January 27, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 337 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say at least 11 people were killed across the country yesterday in renewed Russian missile and drone attacks that struck targets in 11 different Ukrainian provinces. [more]
• In an interview yesterday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country will provide an additional 60 battle tanks to Ukraine on top of the 14 tanks it has already pledged. [more]
• Officials with the International Atomic Energy Agency have renewed their calls for a security zone around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following reports of powerful new explosions around the plant that have prompted concerns of a nuclear accident. [more]

TENNESSEE | Five fired Memphis, Tennessee, police officers, all of whom are Black, were charged with second-degree murder and other crimes yesterday in connection with the death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols, who died three days after he was allegedly beaten by the officers following a traffic stop in the city earlier this month. Video footage of the incident is expected to be released later today, prompting concerns of protests and anti-police-violence demonstrations. [more]

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS | Amidst investigations into classified documents found at the homes of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence, the U.S. National Archives sent letters yesterday to representatives of all former U.S. presidents and vice presidents dating back to the 1980s asking that their personal records be checked for the presence of any classified materials. [more]

U.S. OIL RESERVES | The House is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would require any future non-emergency withdrawals from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve be offset with new drilling for oil on public lands and oceans. Supporters of the bill say the measure would prevent abuse of the reserve for political reasons, while opponents say it could raise gas prices by interfering with the ability to release oil and unfairly benefit large corporations. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the U.S. gross domestic product measure of economic expansion grew at a higher-than-expected rate of 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022 — down from 3.2% in the previous quarter. [more]

COUNTERTERRORISM | U.S. military officials said yesterday that senior Islamic State group official Bilal al-Sudani and 10 others linked to the militant group were killed in a raid by U.S. special forces in northern Somalia on Wednesday. Al-Sudani is reported to have been a key financial facilitator and fundraiser for Islamic State operations in Africa and Afghanistan. [more]

CYBERCRIME | U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said yesterday that the FBI and international partners have disrupted the operations of, and obtained key information on, a leading global ransomware group known as Hive, which is reported to have targeted some 1,300 victims, including school districts and hospitals, over the past year and a half, netting about $100 million in ransom payments. [more]

POLAND | Survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Germany death camp in southern Poland gathered with others at the camp site today to mark the 78th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet forces in 1945. An estimated 1.1 million people were killed at the concentration camp before it was liberated. [more]

ISRAEL AND GAZA | Reports say the Israeli military conducted airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip early this morning in retaliation for two rockets being fired from the area into Israel by Palestinian militants. [more]

HAITI | Reports say hundreds of people, including dozens of police officers, took part in protests against rampant gang violence yesterday in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince following the gang killing of at least 10 police officers in the past week. [more]

INDIA | Clashes between Jamia Millia University students and police took place yesterday amidst reported government efforts to block the screening and social media sharing of a documentary that examines the role of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in anti-Muslim riots in 2002. [more]

THAILAND | A court in northern Thailand sentenced 27-year-old political activist Mongkhon Thirakot to 28 years in prison yesterday after he was found guilty of posting messages on Facebook that violated laws against insulting members of the country’s monarchy. [more]

FRANCE AND IRAQ | French President Emmanuel Macron and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani signed a strategic cooperation agreement between their two countries yesterday that French authorities characterized as seeking to strengthen bilateral relations in the areas of anti-corruption, security, renewable energy, and culture. [more]

KOREA | South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Youngse said today that his government will promote civilian efforts to supply humanitarian assistance to North Korea in hopes of improving diplomatic relations between the North and South. [more]

TENNIS | Elena Rybakina will face Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow in the women’s final of the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the tournament’s men’s championship match on Sunday. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1973, the Paris accord ending the Vietnam War was signed, providing for an exchange of prisoners and for the  withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Vietnam. [more history]