BIG Wrap

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United Arab Emirates has come under attack from Iranian missiles and drones for the second day in a row, according to its Defence Ministry, while Iran denied being behind the aggression. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said late on Tuesday that the country’s forces “have not carried out any missile or drone operations against the UAE in recent days.” “If any action had been taken, we would have announced it...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Amnesty International has accused a rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of mass war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a damning report published Monday, the rights group said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was behind multiple cases of murder, abductions, forced labour and marriage, sexual abuse of women and girls, and the exploitation of children. The report is entitled “I’d Never Seen So Many Bodies: War Crimes by...

(BBC News) Russian drone and missile strikes in Ukraine have killed 10 people and injured at least 76 over the past day, Ukrainian officials say. Officials in five regions around the country reported fatalities as Moscow continues to target Ukrainian cities with regular drone and missile attacks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat were struck in separate attacks on two Russian ports. There are no...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated warnings to Belarus not to get involved in Russia’s invasion as he reported unusual activity near the shared border between the two. In a video address shared on social media on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, without offering details regarding the suspicious activity along sections of the border, that Ukraine is ready to respond. “We are closely documenting everything and keeping the situation under control,” he said, warning that...

(BBC News) Pro-Palestinian activists say 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete. The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) denounced the action as "piracy", saying those on board were seized unlawfully more than 965 km from Gaza, which is under an Israeli naval blockade. Israel's foreign ministry said about 175 activists were detained and dismissed the flotilla as...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities say Pakistani mortars and missiles struck a university and residential neighbourhoods in the eastern province of Kunar on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 80. Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes hit the city of Asadabad, the provincial capital, as well as surrounding districts. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education said about 30 students and professors were among the wounded, with Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani...

(BBC News) A superyacht linked to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's key allies has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel. The 142-metre-long, multi-deck luxury boat, named Nord, is linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov. It travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, over the weekend – one of few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months. Iran held high-level talks with Russia this...

(New York Times) The Chinese government said on Monday that it would require the unwinding of Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence company with Chinese founders, in a move that could chill other Chinese entrepreneurs from seeking tie-ups with foreign partners. Chinese officials had said in January that they were investigating whether Meta’s acquisition of Manus in December violated the country’s rules on foreign investment. They were also assessing whether the deal violated China’s requirements...

(BBC News) New information is emerging about Cole Tomas Allen – who was identified by US officials as the man who was arrested after shots were fired inside the hotel where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was being held on Saturday night. The 31-year-old suspect, who described himself as a mechanical engineer, game developer and teacher, is from Torrance in the Los Angeles region of California. He is due to appear in court today (Monday). Police...

(New York Times) The Trump administration said on Friday that it would allow firing squads and readopt lethal injection as part of a broader push to revive the death penalty. In an accompanying report, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said that decisions by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to pull back on capital punishment “inflicted untold damage on victims of crime, and, ultimately, to the rule of law itself.” The Justice Department, he said, had...