🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- BREAKING: China announces the start of large-scale exercises around Taiwan. Exercises will involve the army, navy, air force and rocket forces in multiple directions around the island. Live fire rounds will be used.

🇷🇺🇨🇳⚡- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has arrived in Moscow, Russia.

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- "The military exercises are focused on approaching the Taiwan Island from multiple directions. They will also focus on sea and air combat readiness patrols, seizing comprehensive control, sea and land strikes, and blocking key areas and roads, to test the actual combat capabilities of the theater's troops in joint operations," - Shi Yi, China's Eastern Theater Command Spokesperson.

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- China's Eastern Theater Command names the exercises "Closing In" and discloses the exercises poster.

🇨🇦🇨🇳⚡️- Liberal MP Paul Chiang has resigned and will not seek re-election after days of pressure from the media. Its unclear if PM Carney asked him to resign or not as the Prime Minister was defending him as late as yesterday morning.

🇺🇸⚡️- Polling for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race that could potentially result in the GOP losing the House of Reps before 2026 show a tight race. Young voters are continuing to trend Republican while older voters dash to the Democratic Party.

Latest Atlas poll shows the following:
18-30
🟦Craword: 50% (=)
🟥Schimel: 50%

Over 65
🟦Crawford: 61% (+21)
🟥Schimel: 39%

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- Taiwan says it has detected 19 Chinese warships and the Shandong aircraft carrier group around its island

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- Scenes from Taiwan, where Chinese Shandong aircraft carrier involved in the exercise is seen operating very close to the Taiwanese Island.

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- Taiwan's Defense Minister says the Chinese Shandong carrier strike group is operating in waters southeast of Taiwan.

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- Taiwan scrambles fighter jets to monitor the Chinese exercises which surround the island.

🇺🇸🇮🇪🇮🇱⚡- US CENTCOM Commander Michael Kurilla has departed from Shannon Airport for Tel Aviv.

🇫🇷🇩🇿⚡- Algerian President Tebboune and French President Macron held a phone call during which they agreed to resume cooperation, after the diplomatic crisis in relations between the two countries that has been ongoing since the summer of 2024. The relations between the two countries were cut completely three months ago.

🇮🇶🇾🇪⚡- Iraq has decided to end the Houthis activities on its territory. A Government official in Baghdad tells al-Araby al-Jadeed, Qatari outlet, that it is "working to limit the 'Houthi Movement' in the country."

"In light of the current problems in the region and the fear of escalating American actions against Iran, the Iraqi government has begun to feel that the Houthis in Baghdad are a political burden on it. Most of their political and media activities have been stopped, but their representatives are still in Iraq," - al-Araby al-Jadeed, citing an Iraqi Government official.

🇪🇬🇮🇱⚡- "Israel has asked Egypt and the United States to begin the process of dismantling military infrastructure built by the Egyptian army in Sinai in violation of the peace agreement with the countries. Israel believes Egypt's actions in the Sinai as a 'significant violation' of the security annex," - Israel Hayom.

🇸🇾🇹🇷🇮🇱⚡- "If a Turkish air base is established in Syria, it would undermine Israel's freedom of operation. This is a potential threat that we oppose.

In recent weeks, Israel's political-security leadership has held several discussions regarding concerns of deeper Turkish involvement within Syria itself, including the possibility that the Erdogan government would establish military bases there," - The Jerusalem Post.

🇺🇦🇩🇪⚡- German Foreign Minister Baerbock arrived in Kiev, Ukraine.

🇷🇺🇱🇹⚡- "Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation against NATO," - Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

🇸🇾🇹🇷🇮🇱 - Scenes from last night along the Syrian-Turkish border. According to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham military journalists, the large Turkish military convoys are being prepared for deployment to bases in Homs and Palmyra, central and eastern Syria.

🇸🇾🇮🇱⚡- "Syria's President al-Sharaa recently released all Hamas and Islamic Jihad members that were arrested by the Assad government. It is noted that some of the released prisoners began to engage in terrorist activities against Israel.

Ahmed al-Sharaa is an enemy. He is an Islamist in a tie who is trying to sell a new image to the West while working to undermine Israel's security," - Israeli Channel 11.

🇸🇾🇹🇷🇮🇱⚡- "Israel has no interest in a confrontation with the Turks. We wish to operate freely in the airspace of Syria. But Turkey is working to reduce Israel’s open skies in Syria.

It is evident that Turkey is consistently trying to entrench its presence and limit Israel’s strategic reach in the region," - Ma'ariv, Israeli outlet.

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡- US CENTCOM Commander Michael Kurilla is meeting with Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the underground military bunker Kirya in Tel Aviv.