This is NewsCard Daily for Wednesday, February eighteenth ... your briefing on the stories shaping our world.

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We begin in the Middle East where tensions are escalating between Iran and the United States even as nuclear talks continue. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stark warning on social media Tuesday, threatening to sink American warships operating near Iranian waters. Khamenei posted that while the U.S. boasts about deploying naval vessels to the region, Iran possesses weapons capable of sending those ships to the bottom of the sea. The threat comes as diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain ongoing, raising questions about whether either side is genuinely committed to de-escalation.

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In Europe and the Middle East, a critical diplomatic moment is unfolding over Ukraine. Top U.S. and Russian diplomats are meeting in Saudi Arabia to explore ways to end the war in Ukraine and improve relations between Washington and Moscow. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was notably not invited to the talks. Zelensky has already warned he won't recognize any peace deal negotiated without Ukraine at the table. The meeting follows a ninety-minute call between President Trump and Russian President Putin just days ago, signaling a potential shift in how the conflict might be resolved.

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Moving to the Middle East again, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese forces is showing serious cracks. The United Nations Lebanon Envoy is accusing Israel of violating the November ceasefire agreement by failing to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by today's deadline. While some Israeli troops have left the region, Israel has decided to maintain forces at five strategic locations. The situation deteriorated further when Israel carried out a deadly drone strike in southern Lebanon on Monday, targeting what officials say was a Hamas commander. Palestinian officials in Gaza have separately accused Israel of violating the month-long ceasefire there more than two hundred sixty times.

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Across Africa, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan. Over two hundred people have been killed, including women and children, after a brutal three-day assault by rapid support forces on villages in the southern White Nile State. With the Trump administration freezing foreign aid, critical community kitchens have shut down across the country. United Nations officials warn that some six billion dollars is needed to address the worsening humanitarian crisis, and doctors are warning that hundreds of thousands could die from famine. Human rights experts are calling Sudan's situation one of the world's worst ongoing crises.

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And in the Western Hemisphere, a troubling new development in Venezuela. Opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa was released from prison after more than eight months of incarceration in Caracas, only to be kidnapped hours later by heavily armed men in civilian clothing. The incident underscores the precarious situation facing political opposition figures in Venezuela, where arbitrary detention and abductions continue despite international pressure for democratic reforms.

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