World roundup: January 21 2026
Stories from Israel-Palestine, Cambodia, Cuba, and elsewhere
TODAY IN HISTORY
January 21, 763: The still relatively new Abbasid Caliphate snuffs out an early Shiʿa uprising at the Battle of Bakhamra in what is now southern Iraq.
January 21, 1793: Having been found guilty of treason by the National Convention, French King Louis XVI—or Citizen Louis Capet, as he was known by this point—is executed by guillotine. His death marked what at the time surely seemed like the end of the French monarchy, though Napoleon and then the restored Bourbons had something to say about that. It also shocked even some fans of the French Revolution, and that shock may have contributed to the support for restoring the Bourbons when all was said and done.
MIDDLE EAST
SYRIA
The latest ceasefire between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces group may be collapsing, which would be the second time something like that has happened in four days. Syrian officials are accusing the SDF of carrying out a drone strike that killed seven soldiers in northeastern Syria on Wednesday morning and says that SDF attacks have killed 11 of their soldiers overall since the ceasefire was to have taken effect on Tuesday evening. The SDF has denied the drone strike allegation and says that what those Syrian officials are calling a “drone strike” was actually an accidental (presumably) blast that took place while the soldiers were “moving explosives.” It has also accused Syrian forces of violating the ceasefire.
