US News

• The Justice Department said federal charges have been filed against four former and current Louisville police officers in the apartment raid that killed Breonna Taylor. UPI
• The National Police Accountability Project, claims that officers with the Rosenberg Police Department illegally detained a couple at gunpoint before destroying, damaging or confiscating their belongings, including the dialysis device, on Nov. 6, 2020. It alleges the department has a reputation for roughing up medically compromised citizens. NBC
• The Biden administration continues to send millions of covid worldwide each month. Share America

Pentagon

• Military officials say their F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are returning to flight after a scare from potentially defective ejection seats across the fleet, but won’t answer whether they’ve found the problem on any planes. How many military aircraft have nonworking ejection seats is one of the multiple questions that remain unanswered nearly three weeks into a widespread effort to ensure the safety of America’s premier fighter jet, plus several other fleets that may be affected. Air Force Times
• A mold infestation is forcing roughly 1,200 Fort Bragg soldiers to move out of their 1970s-built barracks, which will be demolished after the evacuation, the Army announced. Stars and Stripes

Ukraine

• The US and Ukraine agreed to further cooperate on cybersecurity issues and to improve avenues of information sharing. Defense News
• Reuters reports unnamed officials in the Biden administration say a new $1 billion weapons package is waiting for the president’s signature. The next arms transfer will be the 18th since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. AWC
• President Biden called on Russia to release WNBA star Brittney Griner immediately, condemning a newly announced nine-year prison sentence for Griner as “unacceptable.” The Hill
• Ukraine will start the pullout of its peacekeepers from the NATO-led mission in Kosovo. Ukraine has about 40 soldiers deployed to the mission. Reuters
• Amnesty International said that Ukraine is endangering civilians in its war-fighting tactics by establishing bases and launching attacks from residential areas, including schools and hospitals. AWC Amnesty
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the military alliance was working closely with the arms industry to get more weapons to Ukraine and said more must be done to support Kiev for the “long haul.” AWC
• Moscow is “ready to discuss” a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Axios

Korea

• The US and South Korea will carry out joint war games simulating the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Daily Beast

China

• China encircled Taiwan with warships and warplanes and fired missiles in the area in its largest-ever drills around the island in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. AWC
• China touted its military exercises around Taiwan as proof of its ability to blockade the self-ruled island in the event of a war. WSJ
• China says it is canceling or suspending dialogue with the US on climate change, military relations and other topics in a retaliatory strike after a controversial visit to Taiwan by Pelosi. Market Watch
• In an op-ed for The New York Times, Sen. Bob Menendez, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for a major increase in US support for Taiwan that would overhaul US policy toward the island. AWC
• Bloomberg reported, as tensions have risen to dangerous levels with China, President Joe Biden’s administration is lobbying Senate Democrats to “put the brakes” on the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022. AWC
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a joint statement urging the US and China to ease tensions around Taiwan after Pelosi’s trip to the island sparked massive Chinese military drills in the region. AWC

Afghanistan 

• The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for a deadly blast on Friday in a Shi’ite residential area in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Police said at least eight people were killed and 18 wounded in the blast. Reuters

Putin-Erdogan Meeting

• The Kremlin said that Turkey has legitimate security concerns over Syria and that it will take them into account ahead of a meeting between Russian President Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The New Arab
• Putin and Erdogan agreed to boost cooperation in the transport, agriculture, finance and construction industries, they said in a joint statement after a four-hour meeting. Reuters

Israel

• A long-lost painting by the British graffiti artist Banksy has resurfaced in a swank art gallery in downtown Tel Aviv, an hour’s drive and a world away from the concrete wall in the occupied West Bank where it was initially sprayed — a move Palestinians have branded as theft. The New Arab
• Israel used multiple airstrikes Friday to hit Gaza, killing a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a 5-year-old girl and at least eight others; 55 were wounded, according to local health officials. UPI
• Israel’s police are bracing for the possibility of riots and unrest in mixed Arab-Jewish cities amid a new military operation in the Gaza Strip. Haaretz

Iran

• The US and Iran have returned to Vienna for nuclear talks. Both sides agree a breakthrough is unlikely. AWC
• Russia’s envoy to talks on reviving Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal said they had resumed in a “serious” atmosphere. Reuters

Middle East

• The vast majority of voters believe that the US should use diplomacy — and not military force — to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, according to a recent poll from Data For Progress. Quincy
• OPEC+ is set to raise its oil output goal by 100,000 barrels per day, an amount analysts said was an insult to Biden after his trip to Saudi Arabia. Reuters 

Africa

• Al-Shabaab has begun to carry out attacks in Ethiopia. The New Arab
• Burkina Faso’s army has said it accidentally killed civilians during a military operation in the country’s southeast earlier this week. Togo’s military killed civilians in the same region last month. AJ
• The Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the spokesman of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to leave the country, blaming him for stoking tensions that led to deadly protests last week. Thirty-six people, including four UN  peacekeepers, were killed last week as hundreds of protesters vandalized and set fire to U.N. buildings in several cities in Congo’s east. Reuters