Spotlight on Current Events Around the Globe
Biden Allows Ukraine to Use U.S. Weapons to Strike Inside Russia
President Biden, in a major shift pressed by his advisers and key allies, has authorized Ukraine to conduct limited strikes inside Russia with American-made weapons, opening what could well be a new chapter in the war for Ukraine. Biden’s decision appears to mark the first time that an American president has allowed limited military responses on artillery, missile bases, and command centers inside the borders of a nuclear-armed adversary.
White House officials insisted, however, that the authorization extended only to what they characterized as acts of self-defense so that Ukraine could protect Kharkiv, its second-largest city, and the surrounding areas from missiles, glide bombs, and artillery shells from just over the border.
With this decision, it seems as though Biden has crossed a red line that he himself drew. However, some American allies had already gone further. Britain weeks ago allowed Ukraine to use its Storm Shadow long-range missile systems for attacks anywhere in Russia, and France and Germany recently took the same position. So did Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO. It appeared that each of those countries was mounting a campaign to get Biden to change his mind. Read more from the New York Times.
Israeli Airstrike on Rafah Kills 45 People
A deadly Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah last week drew widespread international condemnation. 45 people were killed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Rafah strike a “tragic accident.” It was a departure from public statements by the Israeli military, which had previously referred to a targeted strike on a Hamas compound using “precise munitions” and “precise intelligence.”
Four weapons experts said the Israeli military used a U.S.-made precision bomb in the southern Gaza strike. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States couldn’t confirm what weapons were used or how they were used in the strike. The United States has been “very clear with Israel,” Blinken said, on the need to “immediately investigate and interrogate exactly what happened.” When asked if the strike will affect U.S. military assistance to Israel, he said Washington will “await the results” of Israel’s investigation.
In another matter, an image calling for “All Eyes on Rafah” is going viral. But it seems AI-generated. More than 40 million Instagram users have shared this graphic to their stories using a user-generated template in recent days. Some on social media have criticized the image as replacing distressing footage of what’s actually happening in Gaza — from photographers and people on the ground — with a fake image generated by technology.
Mexico Expected to Elect Its First Female President
Today, Mexico will host its Presidential Election with Claudia Sheinbaum as the front-runner. Ms Sheinbaum, who belongs to the governing Morena party, says the fact that both leading candidates are women is a sign that Mexican society is finally evolving. With her closest rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, also a woman, and the only man in the presidential race a distant third, Mexico is almost certainly set to break centuries of male domination of the country’s highest office. Read more about the candidates here.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula Rise
On May 30th, North Korea fired a barrage of suspected ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea days after its attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed but still drew strong condemnation from its rivals.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the North firing around 10 projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. It said the suspected missiles flew around 350 kilometers (217 miles) before landing in waters off the North’s eastern coast. It said the South Korean military has increased surveillance and vigilance and is closely sharing information with the United States and Japan, both strong allies.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased in recent months as the pace of both North Korea’s weapons testing and South Korea’s combined military exercises with the United States and Japan have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat. The missile launches came after North Korea flew hundreds of trash-carrying balloons toward the South in retaliation against South Korean activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.