1. The U.S. launched the strikes against facilities linked to Iran and the militias they back, after a drone attack killed three American troops in Jordan. The move falls short of hitting targets in Iranian territory while raising the threat of wider war in the Middle East.
2. Israeli air strikes killed 18 Palestinians in Rafah and Deir Al-Balah, Gaza health officials said. More than half of the strip’s 2.3 million residents are homeless and crammed into the area at the Egyptian border as Israeli troops shell the Rafah's outskirts. The U.S. and Britain are pushing Benjamin Netanyahu on the idea of a Palestinian state, and the White House imposed sanctions on four Israeli men it accused of being involved in settler violence in the West Bank.
3. President Biden went to Michigan to receive the support of union autoworkers crucial to his reelection bid, while Arab-Americans refused to meet his campaign in protest at his backing of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Biden also is hoping for a victory among the heavily Black electorate in the Democratic South Carolina primary this weekend.
4. Ukraine suspended a senior defense official over suspected corruption in weapons procurement. Ukraine’s army chief listed challenges hurting the war effort after media outlets reported that he might be fired. Ukraine’s parliament is considering a bill that would allow Kyiv to call up more people for military service and strengthen punishment for draft evasion.
5. Meta Platforms added over $196 billion in stock market value on Friday, with its shares surging to a record high after the Facebook parent declared its first dividend and posted strong results. Mark Zuckerberg at a congressional hearing apologized to parents who said their children were harmed on social media, but did not assume responsibility for facilitating the abuse.
6. The UN’s World Food Programme is receiving reports of people dying of starvation in Sudan as the army and paramilitary rivals met in secret in Bahrain. It was their first such contact in nine months of fighting.
Source: Reuters
=FRESH NEWS
