News Briefs

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. Negotiators reached a phased deal on Jan. 15 to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East. The accord, which has not yet been formally announced, includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the official told Reuters. The prime minister of Qatar, one of the key mediators, said the ceasefire would take effect Jan. 19.

‘Cold is death.’ For Gazans in flimsy tents, a winter of sorrow and loss.

South Korea’s president detained. South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was sent to a detention center near Seoul on the night of Jan. 15 after being questioned by anti-corruption officials. They took him into custody over his imposition of martial law last month. Mr. Yoon was detained in a major law enforcement operation at the presidential compound earlier in the day. Mr. Yoon defiantly insisted that the country’s anti-corruption agency didn’t have the authority to investigate his actions, but said he complied to prevent violence. Mr. Yoon had been holed up in his residence in the capital, Seoul, for weeks.

The United States has never prosecuted a leader for criminal wrongdoing. But other countries have. “South Korean people are absolutely, in a wonderful way, intolerant of corruption,” said Laura Thornton, senior vice president for democracy at the German Marshall Fund.

Americans flee TikTok to RedNote. Users of the Chinese social media app RedNote welcomed “TikTok refugees” from the United States with selfies and messages on Jan. 15, as Beijing said it encouraged stronger cultural ties with other countries in response to the sudden influx. More than 700,000 new users have been driven by a looming U.S. ban on TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, on national security grounds. Many Chinese users posted selfies and messages saying “welcome TikTok refugees,” and responded to questions from U.S. users on topics such as popular Chinese dishes, tourist sights, and even China’s birth policies.

Public safety or free speech? What’s at stake in the TikTok case.

Irregular migration into EU declines. The number of irregular border crossings into the European Union fell significantly in 2024, according to the bloc’s border control agency Frontex on Jan. 14. It attributes the decrease to intensified cooperation against smuggling networks. The Warsaw-based agency said that its preliminary data for last year reveal a 38% drop in irregular border crossings into the 27-member bloc. Irregular migration has dominated political life in Europe since 2015, when more than a million people arrived at once, many fleeing the war in Syria. It has boosted far-right parties, including in places like Austria and Germany.

Europe is trying to cut back migration. Can it find a legal way to do it?

U.S. inflation ticks up. Inflation in the United States picked up last month as prices rose for gas, eggs, and used cars, yet underlying price pressures also showed signs of easing a bit. A Jan. 15 report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 2.9% in December compared to a year ago, up from 2.7% in November. It was the third straight increase after inflation fell to a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4% in September. Yet, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core inflation declined to 3.2% after remaining stuck at 3.3% for three months in a row.

Economic signals are blinking green. Why Americans are still seeing red.

Jack Smith’s report released. Special counsel Jack Smith said his team “stood up for the rule of law” as it investigated President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He wrote in the much-anticipated report released Jan. 14 that he stands fully behind his decision to bring criminal charges that he believes would have resulted in a conviction had voters not returned Mr. Trump to the White House. The report, arriving just days before Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, focuses attention on the Republican’s frantic effort to cling to power in 2020 after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Almost any controversial action – or inaction – by government officials in the final weeks of an election campaign can appear politically motivated. In October, we looked at the latest filing in the Jan. 6 case against Donald Trump, and what it means.

Israeli far-right minister to quit if possible ceasefire deal accepted. Israeli far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Jan. 14 to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal being negotiated at talks in Qatar. Mr. Ben-Gvir, whose departure would not bring down Netanyahu’s government, urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal, which he described as a dangerous capitulation to Hamas. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been mediating a ceasefire deal and agreements could be imminent, officials have said.

In Israel’s democracy battle, an added front: Politicized police

Jewish extremists harm Israel, official warns. Are Israelis listening?

Brazil limits smartphone use in schools. Following a global trend, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Jan. 14 signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school. The move will impact students at elementary and high schools across the South American nation starting in February. It provides a legal framework to ensure students only use such devices in cases of emergency and danger, for educational purposes, or if they have disabilities and require them. The bill had rare support across the political spectrum, both from allies of leftist Lula and his far-right foe, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Smartphones are robbing kids of their childhood. These communities are fighting back.

‘Dumbphones’ a smart move? Some young people seeking free time and friends say yes.

NATO counters Russian sabotage in Baltic sea. NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region, the alliance’s leader said Jan. 14. The mission dubbed Baltic Sentry would include frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, and a fleet of naval drones, said Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Announcing the new operation, Mr. Rutte noted that more than 95% of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 808,000 miles of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.

How to fight Russian sabotage: With ‘psyops’ and undersea drones.

More than 1 million people displaced in Haiti. The U.N. migration agency said on Jan. 14 that internal displacement in Haiti, largely caused by gang violence, has tripled over the last year and now surpasses 1 million people – a record in the Caribbean nation. “Relentless gang violence” in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has fueled a near-doubling of displacement there and a collapse of health care and other services, reported the International Organization for Migration. The figure marks a three-fold increase in displacement from the 315,000 in December 2023, IOM said. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world.

By September 2023, gang violence had forced some 195,000 Haitians to move to other parts of the country. Internal displacement sows fear and disrupts life plans, but for some rural zones and smaller cities, it could be a moment of big opportunity.

Ukraine offers captured North Korean soldiers in prisoner swap. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Jan. 12 that Ukraine is ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia. Ukraine had taken two North Koreans prisoner in Russia’s Kursk region, Mr. Zelenskyy said on Jan. 11. Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces. About 300 North Korean troops deployed have been killed, with another 2,700 injured in combat against Ukrainian forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.

Why North Korea is sending troops to Russia – and how it risks an ‘escalation spiral’

Federal report on Tulsa Race Massacre. The first-ever U.S. Justice Department review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre concluded on Jan. 10 that while federal prosecution may have been possible a century ago, there is no longer an avenue to bring a criminal case more than 100 years after one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history. The attack by a white mob on a thriving Black district left as many as 300 people dead and 1,200 homes, businesses, schools, and churches destroyed. Federal investigators outlined the scope and impact of the massacre in an 120-page report.

Podcast: “Tulsa Rising” explores the painful, lasting legacy of this event, but also the hope rising within the city as a new generation begins to process and own the spirit of Black Wall Street.

New wave of anti-crime measures in U.S. cities. After a period of relaxed sentencing laws, a tough-on-crime approach is back in political favor in the United States. Republicans and Democrats alike are promoting anti-crime initiatives as a new year of lawmaking gets underway in state capitols. The initiatives come after voters in several states approved ballot measures in the fall imposing stricter penalties for crimes ranging from shoplifting to deadly drug dealing. Within minutes of his inauguration on Jan. 13., new Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is expected to set the tone in his state by issuing a variety of orders targeting crime.

This police unit put away its riot gear. Now it walks and talks with protesters.

Boston broke a record last year for fewest homicides. It’s on track to do it again.

Cooperation to counter China deepens. Japan, the Philippines, and the United States vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three countries said following a Jan. 13 call among their leaders. The three leaders discussed China’s “dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea” and agreed on the importance of continued coordination in the Indo-Pacific region, The White House said in a statement. Japan and the Philippines are both involved in separate territorial disputes with China in the East and South China Seas, respectively.

On remote island, Chinese patrols disrupt Filipino livelihoods – and gender roles

Biden extends protected status for some migrants. About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 230,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said on Jan. 10, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies. The immigrants have Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which President Joe Biden’s administration has strongly supported. TPS faces an uncertain future under Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president. Homeland Security also extended TPS for more than 103,000 Ukrainians and 1,900 Sudanese already living in the U.S.

Trump targets temporary protected status. What that could mean for Haitians in the US.

Trump credited for dockworker deal. A tentative labor deal forestalled possible trade disruptions at three-dozen United States ports. The deal, announced the night of Jan. 8, must still be ratified by some 45,000 union members. Both sides in the talks credited President-elect Donald Trump for clearing the way for a deal on automation, avoiding a similar deadlock over automation which sparked a three-day strike in October at major ports. President Joe Biden played a vital role in helping workers win a 62% raise over six years, which ended the strike. Pro-union attorneys say Mr. Trump’s track record is not one of union support.

Workers unions have enjoyed a boost in popularity since the ’70s with the absence of major strikes. An October dockworker strike challenged that popularity and tested the Biden-Harris administration.

Venezuela inaugurates Nicolás Maduro. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term on Jan. 10 despite international condemnation of his recent reelection as illegitimate. His administration has grown increasingly brazen in cracking down on opponents. This week alone, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist, and the son-in-law of self-exiled opposition leader Edmundo González. Mr. González is recognized as president-elect by the United States and international organizations. Currently in the Dominican Republic, he has never offered details of how he intends to enter the country and take power.

Key question as Venezuela prepares for inauguration: Who is the next president?

Venezuela’s Maduro clings to power. Opposition hopes this time it ends differently.

Romanians protest presidential election cancellation. Thousands of Romanians rallied outside the country’s top court on Jan. 10 to protest against the December cancellation of the presidential election in which a little-known pro-Russian candidate won the first round. Although small, protests have continued since Dec. 6, when the Constitutional Court voided the election two days before the second round. The move came after state documents showed frontrunner Calin Georgescu had benefitted from an unfair social media campaign likely orchestrated by Russia. Moscow denied any interference. Hard right and ultranationalist parties hold over a third of Romania’s parliamentary seats.