South Asia
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that India is “seriously” considering a bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. He added that New Delhi would discuss the plan to organise the “prestigious event” with the Indian Olympic Association next year and discuss the infrastructural preparations needed. [Live Mint]
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of 13 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom released a joint statement condemning the Taliban’s “reckless and dangerous” decision to bar women from non-governmental organisations. The release stressed that humanitarian aid efforts would be severely hampered by the decision, given that women form a crucial part of the organisation’s workforce. [US State Department]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Aidos Sarym, Deputy of the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament, announced on Wednesday that there will be a joint meeting of the chambers on the issue of repealing the law on ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev, next year. The law in question affords Nazarbayev an array of powers and rights, including immunity, inviolability, the right to address the people, and speak before parliament and at government meetings. Earlier this year, current Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev approved amendments to law, effectively stripping his predecessor of key policy-making privileges. [TASS, TRTWorld]
The official representative of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, Aibek Smadiyarov, said on Wednesday that Russia’s apologies regarding Russian ambassador Alexei Borodavkin’s controversial statements have been accepted. In a December interview, Borodavkin said, “Unfortunately, I can state and express concern about nationalist tendencies. Radical, I emphasise, nationalistic tendencies in Kazakhstan are seen more and more clearly.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained that the statements neither reflect the position of the Russian department nor the views of the Russian ambassador, as “he never said what some of the media in Kazakhstan are trying to accuse him of.” [Fergana]
East and Southeast Asia
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday welcomed Japan’s upgraded national security strategy for 2023 during her meeting with Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party upper house secretary-general, Hiroshige Seko. Tsai remarked that with the expanded security commitment, Japan had “shown its determination to maintain regional peace and stability.” [Kyodo News]
Japanese lawmaker Seko Hiroshige on Wednesday said the late Japanese President Shinzo Abe’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific must be upheld and like-minded countries, such as India and Australia, “must do their best to jointly maintain peace and stability in the region.” [Taiwan News]
Europe
During a meeting with French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked him for France’s military assistance, especially for providing the Crotale anti-aircraft missile systems and Caesar self-propelled artillery systems. He also “expressed hope that France would take the lead in one or more elements” of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. Lecornu, meanwhile, assured Zelensky of continued “effective defense support” for Ukraine next year. [President of Ukraine]
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed concern about reports of lawmakers’ drunken and sexually inappropriate behaviour during their foreign trips. However, he has not supported calls for reform in the All-Party Parliamentary Groups that organise these trips. [Politico]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Colombia and Ecuador on Wednesday signed an agreement to tackle criminal activities on their border, including against drug trafficking and organised crime. The two countries share a 586 kilometres-long border, which has recently seen a surge in violent crime. [Reuters]
Bolivian police on Wednesday arrested the country’s main opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho for his involvement in leading an alleged coup in 2019 that led to the resignation of former left-wing President Evo Morales. Opposition leaders have rejected the coup label and called Camacho’s arrest a “violent and illegal kidnapping.” [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The defence ministers of Turkey, Syria, and Russia along with the heads of their respective intelligence agencies met in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Syria. A statement released by the Turkish Defence Ministry said, “the Syrian crisis, the refugee problem and joint efforts to combat all terrorist organisations in Syria were discussed.” The meeting was also the first between the Turkish and Syrian defence ministers since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. [Turkish Defence Ministry]
On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said his country may attack Iranian nuclear sites in the near future. “In two or three years, you may be traversing the skies eastward and taking part in an attack on nuclear sites in Iran,” Gantz told graduating air force cadets. Israel views Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat and has previously threatened to target Iranian nuclear facilities. [Arab News]
North America
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the United States and the European Union expressed concern about the “continued tense situation” in northern Kosovo, calling on Kosovo and Serbia to “exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats, or intimidation.” “We are working with [Serbian] President [Aleksandar] Vučić and [Kosovo’s] Prime Minister [Albin] Kurti to find a political solution in order to defuse the tensions and agree on the way forward in the interest of stability, safety and well-being of all local communities,” it affirmed. [US Department of State]
On the fourth anniversary of the “wrongful detention” of former United States (US) marine Paul Whelan in Russia on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Whelan’s detention “unacceptable,” adding that Washington will “continue to press for his immediate release at every opportunity.” Similarly, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan affirmed, “We will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cease until all Americans can celebrate Paul’s return.” Whelan was arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a secret trial in Russia on espionage charges. [US Department of State, The White House]
Oceania
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that his government was making “no change” in its travel advice for travellers coming from China “at this point in time” but noted that it would continue “to monitor the situation.” “We will take the appropriate advice from the health experts,” Albanese said. [South China Morning Post]
The Australian Attorney-General’s Department announced on Thursday that it has approved the extradition request of former United States (US) Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan to the US, where he faces charges of money laundering and violating arms control laws. [Reuters]
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Sudan on Wednesday announced it would deploy 750 soldiers to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Congolese troops are fighting the M-23 rebels. [Africanews]
A court in Ivory Coast on Wednesday sentenced 11 people to life in prison for orchestrating a terrorist attack in 2016 that killed 19 people. The attack was launched by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a resort near Abidjan and led to the deaths of 11 Ivorians, four French citizens, and four other foreign nationals. [Associated Press]