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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
President Biden is “absolutely not” considering stepping down, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday. Separately, Biden told more than 20 Democratic governors in a private meeting yesterday that he underwent a medical checkup after last week’s debate and is in good health, according to three sources. CNN reports; Elena Schneider, Eli Stokols, and Sally Goldenberg report for POLITICO.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is urging Biden to raise alarm over Turkey’s “systematic human rights abuses” during an upcoming NATO Summit. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in Washington for the summit from July 9 to 11. Laura Kelly reports for The Hill.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) chose not to take the stand in his own defense yesterday in his federal corruption trial. The defense has rested its case, and closing arguments are set to begin on Monday. Ry Rivard reports for POLITICO.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Voting is underway in the United Kingdom today in an election that is likely to end 14 years of Conservative rule. Britain’s center-left Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, is widely expected to sweep into power in a landslide victory. Karla Adam and William Booth report for the Washington Post.
French government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot and her team were attacked yesterday while putting up election posters in her constituency in Paris. Reports say that Thevenot was not injured, but a member of her team was hospitalized, and that four people have been arrested. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal condemned the attack and called for an end to political violence. Seb Starcevic reports for POLITICO.
Several countries were given permission yesterday to intervene in Gambia’s Myanmar genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the Maldives have been granted permission to “submit their written observations on the subject-matter of their interventions,” the court said in a statement. Charlotte Van Campenhout reports for Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping yesterday praised their countries’ strengthening ties at a gathering of a Eurasian security bloc. Nectar Gan reports for CNN.
Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province announced a temporary ban on the wearing of niqabs, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes, as a security measure following last month’s deadly terror attacks on Jewish and Christian houses of worship. In a statement yesterday, the deputy head of the Mufti of Dagestan said the ban will remain until “the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is issued.” Mariya Knight reports for CNN.
A bomb blast killed five people in northern Pakistan yesterday, including a former senator who had been campaigning in the run up to the election, police said. The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of Islamist and sectarian militants, denied involvement. Reuters reports.
Police in Germany arrested four stateless Syrian Palestinians and one Syrian national suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria 10 years ago, prosecutors said yesterday. One is suspected to have been a Syrian intelligence officer, while the others are suspected to have ties to the Free Palestine Movement armed militia in Syria. NBC News reports.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal faced a crisis yesterday after a key ally in his multi-party coalition withdrew support. The liberal Communist Unified Marxist Leninist party had been the biggest group supporting Dahal’s government since March. Gopal Shamra reports for Reuters.
Belarus has freed five political prisoners in a rare amnesty, almost four years after leader Alexander Lukashenko launched a crackdown on his domestic opponents. Around 1,400 political prisoners are still being held in Belarus, according to human rights group Viasna. Matt Murphy reports for BBC News.
Bulgaria’s Parliament yesterday voted down 138-98 a minority government proposed by the center-right GERB party, which likely will bring the country closer to fresh elections. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Qatar and Egypt yesterday delivered Hamas’s updated response to Israel’s proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad said in a statement. Two Israeli officials said Hamas’s updated response was constructive and paves the way for more detailed negotiations that could result in a deal. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Israel has seized more land this year than in the past 30 years, according to Peace Now, the Israeli watchdog organization that tracks settlement growth. Nearly half of all West Bank land seized by Israel since the 1993 Oslo Accords was taken this year, the group says. Carrie Keller Lynn reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Israel’s Finance Ministry transferred about $115.5 million in previously withheld tax funds to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Israeli legalization of five West Bank outposts. While the move may ease financial pressure on the PA, the Palestinian territorial losses further complicate any possibility of a two-state solution. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.
An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday and another seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at a shopping center in Karmiel, northern Israel, the Israeli military said. Police said the attacker was shot dead at the scene by one of the victims, and that they were treating the incident as a “suspected terror attack.” There has been no claim from any group at the time of writing. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TENSIONS
Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in southern Lebanon yesterday. Mohammad Naameh Nasser is the one of the highest-ranking Hezbollah fighters to have been killed since cross-border clashes erupted. As an “initial response,” Hezbollah said it fired 100 rockets over the border into northern Israel. The Israeli military said most of the barrage landed in open areas. Euan Ward reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
A Russian missile and drone attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro yesterday killed five civilians and injured 47 others, authorities said. Illia Novikov reports for ABC News.