The United States announced that it carried out air strikes in eastern Syria in its first known exercise of military force since President Joe Biden took office. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby called the offensive a “proportionate” response to recent attacks and ongoing threats (WaPo) against the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. He said the strikes destroyed facilities used by Iran-backed militants. Iranian state media reported that seventeen “resistance fighters” died, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll (Al Jazeera) at twenty-two.

Recent rocket attacks against U.S. and allied forces in Iraq, including one in the city of Erbil that killed a civilian contractor and injured others, have tested Biden’s presidency. Earlier this week, he and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pledged to hold accountable those responsible. One of the groups targeted by the U.S. air strikes has denied responsibility (NPR) for the Erbil attack. Kirby said the assault was not intended to inflame relations with Iran, which the United States is seeking to bring back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had their first conversation in five months (SCMP) as their countries seek to resolve a border standoff. They agreed to create a hotline (Mint) for future dialogue, India’s foreign ministry said.

China: President Xi Jinping said that the country has eliminated extreme poverty (SCMP), a priority of his administration. The World Bank previously recognized China as the world leader in reducing extreme poverty.

The World Bank froze some payments (Reuters) to Myanmar, and the United Kingdom sanctioned six more members of its military junta. Today, the military’s election chairman declared (Al Jazeera, Reuters) the November election results invalid, and police fired shots during a protest.

Sri Lanka: The country revoked an April order (PTI) requiring that the bodies of people who died of COVID-19 be cremated. The policy had attracted international criticism, particularly from Muslims, as Islam forbids cremation.

This CFR photo essay looks at how the world grieves during a pandemic.

In a call with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Biden expressed the United States’ commitments to human rights and to helping defend Saudi Arabia from Iran-backed forces, the White House said (WSJ). Washington will soon release a report on the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that is expected to implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

CFR’s Steven A. Cook discusses how Saudi Arabia gets away with murder.

Hundreds of girls are unaccounted for, a parent and a teacher said (AFP), after an attack on a school in Nigeria’s Zamfara State today. Criminal gangs commonly hold students for ransom. Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari rejected the idea (Premium Times) of amnesty for such groups.

Eritrea/Ethiopia: A report by watchdog group Amnesty International alleged that Eritrean and Ethiopian forces have committed war crimes (WaPo) and possibly crimes against humanity during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. An Eritrean minister who had not seen the report rejected the accusations as “ludicrous.”

CFR’s Michelle Gavin explains the conflict in Tigray.

The European Union held a summit on pandemic-related issues, during which leaders reportedly coalesced (Politico) around creating a vaccine certificate to facilitate travel and ease border issues. Separately, COVID-19 vaccine producer AstraZeneca admitted (AP, Reuters) it will not meet its target for delivering vaccines to the EU this quarter.

Netherlands: Parliament approved a motion saying the Uyghur ethnic minority has endured genocide in China, but did not explicitly blame China (Reuters). The Netherlands follows the United States and Canada in using the genocide label, which China rejects.

CFR’s John B. Bellinger III analyzes whether the treatment of Uyghurs constitutes genocide.

A notorious gang leader and other inmates escaped a prison (Miami Herald) in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince in an incident that left at least eight people dead, including a police officer. Dozens of prisoners were recaptured (Reuters).

Venezuela: A court ordered that a trial begin for Matthew Heath, a U.S. citizen arrested in September, Heath’s lawyer said. Heath, who Venezeulan officials allege is a U.S. spy, faces terrorism and arms-trafficking charges. The U.S. State Department urged a fair trial (Al Jazeera) and condemned President Nicolas Maduro’s authoritarianism.

Twenty-seven migrants living in a camp in the Mexican border city of Matamoros were admitted to the United States, where they will wait to learn whether they will receive asylum. They are the first people from the camp allowed into the United States under a new policy to admit those previously forced to stay in Mexico (Reuters) while their U.S. asylum cases are pending.