Israel, Hamas Agree to Extend Cease-Fire for Two Days |
The two warring sides struck a deal (NYT) to swap more hostages and prisoners and allow further aid to enter the Gaza Strip, the Qatari government said. CIA Director William J. Burns arrived in Doha today for talks aimed at freeing more hostages, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank later this week. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said yesterday that Washington had prioritized getting “much-needed relief into Gaza.” The first of three U.S. aircraft carrying food, medical supplies, and winter clothes for people in Gaza is due to arrive in Egypt today, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, a World Health Organization spokesperson warned today that if Gaza’s health system is not repaired, more people in the territory could die from disease (Reuters) than from bombings.
In Israel yesterday, tech CEO Elon Musk met with (Bloomberg) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the war and Israel’s potential use of Starlink satellite technology. Musk’s visit follows his apparent endorsement of an antisemitic comment on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, that prompted advertisers to leave the platform and criticism from the White House.
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“The Israeli government will have to deal with [three] major dilemmas in the coming days: when to end the truce, when and how to attack south and when to start allowing and helping aid to go into Gaza through Israeli territory,” Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer posts.
“The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the waves of anti-Americanism sweeping across the Arab world, and the very real divergence between Arab governments and Washington over Israel’s prosecution of its campaign risk eroding the bedrock of U.S.-Arab security cooperation,” the Carnegie Endowment’s Jennifer Kavanagh and Frederic Wehrey write for Foreign Affairs. “The rupture caused by the Hamas attack offers an opportunity to develop a more sustainable and lower-risk U.S. approach to the Middle East.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Philippine Government, Communist Rebels to Return to Peace Talks |
The two parties agreed to resume peace talks (AP) last Thursday after decades of conflict, Norwegian mediators announced today. The armed wing of the Philippines’ Communist Party has fought successive governments since 1969, leaving around forty thousand combatants and civilians dead.
New Zealand: The new government announced that it will scrap legislation (The Guardian) aimed at blocking people who were born after January 2009 from being able to buy cigarettes, among other anti-smoking measures. Public health experts criticized the announcement, saying it could cost up to five thousand lives a year.
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Azerbaijan Authorities Arrest Fourth Independent Journalist in a Week |
Police jailed (Reuters) Aziz Orujev, head of Kanal 13 Internet television channel, today on charges of building without permission that his lawyer said were due to his journalistic work. Last week, three members of investigative outlet Abzas Media were arrested on smuggling charges. Press freedom groups have denounced the arrests.
China/Myanmar: Three Chinese navy ships have arrived in Myanmar (Reuters) as part of a four-day goodwill visit as Myanmar’s ruling military junta battles rebels in the country. The task force arrived yesterday and will conduct naval security exercises while there, Myanmar’s Global New Light newspaper reported.
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Middle East and North Africa |
In Spain, Arab and European Leaders Call for Two-State Solution |
All European Union (EU) attendees and nearly all envoys present at a meeting of Mediterranean nations in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday agreed (Reuters) that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is needed, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. Borrell added that the Palestinian Authority should rule the Gaza Strip.
This Council of Councils memo shares global perspectives on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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Niger Junta Repeals Law Against Migrant Smuggling |
The eight-year-old law had significantly reduced (BBC) the number of migrants and asylum seekers who were smuggled through Niger in an attempt to reach Europe. Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s president until he was ousted in a July coup, had cooperated with European governments to stem migrant flows across the Mediterranean. After the coup, the EU suspended security cooperation with Niger.
Sierra Leone: Nearly two thousand prison inmates escaped and twenty people were killed as part of an attack on military barracks in the country on Sunday, officials said yesterday. Thirteen soldiers were among those killed, an army spokesperson told Reuters.
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First Transatlantic Sustainable Fuel-Powered Large Passenger Plane Takes Off |
The plane, flying from London to New York, is powered by fuels (BBC) derived from waste fats and the waste of corn production. It is not carrying fare-paying passengers. Airline companies say so-called sustainable aviation fuels are the most effective way currently known to bring aviation’s net emissions down to zero.
China/Netherlands: The Netherlands greenlit the takeover (Bloomberg) of chipmaker Nowi Energy by China-owned tech company Nexperia after determining that the takeover was not a threat to national security. Earlier this year, the Dutch government agreed to join U.S. efforts to limit some exports of chip technology to China.
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Brazil’s Lula Nominates Justice Minister for Supreme Court |
If confirmed to the court in a simple majority vote by Brazil’s Senate, Justice Minister Flávio Dino would replace Minister Rosa Maria Weber, who stepped down in September. His appointment would leave only one woman (AP) on the high court and go against some of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s allies who are calling for him to appoint a woman justice.
This episode of the Why It Matters podcast explores the gap in female representation in global politics.
Ecuador: Authorities on Sunday arrested the man (FT) thought to lead the powerful Los Lobos drug trafficking gang as part of newly inaugurated President Daniel Noboa Azín’s efforts to crack down on crime.
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Electric, Hybrid Cars Hit Record 17.7 Percent of Lightweight Vehicle Sales in Third Quarter |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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