The Wire - January 7, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z January 7, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: UNDERSEA CABLE CUT IN TAIWAN. EARTHQUAKE STRIKES NEPAL AND TIBET. SOUTH KOREAN POLITICS CONTINUES TO REMAIN TUMULTUOUS. TRUMP CONTINUES POLICY FORMATION REGARDING U.S. TERRITORIAL ASPIRATIONS.//

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 -International Events-
 Korean Peninsula: Following Sunday's routine missile launch in North Korea, tensions remain high in the context of South Korean politics. Though North Korea's missile test was semi-regular (albeit with North Korea claiming as usual to have implemented some new feature, in this case a new type of warhead), the launch has added to the internal strife that continues in South Korea.

In South Korea, the recent impeachment scandal continues to develop. President Yoon was impeached on December 14th, being replaced by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. However, on December 26th, Han was impeached as well, placing Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok in charge. Now, the situation largely remains in the courts as varying factions within government continue their power-plays.

Nepal: Yesterday evening a significant earthquake occurred in the Himalayas, with an epicenter located near the Tibetan town of Xizang near the Nepali border. Early estimates placed the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.1, at a depth of 10km. AC: This region, while occasionally host to very significant earthquakes, is also at exceptional risk of catastrophe from such. Following this quake, the casualty figures were initially reported as 9x fatalities, which rapidly rose to over 95x this morning.

Taiwan: This evening Taiwanese Defense officials and the Chunghwa Telecom company confirmed that at least one undersea cable serving the island nation had been cut over the weekend. The cable in question is part of the Trans-Pacific Express Cable System, a large network of cables connecting many Southeast Asian countries (including China herself) with North America. So far, the chief culprit is a Hong-Kong affiliated cargo ship, which was observed to be at anchor over the affected cable a few days ago.

-HomeFront-
California: This afternoon a wildfire emerged near the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, rapidly expanding from the point of origin to around 200 acres in size in less than an hour due to strong winds. The Palisades fire rapidly expanded to over 700+ acres later on in the day. This rapid explosion of fire activity caused sudden risks to residential neighborhoods, with mass evacuations being mandated throughout most of Pacific Palisades and parts of western Los Angeles. AC: Due to the rapid arrival of this wildfire to densely populated residential areas, many people attempted to flee by vehicle. Many people subsequently ended up abandoning their vehicles in the middle of the freeway, attempting to flee on foot. As such, mass traffic gridlock has been reported throughout the area, with many firefighting units needing to use heavy machinery to move abandoned vehicles off of the roadway to make room for emergency responders.

Washington D.C. - Incoming President Trump has continued to share policy decisions, from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, to mandating that votes are counted before 10pm on election day. Trump has also pledged to investigate the FBI's involvement in the 2021 J6 incident.

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Analyst Comments: Trump has continued to assert his intentions with regards to gaining control of both Greenland and the Panama Canal. As of right now, this appears to be a genuine line of effort diplomatically. Of note, Donald Trump Jr. is currently in Greenland, reportedly filming content for an upcoming podcast. As of right now, Trump Jr. is not scheduled to meet with government officials in Greenland, and the visit appears to be more personal in nature, as opposed to an official diplomatic visit. These developments ordinarily would not carry much weight, as every incoming administration makes plans similar to these aspirations (though usually not to this degree). However, considering the diplomatic impacts of these efforts might impact the American people somewhat (particularly Trump's aspirations for war in the Middle East), the policy decisions that are being lined up would be worthy of being aware of.

Analyst: S2A1
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