South Asia
The Governor of the Sri Lankan Central Bank said the country has approached India for a $1 billion line of credit for imports and an additional $500 million for petrol imports. The request was made in light of Sri Lanka’s record-high inflation rates and foreign exchange crisis. [Economic Times]
India recorded 13,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a 44% increase from the previous day. Several states have responded by imposing restrictions and prohibiting gatherings. [Times of India, Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Azerbaijan has released five Armenian prisoners of war, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said on Wednesday. The release was mediated by the Hungarian government. [Asbarez]
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said on Wednesday that Moscow intends to create a commission on the delimitation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in order to prevent incursions and fighting. [Azer News]
East and Southeast Asia
China has warned Taiwan of drastic consequences if it makes any move towards formal independence. Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday if separatist forces seeking independence “provoke, exert force or even break through any red line, we will have to take drastic measures.” [Reuters]
Germany has said that its foreign affairs and sports ministers will not attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, and that it is considering an overall diplomatic boycott of the games. Recently, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Lithuania, and Japan announced their decision to boycott the Olympics due to China’s poor human rights record. [Reuters]
Europe
On Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) asked Russia to suspend its decision to revoke the legal status of human rights group Memorial International and its sister organisation, the Memorial Human Rights Centre. The shutdown comes amid Russia’s broader crackdown on rights groups, independent media, civil society, campaign groups, and opposition supporters. [Euronews]
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that an “overwhelming majority” of individuals in intensive care units have not received COVID-19 booster shots. The United has seen a significant surge in cases, with 129,471 new cases on Tuesday alone. [Reuters]
Earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjártó, looking to reset relations after signing a gas transportation deal that sees Ukraine increasing imports of Hungarian gas. Tensions between Kyiv and Budapest escalated a few months ago after Hungary signed a long-term gas deal with Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom, snubbing Ukraine. [Kyiv Post]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Wednesday, Uruguayan Health Minister Daniel Salinas revealed that the Omicron variant has been detected in the country and thus said that the “most important measure” at this stage is ensuring that citizens receive a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines. [MercoPress]
Mexico’s Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks on Wednesday approved Cuba's Abdala COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Mexican health authorities have thus far granted emergency use approval for the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Cansino, Sputnik V, Sinovac, Covaxin, Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm vaccines. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Turkey registered 36,000 COVID-19 cases and 142 related deaths on Wednesday, the highest number of daily infections since April 29, according to the Health Ministry. COVID-19 cases have been rising due to the spread of the Omicron variant; daily deaths have remained close to 200. [Reuters]
At least 38 people died after a gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan province on Wednesday. This was the second such incident at the same mine this year. [TRT World]
North America
United States (US) President Joe Biden will speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today about several points of contention ahead of a high-level meeting between the two countries next month. Washington and Moscow are set to hold talks in Geneva, Switzerland on January 10 regarding the conflict in Ukraine. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. [Huffington Post]
On Wednesday, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court whether it is obliged to continue the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which has forced tens of thousands of migrants to remain in Mexico for weeks, and sometimes months, until their asylum pleas are resolved and a court date is granted. [Voice of America]
Oceania
China referred to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s move to join TikTok on Christmas Eve as a “double standard,” given that Morrison had previously warned against using Chinese social media app due to security reasons. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “I need to reiterate that the Australian side should follow the principle of openness and market rules, stop abusing the concept of ‘national security’ or applying double standard to serve its interests, and provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.” [The New Daily]
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt promised to deliver around five million booster doses across the country over the next two weeks. This follows the vaccine advisory body’s decision to reduce the gap between the second and third doses to four months. [News.com.au]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Gambia’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by opposition leader Ousainou Darboe, who lost this month’s presidential election against Adama Barrow, and two other candidates. Barrow secured a second term in office with 53% of the votes. He has led the country since 2016, when Yahya Jammeh, who was in office for 22 years, was ousted from power. [Africa News]
South African health authorities announced this week that they would be resuming COVID-19 contact tracing, after saying last Thursday that they would be suspending such efforts except in areas such as prisons or schools because they believe that the majority of the population has already been exposed to the virus. Authorities reinstated the measures after intense public backlash. Earlier regulations on quarantining and self-isolation following exposure have also been put back into place. As per last week’s new regulations, which have now been scrapped, contact cases would have only had to take a test if they developed symptoms. If they tested positive, they would have had to isolate for ten days and then resume normal activities without another test. [News24]