Axios

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Friday killed at least 10 Palestinians, including a 5-year-old girl and a commander of the Islamic Jihad group.

The latest: Air raid sirens went off in central and southern Israel late Friday local time. The Israeli military said that 80 rockets were fired from Gaza. About 46 reached Israeli territory and 33 of these were intercepted. No casualties were reported.

The inauguration on Sunday of Gustavo Petro as Colombia's president represents a major test for U.S. influence in Latin America as a leftist tide sweeps through the region.

Why it matters: Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter and former mayor of Bogotá, will be the first left-wing president of a country that had moved in lockstep with the U.S. in recent years on Venezuela, the drug trade, and other regional challenges.

Moscow is "ready to discuss" a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Why it matters: Lavrov's comments come a day after a Russian court found Griner guilty on drug charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison. Her sentence came nearly six months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possession of a vape cartridge with hashish oil.

China imposed undefined sanctions on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her immediate family members on Friday after she infuriated Beijing with an overnight trip to Taiwan earlier this week.

Why it matters: China's Foreign Ministry also announced it was ending talks with the U.S. on climate change, military issues, anti-drug measures and other matters in retaliation for Pelosi's visit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday responded to China's live military drills around Taiwan by saying that Beijing won't succeed in isolating the self-governing island nor stop U.S. officials from visiting Taipei.

Driving the news: Pelosi made the comments after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo as she wrapped up this week's congressional delegation trip to Asia that included a visit to Taiwan, which triggered the drills that Beijing plans to last for several days.

Taiwan reported multiple Chinese "warships and warplanes" near the island Friday as China's military conducted live ammunition drills for a second day in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei this week.

The big picture: Pelosi responded Friday to the Chinese military firing missiles into the sea near Taiwan on the first day of drills by declaring that Beijing couldn't stop U.S. officials from visiting the self-governing island. Taiwan's Defense Ministry described Beijing's actions as "highly provocative."

FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed concern at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday at growing violence in the U.S. related to politically divisive domestic issues that are now "almost a 365-day phenomenon."

Details: "I feel like everyday I'm getting briefed on somebody throwing a molotov cocktail at someone for some issue," he said. "It's crazy," added Wray, noting that there had been an "uptick" in violence related to abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Meta announced Thursday that it shut down a troll farm with links to a sanctioned Putin ally and Russia's Internet Research Agency that spread disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign.

The big picture: The action was part of a wider social media crackdown on cyber espionage operations and other bad actors detailed in the Facebook and Instagram owner's Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report.

While global attention is fixed on a potential crisis between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, another tug of war between the superpowers is unfolding 3,500 miles to the southeast.

Zoom in: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy will travel this weekend to the Solomon Islands, a small South Pacific archipelago that's become a hotspot for U.S.-China competition.

The United States delayed a "long-planned" intercontinental ballistic missile test amid increased tensions with China, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced on Thursday.

The big picture: Following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei this week, China's military launched 11 ballistic missiles into waters near Taiwan during massive military exercises.

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Friday with Latina state legislators from seven states to discuss building "a diverse coalition to combat the attacks" on abortion rights, a White House official tells Axios Latino.

Why it matters: Harris has been meeting with state lawmakers, health care providers and activists to discuss reproductive rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This is her first with Latina state lawmakers specifically.

Several grain silos that were damaged exactly two years ago in a deadly explosion at Beirut's port collapsed on Thursday, as Lebanon marked the second anniversary of the blast.

The big picture: Smoke billowing from the collapsed silos were reminiscent of the scenes following the 2020 explosion that killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and left roughly 250,000 homeless.

A Latino group that connects venture capitalists with startups and pushes media to diversify has raised its first $100 million fund focusing on new Hispanic companies, Russell writes.

Why it matters: Less than 1% of funds from the top 25 venture capital and private equity firms wind up in the hands of Latino-owned businesses, according to a study by Bain & Company, the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, and the research nonprofit firm Latino Donor Collaborative.

WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges by a Russian court and sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday, concluding a trial that has captured national attention and reached the highest levels of U.S. diplomacy.

Why it matters: Griner's conviction comes nearly six months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport in February, when Russian authorities said they found a vape cartridge with hashish oil in her luggage.

Ukrainian forces endangered civilians and exposed them to Russian attacks by basing themselves in residential areas such as schools and hospitals, according to a new Amnesty International report published Thursday.

Why it matters: The report alleges that these tactics by Ukrainian forces constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, which requires all combatants to "avoid locating, to the maximum extent feasible, military objectives within or near densely-populated areas."

TAIPEI, Taiwan —If Chinese naval forces enter Taiwan's territorial waters amid Beijing's ongoing military drills off the island's coast, that would constitute an invasion, Taiwanese member of parliament Wang Ting-yu told Axios.

Why it matters: A Chinese military incursion within 10 miles of Taiwan's coast would likely trigger defensive protocols from the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense and could raise the risk of miscalculation leading to military conflict.

The Bank of England enacted the steepest interest rate hike since 1995 on Thursday, lifting borrowing costs by half a percentage point.

Why it matters: It's the latest central bank to move aggressively to lift interest rates in response to soaring costs across the globe. But in perhaps the most dire forecast yet from a major central bank, the Bank of England warned the U.K. could fall into a deep and protracted recession, while inflation could hit 13% by year-end.

The Chinese military began live ammunition drills near Taiwan on Thursday in a days-long apparent show of force after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island.

The latest: Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it activated its defense systems after China's military launched 11 ballistic missiles into waters near Taiwan's northern, southern and eastern coasts. "We condemn such irrational action that has jeopardized regional peace," the ministry said.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan expressed concern to Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad on Wednesday over her safety "following the arrest of an armed individual" outside her New York home, the White House said.

The big picture: Alinejad was allegedly the target of a kidnapping plot by Iranian intelligence operatives last year. Police say they arrested a suspect who turned up at her Brooklyn home last week and was found with an AK-47 assault rifle in a car nearby, per CBS News. A 23-year-old man is facing federal charges in the case.

Australia's House of Representatives has passed the federal government's bill by 89 votes to 55 to cut the country's emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Why it matters: The landmark bill enshrines into law the Labor government's election pledge for the world's driest inhabited continent, where fossil-fuel exports have been in high demand in recent years as Australians faced a series of climate-change related extreme weather events — from deadly wildfires to flooding.

The Senate voted 95 to 1 Wednesday to ratify the applications of Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance, clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for approval.

Why it matters: All 30 NATO members must approve the applications of the two Nordic states, which had both been neutral for decades but sought out the NATO security umbrella after Russia invaded Ukraine.