The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels vowed on Tuesday to defy a U.S.-led naval mission and continue targeting Red Sea shipping off the coast of Yemen in support of Hamas.
By the numbers: There have been 37 incidents involving shipping vessels from Nov. 19 to Dec. 18, most of which were concentrated near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Ambrey Analytics, the digital intelligence arm of the Ambrey maritime risk management group.
The U.S. on Wednesday released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in the country and a former Navy contractor who organized one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history, the White House said.
Driving the news: Leonard Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," pleaded guilty in 2015 to doling out more than $500,000 in bribes in exchange for the ability to overcharge the Navy by at least $35 million for his services.
President Biden doesn't expect a new hostage deal between Israel and Hamas to come soon, he told reporters on Wednesday, but stressed that the U.S. is "pushing" for one.
Why it matters: Israel said it would pause the fighting in Gaza for at least one week as part of a new deal that would require the release of more than three dozen hostages the terror group is holding, Axios reported on Tuesday.
This story is part of a series supported by the Pulitzer Center.
A prominent pro-independence activist from the Japanese island of Okinawa is also a pro-Beijing influencer who praises China's ethnic minority policies and presents close ties to China as a way for native Okinawans to challenge Japanese rule.
Why it matters: Such messaging underscores Beijing's growing power to sway global narratives. Whether through ideological persuasion or the use of material incentives, such as granting access to China's 1 billion internet users, the party is winning allies across oceans, borders and key strategic fault lines.
Israel is offering to pause the fighting in Gaza for at least one week as part of a new deal to get Hamas to release more than three dozen hostages the terror group is holding, two Israeli officials and another source with knowledge of the situation told Axios.
Why it matters: The proposal, made through Qatari mediators, is the first Israel has offered since the collapse of a deal last month that led to a seven-day ceasefire and the release of more than 100 hostages.
Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to challenge the new Texas law that gives local police authority over immigration enforcement.
The big picture: Critics say the law is unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling.
To examinethe origins of white supremacy in America, one may not need to look only to 1619 or 1776, but also 1493 — the year Pope Alexander VI issued the "Doctrine of Discovery," author Robert P. Jones writes in a new book.
The big picture: Jones tells Axios that any search for the nation's origin story needs to consider this largely overlooked doctrine because it shaped the racial order of the U.S.
Some women writers in Latin America are shifting away from the magic realism that defined the20th Century literary boom and instead focusing on the raw realities of sexism, violence and displacement.
The big picture: Colombian writer Pilar Quintana, Ecuadorian writer and journalist María Fernanda Ampuero and Mexican author Cristina Rivera Garza are among the writers leading the next generation.
The worldof romance novels is seeing a boom in the number of authors with a Latino heritage, with many writing stories that reflect their unique experiences, experts tell Axios Latino.
Why it matters: Long one of the bestselling fiction genres, romance has had rising sales in the past few years, according to the latest data from tracking company NPD BookScan.
Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railroad, said it's launched a sale process for its DB Schenker logistics unit, which reportedly could be worth up to €20 billion.
Why it matters: Private equity firms are sure to be interested, but only if they can secure enough debt financing. As such, this process could signal the viability of mega-LBOs in early 2024.
An earthquake in northwestern China has killed at least 116 people and injured over 500 others in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces, state media reported Tuesday morning local time.
The big picture: The state-run Global Times reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an "all-out" search and rescue operation following the massive quake that struck in Gansu around midnight.
A volcano erupted on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula on Monday night, spewing bursts of lava into the air after weeks of intense seismic activity that forced the entire town of Grindavík to evacuate.
The big picture: The eruption some 2.4 miles from Grindavík, southwest of the capital Reykjavik, follows "earthquake swarms" in the area, per an Icelandic Met Office post. The New York Times notes the growing, 2.5-mile-long fissure poses a threat to the nearby Svartsengi Power Plant, though a local utility firm said there's no immediate danger to power lines.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law Monday legislation that authorizes state officials to arrest and seek the deportation of migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without legal authorization.
Why it matters: The new law that's due to take effect in March is a major escalation in Abbott's pushback against President Biden's border policies and one that critics say is unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Monday the expansion of a multinational maritime security force to protect ships in the Red Sea from missile and drone attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Why it matters: "The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law," Austin said in a statement.
Global shipping giants are rerouting vessels away from the Red Sea as conflicts related to the Hamas-Israel war spread.
Driving the news: In response to the war, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea before or after they move through the Suez Canal.
