Almigdad Mojalli/VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Summary: 

• After a night of intense bombings across Yemen, at least 70 people have been killed and 138 were wounded when a Saudi bomb hit a prison in Saada, Yemen. 
• Hours after the attack, rescue workers were still on scene searching through the rubble for any additional survivors. The number of casualties is expected to increase with many people seriously injured or missing. 
• The devastating attack comes just days after the Houthis launched an unprecedented deadly drone attack in the UAE that left 3 people dead. 
• Although Saudi has not taken responsibility for the prison bombing, officials have stated that the Saudi coalition has been conducting intensified air raids on targets that they consider to be linked to Houthi rebels since the UAE attack. 
• Just south of Saada, in the vital port city of Hodeidah, 3 children were killed while playing football when a bomb hit a telecommunication tower that left all of Yemen with no internet. 
• 12 hours after the deadly attack, Yemen was still without internet with many humanitarian organizations including the UN condemning the internet blackout and stating that attacks on civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian law.
• Calls for de-escalation by the international community have continued to be ignored by both sides and Yemeni citizens continue to suffer as the country faces a humanitarian catastrophe with at least 377,000 citizens killed either through violence or through starvation since the war began 7 years ago. 

Tweets:

Other Headlines:

Top US and Russian Diplomats Meet To Diffuse Escalating Tensions

U.S. Department of State from United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

• To end a whirlwind European tour, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov on Friday for 90 minutes to de-escalate the ongoing Ukraine and Russian border crisis. 
• After the talks, Blinken stated that Friday’s discussion put Washington and Moscow on “a clearer path to understanding each other’s positions” and that now Russia had a choice to make. 
• Blinken stated, “[Russia] can choose the path of diplomacy that can lead to peace and security or the path that will lead only to conflict, severe consequences, and international condemnation.” 
• Lavrov stated that the onus was now on the US as Russia has submitted a long list of security demands that they feel are necessary for Moscow’s safety and the safety of the region. 
• Both sides called Friday’s talk “frank and substantive” and agreed on being open to continuing further dialogue with each other. 

Tweet:

Peru’s Castillo Declares Major Oil Spill Linked to Eruption in Tonga

• As of January 20th, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo has declared an “Environmental Emergency” as a huge oil spill has been difficult for clean-up teams to contain. 
• An Italian-flagged ship spilled 6,000 barrels of oil in the Pacific on Saturday in front of the La Pampilla refinery when unusual swells caused by the volcanic eruption thousands of miles away in Tonga rocked the ship. Dirtied waters and beaches along the country’s pacific coast have washed up dead birds and seals. 
• Castillo stated, “We are at a critical moment in environmental matters. This is the most worrying ecological disaster on the Peruvian coast in recent times,”. A spokeswoman from the La pampilla Refinery stated that it was the Peruvian Navy’s fault for not issuing a tsunami warning after the Tongan eruption.
• According to Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez, the United Nations will provide a team of experts to help contain the oil spill. Due to the ecological effect of the oil spill, 21 beaches have been affected and people have been barred for health concerns. 

Tweet:

US Charges Four Belarus Officials With Air Piracy Over Ryanair Flight Diversion

Dickelbers, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

• US Prosecutors have charged four Belarusian officials with aircraft piracy for claiming that there was a bomb onboard a Ryanair aircraft traveling from Greece to Lithuania to get an opposing journalist onboard, arrested.
• The US attorney, which has jurisdiction on the case since US citizens were on board, stated, “Since the dawn of powered flight, countries around the world have cooperated to keep passenger airplanes safe. The defendants shattered those standards by diverting an airplane to further the improper purpose of suppressing dissent and free speech.”
• Sources state that Ryanair flight controllers told the pilots about a bomb threat against the jetliner and ordered the crew to land the plane in the city of Minsk, Belarus. Shortly after the plane landed, opposing journalist and activist, Raman Pratasevich was arrested and the Belarusian military scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to encourage the crew to follow flight official orders. 
• 26-year-old Raman Pratasevich ran a messaging app that organized mass demonstrations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Pratasevich left the country in 2019 and faced charges of inciting riots. 

Tweet:

Energy Giants Leave Myanmar Over Human Rights Abuses

• Energy giants, Chevron, and Total Energies announced that they will be leaving Mynamar citing rampant human rights violations and deteriorating rule of law in the country since the military lead coup d’etat occurred in February 2021. 
• Since the coup, the oil and gas fields of Mynamar continue to account for the military’s/government primary source of funding. 
• The announcement to leave Mynamar comes just one day after Total Energies CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, urged Human rights and international leaders to impose gas and oil sanctions on Myanmar since the military has taken over their bank accounts and have continued to kill, torture, and commit horrific acts of violence to those who oppose them all while using the oil and gas sectors profits. 
• Total Energy is expected to complete the removal process within 6 months while Chevron has not yet confirmed a timeline on their complete removal. 

Netflix Stock Plunges as Subscriber Growth Worries Deepen and Erase Pandemic Gains

• Netflix stocks plunged by 20% after the company revealed they only gained 8.3 million worldwide subscribers, a number that is 200,000 below what was forecasted. 
• With a surge in viewership during the start of the pandemic in 2020, Netflix currently has a total of 222 million subscribers, more than any other video streaming company. With companies such as Walt Disney Co. and Apple starting their streaming services and with competition increasing, Netflix has decided to expand into video games as of last year.
• Netflix further raised its price by 10% in the North American region; causing subscribers to cancel their subscriptions, due to the company’s history with price hikes. 
• Many investors are concerned that the company may be reaching its peak of popularity and have caused subscription prices to plummet by 40%. CEOs of the company Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings both expressed concerns of frustration and that due to COVID it has been bumpy and that the company will continue to figure it out.  

Tweet: 

https://twitter.com/ajitdatta/status/1484497627693842432