Surprise Visit by Giorgia Meloni in the Persian Gulf. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived on Friday in the Persian Gulf for a surprise two-day mission to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. This marks “the first visit by a Western leader to this region, crucial for oil, since the beginning of the war in Iran,” as noted by Il Corriere della Sera. Meloni began her tour in Jeddah, where she met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She explained that her visit was “a gesture of solidarity towards friendly nations,” and also had the clear objective of “securing the energy supplies that Italy needs.”
Lebanon: Two bridges destroyed by the Israeli army. The Bekaa, a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in eastern Lebanon, “experienced a new military escalation on Friday: the Israeli army destroyed two bridges over the Litani River connecting Machghara to Sohmor, after being attacked in southern Lebanon during the first month of the war,” as reported by L’Orient-Le Jour. The Israeli Defense Forces had already destroyed five bridges over the Litani to cut off part of southern Lebanon from the rest of the country, according to military experts. New bombings also targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut – another Hezbollah stronghold – while three UN peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured in the south of the country in an explosion of unknown origin.
Ukraine: 14 killed in a massive aerial attack by Russian forces. “Russian strikes killed 14 people in Ukraine” on Friday during new massive air strikes, as reported by CBS. The Russian army used over 500 drones and dozens of missiles in their Friday barrage, as confirmed by the Ukrainian military. Since the beginning of its invasion more than four years ago, Moscow has been pounding Ukraine with airstrikes, mainly at night, but “in recent weeks, they have increased their attacks during the day,” highlighted by the American network. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of further escalating their attacks on the eve of Easter, “turning what should have been silence in the sky into escalation.”
