The Full Belmonte, 1/20/2024
THE LATEST NEWS
“A Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot in Russia, the latest attack aimed at stopping Moscow from fueling its tanks and fighter jets.” [New York Times]
“Louisiana’s legislature passed a congressional map that gives the state a second majority-Black district, obeying a court order.” [New York Times]
“Japan made its first successful moon landing. The robotic craft, called SLIM, touched down near a small crater. (This 3-D map shows the history of less successful attempts.)” [New York Times]
“The company that owns Sports Illustrated announced mass layoffs for the magazine’s employees.” [New York Times]
“Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary last year, endorsed Donald Trump.” [New York Times]
“President Biden canceled nearly $5 billion in student debt for teachers, nurses and other public servants. To date, Biden has canceled $136 billion in student debt, working around a court ruling that struck down his broader forgiveness plan.” [New York Times]
“A Ugandan law criminalizing gay sex threatens to reverse the country’s progress against H.I.V., as L.G.B.T.Q. citizens are denied, or fear seeking out, medical care.” [New York Times]
Port-au-Prince Under Siege
Police officers patrol a neighborhood amid gang-related violence in downtown Port-au-Prince on April 25, 2023.Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images
“A surge in gang violence forced Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, under lockdown on Thursday. Locals reported flaming barricades blocking streets, and the National Police released a video showing officers exchanging gunfire with suspected gang members. Port-au-Prince’s Solino neighborhood has become the epicenter of the multiday siege, which has killed around 24 people, with many residents sheltering in place.
Gangs now have control over an estimated 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Last year, nearly 4,000 people were killed by suspected gangs across the country and another 3,000 people were kidnapped. Although United Nations peacekeeping forces drove gangs out of Solino in the mid-2000s, former President Jovenel Moïse’s work with gangs, a devastating 2010 earthquake, Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, and subsequent political infighting have all returned significant power to organized crime.
Interim Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has begged for international assistance to quell the violence, including a plan for a Kenyan-led multinational force backed by the U.N. Security Council. But calls for Henry to step down have curtailed the prime minister’s efforts. His rule is set to expire on Feb. 7, and Haitian opposition leader Moïse Jean Charles has urged residents to protest Henry’s reign in the coming days.
Henry must hand over power when the deadline arrives or risk losing legitimacy. Without a new government in place, it is still unclear who will take power if he leaves. When Henry consolidated control in 2021, he was tasked with forming a new government and holding national elections. Two years ago, he called for renewed efforts to organize elections on the same day that Moïse’s term would have ended had he not been assassinated. Elections, though, were repeatedly postponed, which many regional experts accuse Henry of purposefully doing to lengthen his tenure.
Later this month, Kenya’s high court is set to rule on whether Nairobi can legally deploy 1,000 police officers to Port-au-Prince. Kenya’s parliament approved the request last November, but the court delayed the order until Jan. 26, arguing that it may violate Kenya’s constitution. No decision has been issued yet. When one is, it can still be repealed if Kenya’s justices choose to authorize the mission, meaning a judicial quagmire is likely in the future for both Haiti and Kenya.
Without consensus on future Haitian governance and the 1,000-officer deployment, Kenya’s mission risks getting embroiled in political dogfighting, as Comfort Ero and Richard Atwood wrote in Foreign Policy’s 10 conflicts to watch this year. ‘In this scenario, the widely disliked Henry could tighten his grip, putting the unity government that is likely essential for any credible election further out of reach,’ they argued.” [Foreign Policy]
“Pyongyang’s “tsunami” drone. North Korea announced Friday that it had tested an underwater nuclear weapons system (known as Haeil-5-23) in the Sea of Japan following joint naval exercises in the area among South Korea, Japan, and the United States. ‘Underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military maneuvers of the navies of the United States and its allies,’ Pyongyang’s Defense Ministry said, threatening ‘catastrophic consequences’ if similar actions continue.
South Korea denounced the test as violating U.N. Security Council resolutions. According to North Korea’s state news agency, the Haeil-5-23 (which means ‘tsunami’) is an unmanned underwater attack drone. Pyongyang last year said it had tested two similar models. The news follows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s statement on Monday that peaceful reunification with South Korea is no longer possible.” [Foreign Policy]
“Ukraine targets Russian crude. Ukrainian forces attacked an oil depot in western Russia on Friday with a drone strike, setting aflame four reservoirs capable of holding 1.6 million gallons of crude. The strike, the fourth such assault in three weeks, was part of Kyiv’s campaign to disrupt Moscow’s critical infrastructure and fuel lines as the region faces a brutal winter.
Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin claimed responsibility on Thursday for another targeted attack on an oil storage facility in St. Petersburg. ‘I’m sure we will see more and more things happening this year,’ Kamyshin said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, hinting at an ‘asymmetrical war’ currently underway.” [Foreign Policy]
“War crimes accusations. Mexico and Chile asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday to investigate possible Israeli war crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. They also requested that the ICC review Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Although Israel is not a member of the ICC, the court’s prosecutor argued in October 2023 that the ICC holds jurisdiction over potential crimes connected to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
‘The action by Mexico and Chile is due to growing worry over the latest escalation of violence, particularly against civilian targets,’ Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Last week, South Africa presented a similar case at the International Court of Justice, first submitted in December 2023, that accuses Israeli forces of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has condemned both court accusations.” [Foreign Policy]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Alec Baldwin in 2022. Andrew Kelly/Reuters
“A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, reviving the case against him in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust.”” [New York Times]
“At the Emmys, Christina Applegate, who has multiple sclerosis, presented an award and ‘conjured the disarming smile she’s been flashing at America since 1987,’ Stella Bugbee writes.” [New York Times]
“One of every 15 vinyl albums sold in the U.S. last year was a Taylor Swift record, Billboard reports.” [New York Times]
“The rapper Lil Nas X has always been a master of the internet. But with his new music video, his attempts to go viral are starting to wear thin, our pop critic writes.” [New York Times]
“In a surprise announcement, Charlotte St. Martin stepped down as president of the Broadway League after 18 years.” [New York Times]
“‘I.S.S.,’ now in theaters, imagines a tense struggle aboard the International Space Station. Our film critic calls it an ‘enjoyable, low-wattage thriller.’” [New York Times]
“The Barry Manilow-written musical “Harmony” will end its Broadway run next month.” [New York Times]
“Uniqlo sued the fast-fashion retailer Shein, accusing it of copying Uniqlo’s viral shoulder bag, CNN reports.” [New York Times]
“Pierce Brosnan pleaded not guilty to hiking in a restricted area of Yellowstone National Park.” [New York Times]
“Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has been one of Japan’s best-known entertainers for seven decades. At 90, she’s still going strong.” [New York Times]
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
Caitlin Clark Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
“No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 18 Ohio State, women’s college basketball: Tune into a Caitlin Clark game and you’re bound to see something great. Maybe she’ll score 30 points, or 40; she has done both more than any Division I player in the last quarter century. Maybe she’ll get a triple-double, too. Maybe she’ll hit a shot from the midcourt logo (here’s one from last week), or a game-winning buzzer-beater (here’s one from this month). She’s certainly likely to lead her team to victory. Iowa is 18-1 this year, and in the hunt for one of the few things Clark hasn’t yet achieved: a national title. Sunday at 12 p.m. Eastern on NBC.” [New York Times]