U.S. BOOSTS WEAPON DELIVERY TO SAUDI-LED COALITION

The U.S. is speeding up its weapon deliveries and intelligence sharing with the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen, as the toll in the latest Middle East war begins to mount. Al Arabiya reported on U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s press conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh, after talks with Saudi officials on Tuesday. “Saudi Arabia is sending a strong message to the Houthis and their allies that they cannot overrun Yemen by force,” Blinken said. "In support of that effort we have expedited weapons deliveries," he added.

• The conflict is said to have killed at least 550 people, according to the BBC
• This figure includes at least 44 children, UNICEF says.
• More than 100,000 people have fled their homes and hospitals struggle to manage mass casualties with insufficient supplies.
• Marie Claire Feghali, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the situation in Aden was "catastrophic."
• The Red Cross hopes to send a first humanitarian convoy Wednesday to the Yemeni capital Sanaa. “We urgently need an immediate halt to the fighting, to allow families in the worst affected areas, such as Aden, to venture out to get food and water, or to seek medical care,” the head of the ICRC Robert Mardini said.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is in Islamabad, where he is expected to urge Pakistan to reject a Saudi request to join the coalition against Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.

ANOTHER U.S. POLICE OFFICER KILLS BLACK MAN

A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder after shooting dead a black man who was running away from him. The incident, which happened after a routine traffic stop Saturday in North Charleston, was filmed by a witness. The video, first post Tuesday on the website of The New York Times, shows police officer Michael Slager shoot victim Walter Lamer Scott at least eight times before he falls to the ground. It comes after other high-profile police killings of black men in New York and Ferguson, Missouri. Here are more details and how the sequence was featured on the Times’ front page.

PALESTINIAN SHOT DEAD AFTER STABBING TWO ISRAELI SOLDIERS

A Palestinian was shot dead after he stabbed and wounded two Israeli soldiers at a road junction in the occupied West Bank Wednesday morning, Reuters reports. One of the soldiers was seriously injured in the neck and was taken to a Jerusalem hospital by helicopter. The other was lightly wounded in the back before he reportedly shot the Palestinian man dead.

20

The Dutch population has grown by 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) over the past 150 years, making them the tallest on earth, according to Science.

ON THIS DAY

It’s been 38 years today since The Clash released their first album. This, and more, on your 57-second shot of history.

GREEK PM TSIPRAS IN MOSCOW TO SIGN ACCORDS

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for controversial talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit comes the day before Greece’s deadline for the repayment of a 450 million euro loan to the International Monetary Fund. Tsipras is expected to sign accords that include gas price discounts and a possible loan, The Guardian reports. A Greek government official, quoted by Reuters, however said Wednesday the country had not asked Russia for such a financial aid. "We want to solve our debt and financial issues ... within the eurozone," he said.

VERBATIM

"We take a strong stance against the militarization of these disputes,” the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Wednesday in Japan, as he starts his first Asian tour with a stern warning on the territorial rows between China and several nations in and around the East and South China Seas.

WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO

From the U.S. to India, Saudi Arabia and Honduras, Les Echos’ Benoît Georges looks at city privatization and the high-profile investors behind the phenomenon. “The U.S. may have gotten a jump on this new kind of urban trend, but it's in the development world where private cities are really starting to make inroads, in some cases on a scale that makes Zuckerberg's plans pale in comparison. In India, the HCC consortium began work a decade ago on a 100-square-kilometer town called Lavasa, located approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Mumbai. The project, which saw Italian-inspired buildings rise from the Indian mountains, is eventually expected to host more than 200,000 people. In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah Economic City (Kaec) hopes to have 2 million residents by 2035. And Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was elected last year, has hailed the future creation of ‘model’ private cities.”

Read the full article, Mark Zuckerberg, King Abdullah And The Rise Of Private Cities.

MY GRAND-PÈRE’S WORLD

HIT IT!

The annual European musical event that no one really understands, a.k.a. Eurovision, is approaching. Tune in to Worldcrunch’s Hit It! blog for an introduction of this year’s contestants — including Belarus’ Uzari and Maimuna, “an elf and a violinist trapped inside an hourglass.”