WORLD BRIEFING: January 13, 2024
The US carries out a new attack on a Houthi site in Yemen, a day after wider attacks led by the US and the UK. what the US called a "follow-up action" to Thursday night's attacks, a US ship fired missiles at a radar site. The Houthis say there were no injuries, and vow a "strong and effective" response. The US says this weeks attacks are "designed to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels.” It says since 19 November, "Iranian-backed Houthi militants have attempted to attack and harass vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden 28 times.” In an apparent Houthi attack on Friday night, a missile landed around 500 metres from an oil tanker in the Red Sea - BBC
Ro Khanna, a congressman for California, described the military intervention as "unconstitutional," telling CNN: "He certainly should have come to Congress so that we can discuss whether this actually could put more American troops at risk. I'm concerned about retaliation in Iraq and whether it could draw us into a Middle East war." Also: "The United States cannot risk getting entangled into another decades-long conflict without Congressional authorization," Mark Pocan, a representative for Wisconsin, also said. "The White House must work with Congress before continuing these air strikes in Yemen." - Newsweek
Voting has ended and counting is under way in Taiwan's presidential election, in a vote which will determine the territory's future ties with China. Counting so far shows the candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is seeking a third term, leading the main opposition Kuomintang, or KMT. DPP candidate William Lai has been labelled a troublemaker by China, who warned people against voting for him, while KMT is promising better ties with Beijing and peace in the Taiwan Strait. A total of 113 legislative seats are also being contested today - BBC
In Gaza, Israel's bombardment continued overnight, with dozens reportedly killed in Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military says it "eliminated terrorists" in Khan Younis in the south, and destroyed rocket launchers and tunnels
Another massive Russian cruise missile and drone attack overnight in Ukraine - a day after the visit of UK PM Rishi Sunak. A total of 40 aerial targets were recorded, including Kinjal, Iskander-M and S-300 guided missiles. Several regions were targeted - Suspilne
Russia's Justice Ministry has declared prominent writer Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, and veteran investigative journalist Aleksandr Minkin as "foreign agents," along with several other additions to the punitive list that has been broadly applied to target regime critics. Officials also added independent news outlet Kholod, ex-lawmaker Anton Sokolov, and the administrator of the Moscow Calling Telegram channel to the list, which stems from a repressive 2012 law. The ministry cited statements or activities related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in all five cases - RFE/RL
