Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Trump says Peace Board promises rosier future for Middle East JPost Editorial: The cost of risk: Why Israel’s security voice must outweigh Davos technocrats Trump says US 'armada' heading toward Iran Iran protest deaths seen rising with one estimate topping 20,000 European Parliament adopts resolution condemning Iran’s brutal treatment of protesters Putin agrees next steps with US envoys but Kremlin says territory is key AEI’s Angela Stent: Why Putin was rooting for a U.S. invasion of Greenland U.S. weighs complete military withdrawal from Syria China sees a chance to lure jaded U.S. allies WaPo’s David Ignatius: Europe has stopped pretending TikTok finalizes deal to keep operating in the U.S. Middle East Forum’s Jonathan Spyer: ISIS may prosper from Syria's dangerous turnIn The News
Israel
A new peace board marks the first steps toward a end to conflict in the Middle East and the wider globe, President Trump told world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland. – Wall Street Journal
Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt will reopen next week after largely being shut during the Israel-Hamas war, the Palestinian technocrat leader backed by Washington to administer the enclave announced on Thursday. – Reuters
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday presented a plan to rebuild war-torn Gaza into a glitzy resort, which he said could happen in three years if Hamas demilitarizes in accordance with the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. – Agence France-Presse
Twenty-five Israelis – including Jews – and foreigners residing in Israel were indicted for spying for Iran in 2025, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) reported this week. – Jerusalem Post
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the identity of a man accused of infiltrating IDF command facilities in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack may be published, marking a significant shift in a case that has raised acute concerns over wartime security breaches at the heart of the military command structure. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF Judea Brigade began a counterterrorism operation earlier this week in the Hebron area, as part of an ongoing effort to enforce law and order and maintain security in the area, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reliance on US President Donald Trump left the Israeli premier with little choice but to accept an invitation to join the Board of Peace, despite significant qualms regarding the makeup of the panel’s Gaza Executive Board, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Thursday. – Times of Israel
The Palestinian group Al-Haq said on Thursday that it and others filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat, who is in Davos, for “international crimes.” – Times of Israel
Editorial: If Israel allows this incident to become a precedent, Jerusalem will be stuck in a perpetual loop of reacting to the decisions of others. Any peace framework that minimizes Israel’s role is not neutral. It is disconnected from geography and from experience. Israel lives next to Gaza, not across an ocean, and it will remain the first responder to any failure. A process that does not reflect that reality is not building peace. It is postponing the next crisis. – Jerusalem Post
Yonah Jeremy Bob writes: In an even worse-case scenario, 20% of what is being proposed will happen, but the rest will get stuck at some intermediate point when disputes break out in the field about unexpected or purposely provoked incidents. There will also be all kinds of questions about when the IDF will need to make partial withdrawals in relation to when Hamas makes partial disarmament moves. But this proposing of the first real Hamas disarmament plan means that the great game has begun for Israel, Hamas, the US, Qatar, Turkey, and others to try to reframe the future of the conflict and the region. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program. – Reuters
The number of people reported killed in Iran’s protest crackdown has surged as rights groups continue to verify suspected fatalities, with the United Nations warning the total could be more than 20,000. – Bloomberg
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Washington that the force had its “finger on the trigger” in the wake of its crackdown on mass anti-government protests, even as US President Donald Trump said the Islamic Republic still appeared interested in talks. – Agence France-Presse
Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi announced six demands of the international community and the Iranian diaspora to support protesters and activists within the country, in a post on his official X/Twitter on Thursday evening. – Jerusalem Post
The European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of a resolution calling on the Iranian regime to end executions and release detainees, and called for the European Council to immediately designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The resolution was adopted by 562 votes in favor, 9 against, and 57 abstentions. – Jerusalem Post
Speaking as demonstrations appeared to have been halted by a brutal crackdown that saw thousands massacred by regime forces, Ali said protesters were hoping that both the United States and Israel would come to their aid by launching military action to assist in overthrowing the Islamic Republic. – Times of Israel
James Stavridis writes: While the US and most of its European allies are understandably absorbed by the drama surrounding a potential US move on Greenland, a far larger strategic game is underway in the Middle East. Trump has a comprehensive array of options to come to the aid of Iran’s brave protesters. Acting now may be the best opportunity in decades to effect an internal regime change in Iran. The question is whether the brave opposition can once again capture the wavering attention of Washington. Let’s hope they do. – Bloomberg
David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Spencer Faragasso, and the Good ISIS Team write: This specific construction project should also be put in the context of Iran’s history of using the Parchin military site for many of its nuclear weapon’s activities during the Amad Plan, including neutron initiator development work, multipoint initiation work, and the construction of a deeply buried weapon-grade uranium core production facility. – Institute for Science and International Security
Afshon Ostovar writes: A break within the present regime, however it arrives, would at a minimum further weaken the foundations of the theocracy. It would be an admission from insiders that this system is sick and unable to heal itself through constitutional processes. It would also be a sign that the pressures amassed against the Islamic Republic have, indeed, chipped away at it, bit by bit. Most importantly, it would usher in an era of change—less the preservation of the Islamic Republic than the beginning of its downfall. – Foreign Affairs
Russia and Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky aimed a blistering speech at Europe during the World Economic Forum on Thursday after a last-minute meeting with President Donald Trump, which both leaders described as “good,” saying framework documents between the two countries — in hopes of ending the conflict — were nearing the final stages. – Washington Post
Moscow is willing to contribute $1 billion to President Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, but that would require unfreezing Russian assets held in the United States, President Vladimir V. Putin said on Thursday. – New York Times
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Friday offered talks with Ukraine to crack down on sanctions-busting after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy name-checked the island as a source of illicit missile components. – Reuters
Russia said it will hold security talks with the U.S. and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Friday, but warned after a late-night meeting between President Vladimir Putin and three U.S. envoys that a durable peace would not be possible unless territorial issues were resolved. – Reuters
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities said on Thursday they were investigating a former border guard chief over bribery allegations, pressing on with a campaign against graft as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion approaches. – Reuters
Ukraine claims to have detained two Russian spies who were involved in scoping out the damage caused by Moscow’s Oreshnik ballistic missile in Lviv. – Defense News
Angela Stent writes: How ironic, then, that a dispute between the U.S. and its allies over a NATO member’s territory could end up undermining NATO and helping Mr. Putin realize his goal of subjugating Ukraine. “It was hard to imagine before that such a thing could happen,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. He added that it could create a scenario in which “one NATO member is going to attack another NATO member.” Although three NATO members—Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia—have experienced something similar. – Wall Street Journal
Andrew Chakhoyan writes: Show Putin that attempts to take Ukraine’s freedom, deceive the U.S. president, and threaten nuclear escalation will not be tolerated. Putin lies from habit, but also from fear. He lies because his military is underperforming even the lowest expectations and Russia’s economy is faltering. Putin lies because his only path to victory runs through Washington’s self-deterrence and Europe’s indecisiveness. The greatest lie of all is that we have no choice but to accept it. – The Hill
Anna Borshchevskaya and Matt Tavares write: The United States can compete for influence in the Middle East, particularly in the Mediterranean, as part of a holistic strategy to counter Russia. It could prioritize Syria and seek ways to bolster Ukraine across the region as an alternative to Russia. Ukraine is well-positioned to counter Russia across the region, especially in the arms market. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. If the United States does not act now, it will have a harder time countering Russia in the Middle East—and Europe too, from Russia empowering adversarial actors to potentially complicating US freedom to maneuver in the Eastern Mediterranean, to give a few examples. Putin is playing the long game. President Donald Trump should, too. – National Interest
Syria
Washington is considering a complete withdrawal of American troops from Syria, U.S. officials said, as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa moved to wrest control of the northeastern part of the country from an American-backed Kurdish-led militia. – Wall Street Journal
A U.S. envoy called for a truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces to be upheld, urging steps to build trust after Damascus captured swathes of the northeast in a push to reassert central authority. – Reuters
Syrian Kurdish forces have lost control of big parts of the country this month as government troops under President Ahmed al-Sharaa seek to bring their security forces and territory under the authority of the central state. – Reuters
Mona Yacoubian and Will Todman write: These workarounds could go far in cementing the ceasefire and advancing Kurdish integration into a new Syria. If successful, the agreement could also serve as an important template for other minority groups such as the Druze. It could launch a virtuous cycle in which compromise to secure the buy-in of one key minority group engenders faith by others that they too can find a place in the new united Syria. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Michael Rubin writes: Al-Sharra might shave his beard and wear a business suit, but those he commands neither have such finesse nor the restraint. What happens to the Kurds in Kobane should al-Sharaa’s army move in could easily become akin to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, when the United Nations stood aside and allowed Serbs to slaughter 8,000 Bosnian men and boys. Second, Islamists will view the fall of Kobane’s Kurds as avenging the Islamic State’s defeat and signaling its rebirth. Far from making a new Syria safe and secure, Trump and Barrack’s willingness to see the Syrian army impose its will by force could easily fuel greater terrorism, not only in Syria but far beyond. – Middle East Forum
Middle East & North Africa
A Tunisian court on Thursday convicted and sentenced two prominent journalists to 3-1/2 years in prison on tax evasion charges, which a family member said was retaliation for their reporting. – Reuters
Tunisian authorities on Thursday said they killed four members of a “terrorist cell” in western Tunisia near the North African country’s border with Algeria. – Agence France-Presse
Algeria’s Senate on Thursday demanded changes to a law criminalizing French colonial rule, including provisions on reparations, nearly a month after parliament passed the legislation. – Agence France-Presse
Iraq’s judiciary said Thursday it would launch legal proceedings against detainees from the Islamic State jihadist group who were transferred from Syria to Iraq as part of a US operation. – Agence France-Presse
The prominent Columbia University anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil will likely be deported to Algeria, a US official said in a Thursday interview. – Times of Israel
Dr. Ruwayda Mustafah writes: The Trump administration has emphasized the pursuit of peace initiatives that deliver tangible economic and energy security benefits. Syria should be approached with the same pragmatism. With the involvement of experienced regional leaders such as Nechirvan Barzani, the United States can support stabilization efforts that respect local dynamics while safeguarding its strategic interests. The SDF’s recent ceasefire represents one step in a longer process. As US Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has noted, both Washington and Damascus seek to “drive forward, quickly, with investment, development, and the worldwide branding of a new, welcoming Syria, without sanctions.” With careful diplomacy and credible regional partners, the United States retains the tools needed to advance stability in Syria while bringing its military role to a close. – National Interest
Korean Peninsula
U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for policy Elbridge Colby will visit South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday and discuss military alliance issues before travelling on to Japan, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday. – Reuters
Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS), labour union in South Korea warned the automaker on Thursday against deploying humanoid robots without union approval, saying the robots would bring “employment shocks”. – Reuters
South Korea isn’t delaying the first planned $20 billion tranche of its US investment commitments as part of a trade deal framework, Finance Minister Koo Yun Cheol said, adding that the time-consuming process to select projects is underway even though it’s unlikely to be completed in the first half of the year. – Bloomberg
China
China has seized upon the disarray left by President Trump within the trans-Atlantic alliance, denouncing his push to acquire Greenland and trying to entice U.S. allies with the promise of reliable trade partnerships. – Wall Street Journal
China is keen to deepen cooperation with Malta in shipping and port logistics, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, eager to leverage the island’s strategic location in the Central Mediterranean. – Reuters
China is willing to work with Britain on the basis of mutual respect to promote economic ties and a favourable business environment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. – Reuters
The Trump administration is allowing China to purchase Venezuelan oil but not at “unfair, undercut” prices at which Caracas sold the crude before the U.S. removed President Nicolas Maduro, a U.S. official said on Thursday. – Reuters
The Chinese Coast Guard said on Friday it dispatched two vessels to rescue 21 Philippine crew members in a foreign cargo ship that capsized near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. – Reuters
Increased cooperation between China and Russia is a source of concern for NATO, the top commander of the trans-Atlantic alliance Alexus Grynkewich said on Thursday. – Reuters
China and Brazil should safeguard the shared interests of the Global South and jointly maintain the United Nations’ core role, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Brazilian counterpart on Friday, state news agency Xinhua said. – Reuters
Brahma Chellaney writes: That is a mistake. Water insecurity is a well-documented accelerator of conflict, forced migration and state fragility. A project capable of degrading ecosystems and affecting tens of millions of people downstream implicates not only Asian stability but the international order itself. China’s Brahmaputra mega-system should therefore be understood for what it is: an unprecedented experiment in high-altitude engineering, ecological transformation and geopolitical leverage rolled into one. It is a strategic instrument whose consequences will flow far beyond the Himalayas. – The Hill
Ilaria Mazzocco writes: In several instances, this has proven a remarkably effective strategy. However, it has also created a new set of incentives for countries to, among other things, seek to stabilize their commercial relationship with Beijing, which is now portraying itself as a more reliable partner. While not necessarily always detrimental to U.S. national security in the short term, it could nonetheless carry long-term consequences. A more holistic foreign policy approach would consider both the motivations and interests of allies that can be leveraged to mutual benefit, in addition to the pressure points that can be used to pursue U.S. interests in a more direct way. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
South Asia
With Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party poised to have its best-ever performance at the ballot box next month, U.S. diplomats are looking to step up their engagement with the group, according to audio recordings obtained by The Washington Post. – Washington Post
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he had spoken to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and was looking forward to welcoming him to India soon. “Glad to speak with President Lula. We reviewed the strong momentum in the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, which is poised to scale new heights in the year ahead,” Modi said on X. – Reuters
India and the European Union are expected to announce the conclusion of protracted negotiations for a free trade pact on Tuesday, opening the way for reduced tariffs on European cars and wine and expanded market for Indian electronics, textiles and chemicals, two Indian and EU government sources said. – Reuters
Current ASEAN chair the Philippines said it looked forward to further talks with opponents of Myanmar’s ruling junta, and expected to engage more groups while staying open to the outcome of its general elections, but has not endorsed the vote. – Reuters
The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found. – Associated Press
A massive fire this week destroyed hundreds of makeshift homes and displaced more than 2,000 people in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, prompting calls Thursday from relief agencies for more funding to build safer housing and help provide emergency aid. – Associated Press
Marvin G. Weinbaum and Naade Ali write: Ultimately, stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan serves broader US national security objectives. Securing access to critical minerals, protecting global supply chains, reducing the risk of regional conflict, and constraining China’s expanding influence in South and Central Asia are all aligned with core American strategic interests. In this sense, Pakistan and Afghanistan are not peripheral concerns but integral components of the evolving US national security strategy. – Middle East Institute
Sameer Lalwani, Shailender Arya, and David Brostoff write: Indian strategists have thus emerged from the May 2025 war with several lessons to guide operational planning, force development, and grand strategy for the next decade. Clausewitz reminds us, however, that war is “always the collision of two living forces.” And indeed, Pakistan — with China’s help — has also been busy upgrading its tactical, organizational, and geostrategic positions. The next crisis between India-Pakistan — and there will probably be a next crisis — will reveal whether New Delhi has not only learned conceptual lessons but effectively operationalized them at scale better than its adversaries. – War on the Rocks
Asia
Several people are missing after a landslide buried part of a popular campground in New Zealand, with rescuers continuing to search through the debris in hopes of finding survivors. – Wall Street Journal
A Philippine court on Thursday convicted a journalist on charges of financing terrorism and sentenced her to more than a decade in prison, in a ruling that rights and press groups said was a blatant attack on press freedom. – New York Times
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) (9501.T) will shut down the No.6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station after a malfunction was detected early on Thursday, a day after the unit went online for the first time in about 14 years. – Reuters
The Philippines, as ASEAN chair, will insist that a long-delayed Code of Conduct with China on the South China Sea explicitly references the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as it works to complete the document by this year, its foreign minister said on Thursday. – Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday he was “profoundly sorry” for his failure to prevent the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as the country observed a day of mourning for the victims of the attack. – Reuters
Vietnam’s top leader To Lam was re-appointed on Friday as head of the ruling Communist Party for the next five years after an uninimous vote by its central committee, as he pledged to turbocharge growth in the export-reliant nation. – Reuters
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Friday, paving the way for a Feb. 8 snap election. The move is an attempt to capitalize on her popularity to help governing party regain ground after major losses in recent years, but will delay discussion and a vote on a budget that aims at boosting a struggling economy and addressing soaring prices. – Associated Press
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to face two more impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives, underscoring growing political tensions even as the efforts may falter in a congress dominated by his allies. – Bloomberg
Japan’s diplomatic mission in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing has been left without a consul-general, as relations between Tokyo and Beijing remain strained. – Bloomberg
Yun Sun writes: Nonetheless, in the past, Beijing has delayed action on Taiwan because it knows it cannot risk action that would fail, and it felt confident about its strategy for “peaceful reunification”—that the rise of China would eventually make Taiwan want to unify with it. That calculation is now changing—both because the past several years of great-power competition has shaken Beijing’s timeline about its ascent and because its confidence about a forceful bid for Taiwan is growing. Washington must realize that the current combination of factors offers what Beijing could perceive as its best opportunity to take Taiwan. – Foreign Affairs
Ilan I. Berman writes: That assessment remains valid. America’s principal geopolitical competitors have long coveted the region. Russia sees it as its natural patrimony and geopolitical backyard, while China increasingly treats it as an extension of the global dependency network it is erecting through its sprawling Belt and Road Initiative. What’s different today is that Eurasian states appear to have a different direction in mind. The U.S. should help them pursue it. – American Foreign Policy Council
Europe
The West avoided an open rupture this week. But, instead of celebrating, European leaders are bracing for more serious shocks to the trans-Atlantic relationship in the months ahead. “We are not yet out of the woods,” Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkēvičs said in an interview in Davos on Thursday, after President Trump U-turned on threats of military action and punitive tariffs to seize Greenland from Denmark. – Wall Street Journal
Danish officials pushed back on Thursday against any talk of compromising on the sovereignty of Greenland amid confusion over what kind of deal NATO leaders may have struck with President Trump over the future of the Arctic island. – New York Times
Few details have emerged about the framework of a tentative deal that President Trump said he had reached with NATO over Greenland, but one proposal under discussion would allow the United States to own pockets of land in Greenland for military bases. Western officials who spoke to The New York Times compared the idea to a 60-year-old agreement under which Britain operates sovereign military bases on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. – New York Times
The French navy intercepted a Russian tanker on Thursday in the Mediterranean suspected to be part of the shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions. “This operation was carried out … with the support of several of our allies. It was conducted in full compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X. – Reuters
Austrian former intelligence officer Egisto Ott went on trial on Thursday, accused of helping Russia hunt down opponents and selling it government phones and secure laptops at the behest of fugitive former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek. – Reuters
The EU’s free trade deal with South American countries will probably be applied on a provisional basis as soon as March, an EU diplomat told Reuters on Thursday, despite a looming challenge at the bloc’s top court. – Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had secured total and permanent U.S. access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China. – Reuters
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine and argued that conditions are evolving favourably from the perspective of western powers. – Reuters
Hungary’s main opposition Tisza party’s lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz has narrowed slightly in January, a poll showed on Thursday, ahead of an April 12 election in which Orban faces a tough reelection bid. – Reuters
Germany is expelling a member of Russia’s diplomatic service suspected of espionage, the German foreign ministry said on Thursday, the latest sign of intensifying Russian intelligence activities in Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. – Reuters
EU leaders heaved a sigh of relief over Donald Trump’s U-turn on Greenland as they met for an emergency summit in Brussels late on Thursday. The leaders said they want an EU-U.S. trade deal to be back on track after the European Parliament suspended its ratification in protest over U.S. pressure to acquire Greenland. – Reuters
Czech police said on Thursday they have detained a person suspected of working with Chinese intelligence services, though they did not provide additional details. Criminal proceedings were underway against the individual, who was taken into custody on Saturday, the police said on X. Czech security services cooperated on the case. – Reuters
Spain will not take part in the Board of Peace initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump to tackle global conflicts, saying the decision was consistent with its belief in multilateralism and the United Nations system. – Reuters
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is seeking to deepen Germany’s relationship with Italy amid growing divisions with the French government over European trade policy and the challenge of dealing with US President Donald Trump. – Bloomberg
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban reacted with an angry post on his social media platforms after Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused him of acting against European interests. – Bloomberg
Greenland’s prime minister says he’s willing to go further in increasing the defense of the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, including agreeing on the establishment of a permanent NATO mission. – Bloomberg
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya warned Donald Trump against trusting her country’s authoritarian leader, whom the US president invited to joint his Board of Peace initiative. – Bloomberg
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, easily survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament that far-right lawmakers pushed over a recent trade deal with South American countries. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The region’s leaders must overcome such dysfunction and mount a more serious and coherent effort. More than seven decades ago, European nations came together in the hopes of ensuring peace and prosperity after the horrors of two world wars — a monumental experiment in the power of mutual benefit and shared values to triumph over narrow self-interest and ancient rivalry. It’s eminently worth defending. – Bloomberg
David Ignatius writes: Trump complained at Davos that Europeans should be thanking him for all the great things he’s done for them. This time, he may actually be right. The Greenland putsch might finally have shocked Europeans into taking control of their destiny — and beginning the economic reforms they need to survive as prosperous countries. The transatlantic alliance won’t collapse after this crazy week in Davos, but it’s going to be different. – Washington Post
Africa
Detained Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye is in a “worrying” health condition after falling sick, his wife Winnie Byanyima told Reuters, citing symptoms including high temperature, stomach pain, dehydration and inability to walk. – Reuters
Nearly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger this year, including 3 million children facing severe malnutrition, the United Nations said on Thursday, following the collapse of global aid budgets. – Reuters
The president of Somaliland was at the World Economic Forum this week to win international recognition for his country and pitch investment opportunities in the East African nation. – Reuters
Around half of all school-age children in Sudan, or more than eight million, are no longer in education because of the country’s civil war, in one of the world’s worst education crises, Save The Children said in a report on Thursday. – Reuters
Guinea Bissau has scheduled presidential and legislative elections to be held on December 6, following a coup in the troubled West African nation late last year that disrupted the electoral process. – Reuters
Gunmen who abducted more than 150 church worshippers in Nigeria’s conflict-hit northwest are demanding 17 motorcycles as ransom from families of hostages, residents told The Associated Press on Thursday. – Associated Press
Michael Rubin writes: Many Congolese cannot separate themselves from their own personal biases. If someone looks Tutsi then they are assumed to be Rwandan, not native to Congo. This is one of the reasons why, despite wild tails of Rwandan forces invading the region, the Congolese government has failed to produce a single Rwandan prisoner or body of slain Rwandan soldier. What Congo needs now is a national dialogue The US should demand that Tshisekedi release political prisoners and the US should also condemn those who preach genocide against Tutsis. Absent addressing this commonsense approach, the Rwanda-Congo peace will be short-lived. There cannot be peace in the Congo without first ending anti-Tutsi incitement. – The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune
The Americas
Edmundo González, the man widely considered the legitimate winner of Venezuela’s tainted 2024 presidential election, said Thursday that his son-in-law Rafael Tudares had been released after more than a year in Venezuelan detention — one of several recent high-profile releases amid continuing repression. – New York Times
Colombia will suspend electricity sales to Ecuador and impose a 30% tariff on 20 products from its neighbor, it said on Thursday, in an escalating dispute over trade and the fight against drug trafficking. – Reuters
The United States has named a two-time U.S. ambassador as its top envoy for Venezuela, according to the U.S. embassy in Caracas website. – Reuters
Javier Milei issued a robust defense of Argentina’s burgeoning economic ties with China, saying that his country had little choice but to pursue trade with Beijing — while seeking a deal with the US. – Bloomberg
North America
On Thursday, less than a day after returning from Davos, Mr. Carney set out Canada’s direction in a speech in Quebec City, saying that his country “must be a beacon — an example to a world at sea.” – New York Times
Renewed verbal attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump are prompting Canadians to rally behind Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earned a rare standing ovation in Davos for openly decrying powerful nations using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage. – Reuters
A U.N.-backed security force, deployed to Haiti to help local police fight off armed gangs that have taken over much of the country should get more troops in April and reach full strength by summer, the U.N.’s special envoy for Haiti said on Thursday. – Reuters
León Krauze writes: For better or worse, Sheinbaum will soon be forced to choose. Amid Venezuela’s collapse, Cuba’s economic free-fall and broader geopolitical tensions — especially in the Western Hemisphere — Mexico cannot openly sustain the Cuban dictatorship while simultaneously expecting goodwill or flexibility from Washington. Mexico can defend its sovereignty and chart its own course but not to the point of irresponsibility. If obstinacy triumphs over pragmatism, the costs will be real, immediate and borne by regular working people — as it usually is when committed ideologues get their way. – Washington Post
Alejandro Reyes writes: But both underscore the point: Credibility is lost when universal principles sound conditional and recovered only when standards are applied even when the costs are real. Taking the sign down is only the beginning. The harder task is proving that honesty will outlast convenience: defending rules when allies violate them and insisting on standards even when enforcement carries a price. Otherwise, Canada’s new realism risks becoming another form of theater—more austere than before but no less selective. – Foreign Policy
United States
President Trump rescinded on Thursday his invitation for Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada to join his “Board of Peace,” an organization that he had founded to oversee a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza but that he has now tried to broaden into an institution to rival the United Nations. – New York Times
The U.S. imposed sanctions on five Costa Ricans and five Costa Rican entities for allegedly helping to transport tons of cocaine from Colombia, storing the drugs in Costa Rica, then shipping them to the U.S. and Europe. – Associated Press
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled solar projects in Puerto Rico worth millions of dollars, as the island struggles with chronic power outages and a crumbling electric grid. – Associated Press
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed as “political noise” the moves in recent days by Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney to strengthen trade relations with China, and raised the risk of that maneuver seeping into talks over a revamped North American trade accord later this year. – Bloomberg
The aircraft that Qatar donated to the US as a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump could be delivered in the next several months. – Bloomberg
Douglas Murray writes: By appointing himself chairman of the Peace Board, President Trump has shown that he is committed to the peace plan that is in place. By inviting regional actors to join him he has shown that for once it will not be just Israel and America that are expected to police the Middle East. But the main threats to Middle Eastern security remain the same. The terrorists still run the Islamic Revolutionary Government in Iran. The state of Qatar is still funding anti-Western propaganda and terrorist groups across the region. Even here at home in America. But if anyone is in a position to tell them to cut it out and accept the new reality then President Trump is in the position to do so. If he succeeds then you can expect those howls of alarm to turn to cheers. – New York Post
Cybersecurity
TikTok officially established a joint venture that would allow it to keep operating in the U.S., the company said Thursday, resolving a yearslong fight to address Washington’s national-security concerns. – Wall Street Journal
Spain’s High Court on Thursday closed its investigation into the use of Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group’s “Pegasus” software to spy on Spanish politicians, citing a lack of cooperation from Israeli authorities. – Reuters
Apple has asked an Indian court to stop the country’s antitrust watchdog from seeking its global financial records as part of an investigation into its app store policies, while it challenges the underlying law’s validity, court papers show. – Reuters
Jordanian authorities used Cellebrite phone-cracking technology to access the devices of domestic activists and human rights defenders and then extract information from them, according to an investigation published Thursday. – CyberScoop
A Russian national pleaded guilty to leading a ransomware conspiracy that targeted at least 50 victims during a four-year period ending in August 2022. – CyberScoop
Ieva Ilves writes: Europe has rejected such an approach. Member States have refused to give up their powers. Instead of strong centralized leadership with firm rules, the new cyber proposal calls for “continuous operational cooperation.” It preserves that “national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.” The sovereignty battle reveals an unpleasant truth. This incoherence makes a strong certification essential. If Europe can’t agree on “sovereignty requirements,” it will pass those discussions to future debates. Europe once again risks getting neither improved security nor reduced dependency on China and the US. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Defense
The US wants to rewrite its defense agreement with Denmark to remove any limits on its military presence in Greenland, people familiar with the matter said, in what’s become a focal point for negotiators looking to meet President Donald Trump’s demand for control over the territory. – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump openly mused about invoking NATO’s collective defense obligation to place allied troops along the US-Mexico border, a suggestion that, even if not meant seriously, represents another volley of rhetoric aimed squarely at European allies. – Bloomberg
Major defense projects involving the United States, Canada, and Norway remain on track in spite of strained relations with traditional allies following the Trump administration’s push for Greenland. – Defense News
Susanna V. Blume writes: The aim of defense acquisition should be a process that is good enough to get the job done with a relentless focus on the content—the hard government work of execution. Shifting focus will require a change in the way the DoD does business, but not one that is easily captured in a new regulation or org chart. And it can only happen if the defense acquisition enterprise is given a reprieve from reforming itself so that it can get down to business. – Center for a New American Security
Long War
The U.S. military expects to complete the transfer of up to 7,000 Islamic State detainees from Syrian prisons to Iraq in the coming days, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday, saying hundreds would be moving across the border daily. – Reuters
The United Nations said on Thursday it was taking management responsibility for vast camps in Syria housing tens of thousands of women and children associated with Islamic State, after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces who guarded them for years. – Reuters
Jonathan Spyer writes: If the SDF is defeated, Syria’s Islamist authorities will extend their reach across the northeast, becoming the new custodians of the places where ISIS fighters are held. For the commander in Hasakah and many others, losing the fight would be a sad end to 15 years of effort, in which—for a while—the SDF built the most stable and sanely governed part of Syria. In its place will likely be jihadist chaos, the murder of female Kurdish fighters, and hundreds of ISIS men escaping incarceration and rallying again. What’s coming next should concern us all. – Wall Street Journal
Or Moshe writes: It demands that antisemitism be named without apology. That Jewish fear be taken seriously. That violence against Jews should not be tolerated under any ideological cover. That democratic societies recognize a basic truth. When Jews are not safe, something fundamental is breaking. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for safety. For clarity. For the right to exist without fear. Bondi was not an anomaly. The shots fired at Jewish homes were not anomalies. The guards at school gates are not anomalies. They are warnings. – Washington Post
Devorah Margolin writes: Washington has long emphasized the need for repatriation and the consequences of delay, including IS breakouts. It has also set a good example by bringing home U.S. citizens who are IS fighters or family members, and by shouldering most of the financial burden for maintaining the detention sites. It is time for others to do their share—especially countries that still have citizens among the nearly 10,000 TCN detainees in Syria. Washington should compel these governments to repatriate their people, leaning on President Trump’s hard-nosed diplomatic style to convey that foot-dragging is no longer an option. The administration should also encourage Damascus to make this a key point in its engagement with these countries. – Washington Institute