Noontime News Recap: US strikes near Tehran as Ukraine unrest grows and Europe advances on enlargement

The US said it carried out another wave of strikes on Iranian military targets, including sites closer to Tehran than in earlier attacks, as tensions with Tehran deepened and a tanker was disabled in the Strait of Hormuz.  🔗

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Hostility in Iran was also on display in central Tehran, where a billboard showed Donald Trump in a coffin with the words, we kill Trump, underscoring the sharp rise in anti US rhetoric.  🔗

In the Middle East, Israel told Washington it intends to keep troops in designated security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, a sign it is not ready to pull back from key buffer areas.  🔗

Ukraine remained under pressure on several fronts. Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv for a farewell visit as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced backlash over his decision to remove Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, while protests spread in Kyiv and other cities over the dismissal.  🔗  🔗

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In Europe, the EU and Moldova opened negotiations on the external relations cluster in the accession process, while Albania and the EU provisionally closed three accession chapters at the ninth meeting of the Accession Conference.  🔗  🔗

Brussels also moved on support for people displaced by the war, with EU countries agreeing to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians until 4 March 2028. Separately, the Council set out a partial negotiating position on migration, border management and visa funding for 2028 to 2034, and the Council and Parliament reached a provisional deal on the EUR 115 million AGILE defence innovation programme.  🔗  🔗  🔗

The EU also noted alignment by nine countries on Ukraine related restrictive measures, while Ireland said it should make no decisions on Aughinish Alumina, including any possible future EU sanctions, until an independent review is complete.  🔗  🔗

Outside Europe, Toronto was blanketed by wildfire smoke, with air quality falling to the worst in the world and officials warning conditions were unlikely to ease before Friday. New Zealand downgraded a tsunami warning to a national advisory after a strong earthquake near Te Anau in Fiordland, and in Algiers 11 people died and 19 were injured in a fire at a foster care facility.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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There were also fresh concerns over technology and security, after a report said artificial intelligence systems can be manipulated into giving extremist bomb making and weapons guidance.  🔗

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