Daily News Brief

January 23, 2023

Top of the Agenda

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Warsaw will seek Berlin’s permission (FT) to export Poland’s German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. While Berlin has resisted calls to send Leopard tanks itself, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said yesterday that Berlin “would not stand in the way” of Poland doing so. Germany’s tank supply contract with Poland requires Germany to approve exports of the vehicles.

European Union (EU) foreign ministers pressed Berlin to authorize the transfer (Reuters) at a meeting today in Brussels, where they are discussing a new military aid package for Kyiv. After Estonia joined the calls for tank exports, Russia announced that it is downgrading diplomatic ties with the country, and Estonia and Latvia told their ambassadors (Reuters) to leave Moscow.  

Analysis

“Only a few sources of ammunition and spare parts are available for Soviet-era tanks [already possessed by Ukraine] among Ukraine’s allies. So, as with artillery, Ukraine needs to shift to western-standard equipment or risk running out of shells, replacement barrels and other spare parts,” the Financial Times’ Ben Hall and John Paul Rathbone write.

“[It] appears that Russia is headed for defeat. Less certain is what form this defeat will take,” CFR’s Liana Fix and the Catholic University of America’s Michael Kimmage write in Foreign Affairs.  

Pacific Rim

New Zealand’s ruling Labour Party unanimously endorsed Chris Hipkins (CNN) to succeed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who last week announced plans to resign. Hipkins chose Carmel Sepuloni (AP) as his deputy, which would make her the first person of Pacific Island heritage to hold that role.

Japan: In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he will push for reforms (Bloomberg) that make it easier for workers to become employees with full benefits and earn pay raises based on responsibilities instead of years of service.

South and Central Asia

The documentary examines (The Guardian) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role as a local official during the 2002 riots in the western state of Gujarat, in which hundreds of Muslims were killed after their community was blamed for a train fire that killed fifty-nine Hindu pilgrims.  

This Backgrounder looks at the Gujarat riots and India’s increasingly marginalized Muslims.

Pakistan: Airports and hospitals across Pakistan lost power after the country suffered its second major outage (Dawn) in three months. 

Middle East and North Africa

The Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union tweeted that the new sanctions package will target (Reuters) those driving repression of Iran’s anti-government protests.

This In Brief looks at the power of Iran’s women protesters.

Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired (Times of Israel) Health and Interior Minister Aryeh Machluf Deri after a court ruled that Deri could not serve in office due to past criminal convictions. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

In Zambia today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that restructuring the country’s debt was critically important, and that her talks with Chinese officials last week have made her optimistic that Beijing will overcome its reluctance (Reuters) to an agreement.

Burkina Faso/France: Burkina Faso gave France a month to remove its forces from the country, AFP reported. Four hundred French troops are fighting insurgents in Burkina Faso, but the country’s ruling military regime has criticized France’s presence since taking power in a September coup.

Europe

The entire German government cabinet met with their French counterparts in Paris, their first in-person meeting since 2019. They vowed to coordinate (AP) on boosting green energy in Europe and on supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Americas

The leaders are due to discuss creating a shared currency (Bloomberg) and other steps to that aim to increase bilateral trade. 

Peru: Pope Francis appealed for dialogue (MercoPress) and an end to violence in Peru, where dozens of people have died in anti-government protests that began last month.

For Foreign Affairs, Will Freeman looks at Peru’s upheaval.

United States

Authorities are investigating (LA Times) the attack, which also wounded at least ten others in the predominantly Asian community of Monterey Park. The suspect, a seventy-two-year-old Asian man, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police have not yet identified a motive.

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