Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Kenya’s President William Ruto has withdrawn a controversial bill containing tax hikes after deadly protests. In an address to the nation yesterday, Ruto said he “concedes” and that he would not sign the bill into law. The demonstrations originally aimed to force Ruto to retract the bill, but some protesters have now begun demanding that he step down. Barbara Plett Usher and Farouk Chothia report for BBC News.
A Bolivian general has been arrested after an apparent coup attempt. Bolivian soldiers filled the main plaza in the capital city of La Paz and an armored vehicle breached a government palace yesterday before withdrawing. President Luis Arce denounced the “irregular” troop movements, saying his government would stand “firm” against any coup attempt. Susana López and Samantha Schmidt report for the Washington Post.
France’s top appeals court yesterday ruled that an arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued for alleged complicity in crimes and humanity and war crimes is valid. The ruling is believed to be the first time that a national court has recognized a sitting head of state does not have total personal immunity. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $8 million for drug trafficking offenses. Hernandez was convicted after a two-week trial in Manhattan in March. He denied the charges, and insisted at his sentencing yesterday that he was “wrongly and unjustly accused.” Jack Guy and Maria Santana report for CNN.
North Korea said for the first time today that it had tested technology for launching several nuclear warheads with a single missile. The announcement, coming days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit, suggests an ambitious attempt by Pyongyang to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. South Korea said there had been “deception and exaggeration” in the North’s announcement. Choe Sang-Hun reports for the New York Times; Hyung-Jin Kim reports for AP News.
The International Criminal Court yesterday convicted a senior Malian jihadist police leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during a nine-month occupation of Timbuktu. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz will be sentenced soon, according to the court. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Marlise Simons and Elian Peltier report for the New York Times.
France’s government yesterday ordered the dissolution of several extreme-right and radical Islamic groups. The move comes four days before the first round of high-stakes legislative elections that may see increased support for political extremes. Diane Jeantet and Angela Charlton report for AP News.
China yesterday denied claims that it undermined U.S. diplomatic efforts in the country, rejecting recent allegations made by U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns that Beijing has systematically obstructed the U.S. Embassy’s public diplomacy in the country and stirred up anti-U.S. sentiment. Jonathan Cheng reports for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel again blamed the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) for the lack of humanitarian aid being distributed in Gaza, amid fresh warnings of starvation. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday that U.N. agencies are responsible for the bottlenecks, and claimed that “non-U.N. aid agencies have been able to deliver aid successfully.” Annabelle Timsit and Anika Arora Seth report for the Washington Post.
A Palestinian physiotherapist who worked with Doctors Without Borders was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday night in Gaza City, the organization said in a statement. The Israeli military said in a post on X that it had killed Fadi al-Wadiya in a drone attack, claiming he was a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. Doctors Without Borders said it had no indication that Israel’s claims were true. The New York Times reports.
Under Western pressure to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel is preparing to boost electricity and increase water supply in the enclave, an Israeli security official and a western official told Reuters yesterday.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met yesterday with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to discuss developments in the Gaza war. During the meeting, U.S. officials provided a line-by-line explanation of U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, in a bid to rebut Netanyahu’s claims that the Biden administration was delaying military assistance. While the meeting helped resolve some of the problems that have slowed down U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, President Biden’s hold on the delivery of 2000-pound bombs remains under review, U.S. and Israeli officials said. The New York Times reports; CNN reports; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are prepared to participate in a postwar Gaza security force, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed counterparts during his recent visit to the region, three sources said. Both Egypt and the UAE stipulated conditions for their involvement, including the demand that the plan is linked to the establishment of a future Palestinian state, the sources said. Jacob Magid reports for The Times of Israel.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TENSIONS
Israel has started deploying extra troops to its northern border in preparation for a potential full-scale war in Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Troops under the banner of the Northern Command conducted a training exercise drilling “extreme” scenarios in the region yesterday. The Guardian reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
NATO will offer Ukraine a new headquarters in Germany to manage its military assistance at next month’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, officials said. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped Kyiv would be offered membership negotiations at the summit, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan called the step a “bridge to eventual membership.” Steven Erlanger reports for the New York Times.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled 6-3 that the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI may continue to urge social media platforms to remove content the government views as misinformation. Of immediate significance, the decision means that the Department of Homeland Security can continue flagging social media posts it believes may be the work of foreign agents seeking to disrupt the presidential election. John Gritze and Brian Fung report for CNN; Rebecca Kern and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally has dropped more than 40 percent in the three weeks since Biden announced restrictions on asylum claims, administration officials said yesterday. Nick Miroff reports for the Washington Post.
A man known for publicly harassing police officers who testified in Jan. 6 cases was arrested in Mississippi yesterday in connection with his own involvement in the Capitol riots. Tommy Tatum, who has also provided trial testimony on behalf of a Jan. 6 defendant, has been charged with civil disorder by obstructing, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers engaged in official duties, a felony, as well as misdemeanor counts. Ryan J. Reilly reports for NBC News.