Daily News Brief

January 8, 2025

Top of the Agenda

Actions taken by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias in Sudan’s civil war amount to genocide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday. The Treasury Department announced sanctions on RSF commander Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, and seven Emirati firms it said were supplying weapons to the rebels. Blinken said the designation was part of efforts to promote peace and accountability in the country. Tens of thousands have been killed in the RSF’s war with the Sudanese military, which Blinken called “the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.” More than eleven million people have fled their homes, and global hunger watchdog IPC last month declared famine is underway in five of the country’s districts, making it one of the world’s worst famines in decades. At least 25 million Sudanese are experiencing acute hunger.

The RSF and allied militias have committed murders and rapes on an ethnic basis, killed innocent people fleeing conflict, and denied civilians access to lifesaving supplies, Blinken said. This is the seventh genocide declaration in U.S. history, according to the National Security Council. Various efforts to mediate an end to the conflict have so far proved unfruitful. (WaPo, Department of State, NYT)

Analysis

“This administration had all the evidence they needed to make these announcements months ago when they could have had an impact on this war,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Cameron Hudson posts. “That said, it is not too late for these announcements to be impactful inside Sudan. As RSF and Hemedti attempt to reinvent themselves as legitimate political actors in a post-war Sudan, these determinations make it that much harder.” 

“This is a counterrevolutionary war. These generals are fighting each other, yes, but they’re also fighting each other for the privilege of taking over a Sudan that is...free from revolution,” Confluence Advisory’s Kholood Kair said at a CFR event on Sudan’s crisis. “There are countries who just seemingly want only to—rather than seek peace, to sort of keep this war going in order to get whatever—eke out whatever interest they can.”

“The United States does not interpret that the [1948 genocide] convention requires it (or any other country) to prevent and punish genocide in other countries, or to intervene for humanitarian reasons. However, use of the term still conveys a very powerful moral stigma,” CFR Senior Fellow John B. Bellinger III writes. “A determination of genocide has historically increased pressure on the executive branch from Congress, advocacy groups, the press, and the public to take significant actions to address the genocide, including through sanctions and even military intervention.” 

Europe

Greenland’s leader is meeting with the Danish King today, the Danish royal court said. The talks come after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday he would not rule out the use of force to take over Greenland. France’s foreign minister said yesterday that the European Union would not tolerate other nations attacking its “sovereign borders,” adding that he did not believe the United States would invade. (Reuters, BBC)

For The Water’s Edge, CFR Senior Fellow James M. Lindsay writes that Trump’s antagonistic comments toward allied states “will make it harder for the United States to succeed in a world of great power competition.” 

Hungary: The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Antal Rogán, the head of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s cabinet office, saying he used the power of his office to distribute public contracts and resources to allies. Hungary’s foreign minister said the country would respond with “necessary legal steps” after Trump’s inauguration. (Politico)

Pacific Rim

Emergency responders have rescued more than four hundred people after yesterday’s 6.8 magnitude quake near Mount Everest, Chinese officials said, but more are still thought to be trapped. At least 126 people were killed, state media reported. (Reuters)

South Korea: A court extended the deadline of a warrant to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol. The move is the latest part of a probe into the now-suspended president’s December declaration of martial law. Yoon previously refused to appear for questioning, and his guards blocked a first attempt to arrest him. (CNN)

South and Central Asia

The Joe Biden administration is considering a potential trade involving a high-profile Guantánamo Bay detainee accused of being a senior al-Qaeda aide and three Americans detained in Afghanistan in 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported citing unnamed sources. The Taliban did not comment, while a National Security Council spokesperson said the administration is working to ensure the safe return of the Americans. (WSJ)

India: Microsoft will invest $3 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking its biggest financial push in the country yet. (The Hindu)

In this article, Mohamed A. El-Erian and CFR expert A. Michael Spence explain how India is becoming the next global giant. 

Middle East and North Africa

Iran has freed journalist Cecilia Sala from her detention last month, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said today. Sala quickly became the focus of an Italian government campaign to release her. It was not immediately clear if Rome had released Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini, whose detention just days before Sala’s was objected to by Tehran. (WSJ, Reuters)

Israel: Israeli firm Elbit signed an estimated $275 million in deals with the country’s military to produce heavy bombs and other supplies in-country. The move aims to reduce Israel’s reliance on governments including the United States, which has held up some shipments over concerns about how the weapons would be used in Gaza. (Times of Israel, WaPo)

Sub-Saharan Africa

A court imprisoned opposition leader Aliou Bah for criticizing the junta leader, while protests in the capital in recent days denounced a failed deadline for the military to launch a transition to democracy. Bah was sentenced for two years for defamation; he denies wrongdoing. (AP)

Americas

Opposition leader Edmundo González said his son-in-law was kidnapped by hooded men a day after González met with Biden in Washington. The United States is among the countries that recognize González as the victor of Venezuela’s July 2024 election, though President Nicolás Maduro is due to be sworn in on Friday. Venezuela’s government did not immediately comment. (AP)

Guyana: The country’s oil exports jumped 54 percent last year; the small country is now Latin America’s fifth-largest oil exporter. Most exports have gone to Europe’s market as it tries to replace energy sources following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)

United States

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the change to fact checking and certain other content moderation policies, saying that some fact checkers had become “politically biased” and there was “too much censorship.” User-written “community notes” will still be allowed on posts. Trump celebrated the change, saying that he “probably” caused it by threatening Zuckerberg. (AP, WaPo)

CFR’s Why It Matters podcast weighs the political power of tech titans.

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