current Events/2024 January 9

• Red Sea crisis
  • Operation Prosperity Guardian
    • U.S. Navy and Royal Navy warships in the Red Sea shoot down 21 suicide drones and missiles launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps describes it as the largest attack in the area by the Houthis to date. (Reuters)
• 2024 conflict in Ecuador
  • President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa declares a state of emergency following the escape of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of the Los Choneros drug cartel, from prison. Gangsters subsequently storm a TC Televisión newsroom in Guayaquil and launch a series of riots, kidnappings, and explosions across the country. Eight civilians are killed, including two at Centro Comercial Albán Borja, and three more injured during random shootings in Guayaquil, while two police officers are killed in Nobol. As a result, schools are closed and the military is called to stop gang activities. (Al Jazeera)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Hezbollah launches a drone attack on the Northern Command headquarters in Safed, Israel, marking its deepest incursion into Israeli territory since the outbreak of hostilities. In retaliation, Israel claims the assassination of Ali Hussein Barji, the commander of Hezbollah's air force in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah denies this claim. (The Guardian) (Reuters)

Health and environment

• South Korea bans the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption, effective in 2027. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Federal prosecution of Donald Trump
  • A panel of three federal appellate judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hears oral arguments regarding the issue of presidential immunity for former US president Donald Trump. (CNN)
• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Russia places exiled tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on a wanted list over comments he made regarding the ongoing war. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023–24 Bhutanese National Assembly election
  • Bhutanese people vote in the second round of the election for 47 members of the National Assembly. (Reuters)
• Gabriel Attal becomes the youngest and first openly gay Prime Minister of France. (BBC News)