US News

• The FDA added a warning to the Johnson and Johnson covid vaccine. The FDA reports at least 100 cases of Guillain Barre syndrome. [Link]
• A Marine received six months confinement and hard labor for murdering a Navy Seal in Mali. The murder happened in 2017 and the Marines reported they accidentally killed the Seal during a hazing incident. [Link]

Haiti

• The DEA says at least one of the suspects in the assassination of Haiti’s president was a former informant for the agency. [Link]
• The White House says it is still considering a request from Haiti to deploy troops. [Link]

China

• The US sanctions 23 Chinese companies. [Link]
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns China that an attack on the Philippines will invoke a 1951 mutual defense treaty. [Link]
• Blinken rejected Chinese territorial waters claims in the South China Sea. [Link]
• China says it warned off a US warship in waters claimed by China. [Link]

Afghanistan

• CENTCOM head Gen. Frank McKenzie is now the leading commander of the US war in Afghanistan. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel’s Prime Minister Bennett wants a new system for getting aid to Gaza. The plan calls for no cash to enter Gaza, only aid vouchers. [Link]
• The EU is working on a plan to sanctions Lebanon’s leaders. [Link]
• A bipartisan group of Representatives is seeking information from the Biden Administration to justify recent strikes on Iraq and Syria. [Link]

Iran

• Iran says it is engaging in prisoner swap talks with the US. [Link]
• Iran says talks to save the JCPOA are near conclusion. [Link]
• According to a report from the AP, Iraqi Shia militias are attacking US forces in Iraqi against the will of Iran. The Quds Force commander recently traveled to Iraq to urge the Shia militias to remain calm. [Link] According to a report from Reuters, Iran asked the militias to step up attacks on US forces. [Link]

Ethiopia

• Forces from Tigray continue to retake areas of the Tigray province from the Ethiopian government and allied ethnic militias. [Link]