Australian authorities said residents of towns along the south coast of its most populous state of New South Wales should be ready to flee (SMH), with fire conditions projected to worsen as the weekend approaches.

Halfway through the Australian summer, bushfires have killed twenty-seven people, displaced thousands (Reuters), burned more than thirty thousand square miles of land, and likely caused more than $4.4 billion (Guardian) in damages, according to Moody’s Analytics. Activists are planning nationwide protests (CNN) tomorrow, accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of climate inaction and leading a poor response to the fire crisis.

India is hosting a two-day visit to Kashmir (Hindu) for a group of foreign diplomats, the first such visit since New Delhi stripped the region of its autonomous status in August. Officials said that around seventeen diplomats from Africa, Asia, South America, and the United States would participate. EU envoys chose not to participate due to restrictions on diplomats’ movement during the visit.

Pakistan: China and Pakistan are conducting a seven-day joint naval drill (VOA) in the Arabian Sea to deepen the security relationship between the two countries, Chinese officials announced.

A panel of independent experts reporting to the UN Security Council found that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were not behind September’s missile attacks on Saudi Aramco oil plants, according to a Reuters report. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, while the United States said they came from Iran.

Iran: Canada and Sweden were invited to join the investigation (CNN) of a passenger plane crash yesterday in Tehran, Iran’s civil aviation service said. The 176 passengers killed were mostly from Iran and Canada, and also included Ukraininans, Swedes, Afghans, Germans, and British nationals, Kyiv said.

A rocket attack (Reuters) on a northern Mali base for UN, French, and Malian forces wounded twenty people, including eighteen UN peacekeepers, a UN spokesperson said. The region has been the scene of frequent clashes between armed groups and the government.

Uganda: In a measure intended to ease tensions with Rwanda, Ugandan authorities announced they released (VOA) nine Rwandans who had been arrested last year.

The presidents of Russia and Turkey made a joint statement calling for a cease-fire (Al-Monitor) by January 12 for the civil war in Libya, where they back opposing sides.

In Foreign Affairs, Frederic Wehrey and Jalel Harchaoui discuss how to stop Libya’s collapse.

Norway: The country will accept six hundred asylum seekers (AP) recently brought to Rwanda from detention in Libya, Norway’s justice and immigration minister said.

President Nicolas Maduro wants allied countries such as Russia to be able to exchange (Reuters) defaulted Venezuelan bonds for stakes in state-backed oil assets, legislators from his Socialist Party said.

Guatemala: President Jimmy Morales said it was “completely untrue” (Reuters) that Guatemala has agreed to accept Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States, as U.S. immigration field staff had been told.

This CFR In Brief looks at whether “safe third country” agreements can resolve the asylum crisis.

The House of Representatives is set to vote (The Hill) today on a resolution to limit presidential authority for further military action against Iran without congressional approval, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. 

CFR’s John B. Bellinger III looks at the legality of the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.