Monday briefing: US soldiers killed in Jordan
Drone strike kills three US soldiers in Jordan
Three US soldiers were killed and 25 others injured in Jordan yesterday in what the US says was a drone strike by an Iranian-backed militia. The deaths were the first US military fatalities from enemy fire in the unrest stemming from Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
The attack took place at a base near the Syrian border. Few details were immediately available, but the deaths of U.S. service members will almost certainly put more pressure on President Biden to respond more forcefully as unrest grows in the Middle East following the Oct. 7 attacks.
“While we are still gathering the facts about this attack, we know it was carried out by radical, Iranian-backed militant groups active in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement.
In Iraq: This month, at least four U.S. service members were injured when their base came under fire from what the U.S. says were Iranian-backed militias.
Near Yemen: Last Sunday, the US declared two Navy SEALs dead after they disappeared during an operation at sea to intercept weapons from Iran aimed at Houthi fighters. They were the first known American fatalities in Washington's campaign against the Iran-backed militia, which has shot at commercial ships off the coast of Yemen since November.
A temporary ceasefire? Negotiators are nearing a deal under which Israel would pause the fighting in Gaza for about two months if Hamas releases more than 100 hostages.
UNRWA in jeopardy after terrorism allegations against employees
The US and several other countries have said they will suspend some funding for UNRWA, the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, after a dozen of its employees were accused by Israel of taking part in the October 7 attacks.
Yesterday, António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, pleaded with major donor countries to continue their support. He said that without this money, UNRWA would run out of money next month. Fears of famine are growing in the enclave, and two million Gazans depend on UNRWA for food, water and essential services.
Israel and the UN shared detailed, specific intelligence with the US last week. Neither Israel nor the UN have made the details public, but a top UN official called the allegations “extremely serious and heinous.” U.S. officials said the aid agency's decision to fire the individuals was proof that Israel's information was compelling.
Details: UNRWA fired nine of the 12 workers Israel said were involved in the attack, Guterres said. One had died and the identities of two were being “clarified,” he said.
An anti-war candidate rises in Russia
Boris Nadezhdin wants to become president of Russia on an anti-war platform. His supporters are fighting to get him on the ballot to oppose President Vladimir Putin in March's presidential election, a rare public engagement that has injected energy into Russia's opposition movement.
Election officials can exclude Nadezhdin from the vote, and even if he is allowed to run, he will not win. But his supporters are still lining up in the bitter cold to try to get enough signatures before the January 31 deadline. They see supporting him as the only legal way to demonstrate their opposition to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
THE LAST NEWS
The Australian Open
My colleagues interviewed five young people trying to get a job in China, where competition is fierce and opportunities are scarce. The job seekers had hired job interview coaches, used up their savings, sent out dozens of job applications and worked interim job after interim job.
“Maybe I'm not good enough at following through,” said one youth.
Luxury Korean postpartum care
South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world. But it also has some of the best postpartum care.
In a joriwon – a hotel-like accommodation – new mothers can recover for weeks. Fresh meals are delivered three times a day and there are facials, massages and childcare classes. Nurses monitor the babies, and new mothers breastfeed in a communal nursing room.
It is a relatively new industry; one of the best joriwons in seoul opened in 2008. But now eight in 10 South Korean mothers go to a joriwon, and mothers send in booking requests as soon as they know they are pregnant.
The stays can cost a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, but it is only a fraction of the total cost of raising a child in South Korea, which may help explain the declining birth rate.