Daily World Briefing, Feb. 4
Trump signs funding package, ending brief partial government shutdown
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a massive funding package, ending a partial government shutdown that began Saturday.
The bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier Tuesday, after gaining Senate approval on Friday.
The latest package will fund multiple U.S. federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.
The agencies include the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Iran wants to change venue of talks with U.S. to Oman, making them bilateral
Iran has demanded changes to the venue and format for talks with the United States on Friday, making them bilateral in Oman, U.S. media Axios reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
Iran wants to move the talks from Istanbul to Oman, and prefers them to be held in a "bilateral format, only with the U.S., rather than with several Arab and Muslim countries attending as observers," Axios reported.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported Tuesday that Iran also wants to narrow the focus of the talks solely on the nuclear file.
Iran reports "successful" drone mission as U.S. says it shot down aircraft near carrier
A drone belonging to Iran's armed forces completed a "surveillance mission" in international waters Tuesday, Iranian media reported, shortly after the U.S. military said it had shot down an Iranian aircraft that "aggressively approached" an aircraft carrier.
Citing unnamed sources, the Fars news agency reported that the drone "successfully" monitored military movements in areas adjacent to Iran and transmitted data to ground bases in real time. The report described such missions as vital for the "overall monitoring" of the region.
The U.S. Central Command said earlier in the day that a U.S. F-35C warplane "was forced" to shoot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the Arabian Sea. The command stated that the drone had "unnecessarily maneuvered" toward the USS Abraham Lincoln while the carrier was transiting international waters approximately 800 km from the Iranian coast.
WHO confirms evacuation of five patients from Gaza via Rafah crossing
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday hailed the first medical evacuation of five patients from the Gaza Strip through the recently reopened Rafah crossing, meanwhile warning that thousands remain in urgent need of care.
At a press briefing, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said five patients and seven companions were evacuated to Egypt on Monday with support from the UN health agency and its partners, marking the first medical evacuation through Rafah since 2025, after the crossing reopened earlier this week.
Lindmeier said the evacuation was a "test" and the start of a process that could allow a flow of medical evacuations, stressing that far more efforts are needed.
Hamas accuses Israel of restricting aid entry into Gaza
Hamas on Tuesday accused Israel of continuing to restrict humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, deepening the crisis for displaced civilians amid worsening winter conditions.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement that Israel is limiting fuel and cooking gas to minimal quantities, violating the ongoing ceasefire agreement.
Qassem contested official Israeli reports on aid deliveries, noting that actual figures fall below half of those announced.
U.S. still seeks to take over Greenland, despite resumption of diplomatic talks
Despite the resumption of diplomatic talks with the U.S. government, Washington's desire to take over Greenland remains, the island's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in an interview with Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) published Tuesday.
Nielsen said communication with Washington has been reestablished through diplomatic channels. "Now we can stop throwing mud at each other through the press," he noted.
A joint working team has already held its first meeting, he added, but declined to disclose further details.
Palestine condemns Israeli plan to legalize West Bank settlement farms
The Palestinian presidency on Tuesday condemned an Israeli plan to legalize 140 settlement farms in the occupied West Bank.
Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's announcement on Monday of the plan represents "a major escalation in the implementation of the policy of annexation and racist expansion."
Abu Rudeineh said that these agricultural farms are, in reality, settlement outposts that complement settler violence carried out under army protection.■