Officials say joint French-Cypriot naval maneuvers off Cyprus aim to assist the east Mediterranean island nation fulfill its duties as a sovereign country. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said in a tweet Saturday that the exercises would enable Cyprus to “assume its responsibilities in its sovereign waters.” Source Navy Times
Washington has made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq after warning Baghdad it could shut its embassy, two Iraqi officials and two Western diplomats said, a step Iraqis fear could turn their country into a battle zone. Source Reuters
Russia and Turkey are in constant contact about the situation in Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin said Monday.
Urging Azerbaijan and Armenia to stop all military activity that could further heighten tensions in the territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the fighting was a cause for serious concern in Moscow. Source Daily Sabah
A ballot-harvesting racket in Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Minneapolis district — where paid workers illegally gather absentee ballots from elderly Somali immigrants — appears to have been busted by undercover news organization Project Veritas. Source NYPost
