South Asia
On Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held separate virtual discussions with his counterparts from Australia, the Maldives, Bhutan, and Indonesia. Jaishankar vowed to work closely in the G20 with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, given that the southeast Asian nation currently holds the rotating presidency of the grouping. [The Hindu]
The Sri Lankan cabinet approved Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpilato’s proposal to allow India to develop 61 out of the 99 tanks in the Trincomalee oil tank farm. [Financial Express]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Special envoys from Armenia and Turkey are expected to meet on January 14 in Moscow, with both sides having expressed willingness to normalise ties. The two countries have had no diplomatic relations owing to Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. [Middle East Eye]
The Taliban on Wednesday accused Turkmen soldiers of shooting at its forces on January 3 along the border and provoking tensions. Turkmenistan has not made any comment about the incident so far. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Cambodian Foreign Minister and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) envoy to Myanmar Prak Sokhonn said that Myanmar could be on the verge of a civil war. “The political and security crisis in Myanmar is deepening and has led to (an) economic, health and humanitarian crisis. We feel that all the ingredients for civil war are now on the table,” he said. This comes ahead of a visit to the country by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN and has sought to push the bloc to reintegrate Myanmar’s junta leadership. [Channel News Asia]
Taiwan will set up a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuania in retaliation to economic pressure from China. The funds will be invested in semiconductors, lasers, biotechnologies, and research. [The Straits Times]
Europe
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Europeans must be included in talks concerning the continent’s security. Speaking from the Ukrainian city of Luhansk, Borrell said, “On this dialogue, there are not two actors alone. It’s not just US and Russia. If you want to talk about security in Europe, Europeans have to be part of the table.” Borrell’s comments come after Europe was not invited to the talks between Russia and the United States on Monday in Geneva. [Euronews]
On Wednesday, Poland’s Foreign Ministry announced that one of its diplomats in the Belarusian city of Brest had been expelled. Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anatoly Glaz said that the Polish consul tried to flee Belarus after his right to leave the country was suspended. Glaz added that the Polish citizen was suspected of causing “an outrageous event” that left two Belarusian citizens dead. Tensions between neighbours Poland and Belarus have been high due to the migrant crisis and Warsaw’s support for pro-democracy supporters in Minsk. [The First News]
Speaking in Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the United Kingdom needs a cheaper and more affordable clean energy source. He further said that the government remains determined to help people through this period of rising energy costs. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez has spoken out against the United States for stifling the country’s tourism industry, after it was reported that digital lodging platform Airbnb had paid a fine of $91,000 to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control for accepting guests in Cuba and thereby violating sanctions in place against the Caribbean island nation. [Telesur]
On Wednesday, Argentina’s Health Ministry recorded 95,159 new COVID-19 cases, a nationwide record since the onset of the pandemic; 52 deaths were also reported, taking the total to 117,346. Health authorities have said that they are not currently considering further restrictions due to the relatively low hospitalisation rate. Furthermore, the country recently implemented a vaccine pass system for a number of spaces and events that are said to carry a high epidemiological and sanitary risk. [Buenos Aires Times]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman on Wednesday to discuss strategic ties, “which contribute to the security and prosperity of both nations.” King Abdullah called on Israel to “maintain calm” in the West Bank and Gaza as well as to take steps “to achieve a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.” [Jerusalem Post]
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Ethiopian government has “arbitrarily detained, mistreated, and forcibly disappeared thousands” of ethnic Tigrayans recently deported from Saudi Arabia. HRW demanded that Riyadh “offer protection to Tigrayans at risk” and Addis Ababa “release all arbitrarily detained Tigrayan deportees.” [Human Rights Watch]
North America
Ahead of the one year anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riots, United States (US) Attorney General Merrick Garland affirmed that the Justice Department is committed to holding all perpetrators of the insurrection accountable. Garland said, “the actions we have taken thus far will not be our last,” pushing back against criticism that his investigation of the event has not been aggressive enough. [CNN]
Top officials from the United States (US) and Japan will hold virtual talks this week to address security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Amid rising concerns over China and North Korea’s aggressive military activities, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the officials will discuss measures to promote free Indo-Pacific, the COVID-19 situation in the region, and the climate crisis. [The Voice of America]
Oceania
Australia will donate 60 million COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries before the end of the year. So far, Australia has shared around 1.75 million vaccines, the majority of which are manufactured by AstraZeneca, with Southeast Asian and Pacific island nations. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
On Thursday, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia after earlier being granted a COVID-19 vaccine exemption to participate in the Australian Open tournament. Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed that Djokovic failed to provide proof of why he was medically exempt and that the type of visa he was on does not allow for such exemptions in the first place. After being detained by Melbourne border control authorities, his visa issued by the Victorian government was cancelled. [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Non-governmental organisation Care Malawi reportedly rescued 225 children from tobacco farms in the Ntchisi district in 2021. The organisation said that it has donated 66 bicycles to the local district council, asserting that the provision of tools to farmers disincentivises their need to employ child labour. [Nyasa Times]
United States Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman will step down from his role at the end of this month after just nine months in the seat. He will be replaced by David Satterfield, the outgoing US ambassador to Turkey. Satterfield will be tasked with dealing with two major crises in Ethiopia in Sudan. [The East African]