China's National People's Congress Standing Committee concluded its session on Jan. 22 without appearing to deliberate on rumored electoral reforms in Hong Kong, according to a rundown of the legislature's agenda released by Xinhua on Jan. 22.
The Japanese government has reportedly reached an internal consensus that it will need to cancel the Tokyo summer Olympic Games, which had already been rescheduled from 2020, and will look to secure the 2032 slot, The Times reported Jan. 21, citing an unidentified senior member of Japan’s ruling coalition.
The European Union has "strongly discouraged" Europeans from non-essential travel amid rising COVID-19 infections, and warned that additional restrictions on travel to and within the bloc could be announced in the coming days, AFP reported Jan. 21.Â
A series of suspected Israeli airstrikes targeted several facilities in the northwestern Syrian city of Hamas, striking three residential buildings and killing a family of four, Al Jazeera reported Jan. 22.
Japan's permanent mission to the United Nations sent a note to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laying out its position on the legality of some of China's South China Sea claims under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the South China Morning Post reported Jan. 21.
Twin suicide bombings struck a market in central Baghdad’s Tayaran Square, killing at least 32 people and injuring 110 more, marking the deadliest attack in Baghdad in nearly three years, Reuters reported Jan. 21.
Beginning as early as February, members of Hong Kong's pro-democracy dominated district council will be required to swear a controversial loyalty oath to Hong Kong and the Basic Law in compliance with the national security law, the South China Morning Post reported Jan. 21, citing a statement made by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai.Â
Egypt has formally agreed to resume diplomatic relations with Qatar, ending its three-year blockade of Doha, Reuters reported Jan. 21. In exchange, Qatari officials reportedly pledged not to interfere in Egyptian affairs and to change the tone of Al Jazeera’s broadcast coverage of Egypt.
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to propose a sweeping immigration reform bill that would offer a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented people and provide $4 billion in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, The Washington Post reported Jan. 18.
Chinese customs data released Jan. 20 indicates that Chinese imports of Australian copper concentrate dropped to zero in December 2020 for the first time since 2004, falling from 110,930 metric tons in December 2019 and 26,717 metric tons in November 2020.
