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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
India is prepared to look into any “specific” information Canada provides on the assassination of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, S Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister said. Jaishankar maintains that India played no role in the killing. BBC News reports.
Facebook allowed the Indian military to spread propaganda and disinformation about its own actions in Kashmir out of fear of antagonizing the government and facing possible treason charges. Despite the U.S.-based supervisor of Facebook’s Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior unit flagging the influence campaign, it continued for an entire year. Facebook executives eventually intervened and ordered the fake accounts deleted. Joseph Menn and Gerry Shih reports for the Washington Post.
Five Bulgarian nationals in the U.K. have appeared in court after being accused of surveillance for Russia between August 2020 and February 2023. The suspects have been remanded in custody. Stephen Castle reports for the New York Times.
Nearly 30,000 ethnic Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh crossing into Armenia after Azerbaijan seized the disputed region last week. While Azerbaijani authorities have said Armenian fighters will be given amnesty, “those who committed war crimes during the Karabakh wars must be handed over to us,” one government source said. Sarah Rainsford and Antoinette Radford report for BBC News.
Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House in Canada, stepped down yesterday after facing pressure for honoring a man later identified by advocacy groups as a former Nazi soldier. Rota called the man “a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero.” Paul Vieira reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Landmark diplomatic trips are underway following positive Saudi and Israeli efforts to normalize relations. For the first time since the 1967 war, a high-level Saudi delegation arrived in the occupied West Bank. Just after, Haim Katz, Israel’s tourism minister, landed in Saudi Arabia for a U.N. event. Yolande Knell reports for BBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russia has rejected Ukraine’s claim that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the Russian Black Sea fleet commander, is dead. According to a video shared by Russian media, Sokolov appeared via video stream during a briefing with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow. Ukraine previously claimed it had killed the Solokov, among others, in a recent airstrike. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
U.S. RELATIONS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said Turkey would ratify Sweden’s NATO accession if the United States went ahead with a sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. Ben Hubbard reports for the New York Times.
The United States has paused specific foreign assistance programs in Gabon after last month’s coup, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday. The move reflects steps the Economic Community of Central African States and the African Union took. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS – GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The Senate yesterday night voted 77-19 to fund the government for six weeks with additional money for Ukraine and domestic disaster relief. The bid may help to avert a government shutdown in four days. The move is now expected to bring the Senate into collision with the Republican-led House. Mariana Alfaro, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Marianna Sotomayor, and Jacob Bogage report for the Washington Post.
Over 1 million military members and furloughed civilian employees are at risk of losing their pay if the government shuts down by the end of the week, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh warned yesterday. This would have “huge, profound impacts across the globe,” she added. Matt Berg reports for POLITICO.
OTHER DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former President Trump committed fraud by repeatedly misrepresenting his wealth by hundreds of millions of dollars, a New York judge ruled. The ruling has resolved a central issue in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization. It means the trial will now focus on a more narrow set of claims and determine the size of any potential penalty. The ruling will likely also impede Trump’s ability to do business in the state. Sam Cabral reports for BBC News.
Federal magistrate judge Kandis Westmore ordered a pair of top Trump administration officials to testify in a lawsuit concerning the separation of families at the southern border. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and ex-attorney general Jeff Sessions will be deposed as lawyers representing the families allege their agencies acted in bad faith to separate undocumented immigrants from their minor children. Maria Sacchetti reports for the Washington Post.
Concerns about former President Trump seeking retaliation on officials if elected are “legitimate,” Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned this week. “The president has … said that a second term would be about retribution, right? So, I think these are all legitimate concerns,” Esper added. This warning comes after Trump made comments last week accusing Chair of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley of a “treasonous act.” Tara Suter reports for The Hill.
Hunter Biden yesterday sued Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani’s former lawyer for their roles in sharing personal information about Biden, which was purportedly taken from a laptop left at a repair shop in the run-up to the 2020 election. The suit alleges Giuliani and his former lawyer “have been primarily responsible for what has been described as the ‘total annihilation’” of Biden’s privacy. Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
A growing number of Democrats are calling for the resignation of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) following federal corruption charges. Democrats preparing for elections are eager to distance themselves from Menendez, indicating that his refusal to resign could cause election difficulties for the party. Annie Karni reports for the New York Times.
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected Alabama’s bid to keep its sixth white majority congressional district out of seven. The decision upholds the lower court ruling that the state must allow Black Alabamians to elect their preferred candidates for two U.S. House seats. Jess Bravin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed historic gun safety legislation yesterday. The legislation includes doubling taxes in the state on guns and ammunition and prohibiting the carrying of firearms in most public places. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.