Week 135 (03-09/01/2022)

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India recorded a sharp rise of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest since September. | Picture: Reuters

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Although the surge of Omicron cases in Israel can push the country into herd immunity, top health adviser Nachmann Ash said that he would prefer the immunity to be reached through vaccination (03/01). It is predicted that up to four million people can get infected by the end of January. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said people over 60 years old and medical staff could receive a fourth COVID-19 vaccine. He admitted that his policy was aimed at preventing a spike in serious illness without sacrificing the economy, and not at preventing a rise in infections.

Noureddine Bhiri, a former Tunisia’s justice minister, has been detained by the police in a surprising move (04/01). He was arrested after becoming a suspect of “terrorism” and is now on a hunger strike. Bhiri’s Ennahdha party has been at odds with President Kais Saied after he fired the prime minister and suspended the parliament last year.

Zandile Christmas Mafe, the man who was accused of setting fire to South Africa’s parliament, has been arrested (05/01). Prosecutors said Mafe was caught with explosives and is facing five charges including two counts of arson. He denied all charges, whilst his lawyer said it was a case of mistaken identity.  

Iraq’s air defenses successfully intercepted two explosive-laden drones that headed for the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts the United States (US) forces (04/01). Another attack which targeted a US base near Baghdad’s international airport has also been stopped by the Iraqi forces on Monday (03/01). No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but similar incidents in the past had been carried out by Iran-backed armed groups.

ASIA 

India recorded a sharp rise of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (04/01), the highest since September. The number of cases on Tuesday increased nearly six folds to 37,379 compared to a week earlier on December 28. Meanwhile, the sharp increase is attributed to the Omicron variant.  

Reported in The Jakarta Post (06/01), Japan urged Indonesia to end coal export ban as the sudden ban has a serious impact on Japan’s economic activities as well as the people’s daily life. Indonesia banned shipment of the fossil fuel on January 1, to avoid outages after coal producers failed to set aside 25% of the output for the domestic market, as they were obliged to. Japan imports around two million tons of coal a month from Indonesia; they argued that as the grade of coal purchased by Japanese companies was higher than that burned by Indonesia’s power stations, Japan should not be a factor behind Indonesia’s coal shortages.  

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen visited (07/01) the ruling junta in Myanmar on Friday to discuss peace efforts and the junta’s future plans, as well as the role of the ASEAN Special Envoy. Cambodia currently holds the rotating chair of the ASEAN and Hun Sen was the first foreign leader to visit the country since the generals seized power almost a year ago. Responding to the visit, a group of ousted lawmakers known as the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) stated that the visit would bring “no benefits” and the people of Myanmar would be “outraged”. Amnesty International also said the visit may do more harm than good. 

A heavy snowstorm has caused at least 22 people, including 10 children, died in a popular mountain town resort, the Murree Hills, in Pakistan. Most of the victims died of hypothermia after being stuck in their vehicles; more than one meter of snow fell in the area of the resort overnight Friday and early Saturday. As of late Saturday (08/01), thousands of vehicles had been pulled from the snow but more than a thousand were still stuck.

AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA 

New Zealand’s national carrier suspends food service onboard (05/01). The new regulation aims to protect passengers and crew, although most airlines still allow passengers to remove their masks while eating. New Zealand recorded its first two cases of the Omicron variant this year in the community. Meanwhile, the use of masks on planes is a topic of debate in the United States (US) because of incidents of mask restrictions. According to several studies cited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), COVID-19 cannot spread on an airplane because of the aircraft’s HEPA filter, which is believed to be able to eliminate 99.9% of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. 

Australia funds Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to fight the African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks (05/01). Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said African swine fever hit Timor-Leste in September 2019, whereas PNG has been fighting it since March 2020. An AUD 180,000 grant to Timor-Leste will be used to improve relations between animal health extension workers and breeders. Meanwhile, PNG has received an additional AUD 205,000, which will be used to maintain road checkpoints and strengthen biosecurity messaging among smallholder farmers. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region (07/01). It is the first defense pact that Japan has signed other than with the US, and builds on the Quad—a strategic security dialogue between the US, Australia, Japan, and India. The agreement aims to break down legal barriers and serve as an important instrument that will build a strong defense partnership to prevent an increasingly aggressive China. 

Solomon Airlines has suspended flights between Honiara and Marau since Friday (07/01) due to a land dispute. The suspension was carried out to avoid risks to passengers, staff, and aircraft. Marau is one of the Solomon Islands’ most popular tourist holiday destinations. The airline hopes this problem can be resolved and everything can return to normal shortly.

EUROPE 

Germany is to permanently shut down its remaining three nuclear power plants despite the European Union (EU)’s plan to use the technology for a climate-friendly future (03/01). The German government claimed that nuclear energy was dangerous and insisted that they would rely on natural gas until it can be replaced by non-polluting sources for energy. In contrast, France plans to modernize its existing nuclear power plants and build new ones. The different approaches taken by the bloc’s biggest economies caused a tricky situation for the Executive Commission.  

Russia has deployed its troops to Kazakhstan’s city of Almaty on Thursday (06/01) to help containing uprisings (07/01). The uprisings, which started on January 2, were triggered by New Year’s Day fuel price hike. The arrival of the Russian soldiers, however, could fuel the violence as it shows the Kazakh authorities’ dependency on Russia.  

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić described Australia’s decision to revoke tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa as a “harassment” (06/01). The world’s number one tennis player was granted a controversial exemption to enter Australia to compete in the Australian Open. However, his visa was cancelled once he arrived at Melbourne airport because he failed to present adequate evidence to support his exemption. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected Vučić’s accusation, saying that Australia “has sovereign borders and clear rules that are non-discriminatory as so many countries do…it has to do with the fair and reasonable application of Australia’s border protection laws…all I can say is that the evidence medical exemption that was provided was found to be insufficient”.  

Russia began talks with the United States (US) over Ukraine crisis in Geneva, Switzerland (09/01). The talks are the first step of high-level discussions with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which will start next week. Russia is looking for fresh security agreements with the West but at the same time facing strong pressure to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 

China held a meeting with South American and Caribbean countries at the CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States)-China ministers’ meeting on Monday (03/01). Both parties agreed on twenty points of cooperation in the Joint Action Plan. The agreement also marks the deepening of economic and strategic cooperation between the two parties. 

Peru tightened restrictions as of Thursday (06/01) to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. Some of these restrictions include longer curfews and tightening capacity limits. Even though COVID-19 cases are starting to rise, the death rate in Peru remains low. 

LATAM, Aeromexico, Avianca, Viva Air, and EQUAIR were among the airlines forced to cancel their flights as of Friday (07/01) due to the Omicron variant. The cancellations mostly affected flights within Colombia, with the remainder affecting Mexico and Ecuador. However, the cancellation only affects domestic routes. 

The Pan-American Health Organization said on Saturday (08/01) that South American countries, including Chile, Argentina, and Brazil had vaccination percentages reaching 76 percent. This figure exceeds the vaccinations in the European Union. The high rate is due to a comprehensive communication strategy in countering fake news about vaccines.

THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 

Canada set a record of active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday (06/01) with 375,700 active infections. Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, on Wednesday (05/01) said that he had quadrupled testing in the provinces. Furthermore, Canada has also re-imposed indoor and outdoor restrictions. 

Two senators from New York wrote to President Biden on Thursday (06/01) asking that the Canada-United States (US) border remain open to individuals who have been vaccinated. They argue that closing the border has financial and social consequences for New Yorkers. Even so, they emphasize that cross-border travel must still be carried out safely. 

President of Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Beth Potter, on Friday (07/01) asked the country to change the type of testing for travel. She argued that PCR testing—now mandatory for travelers—should only be carried out by the doctors and not for screening travelers. The mandatory PCR testing will only burden the workload of domestic laboratories. 

An American citizen was detained by the FBI on charges of spying for the opposition to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Friday (07/01). The arrest was criticized by human rights organizations as a form of silencing critics. The arrest also shows that el-Sisi can extend his grip on the US.