February 6, 2024

*) US military says it conducted strike against two Houthi drones The US military says that its forces conducted a strike against two Houthi drones in Yemen. The US Central Command said in a post on X that its forces identified the explosive USVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. It added that the USVs presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. *) Biden’s Syria, Iraq strikes driven by US electoral agenda, Russia says Russia has accused US President Joe Biden of carrying out strikes in Iraq and Syria to boost his image as the presidential election campaign “is heating up” and not in retaliation for a deadly attack on US soldiers. The US began the airstrikes on Friday against dozens of targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and allied groups after three US soldiers were killed in Jordan in an attack that Washington blamed on Iranian-backed groups. Russia said there was no justification for the US action. *) Trump urges US Republicans to reject Ukraine aid deal Former US president Donald Trump has urged Republicans to reject a bill tying the toughest border security measures in a generation to $60 billion in Ukraine aid. Trump said they need a separate border and immigration bill. He added that “it should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form.” *) Senegalese lawmakers vote to delay election until December Senegalese lawmakers have voted to delay a presidential election due to take place this month until December 15. The president of the National Assembly announced that lawmakers had passed the measure on Monday after several opposition deputies were forcibly removed from the chamber by police. Senegalese lawmakers have gotten physical as they debated the unprecedented move to delay this month’s presidential election, which also sparked clashes outside parliament and prompted international concern. *) Turkish President Erdogan vows to stand by victims of Feb. 6 earthquake Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to heal the wounds of the victims of the February 6, 2023 earthquakes that hit the southern part of the country. Erdogan said on X that “the pain of the lives lost in the Kahramanmaras-centred earthquakes that we experienced a year ago continues to burn our hearts as fresh as the first day.” Türkiye is marking the first anniversary of the powerful quakes that killed a total of 53,537 people and injured more than 107,000 others.