China warned world leaders to not interfere with the country's plan to reunify with Taiwan, adding that doing so would lead to severe consequences.
The big picture: Tensions between China and the U.S. have been shaky regarding Taiwan, particularly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island last month.
Russian men facing potential military conscription have fled the country in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilization order earlier this week, the Associated Press reports.
Driving the news: The exodus signaled the unpopularity of the order and the extent people were willing to go to avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine, after Putin said as many as 300,000 could be called up for service.
Driving the news: Thousands have poured into the streets across the Islamic Republic after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating a religious law that mandates women to wear a headscarf.
Two U.S. veterans who were among over 200 prisoners of war transferred through an exchange between Russia and Ukraine are back on U.S. soil, CNN reports.
The U.S. Treasury on Friday announced it would allow tech companies to expand internet access in Iran in the wake of a government crackdown on protests and internet availability.
Why it matters: Iran's restrictions could prevent Iranians who are protesting the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody from disseminating footage of authorities committing acts of violence.
At least 75 people, including children, fleeing Lebanon to Europe were killed when their boat sank off the Syrian coast this week, Lebanon's transportation minister said on Friday.
The big picture: The incident marks one of the deadliest migrant sea tragedies for a boat leaving Lebanon in years. The country, which hosts a large number of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, continues to reel from an economic crisis that has pushed more than three-quarters of the population into poverty.
China's support for Russia in the war in Ukraine has disappointed many Ukrainians, parliamentary member Oleksandr Merezhko tells Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: Beijing has tried to both support Russia and convince Europe that it supports the principles of sovereignty and the rule of law. Ukrainians aren't buying it, Merezhko says.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN on Friday welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's support for a two-state solution as a "positive development," but stressed the real test will be whether Israel commits to an immediate resumption of peace talks.
Driving the news: In his UN General Assembly speech on Thursday, Lapid backed the two-state solution with security arrangements for Israel, but an Israeli official told reporters that the Israeli prime minister doesn't see peace talks resuming in the near future.
A United Nations human rights commission said Friday its initial investigation into Russia's invasion of Ukraine has found evidence of war crimes.
Why it matters: Based on its investigation, the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine in the roughly seven months since Russia invaded. The commission did not specify who was responsible for allegedly committing the offenses.
St. Kitts and Nevis is one of seven Caribbean island countries, and 14 total overseas territories, where King Charles III now reigns as head of state. But Foreign Minister Denzil Douglas tells Axios it's time to chart a path to becoming a "truly independent country."
What he's saying: Some countries retained Queen Elizabeth II as head of state for "sentimental" reasons, he says. "She was not offensive to us," though "of course, we recognize what the developing world suffered as colonies."
Residents in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia on Friday morning.
The big picture: Russian-installed leaders were holding votes in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions from Friday through Tuesday in what's been widely slammed by Ukrainian, Western and other world leaders as a sham that could lead to the annexation of nearly 15% of Ukraine.
