Situation Reports

China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian warned that Beijing would have an "obligation to take measures" to protect the interests of Chinese companies if Canberra pushes ahead with a forced sale or otherwise coercive measures to reclaim the Port of Darwin, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Jan. 28.

The leaders of the Netherlands' centrist-liberal Democrats 66 and the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy agreed to form a minority coalition government after months of negotiations, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that if he could run for reelection, he would win in the first round, and he resumed calls to rewrite the country's constitution, Infobae reported on Jan. 27.

Saif al-Nasr Haroun, the infrastructure minister with Sudan's Sudanese Armed Forces-backed government, said the SAF would grant priority to Saudi companies in reconstruction projects to repair infrastructure damaged by the civil war, with a focus on port and rail initiatives, Sudan Tribune reported on Jan. 27.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he would introduce the Save the Kurds Act, which would impose sanctions on those threatening Syria's Kurdish population, and criticized the Syrian government and Turkey for their lightning offensive against the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, The National reported on Jan. 27.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki becomes prime minister again in a Truth Social post days after the Shiite Coordination Framework, or SCF, an umbrella organization of pro-Iranian Shiite political parties, nominated him, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV, the consortium operating Kazakhstan's Karachaganak oil and gas field, lost an international arbitration case, leaving it potentially liable to pay $2 billion to $4 billion in compensation for unapproved cost recoveries under the production-sharing agreement, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 26.

The European Union and India finalized a free trade agreement after nearly two decades of talks, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Jan. 26 that he was increasing "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea as well as tariffs on South Korean automobiles, pharmaceuticals and lumber goods from 15% to 25% because the South Korean legislature has failed to "enact our Historic Trade Agreement."

U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held a 50-minute call on Jan. 26, g1 reported.