Covid

• The Pentagon canceled the vaccination mandate for civilian employees. [Link]
• Almost 500 soldiers have been discharged for refusing the covid vaccination. [Link]

US News

• Police murdered Isaiah Tyree Williams during a night raid. Police then smeared Williams in the media for defending himself. [Link]
• New York state prisons used faulty drug tests resulting in hundreds of inmates facing additional punishments. [Link]
• Oklahoma executes Donald Grant. [Link]
• The Pentagon is struggling to compile the data on civilian casualties. [Link]

Russia

• A bipartisan group of ten Senators are working on a new bill to boost military aid to Ukraine. [Link]
• Biden spoke with Ukraine’s president to “reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” [Link]
• During the Biden-Zelenskyy call, Zelenskyy raised concern about the US warning of a Russian invasion. [Link]
• Belarus says Russian soldiers and military equipment will leave once joint war games end. The drills are expected to run from Feb. 10th to 20th. [Link]
• Russia says a new missile crisis is unavoidable without a new arms control deal. [Link]

Korea

• Biden will nominate Philip Goldberg as Ambassador to South Korea. Goldberg was previously the coordinator for sanctioning North Korea. [Link]

Pakistan

• Ten Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack. [Link]

Middle East

• The US and Israel carried out a joint cyber exercise in December. [Link]
• White House Mid East coordinator Brett McGurk says the US and Iran are “in the ballpark of a possible deal” to save the JCPOA. [Link]

Syria

• McGurk says the US will never normalize relations with Syrian leader Assad. [Link]
• Jordan reports its military killed 27 drug smugglers near its border with Syria. [Link]
• Fighting for control of a prison in US-held Syria is ongoing. The US-backed SDF reported that they had regained control of the prison. [Link]

Yemen

• The UN believes January will break a record for most civilian casualties in Yemen. [Link]
• McGurk blames the Houthi for the lack of progress towards a ceasefire in Yemen. [Link]
• A Houthi missile strike killed five people – including three civilians – in Marib. [Link]

Africa

• The head of Tigray’s health bureau says over 5,000 people died because of the Ethiopian blockade. [Link]
• A French soldier was killed and an American soldier was injured by an attack on a French base in Mali. [Link]
• Danish soldiers will leave Mali after requests from the ruling military leaders. [Link]
• A US-trained soldier led the coup in Burkina Faso. [Link]