by Philip Lenczycki at CDN - Communist China inked a major security deal in the South Pacific Tuesday, placing key U.S. allies in Beijing’s crosshairs. Beijing’s security pact with the Solomon Islands will task Communist China with assisting the island nation in maintaining social order, policing, humanitarian aid, natural disaster relief and national security matters, Wang Yi,| USSA News
European Union leaders were set to hold an emergency summit on February 24 in Brussels to discuss next steps on how to deal with Russia as Ukraine and the world brace for a possible large scale Russian military offensive.
Explosions and gunfire were reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special" operation to "demilitarize" the country, a move that could signal the start of heavy fighting between the two nations.