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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Hunter Biden was found guilty on all three counts in his gun trial yesterday. The jury concluded that Hunter Biden lied about his drug use when he completed a form to purchase a gun in 2018, and later illegally owned the gun as a drug user for 11 days. President Biden said in a statement yesterday that he would “accept” the outcome of his son’s trial and conviction. Perry Stein, David Nakamura and Devlin Barrett report for the Washington Post; April Rubin reports for Axios.
Eight men from Tajikistan with potential ties to the self-styled Islamic State group out of central Asia were arrested over the weekend in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, according to three sources. The suspects had been on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force radar and were arrested by personnel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the sources said. Julia Ainsley, Tom Winter, Andrew Blankstein, and Antonio Planas report for NBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas responded yesterday to the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, saying it still requires Israel to commit to a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal from Gaza. In a statement, the group and its Palestinian Islamic Jihad allies said they were ready to “deal positively” to reach an agreement. “We reiterated our previous stance. I believe there are no big gaps. The ball is now in the Israeli courtyard,” a Hamas official said. Egypt and Qatar confirmed they had received Hamas’s reply. AP News reports; Matt Murphy reports for BBC News; Maayan Lubell and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report for Reuters.
A U.N. inquiry into the first few months of the Gaza war has accused both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes, and said Israel’s conduct included crimes against humanity. In a report released today, a three-person commission led by former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay provided the most detailed U.N. examination yet of events on and since the Oct. 7 attacks. The report does not itself carry any penalties, but it lays out a legal analysis of actions in the war that will likely be weighed in international judicial proceedings. Nick Cumming-Bruce reports for the New York Times; Sugam Pokharel and Jessie Yeung report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States is “evaluating” Hamas’s response to the latest U.S.-backed Israeli ceasefire proposal, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said yesterday. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Qatar today on the third day of his Middle East trip. Emma Graham-Harrison report for The Guardian.
Dozens have been arrested in new pro-Palestinian protests at the University of California. Police thwarted attempts by demonstrators to set up a new encampment, and said that six UCLA police had been injured, as well as a security guard. John Antczak and Jamie Ding report for AP News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Malawi’s vice president was declared dead yesterday after his plane went missing on Monday. Saulos Chilima had been traveling with nine others on a Malawi Defense aircraft when it crashed in poor weather conditions. Kelly Kasulis Cho and Adela Suliman report for the Washington Post.
The U.S. envoy to Sudan has warned that El Fasher, the only city still under army control in the western Darfur region, could fall to rebel forces imminently. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor yesterday announced an investigation is underway into alleged atrocity crimes being committed in El Fasher. Anne Soy reports for BBC News.
A new government has been formed in Haiti. The new cabinet replaces all ministers from the previous government of Ariel Henry, who was forced to step down by gangs earlier this year. Haiti’s official newspaper Gazette reported that interim prime minister Garry Conille will act as both prime minister and interior minister. Will Grant and George Wright report for BBC News.
The head of France’s conservative party yesterday called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, breaking a longstanding taboo. No leader of any mainstream French political party has previously embraced a possible alliance with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, or its predecessor, the National Front. Roger Cohen and Aurelien Breeden report for the New York Times.
A Florida jury on Monday found Chiquita Brands International liable for financing the far-right Colombian paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). Chiquita, one of the world’s largest banana producers, has been ordered to pay a total of $38.3 million to the eight victims of the AUC. In a statement, Chiquita said it planned to appeal the jury’s verdict. Samantha Delouya, Mauricio Torres, Verónica Calderón, and Sahar Akbarzai report for CNN.
The U.S. navy has deployed warships and aircraft to track a Russian naval fleet after it sailed less than 30 miles off South Florida’s coast yesterday, U.S. officials said. Last week, Russia sent three ships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean for what U.S. officials say will be extensive military air and naval exercises. The Russian defense ministry said the drills began yesterday in the Atlantic. Michael Wilnera and Nora Gámez Torres report for the Miami Herald, distributed on Yahoo! News.
The party led by South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has asked South Africa’s highest court to prevent the newly-elected national assembly from sitting for the first time on Friday, citing election irregularities. It marks a key date, as that is when members of parliament are due to vote for the country’s president. Barbara Plett Usher and Natasha Booty report for BBC News.
South Korea’s main opposition leader was indicted yesterday on bribery charges in a reported scheme to transfer funds to North Korea and facilitate a visit to Pyongyang while he served as a provincial governor. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
President Biden has approved the deployment of another Patriot missile system to Ukraine, senior administration and military officials said. Biden’s decision came last week, the officials said, after high-level dialogue over how to meet Ukraine’s needs for fortified air defenses without hampering U.S. combat readiness. Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.
A major rift has emerged between the United States and Europe over a plan to secure a $50 billion loan for Ukraine using seized Russian assets, meaning negotiations will run past this week’s G7 summit. “What Washington is proposing is, ‘We [the U.S.] take a loan, Europe takes all the risk, you [Europe] pay the interest, and we [the U.S.] use the money for a U.S.-Ukraine fund,” one senior E.U. diplomat said, adding, “We might be stupid but we’re not that stupid.” Gregorio Sorgi and Jakob Hanke Vela report for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TENSIONS
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said yesterday that Israeli forces killed one of its commanders in a strike in southern Lebanon. In response, Hezbollah today fired one of its heaviest rocket barrages yet into Israel, targeting military bases and arms factories. There are no reports of any casualties at the time of writing. Ephrat Livini reports for the New York Times; The Guardian reports.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
A merchant ship issued a distressed call after being struck in the Red Sea off Yemen, maritime security firm Ambrey said. The company “assessed the vessel aligned with the Houthi target profile at the time of the incident,” the firm said in a statement, without elaborating. The Times of Israel reports.