US News

• Twitter will introduce a strike system for users who tweet “covid misinformation.” Too many strikes will get users banned. [Link]
• Eighty members of the House sign a letter to Biden urging him to undo Trump’s Cuba policy and return to the détente pushed by Obama. [Link] 
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fake Venezuelan president Juan Guaido. [Link]
• A new report submitted to Congress calls for $27 billion in additional military spending to confront China. [Link]

Europe

• Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to a year in prison for corruption. [Link]
• The US announced a $125 million military aid package to Ukraine. The package includes Mark IV patrol boats. [Link]
• The US sanctioned seven Russians for allegedly poisoning Alexei Navalny. [Link]
• The US Air Force trained on launching missiles over the Baltic Sea. [Link]

Myanmar

• Myanmar’s military opened fire on protesters, killing at least 13. [Link]

Afghanistan 

• Three female journalists were killed in Afghanistan. The Afghan government accused the leader attacker of being linked to the Taliban. The Taliban denied involvement. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. [Link]

Saudi Arabia

• The US didn’t sanction Saudi Crown Prince MbS after DNI Avril Haines released a report saying he ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashossi. In attempting to explain why Biden didn’t sanction MbS, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki falsely claimed the US did not sanction world leaders. The US currently sanctions several world leaders. [Link]
• Three names were removed from the Khashoggi report after it was first published. [Link]
• Israel has engaged in informal talks with Saudi, UAE, and Bahrain about forming an anti-Iran alliance. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel is concerned that hundreds of its citizens could be investigated by the ICC for war crimes. [Link]
• The IAEA defends its deal with Iran. The deal will allow the IAEA to access data from Iran’s nuclear sites if the US reenters the JCPOA within three months. [Link]
• Turkey is planning to shut down the Kurdish political party. [Link]
• At least three rockets hit an Iraqi base that houses US soldiers. [Link]