Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Gaza cease-fire deal likely to elude Biden The Palestinian Authority takes on Hamas militants in West Bank power struggle Next nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries due on Jan 13 Russian gas to Europe stops flowing after Ukraine refuses to renew pipeline deal WINEP’s Fabrice Balanche: Alawites under threat in Syria? U.S. amplifies strikes on Yemen’s Houthis as tensions with Israel flare South Korea clears way to detain President in martial law inquiry China’s Xi addresses economic challenges, threatens Taiwan in New Year speech A staunch ally in Africa says French forces will withdraw Treasury’s sanctions office hacked by Chinese government, officials say Attacker with ISIS flag drives truck into New Orleans crowd, killing 15 WSJ Editorial: Terror strikes New OrleansIn The News
Israel
Cease-fire talks between Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli government have hit an impasse in recent days, Arab mediators said, making any deal unlikely before the end of the Biden administration. – Wall Street Journal
Palestinian Authority security forces are battling militants from Hamas and its allies in the occupied West Bank, in a fight that has the potential to shape the long-running struggle for the leadership of the Palestinian cause. – Wall Street Journal
The Palestinian Authority announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily bar Al Jazeera from operating in its areas, accusing the Qatari-funded broadcaster of “inciting sedition” and “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.” The move comes several months after the news outlet was banned by Israel on national security grounds. – New York Times
Former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who had often taken an independent line against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government allies, said on Wednesday he was resigning from parliament. – Reuters
Israeli players have been barred from next month’s World Indoor Bowls Championships in England after a campaign by pro-Palestinian groups. – Reuters
Israel’s government-run Ashdod Port Company said on Wednesday it plans to launch an initial public offering of up to 49% of its minority shares in order to expand the company’s capital base and increase its future profits. – Reuters
Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile fired toward the country by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, setting off sirens late Monday in central areas including Tel Aviv. – Associated Press
More than twice as many Israelis left the country in 2024 as in previous years, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said, a likely result of the ongoing war and fierce political disputes. – Bloomberg
A United Nations report published Tuesday found that Israeli strikes on and near hospitals in the Gaza Strip have left healthcare in the Palestinian territory on the verge of collapse. – Agence France Presse
With a month to go until Israeli forces are slated to fully pull out of southern Lebanon, IDF troops with the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade located and destroyed a large cache of Hezbollah weapons in the Wadi Saluki area, the military said Tuesday. – Agence France Presse
The IDF and Hezbollah traded threats on Tuesday over whether the military must complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon on the 60th day exactly from the November 27 ceasefire, or whether there is wiggle room depending on conditions and violations on the ground. – Jerusalem Post
Israel on Wednesday took responsibility for a commando raid against an Iranian missile manufacturing site deep in Syria in September, an operation already widely attributed to the Israel Defense Forces. – Times of Israel
Lazar Berman writes: In a diverse region with perpetually shifting alliances, Israel always has potential partners, even among Arab communities. It doesn’t have to go it alone, as other regional and Western partners have overlapping interests. And in many cases, Israel’s capabilities, location, and derring-do means it can support proxies in ways others can’t. Still, the approach comes with risks. Proxy interests don’t line up entirely with those of the patron, and the two can find themselves working at cross-purposes. If Israel isn’t careful, it can find itself being sucked into conflicts against its better judgment. And it could be blamed for crimes committed by a proxy. – Times of Israel
Iran
The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries will take place on Jan. 13 in Geneva, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency cited the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying on Wednesday. – Reuters
Iranian Brigadier-General Iraj Masjedi, a senior commander in the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, threatened US President-elect Donald Trump in Wednesday’s comments to reporters, calling for Trump to suffer “revenge” and “be prosecuted” for ordering the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. – Jerusalem Post
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized that Iran is willing to discuss negotiations regarding nuclear weapons if approached with respect in an interview published by Iran’s Tasnim News on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly pledged to reclaim control in Syria, but issues such as internal fragility and a lack of options and resources cast doubt on his distant promises, Benny Sabati, a researcher with the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies, told Maariv on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Iran is planning on transferring millions of dollars to Hezbollah on Thursday via an Air Mahar flight from Tehran to Beirut, the Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reported on Thursday, citing Western sources. – Jerusalem Post
Russia & Ukraine
It was the year of the explosive drone: speedy, agile craft the size of dinner plates that in 2024 became Ukraine’s main defensive weapon against massive Russian ground assaults. – Wall Street Journal
Russia halted natural-gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, as Kyiv’s refusal to extend a pipeline deal brought an end to one of the last remaining energy links between Russia and what was once its biggest market. – Wall Street Journal
Russian weapons are destroying the faces of Ukraine’s front-line troops. Supersonic bullets and hails of shrapnel from artillery, glide bombs, drones and mines shatter soldiers’ skulls and jawbones, tear out their eyes, and slash through their cheeks and mouths. – Washington Post
But as 2024 draws to a close, Russia is in a far more precarious place than Putin’s rhetoric and bravado suggest. His forces are making slow but steady advances in Ukraine, but estimates by some NATO countries suggest hundreds of thousands of Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war, which has dragged on for nearly three years. – Washington Post
In late 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced an ambition never before heard in the history of war. Ukraine, he said, would provide its forces with one million FPV drones in the next calendar year. – New York Times
Hoping to bolster the resolve of a nation whose heart “is covered in scars” after more than 1,000 days of unrelenting Russian assaults, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in his New Year’s address on Wednesday that he believed the United States would continue to stand with Kyiv in “compelling Russia into a just peace.” – New York Times
Russia and Ukraine announced on Monday that they had exchanged more than 300 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. The swap comes just weeks before American military aid for Kyiv is likely to be thrown into question under the Trump administration. – New York Times
Ukraine said on Tuesday it downed six of 21 missiles launched overnight and in the early morning by Russia, reporting minor damage in the capital of Kyiv and hits on infrastructure in the northern Sumy region. – Reuters
Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday one of its naval drones had destroyed a Russian helicopter and damaged another one in the Black Sea. – Reuters
Russia launched a New Year’s Day drone strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Wednesday, killing two people, wounding at least six others and damaging buildings in two districts, authorities said. – Reuters
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s government and the country’s biggest bank, Sberbank, to build cooperation with China in artificial intelligence. – Reuters
As Russia clings to its only bases in the Mediterranean — they’re on the coast of Syria — Ukraine is moving aggressively to displace Moscow as Syria’s main source of imported grain. Soon to follow are university educations, military drone technologies, and aid on investigating war crimes. – New York Sun
Samuel Ramani writes: The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dealt a crushing blow to Russia’s aspirations to great-power status. Due to its military overextension in Ukraine and intelligence failures prior to the rapid-fire offensive carried out by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Russia was unable to defend its strongest ally in the Middle East. Russia also faces the loss of its Tartus naval base on Syria’s Mediterranean coast as well as Khmeimim air base, which was established in tandem with its 2015 military intervention on Assad’s behalf. – Foreign Policy
Syria
Syria’s new rulers elevated a woman to run the country’s central bank, as the U.S. and other Western governments watch how the Islamist rebels who toppled the Assad regime treat women as well as Syria’s many religious and ethnic minorities. – Wall Street Journal
The people of Syria said good riddance in the past month to the dictatorship that ruled for half a century. They have no idea what is coming next. So when the clock struck midnight, Damascus let rip. – Wall Street Journal
As the country’s new Sunni Islamist rulers embark on a hunt for former government figures, Alawite districts are gripped by terror and confusion, as reports spread of killings, disappearances, beatings and sectarian harassment. – Washington Post
More than 50 tanks and military vehicles lay scattered and abandoned across the parade and training grounds of an army base in northern Syria, captured by rebels in their lightning-fast offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad. – New York Times
Syria’s new rulers confirmed the appointment of Murhaf Abu Qasra as defence minister in the new interim government, according to a statement released on Tuesday. – Reuters
Families of military officers who served under Syria’s ousted Bashar al-Assad are being evicted from their subsidised housing at a compound outside Damascus to make way for victorious former rebels and their families, residents and fighters there said. – Reuters
Syria’s new rulers have installed some foreign fighters including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk in the country’s armed forces as Damascus tries to shape a patchwork of rebel groups into a professional military, two Syrian sources said. – Reuters
A Syrian delegation led by newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday in its first official visit abroad, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a foreign ministry source. – Reuters
Protesters in Syria held a sit-in Wednesday demanding justice for four activists who were forcibly disappeared in 2013 and whose fate remains one of the most haunting mysteries of the country’s 13-year civil war. – Associated Press
Dany Shoham writes: The Assad regime had an active BW program that was divided in two: the development of toxins (such as botulinum, ricin and cobra toxins) by the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, and the development of pathogens (such as anthrax and Brucella) by that center plus the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria. Thus, the Syrian BW program constitutes a serious issue of its own. This is particularly true as Syria is not a state party to the international BW Convention. Tight and meticulous cooperation and collaboration ought to be potentiated between the new Syrian regime and the international community for the purpose of dealing appropriately with all the above-detailed challenges in Syria, apart from those no less meaningful ones that concern Iran. – Algemeiner
Fabrice Balanche writes: At a time when Westerners are questioning the HTS-led takeover in Damascus, the group’s treatment of Alawites will provide concrete information regarding its true stance on religious tolerance, transitional justice, and state-building. Humanitarian aid and diplomatic relations with the next government must be conditioned on equal rights for minorities. Otherwise, Syria may once again become a hotspot for endless sectarian bloodshed. – Washington Institute
Johanna Moore, Ria Reddy, Andie Parry, Katherine Wells, Carolyn Moorman, Ben Rezaei, and Nicholas Carl write: A new group announced its opposition to the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)-led interim government. Armed opposition by the group—named the Syrian Popular Resistance—would likely exacerbate sectarian tensions in Syria and even risk driving fissures in the HTS-led coalition. The Syrian Popular Resistance in a statement on December 29 threatened to attack HTS and HTS-affiliated leaders purportedly in response to the killing of Christians, Shia, and Sunnis since overthrowing the Bashar al Assad regime. – Institute for the Study of War
Middle East & North Africa
The Biden administration directed new airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Tuesday, as the United States and its ally Israel struggle to halt a campaign of regional assaults by the Iranian-backed militant group. – Washington Post
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shiban, appointed by the new rulers, said on social media on Tuesday that he had received a phone call from his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, in which they discussed the importance of both countries in bringing peace to the region. – Reuters
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday issued what he called a final warning to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt missile attacks on Israel, saying they risked the same “miserable fate” as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad if they persisted. – Reuters
Yemen’s Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam said that the country would continue to defend itself after several U.S. strikes targeted facilities in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia executed six Iranian nationals for drug smuggling, state news agency SPA reported on Wednesday, prompting Tehran to summon the Saudi ambassador according to media reports. – Reuters
Spain’s Repsol has resumed oil exploration in Libya after 10 years, the state oil firm NOC said in a statement on Tuesday. – Reuters
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Istanbul’s Galata Bridge on New Year’s Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” in the protest, organized by the National Will Platform, a coalition of more than 300 pro-Palestinian and Islamic groups. – Associated Press
Korean Peninsula
It was, with little doubt, their worst New Year’s Day ever. It had been three days since Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, killing all but two of the 181 people aboard. On Wednesday morning, the relatives of the dead were informed that all the bodies had been identified, according to the South Korean government. – Washington Post
A court in South Korea cleared the way for officials to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning on Tuesday, as the authorities investigated whether his declaration of martial law this month, which plunged the country into political crisis, amounted to an insurrection. – New York Times
South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for national harmony and unity and for trust in the government in a New Year’s address on Tuesday, amid an unprecedented political crisis sparked by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration. – Reuters
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok said on Tuesday he would immediately move to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court in a effort to restore stability after the impeachment of two of his predecessors this month triggered political turmoil. – Reuters
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok said on Thursday immediate action must be taken if a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated in the country finds any issues as authorities ramp up a probe into Sunday’s deadly air crash. – Reuters
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has sent a letter rallying his supporters saying he would “fight until the end” as he faces an attempt by authorities to arrest him over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law, a lawyer said on Thursday. – Reuters
South Korean police said on Thursday they had raided Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport as part of their investigation into Sunday’s crash that killed 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on the country’s soil. – Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to solidify the country’s comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia in his letter to President Vladimir Putin on Monday, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae attended New Year’s celebrations including fireworks and an ice dancing display, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. – Reuters
Senior aides to South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol offered to resign en masse on Wednesday, a day after his office expressed regret over acting President Choi Sang-mok’s approval of two new judges to a court set to decide Yoon’s fate. – Reuters
China
Chinese leader Xi Jinping used his New Year’s address Tuesday evening to project confidence about the country’s economic outlook and repeat threats about taking over Taiwan, as Beijing grapples with an ailing economy and the looming inauguration of a U.S. president set to take a hard line on China. – Washington Post
After President Donald J. Trump slapped tariffs on Chinese bicycles in 2018, Arnold Kamler, then the chief executive of the bike maker Kent International, saw a curious trend play out in the bicycle industry. – New York Times
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Russia have always moved forward “hand in hand” on the right path, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday, months after the two countries struck a “new era strategic partnership” on key issues. – Reuters
China’s public security minister vowed on Tuesday to deepen international cooperation in the area of drug control, state media Xinhua reported. – Reuters
China has shared the most COVID-19 data and research results in the international community, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after the World Health Organization repeated its call for more information and access. – Reuters
Eyck Freymann and Hugo Bromley write: Whatever the answers, Washington needs to address these questions before something happens. Remember: If China invades or quarantines Taiwan, it wouldn’t just be targeting one island nation. It would be seeking to forcibly reshape the Indo-Pacific regional order and undermine the rules-based global economy. Without a plan, a Taiwan crisis risks undermining the foundations of American prosperity and security. – New York Times
South Asia
Airstrikes by Pakistani warplanes inside Afghanistan have intensified tensions in recent days in an already volatile region. Once-close ties between Pakistan’s leaders and the Afghan Taliban have frayed, and violent cross-border exchanges have become alarmingly frequent. – New York Times
Although India and Pakistan have long used militant groups to sow chaos in each other’s country, India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has since 2021 deployed a methodical assassination program to kill at least a half dozen people deep within Pakistan, according to Pakistani and Western officials. – Washington Post
Thousands of Bangladeshis rallied at a ‘March for Unity’ in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday to mark the student-led uprising five months ago that led to the ouster of longstanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and remember the more than 1,000 killed in the violence. – Reuters
Pakistan and India on Wednesday exchanged lists of their nuclear assets as part of a bilateral pact that bars them from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities. – Associated Press
Tribal elders backed by local authorities in restive northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday brokered a peace deal between minority Shiites and majority Sunni tribes, weeks after deadly clashes that killed at least 130 people, officials said. – Associated Press
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, which launched strikes on Pakistani military posts over the weekend, said it won’t escalate the situation but warned it will retaliate if attacked again. – Bloomberg
Asia
Dozens of foreigners attending a large music festival in Indonesia were detained by police, accused of using drugs and allegedly told to pay thousands of dollars to gain their release, exposing what experts say is a deepening toll of corruption in a nation that aspires to be a global economic heavyweight. – Wall Street Journal
Ollie is one of the early beneficiaries of AUKUS, the trilateral security pact in which the United States and the United Kingdom are helping Australia build nuclear-propelled submarines to counter China’s growing military assertiveness in the region – Washington Post
Since descending into a full-blown civil conflict nearly four years ago, after the military overthrew the elected government, Myanmar has cemented its status as a hotbed of transnational crime – New York Times
Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Thursday that Chinese warplanes and warships had carried out the first “combat patrol” around the island of the New Year, after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te again expressed willingness to talk to Beijing. – Reuters
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday that he welcomed equal, dignified, healthy and orderly exchanges with China, but wondered whether there was goodwill from Beijing given what he said was their blocking of simple things like tourism. – Reuters
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pledged to strengthen the island’s defenses in the face of escalating Chinese threats, saying in a New Year’s address on Wednesday that Taiwan was a crucial part of the “line of defense of democracy” globally. – Associated Press
Europe
U.S. billionaire Elon Musk’s support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a “logical and systematic” play for a weak Europe that will not be able to regulate as strongly, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said in his New Year’s address. – Reuters
A gunman who killed at least 10 people in a rampage in a small town in Montenegro died from self-inflicted injuries on Thursday after attempting suicide, the country’s interior minister, Danilo Saranovic, said. – Reuters
Suspected people smugglers will face severe curbs under new laws in Britain, the government said on Thursday, as it steps up efforts to fight illegal migration and strengthen border security. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he recognised that his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June had created more political instability in the country, in a rare moment of contrition. – Reuters
The breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria cut heating and hot water supplies to households on Wednesday after Russia stopped supplying gas to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine. – Reuters
The owner of an oil tanker seized by Finland on suspicion of breaking an undersea power line and four telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea last week is seeking the release of the ship, a lawyer representing the company said on Monday. – Reuters
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s opponent Peter Magyar sought elections earlier than the one scheduled in 2026 amid opinion polls showing the ruling party losing its popularity. The government said elections will be held next year. – Bloomberg
Keir Starmer came to power promising to reset Britain’s relationship with the European Union. As 2025 rolls in, that’s looking tricker than he thought. – Politico
The event was definitely not a “secret meeting,” Roger Beckamp, a member of the German Bundestag for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) repeatedly stressed at the clandestine event in a restaurant in the small Swiss town of Kloten on December 14, attended by members of two well-known neo-Nazi groups. They had nothing to hide, Beckamp claimed, adding that he hoped “the whole thing will be put on the internet.” – Jerusalem Post
Anti-Israel demonstrators set fire to an Israeli flag outside a sports arena in Spain’s Canary Islands, leading up to a basketball game featuring the Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv that is set to take place at the arena on Thursday. – Algemeiner
The upcoming German elections are considered one of the most important this year, as the conservative CDU is expected to reclaim power after three years of SPD rule. – Arutz Sheva
80 years after the Holocaust, a significant archive documenting 425,000 Dutch individuals accused of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II will become accessible later this week. – Arutz Sheva
The French government condemned Israel for the IDF’s recent counter-terrorism operation at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which the Hamas terrorist organization used as a command center for its military operations in Jabaliya. – Arutz Sheva
Africa
An unprecedented explosion of conflicts has carved a trail of death and destruction across the breadth of Africa—from Mali near the continent’s western edge all the way to Somalia on its eastern Horn. – Wall Street Journal
The war in Sudan has created the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. By some estimates, as many as 150,000 people have been killed amid the fighting between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces, and the collapse of healthcare and agriculture. – Wall Street Journal
Ivory Coast has announced that French forces will withdraw from its territory, following in the footsteps of several other West African countries and further reducing France’s waning power in the region. – New York Times
Tens of thousands of Mozambicans have taken to the streets to reject a presidential election that they believe was rigged by the long-governing party, Frelimo. – New York Times
Nigeria has stepped up its drive to crack down on oil theft in the Niger Delta region as it aims to increase national production to 3 million barrels per day in 2025. – Reuters
A Congolese military tribunal has sentenced 13 soldiers to death on charges including murder, looting, and cowardice in what military authorities said was a drive to improve army discipline after territorial losses due to soldiers fleeing. – Reuters
Somalia is considering reversing a decision to exclude Ethiopian troops from a multinational force battling Islamist insurgents, another sign that diplomatic tensions between the two countries are easing. – Bloomberg
A southern African bloc called for an immediate end to hostilities in Mozambique, where post-election protests have left dozens of people dead and caused extensive damage to private and government property. – Bloomberg
Justice Malala writes: The crisis is deepening as the death toll mounts and commerce grinds to a halt. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for restraint and dialogue. A start would be to dump discredited, partisan regional players such as South Africa and Zimbabwe as mediators. Instead, a new, credible mission of independent African and global players needs to be dispatched to the region swiftly to drive an inclusive, sustainable and open dialogue aimed at fulfilling the will of the people. – Bloomberg
The Americas
Four bodies discovered last week are a group of boys reported missing at the start of the month, Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said on Tuesday, as a judge ordered detention for 16 military personnel while their alleged role in the disappearance is investigated. – Reuters
Three suspects were arrested on Monday in the death of a Mexican migration agent who was found earlier in the day with no signs of life, state security and migration officials said. – Reuters
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab said on Monday that 413 more people arrested over election protests are to be freed, taking the total number of prisoners released to 1,369. – Reuters
Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency on Monday as the government braced for reprisal shootings after an attempt on a gang leader’s life, officials said. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told his Emirati counterpart on Monday that Brazil will work to seal a deal between South American trade bloc Mercosur and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in coming months. – Reuters
With a majority of his caucus now calling on him to resign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a ski holiday, reflecting on whether to stay or go. – Politico
United States
A Tesla Cybertruck filled with large firework mortars and gas canisters exploded near the entrance of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, killing the driver and injuring seven others, according to police. – Washington Post
Japan’s Nippon Steel has proposed giving the U.S. government veto power over any potential cuts to U.S. Steel’s production capacity, as part of its efforts to secure President Joe Biden’s approval for acquiring the American steelmaker, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors. – Associated Press
President Joe Biden said law enforcement officials were looking for any additional people who may have played a part in the attack in New Orleans that left at least 15 people dead. – Bloomberg
Police in Washington on Wednesday said they have upped security measures after the New Year’s attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans. – The Hill
The escalation of antisemitism in the wake of the Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror massacre in Israel has paved the way for attacks on Jewish communities around the world. For the duration of the past year, schools, community centers and houses of worship have faced threats, intimidation and physical violence. – Fox News
The United States saw 2025 begin with a violent attack, after a man drove deliberately at high speed into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more. – Agence France Presse
Matthew Hennessey writes: Someone tells you that 10 people died on Wednesday morning. That’s 10 families wrecked, scarred forever by the actions of a complete lunatic whose motivations are currently unknown but don’t matter anyway. Not to those families. More could die, including you and your colleague, the other New Orleans police officer who didn’t go home to his family this morning. You remember that it’s New Year’s Day. Half the world is waking up with a hangover. You know that some people will hear the terrible news from your beloved city and reflect on the senseless loss of life. You wonder if they’ll think of you. You wonder if they’ll say a prayer for all who protect and serve. – Wall Street Journal
Steven Press writes: In 1946, long before any Dane had heard of Mr. Trump, America made a formal offer of $100 million to buy Greenland, recognizing the strategic importance of the land to U.S. interests. Though the Danes didn’t say yes at the time, it’d be good for political commentators to keep in mind that this idea is neither new nor radical. At least so we might be spared spurious indignation. – Wall Street Journal
Vito Fossella and Peter King write: As much as we may see the very clear need to help the victims of 9/11, some in Washington have stood against the program for years — and now its ability to help those who get sick down the road is at threat. 9/11 was the last real act of war on American soil. Just as we take care of warriors who die on the day of battle, we have an obligation to fulfill our responsibilities to all our casualties of war — whether it be the first responder who was there at Ground Zero, or the civilian who happened to be working or going to school nearby. We know President Trump supports these brave souls. The next step is for Congress to act. – New York Post
Stephen Blank writes: Increased defense spending, combined with White House pressure, can galvanize NATO allies into taking the lead in reforming their own severely underdeveloped defense industrial sector so that the alliance can then meet the challenges, including supplying Ukraine, for which it is admittedly not ready at present. European diplomats told the Financial Times they see some encouraging signs that Trump’s team understands the risks and rewards in Ukraine and with Russia more broadly. Let’s hope this augurs well for 2025. – Centre for European Policy Analysis
Cybersecurity
Chinese government hackers breached a highly sensitive office in the Treasury Department that administers economic sanctions against countries and groups of individuals — one of the most potent tools possessed by the United States to achieve national security aims, according to U.S. officials. – Washington Post
Malaysia’s communications regulator said it granted Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s TikTok licences to operate in the country under a new social media law, but that some other platforms had not applied. – Reuters
Montenegro on Tuesday extradited Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to the United States, where he faces charges of having deceived investors about the stability of the TerraUSD cryptocurrency and how an app used the Terraform blockchain. – Reuters
A divisive United Nations cybercrime treaty — one that critics say is a huge danger to human rights and that the United States cautiously agreed to advance — is now in the hands of member nations. – CyberScoop
Defense
Federal authorities unsealed an indictment accusing a U.S. Army soldier of selling and attempting to sell stolen confidential phone records. – Reuters
A Germany-based artillery brigade is now the first Army unit fully equipped with the service’s next-generation Multiple Launch Rocket System. In November, soldiers with the 41st Field Artillery Brigade in Grafenwoehr, Germany, completed the replacement of their legacy M270A1 MLRS platforms with the A2 variant, according to an Army release. – Defense News
The US Air Force (USAF) is withdrawing its last Boeing F-15C Eagle from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The USAF published a photograph of personnel from the 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit gathered around what was described as the “last [F-15C] Eagle” at Kadena Air Base on 6 December. – Janes
Long War
A man plowed a pickup truck bearing an Islamic State flag into revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 people and injuring many others in a grisly terrorist attack, officials said. – Washington Post
The U.S. government’s controversial plea deals with three men accused of orchestrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks may proceed, a Defense Department appeals court has ruled, after the Biden administration sought to thwart an agreement that would spare the lives of those who have admitted guilt in the deadliest crime perpetrated on American soil. – Washington Post
The terrorist group, also known as ISIS, has left a brutal legacy of death and destruction across the world. Though the group no longer controls significant territory in the Middle East, it has continued to launch terror attacks around the world and inspire believers of its extreme ideology to carry out atrocities of their own. – New York Times
France carried out missile strikes last weekend in Syria, targeting Islamic State sites in the country, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The Islamic State group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland a day earlier, the group posted on its Telegram channel. – Reuters
Editorial: This is a good reason for Mr. Trump to retain the current U.S. base in Syria whose mission has been to deter the revival of an ISIS or al Qaeda safe haven. Mr. Trump has said Syria’s civil war isn’t America’s concern, but it surely is if the country becomes a jihadist state or allows new terror camps to form. The Kurds are holding thousands of ISIS fighters as prisoners in the area they control in eastern Syria. The possible return of jihadist terror to the homeland isn’t a message anyone wanted to hear in 2025, but it is a reality that the next Administration will have to deter and defeat. – Wall Street Journal
Juliette Kayyem writes: After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush tried to calm a grieving nation by telling citizens to still “go shopping for their families.” The quote has been mocked as both tone-deaf (the term consumer patriotism was coined) and insensitive, but the for is often forgotten in the retelling. No matter how terrible an attack, we still need to be there for one another—whether that means gathering or grieving or, when the time comes, just watching a football game. – The Atlantic
Graeme Wood writes: There is no law of nature that says terrorists must always be bad at terrorism. Many terrorists and mass murderers have plotted very effectively, and racked up the body counts to prove it. Right now, authorities are investigating whether the New Orleans killer had accomplices. If he did have help, then his accomplices were equally incompetent. The correct response, in the long term, is to prepare for the day when competence and fervor intersect. Mercifully, that day was not today. – The Atlantic