US paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says

The Israeli military says it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza but a United Nations agency says no aid has yet entered. The key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby. An Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt early Tuesday, and it remained closed. The limited incursion does not appear to be the start of the full-scale invasion of the crowded southern city that Israel has repeatedly promised. The U.S. has urged Israel not to launch a full-on assault on Rafah because it would worsen Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe, and it paused a shipment of bombs to its close ally last week over those concerns.

World shares are mostly higher after U.S. stocks held relatively steady on Wall Street. Oil prices fell and the yen weakened further against the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% in its fourth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Kenvue, the company behind Band-Aids and Tylenol, rose after topping analysts’ forecasts for profit and revenue. The Walt Disney Co. sank after reporting revenue that fell a bit shy of forecasts. They’re among the tail end of companies reporting their results for the first three months of the year.

Ukraine's president says Russia has launched a massive nighttime attack on energy facilities across Ukraine, targeting seven regions with more than 50 missiles and drones. Officials say the bombardment blasted targets in areas including Kyiv and parts of the south and west, damaging homes and the country’s rail network. Three people, including an 8-year-old girl, were injured. Russia has repeatedly pounded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war that is stretching into its third year and has claimed thousands of lives. By taking out power, the Kremlin’s forces aim to rob Ukrainian manufacturing of its energy supply, especially military plants, and crush public morale.

U.S. and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft, have unleashed a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes and sank a mock enemy ship as part of largescale war drills in and near the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing. Military officials and diplomats watched the display of firepower from a hilltop on Wednesday. Washington and Beijing have been on a collision course over China’s increasingly assertive actions to defend its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. Last year, the Philippines approved a wider U.S. military presence in the archipelago. China opposed the move, which puts U.S. forces across the sea from Taiwan. The Philippines countered it has the right to defend its sovereignty.

The protest song 'Glory to Hong Kong' has been banned in the city after an appeals court overturned an earlier ruling.