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.
