The New York Times - Peter Baker / A Fumbling Performance, and a Panicking Party
 

• President Biden hoped to build fresh momentum for his re-election bid by agreeing to debate nearly two months before he is to be formally nominated. Instead, his halting and disjointed performance on Thursday night prompted a wave of panic among Democrats and reopened discussion of whether he should be the nominee at all. 

• Over the course of 90 minutes, a raspy-voiced Mr. Biden struggled to deliver his lines and counter a sharp though deeply dishonest former President Donald J. Trump, raising doubts about the incumbent president’s ability to wage a vigorous and competitive campaign four months before the election. Rather than dispel concerns about his age, Mr. Biden, 81, made it the central issue.

• Democrats who have defended the president for months against his doubters — including members of his own administration — traded frenzied phone calls and text messages within minutes of the start of the debate as it became clear that Mr. Biden was not at his sharpest. Practically in despair, some took to social media to express shock, while others privately discussed among themselves whether it was too late to persuade the president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate. 

• “Biden is about to face a crescendo of calls to step aside,” said a veteran Democratic strategist who has staunchly backed Mr. Biden publicly. “Joe had a deep well of affection among Democrats. It has run dry.”

  Related articles: Politico - Steven Shepard / Here’s how Democrats could replace Biden

The Washington Post - Annabelle Timsit, Kareem Fahim and Sarah Dadouch / Gazans flee homes ahead of new Israeli operation in northern neighborhood
 

• Israeli forces ordered residents to evacuate the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City as Palestinian media reported intensified strikes in the area Thursday. 

• “You are in a dangerous combat zone,” the Israel Defense Forces wrote in a statement in Arabic for residents of Shejaiya and nearby areas. “The IDF will act forcefully against terrorist organizations in your areas.” The IDF warned people to “evacuate immediately south on Salah al-Din Road.” 

• Videos shared on social media showed crowds of residents walking through the streets and riding bicycles, apparently heeding the evacuation orders. 

• Shejaiya was heavily targeted in fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants last year. The densely packed neighborhood was where Israeli forces accidentally shot and killed three Israeli hostages in December.

   

Euractiv - Alexandra Brzozowski, Aurélie Pugnet, Eliza Gkritsi, Max Griera and Thomas Moller-Nielsen / EU leaders greenlight top job package with Von der Leyen, Costa, Kallas
 

• EU leaders on Thursday gave their political approval to a trio of names – Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa, and Kaja Kallas – to lead the EU’s three major institutions over the next five years. 

• The EU’s top job ‘package deal’ includes a second term for incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Portugal’s former Socialist prime minister Antonio Costa as European Council president, and Estonia’s Liberal Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the EU’s new foreign policy chief, several EU diplomats confirmed. 

• It took roughly an hour for EU leaders to agree on a deal after Von der Leyen and Kallas left the room, people familiar with the negotiations said. 

• Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained on Von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kallas.

   

SCMP - Jun Mai and Liu Zhen / In a first, China accuses former defence ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe of corruption
 

• In an unprecedented move, Beijing has announced corruption investigations into two former defence ministers. 

• Wei Fenghe and his successor Li Shangfu have also been expelled from the Communist Party, state news agency Xinhua reported, following a meeting on Thursday of the party’s 24-man Politburo. 

• The announcement comes months after the abrupt dismissal of Li, China’s shortest-serving defence minister. Li was sacked from his job in October, just seven months after he became defence minister. Wei held the position from 2018 to 2023. 

• Earlier meetings of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the country’s top military decision-making body, also stripped Li and Wei of their positions as generals and membership of the People’s Liberation Army, it added.

Our opinion reads for today:

• Vox.com - Eric Levitz / Joe Biden should save his legacy by ending his candidacy 

• Foreign Policy - Saeid Jafari / Can a Reformist President Change Iran? 

• Project Syndicate - Dani Rodrik, Laura Tyson and Thomas Fricke / From the Washington Consensus to the Berlin Declaration

• The Economist / Why big oil is wading into lithium