South Asia
Officials from the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have been engaging in discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook and raising concern over their inaction in curbing the spread of fake news. Officials believe that these big tech companies’ inaction on harmful content forces the Indian government to resort to content takedown orders, which in turn attracts international criticism. [Al Jazeera]
India extended a line of credit worth $500 million for Sri Lanka to help it purchase petroleum amid its ongoing foreign exchange and energy crisis. Furthermore, the government-owned Indian Oil Corporation has also agreed to sell 40,000 tonnes each of petrol and diesel to the Sri Lankan government. [Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and Caucasus
Kazakh lawmakers have approved a bill removing all lifetime privileges of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. One of the reasons for last month’s deadly unrest was the massive accumulation of wealth by Nazarbayev’s family, many of whom were promoted to high-ranking positions in the government and state-owned companies. [RFE/RL]
Chartered flight services between Armenia and Turkey resumed on Wednesday after almost two years after an Armenian flight carrying 64 passengers landed in Ankara. Both sides have expressed the willingness to normalise ties, which broke down in 1991 after Turkey backed Armenia’s arch-enemy Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. [Associated Press]
East and Southeast Asia
Ahead of the Winter Olympics Games, which will open in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping virtually addressed the International Olympic Committee session on Thursday. “The world is turning its eyes to China and China is ready. We will do our best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Games,” he said. [Channel News Asia]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife Ri Sol Ju and his influential aunt and former senior official of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim Kyong Hui, made a rare appearance in state media on Wednesday. The ruling family, who has maintained a low profile during the COVID-19 pandemic, was shown celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday. [The Straits Times]
Europe
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, said he has no plans to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. In December, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser refused to participate in the Games. Earlier, the United States, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games due to human rights violations in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang province against Uighur and other religious minorities. [DW]
Earlier this week, construction commenced for the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnector, a $96.8 million project backed by the European Union (EU) and funded largely by the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Fund. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said the project is expected to be completed by October 2023, after which Serbia will gain access to 1.8 billion cubic metres per year of gas from alternate sources such as Azerbaijan. Currently, Russia is Serbia’s primary gas supplier. [bneIntellinews]
The British Royal Navy has rejected the UK government’s plan to deploy its forces in the English Channel to act against illegal migrant crossings from France. The Ministry of Defence said that while the Royal Navy would not use “push back tactics,” the military chief will continue to have the power to direct the Border Force to use the naval forces when required. [Reuters]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Nicaragua has banned four private universities, including the famous Polytechnical University of Nicaragua that was the centre of the 2018 anti-government protests. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has a history of banning organisations and institutions critical of his regime. [Associated Press]
According to a poll by PoderData, the race for this year’s presidential election tightened after former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s lead over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro narrowed to 11% from 14%. As per the poll, 41% of voters would vote for Lula compared to 30% for Bolsonaro if the elections were held on Wednesday. [Reuters]
Middle East and North Africa
Israel is, for the first time, publicly participating with Saudi Arabia and Oman in a United States-led naval exercise in the Red Sea region. The drills, known as the International Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMX 22), comes amid the escalation of tensions between Yemen’s Houthis and Gulf states. [Reuters]
The United States (US) Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan on Wednesday that the US is sending fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates. The announcement was made as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have recently launched ballistic missiles towards Abu Dhabi and Dubai. [Reuters]
North America
On Wednesday, the United States (US) Military announced that soldiers that refuse to comply with the Army’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate will be discharged “immediately” citing “unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardise readiness.” In a statement, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth confirmed that soldiers discharged over this will not be eligible for involuntary separation pay. 96% of active US Military members have been fully vaccinated with 5,900 receiving temporary exemptions; 3,350 soldiers have refused to take the vaccine. [NPR]
Members of the Conservative Party of Canada on Wednesday ousted Ontario Member of Parliament (MP) Erin O’Toole as party leader and elected Manitoba MP Candice Bergen as interim leader. 73 Conservative Party members voted to replace O’Toole, who had taken charge of the party 18 months ago. In his resignation speech, O’Toole warned his successor that the country is divided, referring to the ongoing protests in front of the Parliament in Ottawa. [CBC]
Oceania
On Thursday, Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, proposed changes to the religious discrimination bill to protect LGBTQI+ students from being expelled due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. The change comes after Brisbane school Citipointe Christian College proposed to issue contracts, requiring students to agree to specific gender roles and denounce homosexuality or face expulsion. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
On Thursday, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced the five-stage reopening of the country’s international borders. The plan includes - the return of New Zealanders from Australia without hotel quarantine from February 27, the return of New Zealanders from other parts of the world under certain conditions such as self-isolation and vaccination from March 13, entry of non-citizens with visas such as international students and skilled workers without mandatory hotel quarantine from April and the entry of tourists from October. [The Age]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Tropical cyclone Batsirai passed within 130 kilometres of Mauritius on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and winds peaking at 151 kilometres per hour in the capital, Port Louis. At least 7,500 homes were left without power. [Africa News]
Kenya’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Dr Martin Kimani, explained that Nairobi abstained from a vote on whether to debate Russia’s actions against Ukraine because the tensions reflected a potential “cold war” between global powers. Gabon and India also abstained from the vote. [The East African]