South Asia
An anti-corruption body in Pakistan ordered the arrest of Khwaja Asif, former foreign minister and a key member of the opposition in Pakistan. This comes as the leaders of the Pakistani opposition parties have collaborated and organised nationwide protests calling for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s resignation. [Al Jazeera]
On Wednesday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, discussing the unrest along the India-China border, said that while the two sides had held several conversations about the issue, there has been “no success” so far. He also said that India was staying prepared for any further attacks by the Chinese side, specifically on the “strategic heights on the Kailash range.” [Hindustan Times]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Turkmenistan government is prioritising the building of a highway that will link it to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The project involves the construction of the road as well as rail links. Many parts of the route near Turkey have already been constructed. [World Highways]
East and Southeast Asia
On Monday, a Chinese court jailed a citizen journalist for four years for publishing reports about Beijing’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Zhang Zhan is a former lawyer who travelled to Wuhan to uncover the story of the outbreak and was accused of “causing trouble” by the court. [The Hindu]
Thousands of displaced villagers are returning to temporary camps amidst a lull in fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between the Arkan Army and state forces. The villagers are primarily Buddhist Rakhines who support the Arkan Army, which has been fighting for the autonomy of the province. [NE NOW]
Europe
On Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) passed its decision finding the Netherlands’ failure to recognise a child as stateless—and thereby grant him international protection—incompatible with the international regulation of stateless children. This is the first such decision passed by the UNHRC on the “rights of children to acquire nationality”. [Guardian]
Bosnia cancelled the relocation of thousands of migrants from the fire-damaged Lipa camp to army barracks in Bradina. Almost a thousand migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East were stranded in snowy weather after the camp was demolished by a fire last week. [Al Jazeera]
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina’s Senate has passed a bill that will legalise abortion in the country, with 38 votes in favour, 29 votes against, and one abstention. Prior to this bill being passed, abortions were only allowed where rape was involved or the mother’s health was at risk. [BBC]
The US Treasury Department has sanctioned a Venezuelan judge and prosecutor who were responsible for the conviction of the ‘Citgo 6’, six American oil executives who have been held in the country for over three years on charges of corruption. After being lured to Caracas under the false pretences of doing business with the state-owned oil company PDVSA, the six men were then arrested on corruption charges. They were sentenced to prison last month. [Associated Press]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has indicated that he will look to re-add Cuba to Washington’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST). The Obama administration previously removed this designation in 2015. After Sudan was recently removed from the SST list, the only countries who remain blacklisted are Syria, Iran, and North Korea. [Telesur]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Iran’s cabinet has allocated $150,000 for each of the families of the 176 victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was shot down by Iranian forces near Tehran in January. [CBC]
An explosion at the airport in Yemen’s temporary capital, Aden, has killed at least 26 people and injured more than 60. This follows the swearing-in of a new unity government last week, which was formed with the support of Saudi Arabia. [The Guardian]
North America
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has once again impeded the passage of a bill to increase the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. He said he would not get behind the bill until the bill removes certain legal protections for big tech companies and approves a commission to look into voter fraud during the 2020 election. [USA Today]
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne has said that Canada will soon “require air travellers to test negative for COVID-19 before boarding international flights bound for Canada”. [Twitter]
Oceania
A former Australian MP, Hong Lim, is on trial in Cambodia alongside 14 other people for ‘incitement’ or ‘instigating incitement’. Lim was an MP in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for 22 years and has criticised Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on several occasions. However, Lim has refused to go back to his country of birth, where he faces a possible prison sentence. [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Last week, Zambian police killed two supporters of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, sparking claims of authoritarianism under President Edgar Lungu. This week, two police officers have been dismissed for their role in the incident. [Africa Feeds]
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who secured re-election during last month’s election, was sworn into office this week in the capital city, Ouagadougou. He won 57.74% of the vote count, beating his closest challenger Eddite Komboigo. [Daily Monitor]
The Democratic Opposition Coalition (COD-2020) released a statement calling for electoral authorities in the Central African Republic to conduct a new election, arguing that the results are not valid due to the fact that one-third of voters were unable to cast their ballots. [Africa News]
World News Monitor: 31 December, 2020
A quick look at events from around the globe.
December 31, 2020
Khwaja Asia, former foreign minister of Pakistan and key opposition leader, was recently arrested by an anti-corruption body in Pakistan. SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS