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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
A New York judge has delayed former President Trump’s sentencing until September as his lawyers look to challenge his conviction following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, but his legal team has asked for his conviction to be overturned. Justice Juan Merchan said yesterday he would issue a decision on the motions by September 6. Kayla Epstein reports for BBC News.
Justice Department officials plan to pursue the criminal cases against Trump past Election Day even if he wins, under the belief that the department’s policy against charging or prosecuting a sitting president would not apply until Inauguration Day in January, according to people familiar with the discussions. Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein report for the Washington Post.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a new $2.3 billion package for Ukraine. Austin met yesterday with the Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov at the Pentagon, where he announced the package and underscored U.S. commitment to Kyiv. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
While in Kyiv yesterday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could speed up negotiations to end the war. “I have asked the president to consider whether … a quick ceasefire could be used to speed up peace negotiations,” Orbán said in a statement. Nick Thorpe reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of initiating a ceasefire in Gaza while Hamas is in power, after The New York Times published an article citing six current and former security officials who said a truce would allow Israel regroup for a potential war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. In a statement, Netanyahu said, “I do not know who these anonymous sources are, but I am here to make it unequivocally clear: This will not happen. The war will end once Israel achieves all of its objectives.” Amy Cassidy and Eugenia Yosef report for CNN.
Israel has created a new power line to supply electricity to a desalination plant in Khan Younis, allowing it to provide up to 20,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, the Israeli military said yesterday. A senior military official said that the Palestinian Authority would pay for the electricity, and that UNICEF would manage the plant. The New York Times reports.
A top U.N. official said yesterday that 1.9 million people have been displaced by the war in Gaza, about 80 percent of the territory’s prewar population. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, told the Security Council she was deeply concerned about Israel’s new evacuation orders in parts of Khan Younis and Rafah. The New York Times reports.
An Israeli strike killed at least four people in the West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp, the Palestinian ministry of health said yesterday. Separately, the U.N. said yesterday that Palestinians are streaming out of eastern Khan Younis as an Israeli evacuation order affects some 250,000 people. Reuters reports; POLITICO reports.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Fighters from Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces attacked the agricultural state of Sennar, opening up a new front in the war. The U.N. said at least 62,000 people have fled Sennar state in recent days, many of them now displaced for a second or third time. Nicholas Bariyo and Gabriele Steinhauser report for the Wall Street Journal.
The chances of an outright victory for France’s far-right National Rally party fell yesterday after hundreds of rival candidates tactically withdrew from the contest. The decisions, from both the left-wing alliance and Macron’s centrist coalition, were aimed at preventing the National Rally from taking power in Sunday’s second vote. Giorgio Leali reports for POLITICO.
China’s Coast Guard seized a Taiwanese fishing boat and its crew of five yesterday in Chinese waters, forcing the vessel to a port on the mainland Chinese coast. Taipei has demanded Beijing release the boat and its crew members, who are being held in custody. China’s coast guard said the vessel had been “suspected of illegal fishing” and was “lawfully boarded, inspected, and detained.” Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien report for the New York Times; Eric Cheung and Nectar Gan report for CNN.
Pakistan will continue to launch attacks against Afghanistan as part of a fresh military operation aimed at countering terrorism, the country’s defense minister told the BBC. Khawaja Asif said the strikes were directed at groups which Pakistan accuses of targeting security forces and civilians. Farhat Javed reports.
The United States will fund the detention and deportation of migrants en route to the United States from Panama, officials said yesterday. The $6 million pilot program is the Biden administration’s first attempt to fund deportations in a foreign country. Nick Miroff reports for the Washington Post.
Lebanon’s military court yesterday charged the gunman who opened fire at the U.S. embassy near Beirut with being connected to the self-styled Islamic State group, security and judicial officials said. Lebanese soldiers shot and arrested the gunman in early June after a shootout injured an embassy security guard. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Kareem Chehayeb reports for AP News.
The Department of Homeland Security has deported 116 Chinese nationals back to China. The move came after a surge of Chinese migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in recent years. The charter flight, which was the first such flight since 2018, took place over the weekend in coordination with the Chinese government. Jazper Lu and Shen Lu report for the Wall Street Journal.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday urged leaders of her political party to reject antisemitism, racism, and nostalgia for totalitarian regimes, after a news report used a hidden camera to show members of her party’s youth wing glorifying fascism. Emma Bubola reports for the New York Times.
Russian investigators said today that a French researcher had pleaded guilty during questioning to illegally collecting sensitive Russian military information. Laurent Vinatier, an expert on the former Soviet Union, was arrested in Moscow last month, and could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
A third Biden political appointee has resigned over U.S. support for Israel. Former special assistant Maryam Hassanein credited pro-Palestinian protests for cementing her decision to resign, and criticized the administration for “dehumanizing” Muslims and Arabs. Laura Kelly reports for The Hill.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TENSIONS
A senior White House official plans to meet with French officials in Paris today in a bid to defuse tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. The visit by Amos Hochstein comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the border clashes had caused Israel to lose sovereignty in its north. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
The deputy leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said yesterday the group would stop fighting with Israel “without any discussion” if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Abby Sewell and Sarah El Deeb report for AP News.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred in New York for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election. “The seriousness of [Giuliani’s] misconduct cannot be overstated,” a state appeals court wrote, saying that Giuliani “repeatedly and intentionally made false statements, some of which were perjurious, to the federal court, state lawmakers, the public … and this Court concerning the 2020 Presidential election.” Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
MILITARY CONFLICT WITH THE HOUTHIS
Yemen’s Houthis said yesterday that they, along with the Islamic resistance in Iraq, conducted a joint military operation attacking a vital target in Israel’s Haifa. Reuters reports.