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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
SYRIA
Russia is in direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) political committee and aims to maintain two military bases in Syria, the Interfax news agency quoted Moscow’s deputy foreign minister as saying yesterday. Maxim Rodionov reports for Reuters.
HTS yesterday offered to “cooperate directly” with the United States in searching for American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing since 2012. Ellen Nakashima reports for the Washington Post.
SYRIA — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Israel will stay in Syria until an “effective force” that meets Israel’s security demands is established, the government said yesterday. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed Israeli troops to be prepared to stay in the buffer zone through the winter. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times; BBC News reports.
The Iranian government is facing fierce – and extraordinary – public backlash over the resources it spent on propping up the Assad regime. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
SYRIA — U.S. RESPONSE
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles, CA yesterday charged a former Syrian government official with torturing political dissidents at the Adra prison in Damascus. Adam Goldman reports for the New York Times.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday said his Jordan and Turkey trip aims to unite the region behind a peaceful transition to a new Syrian government. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan yesterday defended Israel’s actions in Syria, saying it has a right to defend itself “from risks to its security” and that the United States has “every expectation” its move into the buffer zone would be temporary. James Mackenzie reports for Reuters.
SYRIA — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he is deeply concerned about “extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” following Israeli attacks on the country since the Assad regime’s collapse. Richard Roth and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN.
France’s foreign minister yesterday said it is too soon for the European Union to consider lifting sanctions on Syria and that discussions in Brussels will focus on developing a position on the country’s transition. John Irish reports for Reuters.
G7 members will meet virtually today to discuss the situation in Syria, ahead of a planned weekend summit in Jordan with foreign ministers from Arab and Western states. BBC News reports; Caroline Faraj, Mohammed Tawfeeq, and Caitlin Danaher report for CNN.
About 1.1 million people have been displaced since the start of the rebel offensive in Syria, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Guardian reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Sullivan yesterday said he aims to close a hostage release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas “this month.” Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times.
An Israeli strike on a post office-turned-shelter in Gaza killed at least 33 people and wounded 50, medics said, bringing yesterday’s total death toll to 66. Israel said it targeted a senior Islamic Jihad member. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President-elect Trump did not re-commit to pursuing a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict in an interview published yesterday, saying there are “numerous ways [peace] can be done.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The FBI did not have any undercover agents in the crowd of Jan. 6 Capitol rioters or instruct any of its informants to break the law that day, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report released yesterday. Perry Stein, Aaron C. Davis, Spencer S. Hsu, and Tom Jackman report for the Washington Post.
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that would create dozens of new federal judgeships and is the target of a promised veto by President Biden. Lawrence Hurley reports for NBC News.
The city of Louisville and the Justice Department yesterday reached a consent decree to address far-ranging local police misconduct brought to light by investigations following the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.
The FBI informant accused of lying about the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine yesterday reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and admitted his 2020 claims were fabricated. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION AND NEW CONGRESS
President-elect Trump said in an interview published yesterday that he will start pardoning “nonviolent” people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6 riot in “the first hour” of his presidency. Michael D. Shear reports for the New York Times.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams yesterday met with Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Thomas Homan, to discuss the administration’s planned immigration crackdown. “In an interview with Dr. Phil after the meeting, Mr. Homan said his discussion with the mayor, a former police officer, had been productive, saying it was ‘a conversation between a cop and a cop.’” Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Dana Rubinstein report for the New York Times.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon is planning to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, with Bezos slated to visit Mar-a-Lago next week. Dana Mattioli reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is not planning to attend Trump’s inauguration but might send a senior official to represent him, sources say. Lingling Wei and Alex Leary report for the Wall Street Journal.
Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) yesterday said they want Trump’s Cabinet picks to hand over all of their communications with Boris Epshteyn amid pay-to-play scheme accusations. Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Prosecutors in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Georgia yesterday pressed forward with criminal cases against Trump and Trump’s allies’ alleged interference in the 2020 election. Georgia is the only state that charged Trump himself, and legal experts do not expect him to stand trial while President. Danny Hakim and Dan Simmons report for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States will prohibit the issuing of visas for about 20 people responsible for “undermining democracy in Georgia,” the State Department said yesterday. Jasper Ward and Eric Beech report for Reuters.
A federal court in St. Louis, MO yesterday indicted fourteen North Koreans for their alleged involvement in an extortion scheme to fund Pyongyang’s weapons programs. Jim Salter reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The Biden administration yesterday announced another package of weapons aid for Ukraine valued at $500 million. Separately, a senior official said the administration is undertaking a “historic” effort to surge weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Andrea Shalal and Mike Stone report for Reuters; Jennifer Hansler and Haley Britzky report for CNN.
Russia launched its latest massive aerial attack against Ukraine early today, using missiles to target the country’s energy infrastructure, a day after the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board of governors condemned attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector. The Guardian reports; Francois Murphy reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
French President Emmanuel Macron has named a veteran centrist François Bayrou as the country’s new prime minister, following days of deadlock. Victor Goury-Laffont reports for POLITICO.
At least 86 UAE flights have landed at a small airstrip in Chad that some U.N. experts suspect is being used to funnel arms since the civil war in Sudan started last year, flight data and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters show. The UAE claims it has been sending aid. Reade Levinson and David Lewis report.
Iran has agreed to tougher monitoring of one of its top uranium enrichment sites, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report yesterday. Francois Murphy reports for Reuters.
A prominent human rights attorney, Claudio Grossman, quit the International Criminal Court last month over what he saw as an unjustified failure of the chief prosecutor to indict members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government for crimes against humanity. Joshua Goodman reports for AP News.
Venezuelan authorities said yesterday they released 103 people arrested amid anti-government protests after July’s contested presidential election. Vivian Sequera reports for Reuters.