Situation Reports

Sri Lanka paid $500 million in sovereign debt, and India offered the country a $500 million credit line for fuel imports amid rising international oil prices, Nikkei Asia reported Jan. 18.

European oil benchmark Brent crude hit seven-year highs on Jan. 18 and peaked at $89.05 per barrel on Jan. 19.

Following a meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian officials, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia could attack Ukraine at "very short notice," echoing a statement by White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki that Russia could launch an attack "at any moment," Reuters reported Jan. 19.

On Jan. 17, Venezuelan Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez claimed on Twitter that NATO was expanding its influence in Eastern Europe and also in South America by using neighboring country Colombia as a pawn.

Trade between China and Africa reached an all-time record of $254 billion in 2021 with a $67 billion increase from 2020, The China-Africa Project reported Jan. 19.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the restrictions currently in place to combat the omicron variant of COVID-19 in England -- which include compulsory mask-wearing on public transportation, "vaccine passports" for certain activities, and guidance to work from home -- will be lifted on Jan. 24, The Guardian reported Jan. 19.

In his first public appearance since protests gripped Kazakhstan on Jan. 4, former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev denied rumors of a clash with his chosen successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Financial Times reported Jan. 18.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko disclosed the date of the upcoming Russian military exercise "Allied Resolve" in Belarus and near Russia’s border with Ukraine, The Moscow Times reported Jan. 18.

The Indonesian government signed a bill that will move the country's capital city from Jakarta on the island of Java to the new city of Nusantara on the island of Borneo, CNA reported Jan. 18.

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, which traveled roughly 380 kilometers east at speeds of up to Mach 5 before splashing down in the ocean, Yonhap News reported Jan. 17.