Tuesday morning news: February 20, 2024

Navalny reaction » President Biden says Russia and Vladimir Putin must be held accountable for the death of opposition leader Alexei Nalvany.

BIDEN: We already have sanctions and we'll be considering additional sanctions, yes.

Navalny died last week at an Arctic prison camp. And the Russian government has denied his family access to his remains.

The European Union is also considering more sanctions against Moscow, and EU Representative Josep Borrell paid tribute to Navalny …

BORRELL: In order to honor his memory, we propose the ministers to rename our human rights sanctions regime with his name and call it the Navalny human rights sanctions regime.

Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya says Putin was behind her husband’s death. And she vowed to continue her his work to expose corruption in Russia.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Ukraine funding » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed once again to Western leaders for more military aid.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

He said the situation is extremely difficult at several points of the frontline, where Russia is concentrating its troops and taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of ammunition.

On Capitol Hill, GOP Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Ukraine caucus said he’s confident that lawmakers will get Ukraine funding through Congress.

FITZPATRICK: We have a compromise bill in the House, Democrats and Republicans, unified together - that we're going to demand a vote, get it to the Senate and get this done.

Fitzpatrick referring to a new bill in the House — a counter-proposal to a recent Senate bill. It would fund military aid to Ukraine and other allies while shelving the economic and humanitarian aid the Senate included in its bill.

The House proposal also calls for the return of the Trump-era Remain in Mexico border policy.

U.S.-UN resolution / Rafah » Israel has issued an ultimatum to Hamas leaders. War cabinet minister Benny Gantz:

GANTZ: If by Ramadan hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere to include Rafah area.

Ramadan is less than a month away.

Israeli leaders are planning a major offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah which they call the last Hamas stronghold. That’s despite international pressure not to invade the city amid a humanitarian crisis in southern Gaza. But Gantz added:

GANTZ: We will do so in a coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians to minimize the civilian casualties as much as possible.

At the UN Security Council, The United States has circulated a resolution that would support a temporary cease-fire in Gaza. The U.S. resolution would underscore that a temporary cease-fire “as soon as practicable” requires Hamas to release all hostages.

The U.S. introduced the draft after rejecting an Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate pause in the fighting.

Israel/Palestine ICJ » Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki is asking the UN’s International Court of Justice to declare settlements of Israelis in some disputed territories to be illegal.

AL-MALIKI: The only solution consistent with international law is for this illegal occupation to come to an immediate, unconditional, and total end. 

Palestinian officials want that land to establish an independent state.

This is day-two of six days of hearings at The Hague in the Netherlands. Israel is not arguing its case before court, saying it does not recognize the legitimacy of this trial.

Houthis » The U.S. military blasted more Houthi rebel targets in and around Yemen as the U.S. Navy confronts a new threat in the region. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: One of the targets U.S. forces destroyed was an unmanned submarine effectively, an underwater drone. It was the first time the Iran-backed terror group has deployed this technology since it started attacking commercial ships in the region back in November.

The unmanned subs, likely supplied by Iran, could be tougher to detect and destroy than aerial drones and missiles.

That presents a new threat and challenge to the navies of the U.S. and its allies trying to safeguard the critical shipping lane from Houthi attacks.

Meantime, the crew of a British-owned shipping vessel had to abandon ship after their vessel was struck by a Houthi missile.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

California Winter Storm » Another winter storm is battering California today dropping heavy snow in higher elevations and torrential rain elsewhere.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in some areas.

Marc Chenard with the National Weather Service:

CHENARD: Most significant flooding potential is actually bound for Southern California. Could be looking at some significant flooding with several inches of rain.

The storm is expected to move through quicker than the devastating atmospheric river that parked itself over Southern California earlier this month.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the life and death of Alexei Navalny. Plus, doing missions where God plants you.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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