World Briefing: January 23, 2025
The UK warned Russia yesterday that it would not shy away from “robust action” after a Russian spy ship was spotted in British waters for the second time since November. Defense Secretary John Healey told Parliament that the spy vessel, Yantar, had been tracked in the English Channel by a warship after loitering over critical undersea infrastructure. A Royal Navy submarine surfaced near the Yantar to warn that its every move had been monitored, he added. “Let me be clear: this is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure,” Healey told MPs. “My message to President Putin is clear: we know what you are doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect Britain. We will continue to call out malign activity that Putin directs, cracking down on the Russian shadow fleet.” - FT
Up to 10,000 troops could be sent to the US-Mexico border as part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, an internal memo suggests. The US president has already ordered 1,500 troops to the border to install barriers - a military source says they won't be involved in "law enforcement"
In his first interview since returning to the White House, downplays the threat of TikTok being used by the Chinese government to spy on users. "I think TikTok's going to stay around," he told Fox News's Sean Hannity, following his decision to delay the app's ban in the US. When asked about fears that the app is being used by the Chinese government to spy on US citizens, Trump argued "you can say that about everything made in China", and that "we have our telephones made in China". - BBC
An executive order signed by Donald Trump known as Schedule F could lead to 50,000 or more firings and “would be a massive reshaping of the federal work force,” said Rachel Augustine Potter, an associate professor at the University of Virginia who studies the federal bureaucracy. “A lot of the deconstructing of the ‘administrative state’ that Trump talked about in 1.0 was much more talk, but now it seems like they’ve got a plan in action,” she said. Advocates for federal workers call it a looming crisis, although they add that Mr. Trump will have to fight through legal obstacles to carry out such dramatic changes. The National Treasury Employees Union has already filed a lawsuit challenging the plan. At the State Department, dozens of senior officials resigned from their posts on Monday at the Trump team’s request, a faster turnover than some diplomats say is typical for the department, particularly given that they do not have immediate replacements. Marco Rubio, the former Florida Republican senator, was sworn in as secretary of state and took his first meetings at the department on Tuesday - NYT
Employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were told to halt all public communications Tuesday. NPR obtained a memo issued by the acting head of HHS, Dr. Dorothy Fink, to the heads of all the agency's operating divisions, directing them to refrain from most external communications, such as issuing documents, guidance or notices, until such documents can be approved by "a presidential appointee." The action is "consistent with precedent," according to the memo, and applies until Feb. 1. The communications freeze was first reported by The Washington Post. It also includes public speaking and social media - NPR
The European Parliament condemned Belarus's upcoming presidential election in a resolution that refers to the process as a "sham" while slamming the regime of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. European lawmakers voted on January 22 to overwhelmingly approve the resolution with 567 votes in favor, 25 against, and 66 abstentions. The vote comes four days ahead of a January 26 presidential election Lukashenka is set to easily win amid a lack of serious opponents. The resolution paints a grim picture of the political environment in Belarus, where the 70-year-old Lukashenka has been in power since 1994. This weekend's vote is the first presidential election since balloting in 2020 triggered mass unrest after Lukashenka was declared the winner despite claims by the opposition and many Western governments that the vote was rigged - RFE/RL
The mother of imprisoned British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah has vowed to continue her hunger strike despite deteriorating health and warnings from doctors, saying she is prepared to die in her campaign to free her son. Speaking outside Downing Street in Westminster, where she has maintained a vigil, Professor Laila Soueif revealed she is “feeling weaker” after – when we spoke – 110 days without food. Abd El-Fattah remains in Cairo’s maximum security Tora prison despite completing his five-year sentence in September. He was convicted after sharing a Facebook post about a prisoner who died after being tortured – a charge his mother dismisses as “absurd.” The case has become a symbol of both Egypt’s crackdown on dissent and what critics see as Western governments’ failure to hold their allies accountable for human rights abuses. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is in Egypt today (Thursday) for meetings with the Egyptian Government, where he is expected to push for El-Fattah’s release. His family will be waiting for news with bated breath - Byline Times
Turkish Airlines said it has resumed flights to Syria after a hiatus of 11 years. The first flight flew from Istanbul to Damascus on Thursday, with many Syrians expressing joy at returning to their homeland after years of exile. At least 350 people were on the flight, some carrying the Syrian flag - TRT World
