The Turkish government aims to pass a bill authorizing troop reinforcements (Reuters) for Libya’s internationally recognized government by January 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
 
Ankara was acting at the invitation (Anadolu) of Libya’s government after a cooperation agreement between the two countries, Erdogan said. Libya’s civil war intensified in recent weeks after an offensive (Al Jazeera) on Tripoli by rebel commander Khalifa Haftar, who is supported by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia-backed military contractors. Russian and Turkish delegations met in Moscow this week to discuss possible compromises (Reuters) on both the Libyan and Syrian conflicts.

The Taliban has reportedly abducted (AP) at least twenty-six peace activists in western Farah Province, a police spokesperson said.
 
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an initiative worth more than $800 million to improve groundwater management (Hindu) in seven Indian states suffering from a water crisis.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have resolved (NYT) a territorial dispute and will allow Saudi Arabia to access an oil-rich area that could boost its daily crude oil circulation by five hundred thousand barrels. Saudi Arabia recently agreed to cap its daily output as part of a price-stabilizing measure set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.

Burkina Faso declared two days of national mourning after militants in the country’s north killed thirty-five civilians (BBC), most of them women, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore announced.
 
Nigeria: Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and former National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki were released (Reuters) from prison on bail following international pressure that denounced their detentions as arbitrary.

Lorenzo Fioramonti resigned as education minister (NYT) after a newly ratified budget fell more than a billion dollars short of his request. Fioramonti is reportedly planning to leave Italy’s antiestablishment Five Star Movement and form a new party that would still support the current government.
 
Turkey: A boat carrying seventy-one migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan sank (Reuters) in Lake Van, killing seven people, officials said.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Nanjala Nyabola discusses the shrinking options for the world’s refugees.

Venezuela’s economic free fall slowed after the removal of some price controls, with its monthly rate of inflation dropping to 35.8 percent in November after reaching a peak of 233.3 percent in September of 2018, according to a Washington Post report.
 
CFR looks at the crisis in Venezuela in this overview of 2019’s biggest global developments.
 
Bolivia: Mexico’s foreign ministry called for a meeting with Bolivia’s government after allegations surfaced that Bolivian authorities harassed Mexican diplomats (Reuters) in La Paz, where the diplomats provide refuge to officials loyal to Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales.

U.S. Cyber Command is developing information warfare measures that could be used against Russian officials and oligarchs in case Moscow interferes in the 2020 U.S. elections, according to a Washington Post report.
 
CFR’s Cyber Operations Tracker looks at state-sponsored cyber offenses.