Covid

• The CDC says people who test positive for covid but do not have symptoms only need to quarantine for five days. The CDC then recommends five days of mask-wearing. 
• The World Bank says nearly 100 million people fell into poverty during the covid pandemic. [Link]
• The State Department sends over 600,000 Pfizer covid vaccines to Nepal through Covax. [Link]

US News

• Biden extended the student loan payment freeze to May 1, 2022. [Link]
• Las Vegas will pay over $500,000 to Jason Funke who was shot in the back by a police officer. The officer is still employed. [Link]
• Cedric Lofton was killed in a Kansas juvenile facility by several guards attempting to restrain him. His death was ruled a homicide. [Link]
• Biden signs the $778 billion NDAA. [Link]

Great Power

• Ukraine’s prosecutor general is seeking to arrest former president Petro Poroshenko for treason and supporting separatists. [Link]
• The US flew spy planes near separatist Ukraine. [Link]
• Russia’s foreign minister says talks with the US will begin just after Russia’s holiday season, which runs through January 9th. [Link] 
• Russia says the US is lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons. [Link]
• The US has requested several visas from China for low and mid-level state department officials to attend the Olympics. Biden had announced the US was engaging in a diplomatic boycott of the games. [Link]

Myanmar

• Save the Children says two of its employees were among the 35 killed on December 24th by the Myanmar military. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel claims Iran will cross nuclear thresholds at the end of January that will render the Iran Nuclear Deal meaningless. [Link]
• Talks to save the JCPOA resume in Vienna. [Link]
• Iraq’s supreme court confirms the results of the October election. [Link]
• Iraqi Kurds say ISIS has killed 350 people in 2021. [Link]
• Israel bombed a Syrian report. Syrian media reported fires caused by the strike damaged a hospital. [Link]
• The Houthi were able to reopen the Saana airport after Saudi airstrikes. [Link]

Africa

• The US carries out war games with the Tunisian navy. [Link]
• Western powers continue to recognize Libya’s interim government after elections were canceled. [Link]
• Militants killed six people in Niger. [Link]
• Six soldiers and 22 militants were killed in fighting in Niger. [Link]
• Scores of people – civilians and militants – have been killed over the past four days in the Congo. [Link]