Axios

New data from the Brazilian Space Agency shows that deforestation in the Amazon has hit an all-time high, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The largest and most biodiverse rainforest on the planet has in recent years faced rapid deforestation, which reached a 15-year high last November after it soared 22% in one year.

The FBI and British domestic security agency MI5 warned Friday that domestic terror cases are increasingly carrying an international component as extremists draw inspiration from neo-Nazism and racist attacks across borders, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: FBI Director Christopher Wray previously testified that the U.S. domestic terrorism caseload has "exploded" in size since spring 2020. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has called domestic violent extremism the "single greatest terrorism-related threat" in the U.S.

The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left the world reeling on Friday as people grappled with how the shooting happened in a country with strict gun laws and one of the lowest homicide rates.

Why it matters: Gun violence in Japan stands in stark contrast to the U.S., with only one firearm-related death in all of 2021, the New York Times reports.

The Pentagon announced another arms shipment to Ukraine on Friday that is valued at around $400 million, bringing the total military assistance rolled out since February to over $7 billion.

Why it matters: The latest shipment includes higher-precision artillery ammunition as well as four advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which have allowed Ukraine to strike Russian military stockpiles and other targets behind the front lines.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer — or finance minister — launched his campaign Friday to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and U.K. prime minister.

Why it matters: Sunak's shock resignation Tuesday from the second-most powerful position in the British Cabinet helped trigger Johnson's ouster. The son of Indian-origin immigrants, Sunak would be the U.K.'s first prime minister of Asian descent.

Former Angola President José Eduardo dos Santos died on Friday at the age of 79, the southern African country's presidency said.

The big picture: Dos Santos, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, led the country for nearly four decades before stepping down in 2017.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke by phone on Friday ahead of President Biden's trip to the region next week.

Why it matters: It's the first phone call between an Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian president in five years, and the Biden administration pushed for it to happen before the visit, Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios.

World leaders from the past and present expressed shock and sadness over the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — a man they described as a "towering global statesman" whose legacy is one of "global impact."

The big picture: Abe was shot while giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara Friday morning. He was rushed to the hospital, but pronounced dead later Friday. He was 67.

Former President Trump reacted to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, calling him a "unifier like no other."

What he's saying: "Really BAD NEWS FOR THE WORLD! Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dead. He was assassinated. His killer was captured and will hopefully be dealt with swiftly and harshly," Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

A Swiss court Friday acquitted former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini on charges of defrauding FIFA.

Driving the news: "Following the decision of the judges of the Court of Bellinzona, this morning, I wanted to express my happiness for all my loved ones that justice has finally been done after seven years of lies and manipulation," Platini said in a statement, per AP.

Boris Johnson's successor will be the fourth Conservative prime minister in the past six years, continuing a trend of leaders ousted not at the ballot box but by party infighting.

Flashback: David Cameron resigned after losing the Brexit referendum in 2016 (with Johnson leading the opposing camp), while Theresa May stepped aside in 2019 after her Brexit deal was repeatedly voted down (with Johnson quitting her government in order to oppose it).

BANDERA, Malawi — Nancy Economou is a kind, affable, middle-aged, single mother of five boys from the Chicago suburbs.

• She's also likely delivered more free solar light to more poor women in more poor nations than any person in America.

Why it matters: Her life is a leadership lesson on how ordinary people can do extraordinary things with entrepreneurial ambition and thinking.