US  News

• Over half the sheriffs in Washington state are refusing to enforce a new gun law. [Link]

North Korea

• DefSec Esper says the US expects North Korea to carry out more weapons tests. [Link]
• Russia and China call for some sanctions to be lifted on North Korea. The US says now is not the time to lift sanctions. [Link]

India

• Protests are spreading in India against a proposed law that would grant citizenship to non-muslims from neighboring countries living in India. [Link]

Afghanistan

• The Pentagon is dismissing the Afghanistan Papers. [Link]
• Ten members of an Afghan family were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel bars Gazan Christians from visiting holy sites in Israel and the West Bank this year. [Link]
• The Qatari foreign minister says the stalemate between Qatar and the GCC has been broken. [Link]
• Saudi Arabia launches a $1.5 million lobby effort in the US. [Link]
• Secretary of Treasury Munchin said Iran’s attack on Saudi oil infrastructure was an attack on the world economy. [Link]
• Secretary of Defense Esper calls on Iraq to stop attacks on bases that house US soldiers. [Link]
• Despite a ceasefire agreement in 2018, 799 civilians have been killed in the city of Hodeida in 2019. [Link]

Africa

• Haftar’s army is advancing on Tripoli. The UN-recognized government holds Libya’s capital city. [Link]
• Islamist militants in Nigeria killed four humanitarian workers who have been held hostage for several months. [Link]
• Militants in the Congo killed 22 civilians. Militants have killed over 150 people since the government began a crackdown on the militants on October 30th. [Link]
• Ebola cases are on the rise after treatment centers were attacked and shut down. Over 2,200 people have died during the outbreak. [Link]
• Sudan’s former president Bashir has been sentenced to two years in a reform facility for corruption. [Link]