December 16, 2021

Daily News Brief

December 16, 2021

Top of the Agenda

UK COVID-19 Cases Soar Amid Rising Global Concerns About Variant

France banned nonessential travel (NYT) to and from the United Kingdom (UK) due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the country. Yesterday, the UK reported 78,610 new cases (AP), a record high, amid the spread of the virus’s omicron variant. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said omicron is expected to become the dominant variant in the European Union by mid-January.

Countries in other regions are also weighing new restrictions. South Korea, for example, banned gatherings (AP) of five or more people. In the United States, which registered eight hundred thousand total COVID-19 deaths (NPR) this week, California and New York reinstated (WaPo) indoor mask mandates.

Analysis

“The wave of travel disruption, media speculation, and shaky financial markets [in the wake of omicron’s spread] demonstrate not only that COVID is far from over, but also that the world is far from prepared for this or the next global pandemic,” Georgetown University’s Charles Holmes writes for Think Global Health.

“Learning to live with the virus in the long term will require changes in both mind-set and policy. Relying on Covid-19 hospitalizations as the most important metric to track closely will provide the most reliable picture of how an area is faring with the virus,” Portland State University’s Leslie Bienen and the University of California, San Francisco’s Monica Gandhi write for the New York Times.

Pacific Rim

Tens of Thousands in Philippines Evacuate Ahead of Typhoon

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called Typhoon Rai (Al Jazeera) “one of the world’s strongest storms of 2021.”

Japan: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he has no plans to attend the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. Japan is considering sending members of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, Kyodo reported.

This In Brief unpacks the debate over boycotting the Beijing Olympics.

South and Central Asia

Former Afghan President Reportedly ‘Invited’ Taliban to Take Over Kabul

Former President Hamid Karzai, who left office in 2014, told the Associated Press that he and Abdullah Abdullah, the government’s former chief negotiator, brokered a deal with the Taliban so that the group would seize Kabul without violence during their takeover of the country in August.

Pakistan: A monthlong protest against the country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) port project threatens to derail future Chinese investments in the city of Gwadar, Nikkei reported. Residents have demanded an end to deep-sea fishing by trawlers in nearby waters, including by Chinese vessels.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s David Sacks looks at the challenges facing China’s BRI projects in Pakistan.

Middle East and North Africa

Iran Agrees to Reinstall Monitoring Cameras at Nuclear Facility

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said it was given permission (Al Jazeera) to reinstall cameras that were damaged in an attack on the Karaj nuclear facility last year.

Israel: The country will donate one million COVID-19 vaccines (AP, Times of Israel) to African nations in the coming weeks in an effort to strengthen ties with the continent.

This Day in History: December 16, 2012

The Liberal Democratic Party wins Japanese elections, resulting in the return of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He is reelected in 2014 and 2017, and by 2020 is Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.

Sub-Saharan Africa

UN Envoy Warns of Threats to South Sudan Peace Deal

UN Special Representative in South Sudan Nicholas Haysom told the UN Security Council (UN News) that a “renewed sense of political will” is needed to keep the deal from falling apart due to obstacles including restrictions on civic space and challenges to the process of forming a national army.

Nigeria: The country will raise police salaries (BBC) by 20 percent in an effort to discourage police from taking bribes, a cabinet minister said. The government promised the measure following anti–police brutality protests last year.

Europe

Turkey Cuts Interest Rates to Address Inflation

The Turkish lira dropped to a record low (Reuters) against the dollar following the move, which is part of an unorthodox economic package to address the country’s currency crisis.

Americas

U.S. Sanctions Brazil’s PCC Drug Gang for First Time

The First Capital Command (PCC) is Brazil’s largest criminal organization (AP).

Brazil: European supermarket companies Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, and J Sainsbury will stop selling several (FT) Brazilian meat products that were found to be linked to deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.

United States

Fed Says It Will Accelerate Tapering to Address Inflation

The U.S. Federal Reserve published plans (FT) both to raise interest rates three times in 2022 and double the pace at which it withdraws a bond-buying program it implemented to ease economic strains at the start of the pandemic.

For Foreign Affairs, CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby writes that inflation is a test for the age of magic money.

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