US News

• The US places sanctions on seven Venezuelans. [Link]
• The US Army plans to deploy two specialized task forces to the Pacific capable of conducting information, electronic, cyber, and missile operations against China. The task forces will be deployed over the next two years. [Link]
• NSA Robert O’Brien says the US has reached out to North Korea to resume talks. [Link]
• The State Department approves the sale of 12 F-35Bs to Singapore. [Link]

Assange

• Assange’s lawyers say he is not being given enough time to meet with his legal team to prepare his defense. [Link]

Taiwan

• Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen wins reelection. [Link]

Iran

• Trump says it doesn’t matter if Soleimani was an imminent threat to the US. [Link]
• Attorney General Barr says Trump had the authority to assassinate Soleimani. [Link]
• The State Department sent a memo to its ambassadors and instructed them not to interact with Iranian dissident groups like the MEK. [Link]
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gives a speech laying out the US strategy behind the Soleimani assassination. Pompeo said the Trump policy is to establish “real deterrence” over Iran. Pompeo also said the issue of deterrence was not limited to Iran. [Link] 
• Iran’s early warning about the January 8th missile attack allowed the American and Iraqi military to remove all soldiers and military equipment from the bases before it was targeted. [Link]

Yemen

• Two unnamed US officials say the US attempted to assassinate other Quds force leaders in Yemen at the same time Soleimani was killed. The assassination attempt in Yemen failed. [Link]

Africa

• An Egyptian American died of poor conditions in an Egyptian prison. He had been held since 2013. [Link]
• Turkey and Russia hosted peace talks between warring parties in Libya. [Link]
• The death toll from a jihadist attack on an army base in Niger has increased to at least 89. [Link]
• The chief of Niger’s military has been fired. Niger recently suffered two major attacks by Islamists groups. [Link]
• Al-Shabaan is suspected of having killed three teachers in Kenya. [Link]