South Asia
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s governance was met with yet another challenge, as hundreds of pro-monarchy protestors gathered in Kathmandu and clashed with riot police. In 2008, the monarchy in Nepal was abolished and the country was declared a republic, with the President as the head of the state. [Al Jazeera]
As the talks between the farmers and the central government continue to be unsuccessful in ending the ongoing protests, the Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court expressed his disappointment with the Modi government’s handling of the situation. He lamented the administration’s failure to successfully engage in a consultative process with state authorities prior to the introduction of such a law. The court warned the Attorney General that if the government does not halt the implementation of the legislation till the impasse is ended, the Supreme Court would be forced to do so themselves. [Reuters]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting in Moscow with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, nearly two months after a Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The meeting was aimed to create a trilateral working group to oversee the “unblocking of all economic and transport links” in the region. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar on the first stop of his five-day trip to Southeast Asia. He met President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and promised to send vaccines to the country. The leaders also discussed border security, regional cooperation, China’s increased role in fostering peace in the country, and the possible repatriation of the Rohingya Muslims. [Hindustan Times]
As infections surge and lockdown measures tighten, Malaysia has doubled its previous order for the coronavirus vaccine. The country had initially committed to buying 12.8 million doses but has now placed an additional order of 12.2 million doses for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. [Nikkei Asia]
Europe
Turkey and Greece will resume talks to reduce bilateral tensions on January 25 in Istanbul, the countries’ officials announced on Monday. Engagement between the neighbours was suspended last year after they became embroiled in a maritime dispute regarding offshore exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean. [Associated Press]
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the United Kingdom was at a “perilous moment” in the ongoing pandemic, specifically in light of the various obstacles faced by the country’s National Health Service, which has been facing a shortage of ventilators and oxygen supply. This announcement comes as the country has approved the Pfizer, Moderna, and Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines. According to Johnson, around 40% of the population older than 80 years has already been vaccinated. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Dominican Republic passed a bill that outlaws child marriage in the country. Government data reveals that more than one-third of married women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married or in some form of union before they turned 18. Despite the passage of the law, the United Nations (UN) worries that the practice will increase as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many families in dire poverty. [NBC News]
Newly-elected Bolivian President Luis Arce has re-established diplomatic ties with Spain. Spanish diplomats were ordered to leave the country by the interim Jeanine Áñez administration in 2019 over an alleged attempt to offer asylum to an aide of the ousted Bolivian leader Evo Morales, whom Áñez replaced via a coup. At the time, Mexican Ambassador Maria Mercado was also expelled. Since entering office, Arce has restored ties with a number of countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and Nicaragua. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Monday, Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, announced a constitutional change that includes the appointment of a crown prince for the first time and new rules on how parliament will work. Additionally, new legislation will also be introduced to guarantee more rights and freedoms for citizens. [Al Jazeera]
North America
The Trump administration on Monday designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism for “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists”. The move comes just a few days before President-elect Biden’s inauguration and will complicate his vision to revive former President Barack Obama’s efforts to boost relations between the Cold War foes. [Al Jazeera]
US President-elect Joe Biden has picked career diplomat William Burns to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A former ambassador to Russia and Jordan, Burns led the US delegation in secret talks with Iran and has a long history of working with Biden, since his days on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. [The New York Times]
Oceania
Heavy rain has helped Australia produce over 30 million tons of wheat, its second-largest crop yield ever. This has allowed it to increase wheat exports to Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, which has allowed Australia to reduce some of the harsh impacts of trade restrictions by China. [Al Jazeera]
Sub-Saharan Africa
French oil company Total has withdrawn some of its staff from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique following Islamist attacks near its site. It is thought that the project will result in close to $100 billion in investment over the next two decades. Hence, while the project itself has not been cancelled, citizens are worried about losing what could be a crucial source of revenue and jobs for the impoverished country. [The Africa Report]
After recently imposing a nationwide lockdown due to a surge in coronavirus cases, the Zimbabwean government has now banned the transportation of bodies from one city to another, so that burials take place in the same city or town where the death occurs. Zimbabwe has recorded close to 21,500 cases and over 500 deaths from COVID-19. [New Zimbabwe]
World News Monitor: 12 January, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
January 13, 2021
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi SOURCE: AP via SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST