AMERICAS/EUROPE (AMERI-EURO)NEWS.

Volkswagen is under pressure to pull out of a joint venture in the Xinjiang region of China – the latest example of geopolitical tensions colliding with business priorities for Germany’s biggest manufacturers. These issues are most acute for companies that operate in or have ties to Xinjiang, a region home to millions of Uyghur Muslims where the U.S. says China has conducted genocide and used forced labor.

“Cubans are cannon fodder and they will kill them all.” For military recruiters working for Russia, Cuba’s worsening poverty makes for easy pickings as Moscow attempts to fill the holes in its front lines.

Egyptian authorities are constructing an 8-square-mile walled enclosure in the Sinai Desert near the border in response to potential Israeli Offensive Looms.fearful that an Israeli military push further into southern Gaza will set off a flood of refugees.

The Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed on Wednesday that it has “been rigorously tracking this issue from the start” and is “discussing an appropriate response with the administration,” per a note from Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the committee’s chair, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the committee’s vice chair. The Senate is currently on a two-week recess. “In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action.”

Israel on Wednesday launched its longest and heaviest attack in years on neighboring Lebanon since the start of the Gaza war, striking several locations in the south, killing at least one Hezbollah fighter and three civilians, and raising further the specter of war between the two long-standing enemies. Israeli fighter jets began “an extensive wave of attacks in Lebanese territory,” Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announced as the strikes were underway, saying details were to follow.

CIA Director William J. Burns and Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea met on Tuesday in Egypt to continue negotiations for a possible hostage-release deal. Many Gazans are attempting to flee Rafah, ahead of an expected full-scale Israeli military operation in the southern city where about 1.4 million people are sheltering.

The Senate passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, overcoming the objections of a growing number of Republicans who opposed spending so much money abroad. The bill now goes to the GOP-controlled House, where it faces an uncertain fate.

The Israeli strikes that lit up the night in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Monday sent pulses of fear through the 1.4 million Palestinians for whom that strip of land has become a shelter of last resort.

Russian forces are using SpaceX’s satellite internet system near the front line in occupied parts of Ukraine, which uses Starlink for military communications in its war with Russia, said on Sunday that Russian troops were using Starlink in occupied areas as the full-scale war with Russia nears the two-year mark.

A campaign ad for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was aired during the Super Bowl, released by the American Values 2024 political action committee, which raised eyebrows for more reasons than one.

President Biden called Israel’s military conduct in the Gaza Strip “over the top,” his sharpest rebuke yet and the latest critical comment from a U.S. official in recent days. “A lot of innocent people are in trouble, and they’re dying, and it’s got to stop,” President Biden, who has generally avoided criticizing the U.S. ally, said Thursday. In Gaza, airstrikes hit Rafah overnight.

The Leaders of 27 European Union Countries agreed to seal a deal Thursday to more than $50 billion in aid for Ukraine, overcoming opposition from Hungary to secure critical funding as battlefield progress stalls and support from the United States looks uncertain.