South Asia
General Khalid Jawed Khan, Pakistan’s Attorney General, has agreed to review the recently introduced internet regulations, the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content. These laws have been criticised by civil rights groups for increasing surveillance and its impact on freedom of speech. [Al Jazeera]
On Wednesday, Indian and Chinese troops once again entered into a physical brawl in Naku La, Sikkim. However, according to the Indian army, the incident was a “minor” one that has already been “resolved”. [BBC]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Oliy Majlis, the lower chamber of Uzbekistan’s parliament, has proposed moving the country’s general elections from December to October. This is part of the effort to change the country’s election law and bring voting up to “international standards”. Some experts have suggested that holding presidential polls in December has “led to delays in post-election political activities, including the adoption of a state program and other reforms”. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
The Thailand Board of Investment’s (BOI) New York office announced on Monday that, as part of the Thai government’s commitment to sustainability, the government is planning on executing “a new 5-year economic strategy that embraces the Bio, Circular and Green (BCG) economy and a comprehensive set of tax incentives” that will support the growth of the country’s Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. [Yahoo News]
North Korean authorities have informed “international organizations” that they plan on starting the mass vaccination drive in the country by late February or early March. The country has also repeatedly questioned which vaccine it should purchase. Apart from its participation in Gavi’s Vaccine Alliance, North Korea has also requested vaccines from “embassies of several European nations”. In this respect, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it may be able to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines to low-income nations “in the first quarter of this year at the earliest”. [Daily NK]
Russia has agreed to supply the Pantsir-S1 air defence systems to Myanmar. In addition to the shipment of the self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun systems, Myanmar will also receive the Orlan-10E unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and radar stations. The Pantsir-S1 is designed to defend ground installations from various attacks, including precision-guided munitions and small UAVs. For almost 20 years now, the two countries “have established a legal and regulatory base for military-technical cooperation”. [Air Force Technology]
Europe
Turkey and Greece began the first round of exploratory talks to settle their maritime differences on Monday, after a five-year hiatus. The next round is expected to take place in late February or early March, before the EU summit, to send a message to Brussels that the two countries are continuing the process of de-escalation. [Ekathimerini]
Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, said that the French government has considered shutting down the Generation Identity group, a far-right organisation that had recently been accused of launching organised campaigns to expel migrants from Europe. [Al Jazeera]
On Tuesday, hundreds of Dutch citizens took to the street to protest against the newly imposed night curfew. According to official sources, over 180 demonstrators have been arrested across 10 cities in the country. [BBC]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Protests have erupted in Brazil over President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has thus far killed over 216,000 people in the country and infected close to 9 million. Bolsonaro has routinely downplayed the severity of the virus and the pandemic, prioritised the economy over public health, spouted wild conspiracy theories about possible treatments, and failed to procure sufficient vaccinations. [Merco Press]
Colombian Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo has died from the coronavirus aged 69. Trujillo was appointed to the post in November 2019 after previously serving as the foreign minister and several other positions at various levels of government over the past few decades, including the Mayor of Cali. He is credited with bolstering Colombia’s ties with the United States and joining an international campaign to push Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of office. [NBC News]
Amidst continued international criticism of the legitimacy of his rule, Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro has invited the European Union, which refused to observe the recently-held parliamentary elections over concerns about how free and fair it was, to monitor the country’s governor’s elections later this year. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Hundreds of Tunisian protestors surrounded the country’s parliament building, mirroring recent protests against police brutality, political corruption, and inequality. There are also tensions within the government after Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi’s recent proposal for a new Cabinet was rejected by President Kais Saied, who described the move as ‘unconstitutional’. [Al Jazeera]
The US military is reportedly considering establishing two more airfields in Saudi Arabia to protect against attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea as well as drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities. [Middle East Online]
Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi urged the Biden administration to reconsider its decision to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran saying that it is “bad operationally” and “bad strategically”. He remarked that Iran is unlikely to back down in its aim of developing nuclear weapons, which he described as an “unacceptable threat” that will “lead to nuclear proliferation across the region”. [Ashraq Al-Awsat]
North America
US President Joe Biden took several steps to address the racial divide and inequality in America on Tuesday, signing multiple executive actions aimed at curbing the government’s use of private prisons, bolstering anti-discrimination enforcement in housing, underscoring a commitment to Native American tribal sovereignty, and condemning discrimination against Asian Americans and Americans of Pacific Island descent that has risen during the Covid-19 pandemic. [Reuters]
The US Senate on Monday confirmed Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the next treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the post in the department’s 232-year history. Anthony Blinken, Biden’s pick for Secretary of State, was confirmed on Tuesday. [Associated Press, CNN]
US President Joe Biden held his first phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The leaders reportedly discussed their mutual willingness to extend the New START for five years, and agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues. Biden also raised concerns regarding the hacking of the US government, the alleged Russian bounties on American troops in Afghanistan, the “poisoning” of Alexei Navalny, and interference in the 2020 US election. [The White House]
Oceania
New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China that has greatly simplified the documentation process for trade between the two countries and made much of the items exported from New Zealand—such as wood, paper, and dairy, and seafood—virtually tariff-free. [RNZ]
Chinese state-owned media outlet Global Times said that China’s newly-signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand should serve as a “wake up call” for Australia and make it “envious”, amid a now months-long and escalating trade and diplomatic dispute between Canberra and Beijing. [Global Times]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Tanzanian President John Magufuli pardoned and released 1,789 Ethiopian migrants who entered the country illegally. This followed a meeting with Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde. Thousands of Ethiopians have crossed over into neighbouring countries to escape violence and insecurity back home, particularly over the last few months due to the Tigray crisis. [Africa News]
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called on Kenya and Somalia, who recently suspended diplomatic ties with one another, to “exercise restraint and engage in dialogue”. This comes after fighting between Somalian troops and Jubaland militia, who Mogadishu alleges were trained in Kenya. [The East African]
Police and army officers have finally agreed to a court order asking them to leave the home of Ugandan opposition candidate Bobi Wine. Wine, however, claimed on Twitter that “the situation [...] is still the same and police have not left”. [Africa Feeds]
World News Monitor: 27 January, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
January 27, 2021
SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES