British warship and U.S. aircraft seize 6,000 pounds of cocaine and other drugs after "high-speed chase" in Caribbean Sea (www.cbsnews.com)
US says Israel has agreed to the framework for a Gaza cease-fire. Hamas must now decide (apnews.com)
International mediators have been working for weeks to broker a deal to pause the fighting before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10. A deal would likely allow aid to reach hundreds of thousands of desperate Palestinians in northern Gaza who aid officials worry are under threat of famine....
A lone orca killed a great white in less than two minutes. Scientists say it could signal an ecological shift (edition.cnn.com)
A pair of orcas working in concert have been killing great whites along a stretch of South African coastline since at least 2017, plundering the sharks’ nutrient-rich livers and discarding the rest....
Israel says no more talks until Hamas provides list of hostages still alive in Gaza (www.axios.com)
Births in Japan hit record low (www.bangkokpost.com)
Palestinian prime minister submits government’s resignation, a move that could open door to reforms (apnews.com)
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian prime minister announced the resignation of his government on Monday, paving the way for a shake-up in the Palestinian Authority, which the U.S. hopes will eventually take on a role in postwar Gaza....
Sweden clears final hurdle in bid to join NATO after Hungary approves accession (www.cnn.com)
‘It was an execution’: family mourns boy shot dead by Israeli forces (www.theguardian.com)
Nihal Abu Ayash, 16, was reportedly the 100th Palestinian child to be killed in the West Bank since Hamas’s 7 October attack...
Police beatings of pro-Palestinian schoolchildren spark outrage in Italy (www.deccanherald.com)
Germany legalizes recreational cannabis use (www.cnn.com)
Russia to gather representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Palestinian factions in Moscow (www.pravda.com.ua)
Australian working in Rafah hospital says all staff are struggling: ‘We have victims caring for victims’ (www.theguardian.com)
Indian port workers refuse to handle Israel weapon shipments (www.independent.co.uk)
‘It’s legalised robbery’: anger grows at China’s struggling shadow banks | Chinese economy | The Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, Russian media report (edition.cnn.com)
ailed Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who made global headlines when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, has died, the Russian prison service said.
Alexei Navalny dies in jail, Russian prison service says – DW – 02/16/2024 (www.dw.com)
Canada joins allies in warning Israel that ground offensive in Rafah would be 'catastrophic' (www.cbc.ca)
As Israel threatens to launch a military ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, members of the international community — including Canada — are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider.
Netanyahu Nixes Israeli Return To-Cairo Hostage Talks Cites Delusional Hamas Stance (www.jewishpress.com)
MFBC...
Israeli strikes kill 44 Palestinians in Rafah after Netanyahu says ground invasion is coming there (apnews.com)
including more than a dozen children
German firm BASF urged to quit Xinjiang over ‘gross abuses’ of Uyghurs (www.theguardian.com)
Hamas set to reject Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, demand more prisoners - report (m.jpost.com)
Hamas is set to reject on Sunday evening the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal proposed in Paris last week, Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya reported....
Palestinian children killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza (www.aljazeera.com)
Here is a list of the names we know, from more than 11,500 children killed during Israel’s war on Gaza. Even this is less than half of those killed.
How Australian undercover police ‘fed’ an autistic 13-year-old’s fixation with Islamic State (www.theguardian.com)
Counter-terrorism police encouraged an autistic 13-year-old boy in his fixation on Islamic State in an undercover operation after his parents sought help from the authorities....
Israel To Pursue Genocide Case Against Iran At ICJ (www.iranintl.com)
Ukraine says it sank Russian warship off coast of Crimea and unleashed ‘massive’ missile barrage on peninsula (www.cnn.com)
Ukraine’s military intelligence says it sank a Russian warship off the coast of Crimea overnight into Thursday, landing the latest in a series of blows to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after mounting a “massive” missile attack on the occupied peninsula hours earlier....
