- During confirmation hearings, Trump’s Secretary of State pick said the US should share more information with Saudi Arabia to support its war against Yemen. [Link]
- During confirmation hearings, Trump’s CIA head pick said he would ignore orders from Trump to torture. [Link]
- Obama files a complaint with the World Trade Organization against China. Obama says that the Chinese government has increased the countries production on aluminum and driven down global prices. Obama would like to see increased tariffs on Chinese aluminum to increase the price. [Link]
- The Obama Administration has changed NSA rules to allow more sharing of globally intercepted personal communications with other intelligence agencies. [Link]
- 3,500 US troops have now reached Poland where they will be deployed. This is the first ever continuous deployment to the region of US troops. [Link]
- A report from Iraq Body Count estimates that 16,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2016. This is significantly higher than the UN estimate of 7,000. [Link]
- Israel fired several rockets at a Damascus airport. The rockets started a fire and casualties have been reported. Israel has not confirmed the attack, but Syria has vowed to respond. [Link]
- The Syrian ceasefire continues to hold. The UN reports that some areas in desperate need of aid have still been unable to receive the aid. [Link]
