What happened in world affairs on 23 December 2020?

What did the Trump administration do about Belarus on 23 December 2020? It imposed additional sanctions on Belarusian officials and four offices, citing human rights abuses that occurred during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.

The measures were one strand of the international reaction to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and the protests that followed it.

Military signals in East Asia

On 22 December 2020, South Korea said it had scrambled fighter jets after four Chinese and fifteen Russian military aircraft entered its air defence identification zone. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said China had notified it in advance of a joint military exercise between China and Russia.

Fighting in Central Africa

On 21 December 2020, Rwanda deployed what it called a "protection force" to the Central African Republic after its peacekeepers were attacked by rebel forces advancing on the capital, Bangui. The Rwandan and Central African Republic governments accused former President François Bozizé of backing the rebels and plotting a coup, which he denied. Russia also sent troops and heavy weaponry to support the government.

Taken together, the reports show how varied the international agenda was in the days leading up to 23 December 2020: sanctions over a crackdown in Belarus, a joint Chinese-Russian air exercise near South Korea, and foreign forces moving into a civil war in the Central African Republic.