US News

• The CDC authorizes the Covid vaccine for children 5-11. [Link]

Great Power

• CIA Director William Burns traveled to Russia for talks. [Link]
• The US deployed two warships to the Black Sea. [Link]
• China demands more transparency from the US after a nuclear submarine crashed in the South China Sea. The presence of US spy planes with the ability to detect nuclear leakage being deployed to the South China Sea is fueling speculation. [Link]
• US marines are training Taiwanese troops in Guam. [Link]
• Taiwan sends its first delegation to the European Parliament. [Link]

Middle East

• The US and Israel are engaging in joint military drills. [Link]
• Dozens of rights groups demand Biden ease sanctions on Iran to allow diplomacy to unfold. [Link]
• Israel bombed near Damascus. [Link]
• Bahrain orders its citizens out of Lebanon after a Lebanese official criticized the war in Yemen. [Link]
• Saudi Arabia is preparing for a siege of Maarib, Yemen by the Houthi forces advancing on the city. [Link]

Ethiopia 

• The Ethiopian government declares a state of emergency and calls on citizens to arm themselves. It fears the Tigray People’s Liberation Front will march on the capital. [Link]