World News Update: Border Reopens, Epstein Files Released, and International Tensions Rise
Several significant international developments unfolded this week, including the limited reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the release of a massive trove of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, Venezuela's first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas to the U.S., and Iran's protest against the EU's designation of its Revolutionary Guard as a terror group.
Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopened on Monday for limited traffic, according to Egyptian and Israeli security officials. The reopening is considered a key step as the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire progresses. An Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross in each direction on the first day. State-run Egyptian media and an Israeli official also confirmed the reopening, which is largely symbolic at this stage. Few people will be allowed to travel in either direction, and no goods will be permitted to enter. Approximately 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care are hoping to leave Gaza via the crossing.
In the United States, the Justice Department on Friday released additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files. The latest batch, accessible in "Data Set 9," "Data Set 10," "Data Set 11" and "Data Set 12" on the DOJ repository, includes tens of thousands of pages of material. According to CBS News, the released material includes photos, videos, court records, FBI and DOJ documents, news clippings, and emails. Some files mention prominent figures, including President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and billionaire Elon Musk, none of whom have been tied to wrongdoing. The release was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas left the country bound for the U.S., according to an announcement made Sunday by Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, on her Telegram channel. ABC News reported that the ship is set to arrive in Providence, Rhode Island. Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president after the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro in January, following a U.S. military operation ordered by President Donald Trump. Maduro now faces federal charges in the U.S.
Tensions escalated in the Middle East as Iran summoned all of the European Union ambassadors in the Islamic Republic to protest the bloc's listing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group, the Associated Press reported. The move comes as Iran faces the threat of U.S. military action in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast.
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