What's going on in the World Today 130114

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USA

The Challenges of a U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

EUROPE

Europe: The Complexities of Youth Unemployment

ASIA

Pakistan: Explosions Reported At NATO Supply Terminal January 11, 2013

Explosions occurred at a NATO supply terminal in Quetta on Jan. 11, police said, Geo TV reported. Firing was heard after the explosions, police said. Unidentified attackers fired rockets at the terminal, in the Hazarganji area, The Express News reported. The blast occurred near the Quetta Development Authority offices, according to initial details.

Japan: Military Begins Island Defense Exercise January 13, 2013

Japan's Self-Defense Forces began a military drill in Narashino on Jan. 13 aimed at simulating retaking a captured island using air and maritime forces, Xinhua reported. Approximately 20 aircraft and 33 armored vehicles participated in the drill. China's military modernization and growing assertiveness in regional territorial disputes will continue to fuel Japan's military normalization process.

Japan's Shifting Regional Environment
Kazakhstan: The Evolution of a Power Structure
New Challenges in China's Inland Labor Market

AFRICA

In Mali, Jihadist Preparations for the Looming Intervention

Intervention in Mali Begins with Airstrikes

Mali: Tuareg Rebels Prepared To Assist French Forces January 14, 2013

Mali's Tuareg rebels are prepared to assist French military forces in Mali by confronting jihadist groups on the ground in the country's northern region, a senior Tuareg official said Jan. 14, AFP reported. Recent engagements between Islamist militias and the Malian military are likely, in part, a struggle to set the terms of the looming Western-backed, African-led military effort to uproot jihadist groups in the country.

South Africa's Search for Alternatives to Coal

Egypt: Few Options Out of a Natural Gas Dilemma

RUSSIA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

IRAN

Iran: Oil Exports Fall 40 Percent January 7, 2013

Iran's oil exports have fallen 40 percent in the last nine months, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told a parliamentary commission on Jan. 7, AFP reported, citing the ISNA news agency. The final figures for the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March, will show a significant decrease in crude export revenues, Qasemi said. Western sanctions on Iran appear to have impacted the country's economy.

Iran: Country's First Natural Gas Refinery To Be Built, Report Says January 9, 2013

Iran will build a $1.6 billion natural gas refinery, the country's first, Xinhua reported Jan. 9, citing The Tehran Times. The Iranian firm Khatam al-Anbia Construction will sign a deal with the National Iranian Central Oilfields Company by February, the report said, without specifying the location of the refinery.

IRAQ

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ISRAEL

Syria: Rebels Reportedly Take Up Positions Along Israeli Border January 14, 2013

Syrian rebels have stationed themselves along the border with Israel, senior Israel Defense Forces officials told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Jerusalem Post reported Jan. 14. Only the Al-Qunaytirah enclave remains under regime control, the report said.

Israel: Forces Evict 200 Activists From West Bank January 13, 2013

Israeli forces evicted roughly 200 Palestinian and international activists from the E1 area of the West Bank, where Israel is reportedly planning to build new settlements, BBC reported Jan. 13. According to an activist spokeswoman, six protesters were injured and taken to the hospital during the eviction, though an Israeli police spokesman has said no injuries occurred. Several of Israel's right-wing political parties have recently discussed annexing all or part of the West Bank during the run-up to elections.

AFGHANISTAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

MIDDLE EAST

In Syria, the Regime Shifts to Defense
Mubarak Retrial Heightens Political, Economic Tensions

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Colombia: Rebels Struggle to Uphold a Unilateral Cease-Fire

Mexico Security Memo: A Series of Attacks Plagues Torreon

MISC

Geopolitical Calendar: Week of Jan. 14, 2013


Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM