US News

• A Mississippi man was arrested, and police failed to confiscate his phone. He later asked one of his jailers to charge his phone. He was then charged with a crime for possessing a phone in jail. He was later convicted of the crime, and a judge sentenced him to 12 years. [Link]
• The FBI is struggling to access the phones of the Saudi Pensacola base killer. Similar to San Bernardino, this is creating a new push for Apple to build a ‘backdoor’ that will allow the government to bypass Apple encryption. [Link]
• The military is developing a new sighting system that will allow soldiers to shoot around corners. Some soldiers are warning the system is dangerous and could lead to more friendly fire casualties. [Link]
• Cities in the US are passing laws and resolutions aiming to eliminate nuclear weapons. [Link]
• The US has dropped the designation for China as a ‘currency manipulator.’ [Link]

North Korea

• The US sanctions two North Korean entities. [Link]

India 

• India’s high court rules the government’s shutdown of the internet in Kashmir is illegal. People in Kashmir have had their internet shut off for several months. [Link]

Iran

• Germany, France, and the UK will trigger the Iran Nuclear Deal’s dispute resolution mechanism. In May 2018, the US left the deal. Iran has started to withdraw from its commitments to the deal because the US withdrew and imposed sanctions on Iran. Iran has allowed the IAEA to inspect and verify all of their steps away from the Nuclear Deal. [Link]
• Iran arrests several people involved in the shootdown of the Ukrainian passenger plane. [Link]
• Protests in Iran continue after the government announced it downed the Ukrainian plane. Police have started using live ammunition against the protesters. [Link]

Iraq

• The Iraqi Defense Minister says his country is looking to buy the S-300 missile system from Russia. Russia would prefer to sell Iraq the S-400. [Link]
• Influential Iraqi Cleric Sadr calls for protests against the US. [Link]
• Iraq warns that if Trump puts the sanctions he threatened on Iraq, it will destroy its economy. [Link]
• Several rockets hit the Iraqi Taji military base north of Baghdad. No casualties were reported from the attack. [Link]
• The US is threatening to seize the Iraqi oil account funds and cut military aid to Iraq if the country pushes US troops to leave. [Link]

Oman

• Oman’s longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos died. His cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said will take over the country. [Link]