Lebanon named a new prime minister and cabinet in an arrangement (The National) backed by the militant group and political party Hezbollah, President Michel Aoun, and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. The new government will aim to appease the countrywide, anti-establishment protests (NYT) that led the previous prime minister to resign in October.
 
The new premier, former education minister Hassan Diab, said his government would meet protesters’ demands to end cronyism (Al Jazeera) while also addressing Lebanon’s protracted economic crisis. Still, the new government includes links to many existing political factions in the country. Top U.S. officials have criticized Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon and called for the suspension (WSJ) of U.S. aid to the country if it becomes too supportive of Iran.   

The court gave the government four weeks to respond (India Today) to 144 petitions challenging a new citizenship law and announced it would appoint a five-judge panel to hear the challenges.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Pratap Bhanu Mehta discusses how the new law has caused upheaval in India.

A UN investigation to be released today reportedly found that Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’s phone was likely hacked (WaPo) by Saudi agents after receiving a message purportedly sent by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Nelson Chamisa, leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change, pledged (Bloomberg) “a year of demonstrations and action” against the government’s management of an ongoing economic crisis.
 
South Africa: The country’s national airline announced it began suspending some flights (FT) after a planned government bailout that the company needs to avoid liquidation was delayed.

France plans to announce today that it will halt a planned tax on major U.S. tech companies in exchange for Washington’s agreement to avoid tariff escalation, the Guardian reports.
 
Russia: President Vladimir Putin appointed a new cabinet (WSJ) in the wake of his government’s resignation but maintained the heads of some ministries, including the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, and defense.
 
CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich discusses what to expect from Putin’s government shake-up.

State prosecutors charged (WSJ) the former CEO and ten others from Brazilian mining giant Vale with homicide and environmental crimes related to a 2019 dam collapse that killed 270 people.
 
Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago: The countries’ prime ministers said they are boycotting scheduled meetings (Guardian) with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in opposition to his departure from talks with Caricom, an organization that represents the interests of fifteen Caribbean nations.

The White House is considering whether to add nations including Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania to its travel ban, Politico reports, and could announce the additions in the coming days.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the world should prepare (Reuters) for “millions” of climate refugees in the coming years. The UN Human Rights Committee ruled this week that people who leave their countries due to mortal threats caused by climate change deserve international protection.
 
This CFR interactive looks at the global protections for refugees.