DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – Syrian authorities said Friday they have arrested a former intelligence officer who appeared in a video leaked four years ago that purportedly showed him and his comrades fatally shooting dozens of people during the country’s conflict.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will offer ultra-fast review to three psychedelic drugs being developed to treat mental health conditions, including depression, the latest step by the Trump administration toward possible approval of the experimental treatments.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

When he was 19, James Broadnax jotted down rap lyrics, thoughts and even job leads in a notebook that would become evidence at his capital murder trial. Prosecutors selected lyrics with alleged references to gang affiliation and shootings to convince jurors that instead of life in prison, Broadnax should be put to death.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said Thursday, a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic through the channel.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine haven’t stopped despite the Iran war, and Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to hammer Russian oil production and manufacturing plants, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday.

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union on Thursday approved a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years after oil began flowing through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, ending months of political deadlock.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway.