January 24, 2022

Daily News Brief

January 24, 2022

Top of the Agenda

NATO Puts Forces on Standby as European Officials Hold Crisis Talks

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said its member countries are putting military forces on standby (FT) and sending extra ships and warplanes to Eastern Europe amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Foreign ministers from the European Union (EU) are meeting in Brussels today (DW) for crisis talks, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken participating virtually. The EU announced a $1.3 billion financial aid package for Ukraine today.

A Russian government spokesperson accused the United States and NATO (AFP) of escalating tensions with the new deployments. Meanwhile, the United States and United Kingdom said some of their diplomatic staff will withdraw from Ukraine.

Analysis

“By strengthening their military capabilities in Europe and increasing their presence along Russia’s periphery, the United States and its allies can both shore up neighboring governments’ confidence in their ability to withstand Russian bullying and shake [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s confidence that his Western adversaries lack the means and the will to resist his aggression,” the Center for a New American Security’s Jim Townsend writes for Foreign Affairs. 

“[A Russian invasion of Ukraine] would challenge the entire U.N. system and imperil the arrangements that have guaranteed member states’ sovereignty since World War II—akin to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990, but on an even bigger scale. The United States and its allies, and Ukraine itself, should take this issue to the United Nations,” the Brookings Institution’s Fiona Hill writes for the New York Times.

This Backgrounder examines why NATO has become a flash point with Russia in Ukraine.

Pacific Rim

Chinese Warplanes Fly Into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it scrambled jets (SCMP), issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems after as many as thirty-nine Chinese planes flew into the area yesterday, the most since October. Thirteen additional warplanes entered the zone today. They came after the United States and Japan completed a joint naval drill.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s David Sacks discusses how the United States and Japan can deter an attack on Taiwan.

China: Ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, organizers slightly lowered the threshold (Reuters) at which Olympics participants test positive for the coronavirus. They also reduced the time for which a person is considered a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 from fourteen days after exposure to seven.

South and Central Asia

Pakistan Swears In First Female Supreme Court Judge

Ayesha Malik took her oath of office (Dawn) today. Her elevation to the role has raised debate among the Judicial Commission of Pakistan over whether she was chosen based on gender rather than merit.

Afghanistan: The self-declared Islamic State claimed responsibility (Reuters) for a blast in the city of Herat that killed six people on Saturday.

Middle East and North Africa

U.S. Bombs Syrian Prison Amid Fighting Between SDF, Islamic State

The American commander of the coalition fighting the Islamic State said a threat had been “contained” (NYT) after U.S. forces carried out air strikes in support of the rebel Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF sought to regain control of a prison where Islamic State fighters had staged an uprising and breakout attempt.

CFR looks at Syria’s descent into horror.

UAE: The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said its missile defenses intercepted rockets (National) that Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired at Abu Dhabi this morning. In response, the UAE struck a missile battery in Yemen.

This Day in History: January 24, 2003

Created in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security begins its operations to prevent and respond to security threats within the country.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Burkina Faso Soldiers Detain President

Gunfire erupted at military bases across Burkina Faso amid the apparent coup attempt. An anonymous counterterrorism official told the Washington Post that President Roch Marc Christian Kabore “is in good hands.”

Senegal: The ruling coalition lost municipal elections (Bloomberg) in the capital, Dakar, and the southern city of Ziguinchor.

Europe

Armenia’s President Resigns

President Armen Sarkissian resigned, saying he was unable to influence (AFP) domestic and foreign policy because Armenia’s presidency is a largely symbolic office.

Americas

Split Among Honduran Lawmakers Threatens President-Elect’s Chances at Majority

A bloc of lawmakers from President-Elect Xiomara Castro’s Liberty and Refoundation party said it will back the vice president’s party (AP) for leadership of the legislature.

Mexico: Reporter Lourdes Maldonado Lopez was shot dead (BBC) in the northern city of Tijuana. She is the third journalist to be killed in Mexico this year.

United States

Los Angeles Schools Require Upgrades From Cloth Masks

Because the coronavirus’s omicron variant is highly transmissible, Los Angeles schools will require (NPR) students to wear “well-fitting, non-cloth masks with a nose wire” both indoors and outdoors.

For Foreign Affairs, Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker argue that the U.S. government should distribute high-quality masks, among other efforts, to reach a new normal.

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