the Agreement for Political Dialogue and Cooperation (ADPC) that was signed in 2016. The EU has criticised the US, and in particular the Trump administration, for levying sanctions against the Cuban government, with Washington imposing 200 sanctions against Cuba in 2020 alone. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Tunisian police have arrested at least 1,000 people over the last six days due to protests against the country’s plunge into an economic crisis. Bassem Trifi of the Tunisian League for Human Rights has said that the arrests are “arbitrary” and included “people inside their homes...without having taken part in the demonstrations”. [Al Jazeera]
Official statistics show that Libya’s oil and gas revenues dropped by a whopping 92% in 2020, as export operations were suspended due to the blockade. The Central Bank of Libya announced that the revenue from the sector in 2020 was 2.9 billion Libyan dinars, compared to 31.4 billion Libyan dinars in 2019. [Middle East Monitor]
North America
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Thursday that the Biden administration plans to seek a five-year extension to the New START arms control treaty with Russia. The Kremlin responded on Friday, saying it welcomed Biden’s proposal to extend the agreement, adding that it was waiting to hear more details on a potential deal from Washington. [DW]
The US House and Senate voted on Thursday to provide a legal waiver to Biden’s pick for secretary of defence, retired Army General Lloyd Austin, easing the way to his confirmation. US law reserves the position of secretary of defence for civilians or persons who have been retired from the military for at least seven years. Austin retired in 2016, fewer than five years ago, triggering the need for a congressional waiver to serve in that post. [Al Jazeera]
Oceania
An operation to clear up over 1 million litres of abandoned toxic way was initiated in New Zealand’s Northland region. The cost of the clean-up is expected to be at least $3 million and is set to take at least two years. The chemicals were “illegally stockpiled” by several companies and never distilled. [Newshub]
A New Zealand-based Muslim organisation called the Khadija Leadership Network added its name to a global coalition of similar organisations who have launched protests against the French government's perpetuation of Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslim communities. At this stage, the coalition includes organisations from 13 countries. [Newsroom]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Both the European Union and the United States have called for an investigation into election violence in Uganda, after President Yoweri Museveni secured a sixth term under highly controversial circumstances, violently subduing the opposition, political activists, journalists, and civilians. In fact, US Ambassador met with opposition candidate Bobi Wine this week, who has called for the US to impose sanctions on the Museveni administration and has said that the election was ‘fraudulent’. [Africa News]
Amid rising popular discontent against French military presence in the country, Malian security forces fired tear gas at protesters after the capital city earlier banned protests against the French military. France has roughly 5,100 troops in the country as part of a counter-terrorism operation against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. However, given that France is a former colonial power in the country, the presence of French military personnel has continually generated unease. [Reuters]
World News Monitor: 22 January, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
January 23, 2021
US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2011 when Biden was then-President Barack Obama's vice president. SOURCE: REUTERS