Philippine Daily Inquirer

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said in a guest essay Tuesday evening in The New York Times that he’s decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. That town 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Russian border is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas. In his New York Times’ essay, Biden said the U.S. is not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders and does not want to prolong the war “just to inflict pain on Russia.” U.S. officials familiar with the decision did not detail how much the aid will cost, but it will be the 11th package approved so far and will be t...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran disrupted internet access to the outside world as angry demonstrators rallied over the collapse of a tower in the nation's southwest that has killed at least 36 people, experts said Tuesday as outrage and grief continued to grow. The disruption plunged the province into digital isolation, making it difficult for journalists to authenticate events on the ground and for activists to share footage and organize protests. It's a tactic the Iranian government has repeatedly employed during times of unrest, rights activists say, in a country where radio and television stations already are state-controlled and journalists face the threat of arrest. The internet interference in the oil-rich Khuzestan province started in early May, weeks before the fatal collapse, said Amir Rashidi, director of internet security and digital rights at Miaan Group, which focuses on digital security in the Middle East. The province, home to an ethnic Arab population that...