WORLD BRIEFING: March 13, 2024

An aid ship carrying 200 tons of food for Gaza left the Larnaca port in Cyprus early Tuesday after being held up for days. It is the first such shipment along a new maritime corridor from Cyprus, which aims to deliver much-needed aid to Gazans. The charity ship Open Arms is towing a barge laden with flour, rice, canned tuna, beans, chicken and other things. The journey is expected to take up to two days. Israel has welcomed the new sea route, but some aid groups have criticized the mission, saying it is too little and ineffective. The operation is part of an effort by the US, European Union, and United Arab Emirates to distribute aid in Gaza as food shortages across the territory steadily worsen. The enclave has been effectively sealed off since Israel began its offensive in response to the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas militants. The United Nations has said food delivered by airdrops cannot replace open land borders - DW

The U.S. is planning to send a number of additional Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine, as part of a new $300 million package of military aid, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions. The U.S. will send Kyiv additional Anti-Personnel/Anti-Materiel, or APAM, missiles, which are an older version of the long-range ATACMS, according to one of the officials. The missiles travel 100 miles and carry warheads containing hundreds of cluster bomblets. The officials were granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement - Politico

Germany's armed forces are facing significant personnel problems as the ranks age and the military struggles to win new recruits, according to a damning report presented to parliament on Tuesday. Despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz's announcement in 2022 of major new investments in defence, the military continues to struggle with equipment shortages and infrastructure problems as well, according to Eva Högl, Germany's commissioner for the armed forces. "The force continues to age and shrink," Högl wrote in her 2023 annual report, which was published in Berlin on Tuesday. Several German military units have large "personnel vacancies," according to the report. Högl also notes that the equipment shortages include everything from heavy equipment to spare parts, and that those deficiencies have become worse as Germany has shipped weapons from its stocks to Ukraine. Scholz announced a €100 billion ($109 billion) special fund to re-equip the military in a speech just after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Scholz called the invasion a turning point ("Zeitenwende"), and promised that Germany would rebuild its military - DPA

David Cameron has said the BBC report about Palestinian medical staff in Gaza being beaten and humiliated by Israeli troops is "very disturbing". The foreign secretary called for "answers from the Israelis". Three medical staff told the BBC they were humiliated, beaten, doused with cold water, and forced to kneel for hours. They said they were detained for days. Israel said "any abuse of detainees is strictly prohibited". Lord Cameron told the House of Lords: "These are very disturbing pictures and reports that have come out from this hospital and we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened and we need answers from the Israelis about that." - BBC

Commuters and travelers in Germany faced fresh difficulties on Tuesday due to parallel transport strikes at Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa. Germany's national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, said only 20% of the country's long-distance trains were running. The strike by the GDL trade union also impacted regional and suburban train services. Meanwhile, a strike by Lufthansa's cabin crew union at Frankfurt — Germany's busiest airport — caused the cancellation of up to 600 flights. The national carrier reported that the action could affect up to 70,000 passengers.

The chief of staff to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died last month in an Arctic penal colony, was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home in Lithuania’s capital late Tuesday, according to Mr. Navalny’s press secretary, who said the police and an ambulance had been called to the scene. Leonid Volkov, who served as one of Mr. Navalny’s top organizers, was pulling up to his house in Vilnius when the attack happened. At least one assailant smashed his car window, sprayed him with tear gas and began beating him with a hammer, Mr. Navalny’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said in a statement released on X and in other comments she gave to Russian media. Mr. Volkov survived the attack - NYT

Andrew Tate will be extradited to the U.K. after legal proceedings against him in Romania have ended, a Romanian court ruled Tuesday, shortly after the controversial social media influencer and his brother Tristan were detained in the country in response to British police issuing an arrest warrant over allegations of sexual aggression - Forbes