1. President Biden’s announcement comes as the UN says that more than half a million people in the strip are one step away from famine. Israel acknowledged the plan, but said little else. People in Gaza are eating animal feed and cactuses to survive, and medics say children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration. Experts say the measure is well intentioned but unwise, and won’t solve the problem.
2. Some Palestinians injured in an attack during aid delivery in Gaza said Israeli forces shot at them as they rushed to get food for their families. Israel disputed figures from health authorities that said 115 people were killed, and said the deaths occurred when people were trampled or run over. Pressure mounted on Israel as other countries backed a UN call for an inquiry.
3. Thousands of Russians chanted Alexei Navalny’s name outside his memorial service. Some brought flowers and others said, “We won’t forgive” and “Putin is a murderer.” Police for the most part did not intervene. The parents of the Kremlin’s fiercest critic kissed his body in its coffin before he was buried at a cemetery near where he once lived.
4. House Republicans predict that Speaker Mike Johnson will take up the stalled bill that would supply crucial funding to Ukraine for its defense against Russia’s invasion. Vladimir Putin said Western countries risk nuclear war if they send troops to fight in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron offered that idea earlier in the week.
5. Fifteen states and one US territory will hold their parties’ nominating contests on March 5. This could be Nikki Haley’s last chance to stop Trump’s drive for the Republican nomination. The two collide in North Carolina this weekend as Michigan Republicans choose their nominee. Biden is expected to score wins, even as some Democrats remain angry over his support for Israel. Just look to their 100,000 “uncommitted” votes in Michigan as an example.
6. Elon Musk sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its CEO, saying they abandoned the startup’s mission to develop AI to benefit humanity, and went for profit instead.
Source: Reuters
=FRESH NEWS
