US News

• A F-35 shot itself, causing $2.5 million in damage. [Link]
• The Netherlands will spend $40 million to upgrade an American Army arms depot. [Link]
• Secretary of State Blinken is deciding if the US will label the ethnic cleansing targeting the Muslim minority.  [Link]

China

• Biden vows to not let China become a leading country. [Link]
• The US is working with the EU and NATO to take steps to unite against China. [Link]

Korea

• Japan says North Korea launched two ballistic missiles. [Link]
• Biden says the US will respond to the missile tests and the tests were a violation of a UN resolution. Biden said he was open to talks if they ended in denuclearization. [Link]

Afghanistan 

• Rep. Adam Smith says Biden will keep US troops in Afghanistan beyond May 1st. [Link]
• From 2017 to 2020 the US flew coalition partners around Afghanistan at the cost of $770 million. The US failed to track or charge partner states for the service. [Link]
• At a press conference Biden says he can’t picture troops remaining in Afghanistan next year. [Link]

Middle East

• The US Ambassador to Lebanon called on the Lebanese leaders to form a government. [Link]
• Germany approves a plan to keep 1,300 troops in Afghanistan until 2022. [Link]
• 43 Senators sent Biden a letter demanding he abandon the JCPOA and seek a broader agreement with Iran. [Link]
• An Israeli cargo ship was hit by a suspected missile in the Arabian Sea. [Link]
• The Iraqi military claims to have killed 27 ISIS fighters over the past two weeks. [Link]

Africa

• A Pentagon official said Trump reducing troop numbers in Somalia had a significant downside. [Link]
• Ethiopia confirms Eritrean troops entered Tigray during fighting in 2020. The Eritrean troops helped the Ethiopian military put down an alleged rebellion in Tigray. [Link]
• Doctors Without Borders staff reported Ethiopian soldiers murdering four civilians. [Link]
• Militants killed ten people raiding a village in Niger. [Link]
• Militants in Mozambique attacked a gas hub city. [Link]