Axios

President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated their support for Ukraine during a bilateral meeting at the White House on Friday.

The big picture: Biden used the meeting to pressure GOP lawmakers, calling on Congress to pass a national security spending package with aid to Ukraine, saying a failure to do so would be "close to criminal neglect."

CIA director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo next week for meetings with Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials about the efforts to launch negotiations over a new deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, two U.S. and Israeli officials say.

Why it matters: Burns has been President Biden's point person in the efforts to secure a hostage deal and a pause in fighting. Sending him to Cairo puts pressure on Qatari and Egyptian mediators to press Hamas to agree to a reasonable deal.

Meta has removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from its platforms, the company confirmed Friday.

Why it matters: The move comes after months of criticism of Khamenei's support for Hamas in the wake of the group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, AP reported.

President Biden was referring to Israeli military operations in Gaza when he said on Thursday that the "conduct of the response" in the enclave was "over the top," a senior White House official confirmed to Axios on Friday.

Why it matters: It's the harshest language Biden has used to criticize the Israeli military operation in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The White House official said, however, Biden's remarks do not represent a change of course.

Saturday will mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year in China — a holiday that falls on different days each year, due to the use of different kinds of calendars.

The big picture: Hindu, Chinese, other Asian and Jewish people rely on lunisolar calendars to dictate important religious festivals as well as economic and government activities.

Israel told Egyptian and Qatari mediators late Thursday that while it rejects most of Hamas' demands in its response to the latest hostage deal proposal, it is ready to launch negotiations based on the original proposal put forth two weeks ago, according to two Israeli officials.

Why it matters: Israel's response shows it's not shutting the door on negotiating a new hostage deal, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strong public rebuke of Hamas' demands earlier this week.

China has become the top hacking threat in 2024 with a recent series of attacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.

Why it matters: It's rare for public officials to share as many details as they have in recent weeks about ongoing cyber threats — underscoring just how concerned the Biden administration is about a Beijing-backed cyberattack.

At least 85 journalists have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7, according to the latest tally from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) out Friday.

The big picture: It's a staggering number of journalist deaths to be documented across such a short period of time. Many others have been reported missing or injured.

The European Union this week tightened its antitrust screws on tech companies, announcing that it now will consider the impacts of free products and "digital ecosystems."

Why it matters: Antitrust disputes often boil down to how markets get defined, and this move broadly expands those definitions in Europe.

Belgium's government is shopping around an avant-garde solution to Ukraine's money problems, now that further direct aid to the country seems all but dead in the U.S. Congress.

Why it matters: The war has dragged on — this month marks two years. Ideas that once seemed far-fetched or too difficult are now being given serious consideration.

Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that aired on the former Fox News journalist's website on Thursday evening lasted for more than two hours.

The big picture: In Putin's first sit-down in Moscow with a Western interviewer since his forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he dropped more hints about releasing detained Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich in a possible prisoner swap.