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🇷🇺 Russia drafted up to 300,000 of its reservists into active service. President Vladimir Putin announced the move in a 15-minute speech yesterday, saying he's ordering the mobilization to support a "special operation" in Ukraine. And a lot of folks didn't react all too well: one-way flights out of Russia sold out shortly after Putin's speech, 1,300+ Russians have been arrested over anti-war protests so far, and Google searches like "How to break an arm" and "How to get out of Russia” shot to the top of the country’s trending lists.
🇮🇷 Iranians are protesting over a woman who died in the custody of ‘morality police.’ The demonstrations, which began on Saturday, have spread to dozens of cities across the country and Internet access has been restricted following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was taken to a hospital last Tuesday shortly after being arrested by Tehran’s morality police. She allegedly had her trousers too tight and violated Iran’s law that all women cover their heads in public. Amini suffered multiple blows to the head before she died, per London-based broadcaster Iran International, which reported she was arrested while sitting in her brother’s car on a visit to see family members. Police say she suffered a heart attack and fell.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israeli PM Yair Lapid is expected to back a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict. Senior government officials confirmed Lapid would deliver the news as part of his address to the UN General Assembly later today, marking the first time since 2017 that the country’s PM has publicly supported such a solution. Though the officials did emphasize that agreeing to establish Palestine as a state would require certain security arrangements for Israel.
🗳️ Russian-installed officials across 15% of Ukraine announced plans yesterday to hold referendums – or “sham” votes, per Ukrainian leaders – that could result in Russia annexing an area roughly the size of Hungary or Portugal by next week.
🌎 The EU no longer classifies Hungary as a full democracy, Germany has taken over all Russian-owned oil refineries, and Cheetahs are returning to India after 70 years.
🇺🇦 Ukraine’s military has recaptured more than 3,000 square miles of Russian-occupied land in the east and south over the past month; meanwhile, Moscow has turned to North Korea and Iran for weaponry due to “severe” supply shortages stemming from Western sanctions.
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