World Briefing: January 10, 2025

Firefighters are battling to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and forced over 180,000 people to flee their homes. The Palisades and Eaton fires each appeared to have destroyed some 5,000 or more structures, officials said, which would put them both among the five most destructive fires in California history. After a brief respite, winds were picking up as a new fire broke out.- AP

President Biden announced from the White House on Thursday that the federal government would pay for 100 percent of the region’s firefighting needs for the next 180 days, pledging the full weight of the federal government — and his successor’s administration — to help contain the fast-moving fires, which have killed at least five people and forced tens of thousands to evacuate, and support recovery. “We are with you,” Mr. Biden said. “We are not going anywhere.” So far, more than 29,000 acres, about twice the size of Manhattan, have burned. Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, said some areas “look like a bomb was dropped in them,” adding, “I think the death toll will rise.” - NYT

California is “becoming uninsurable” as wildfires leave a $50bn (£41bn) trail of destruction in Los Angeles, experts have warned. JP Morgan analysts said the wildfires ripping through Hollywood would cost insurers an estimated $20bn – “even more if the fires are not controlled” – while the total economic loss stemming from the fires could reach two and a half times that. US-based experts have warned that California has become increasingly uninsurable, with home insurers cutting coverage in the state in recent years owing to the risks involved. Jesse Keenan, of Tulane University, said: “There’s certainly parts of the state that are becoming uninsurable.” He added: “Insurers will leave places like Brentwood, Hollywood and Santa Monica,” and he is warning that the long-term effects would be felt across the country as insurers repriced the risk.

Actor Henry Winkler (of Happy Days fame) is the latest celebrity to spread a viral internet theory that the fires affecting Los Angeles are the result of an “arsonist.” In the hours after Winkler posted his wildfire theory, at least one person was taken into custody for arson in connection with the Kenneth Fire, which broke out earlier in the day in the West Hollywood Hills, according to NewsNation reporter Brian Entin. Police have also reportedly shut down Victory Trailhead hiking area, which has been declared a crime scene. Still, Winkler and fellow celebrities’ fear-inducing posts have drawn mixed reactions, with many experts saying that most of the fires currently burning were most likely caused by dry conditions and strong winds. L.A. fire department officials said earlier in the day that they had found no credible evidence of arson, TMZ reported Thursday afternoon. An investigation into the fires’ causes is ongoing.

The United States has warned that North Korea is benefiting from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, gaining experience that makes Pyongyang “more capable of waging war against its neighbors.” Russia has forged closer diplomatic and military ties with North Korea since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. More than 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia and last month began fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Camille Shea told the United Nations Security Council. “The DPRK is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbors,” Shea told the 15-member council, which met over what Pyongyang said was a test of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile on Monday. “In turn, the DPRK will likely be eager to leverage these improvements to promote weapons sales and military training contracts globally,” she said, using the acronym for North Korea’s formal name - the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - Reuters

Jimmy Carter’s six-day farewell to the nation culminated on Thursday morning with a eulogy from Joe Biden on faith and character as the 39th president received a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. The procession for America’s longest-lived president was attended by all five living presidents, including President-elect Donald Trump, all sitting in front row pews and conversing with one another as they settled in. Vice-President Kamala Harris and former vice-president Mike Pence were also in attendance. Carter’s memorial service also drew world leaders including Canada’s outgoing prime minister, Justin Trudeau; the UN secretary general, António Guterres; and Britain’s Prince Edward. Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister, also attended. - The Guardian

Donald Trump will be sentenced on Friday in his New York “hush money” case, the Supreme Court has ruled. The justices, by a 5-4 majority, rejected the president-elect’s last-minute request to delay proceedings, meaning that he will be sentenced just over a week before he is due to take office. Mr Trump, 78, was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York this year in an alleged attempt to cover up an affair with Stormy Daniels, the adult film star. Amy Coney Barrett, whom Mr Trump appointed to the court in 2020, and chief justice John Roberts sides with the three liberals on the court to rule against the Republican. Four conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – said they would have granted Trump’s request. In a short statement, the Court said that some of Mr Trump’s objections to the sentencing going ahead could be handled “in the ordinary course on appeal”. It went on to say that it would impose a “relatively insubstantial” burden on the president-elect’s responsibilities as Juan Merchan, the judge in charge of the case, has signalled that he would not face jail time or other penalties. Mr Trump’s sentencing will now be held in Manhattan on Friday at 9.30am (2.30pm UK) - Telegraph

At least 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It said that Israel’s killings of journalists in Gaza has not abated. One day after Christmas, Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV in a strike on their vehicle outside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings. “This attack meant that at least nine journalists were killed in a two-week period over one year into the war,” CPJ said.

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