Israeli activist arrested for wearing hat depicting Palestinian killed by soldiers (www.middleeasteye.net)
U.S. to send widely banned cluster munitions to Ukraine (www.axios.com)
UN warns violence against civilians in Sudan ‘verging on pure evil’ (www.theguardian.com)
Birth rate in Italy reaches new record low (www.ansa.it)
Thousands Take to the Streets Across US and Canada In Solidarity with Palestine As War in Gaza Escalates (itsgoingdown.org)
Japan asks court to strip Unification church of religious status (www.theguardian.com)
Japan’s government has asked a court to strip the Unification church of its status, amid growing criticism of the group’s fundraising activities after the assassination last year of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe....
Iranian Officials Helped Hamas Plan Deadly Attack on Israel (www.businessinsider.com)
With Kremlin apologist leading the polls, Slovakia vote threatens country’s support for Ukraine (www.cnn.com)
Slovaks are voting in a parliamentary election on Saturday, a knife-edge vote that could radically reshape Slovakia’s approach to Ukraine and create deep rifts within NATO and the European Union....
3 killed in shootings and an explosion as deadly violence continues in Sweden (apnews.com)
Three people were killed overnight in separate incidents in Sweden as deadly violence linked to a feud between criminal gangs escalated....
Iran protests: Mahsa Amini's death puts morality police under spotlight (www.bbc.com)
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by Iran’s so-called morality police has sparked angry protests, with women burning their headscarves in a defiant act of resistance against the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code and those enforcing it....
A rocket with a lunar landing craft blasts off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years (www.thehindu.com)
“Study of the moon is not the goal,” said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. “The goal is political competition between two superpowers — China and the USA — and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.”
Protesters demand answers on third anniversary of Beirut port explosion | CNN (www.cnn.com)
Giorgia Meloni: Italian PM sues Placebo frontman for defamation (www.bbc.com)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is suing Placebo singer Brian Molko for defamation after he called her a fascist and a racist during a gig in Turin last month, Italian media report....
France cuts off aid to Niger amid growing Western condemnation of coup (www.france24.com)
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank....
Increased orca activity leads to tourist ban in Portugal (www.theportugalnews.com)
The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) prohibits, as of today, maritime tourist vessels from actively approaching groups of orcas, in order to avoid serious consequences.
Everyone Knew the Migrant Ship Was Doomed. No One Helped. (www.nytimes.com)
Blinken calls for protecting civilians as Israel prepares an expected assault on Gaza (www.cbsnews.com)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip and Israel as he intensified his diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond to rally an international response to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding....
Portugal to scrap ‘unjust’ tax breaks for foreign residents (www.theguardian.com)
Serbia pulls some troops back from Kosovo border after warning from US (www.theguardian.com)
NATO’s Bulgaria finds crashed killer drone on its land (www.politico.eu)
A drone carrying an explosive device was discovered on Bulgarian territory over the weekend....
Libyan city buries 700 people killed in devastating floods as 10,000 are reported missing (apnews.com)
Libya’s eastern city of Derna has buried 700 people killed in devastating flooding and 10,000 were reported missing as rescue teams struggled to retrieve many more bodies from the horrific deluge, officials said Tuesday....
After Karan Sangwan’s viral video, yet another teacher steps up to call for support of educated politicians. (newsroompost.com)
Japan's has one of the world's oldest populations, and it is shrinking at a record rate (www.cbsnews.com)
Japan’s population is declining at record speed while the number of foreign nationals residing in the country has risen to a record high, according to government data released Wednesday. The data show the total number of Japanese nationals in the country fell by about 800,000 people in 2022, the 14th consecutive year of...