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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
A Hamas official said yesterday that the group will not take part in Thursday’s round of ceasefire talks because its leaders do not think Israel has been negotiating in good faith. “Netanyahu is not interested in reaching an agreement that ends the aggression completely … he wants to prolong the war, and even expand it at the regional level,” the official said. Adam Rasgon and Hwaida Saad report for the New York Times.
Israel was less flexible in recent Gaza ceasefire talks, documents detailing its newest negotiating positions show. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied that he is trying to block a ceasefire deal by hardening Israel’s position, but in private, has added new conditions to Israel’s demands. Ronen Bergman, Patrick Kingsley, and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 17 people overnight, the Hamas-run health ministry said. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden said he expects Iran to hold off on possibly attacking Israel if a ceasefire and hostage release deal is reached in the next few days. Meanwhile, Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk arrived in Cairo yesterday ahead of a visit to Doha today. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The Biden administration has approved around $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel over the next several years. Notification of the pending sale was sent to Congress yesterday. Kyle Melnick and Karen DeYoung report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
British counterterrorsim police yesterday charged seven people with violent disorder after a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke into an Israeli arms company site in southwest England. The Crown Prosecution Service said it would argue the offenses have a “terrorist connection.” Lynsey Chutel reports for the New York Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday told visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Moscow is “watching with great pain” the “humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Palestine.” Putin also reaffirmed Russia’s support for Palestinian statehood. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia declared a state of emergency in the Belgorod region as Ukraine’s surprise incursion enters its second week. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said Ukraine now controls 74 towns and villages in the border Kursk region. Meanwhile, U.S. officials say that Kyiv’s incursion has forced Russia to withdraw some of its military forces from Ukraine. BBC News reports; Isabel Coles, Michael R. Gordon, and Ievgeniia Sivorka report for the Wall Street Journal.
Zelenskyy said yesterday that captured Russian soldiers could be part of a prisoner exchange. The statement seemed to imply that “the thrust into Russian territory was part of a strategy for future negotiations and not an indefinite occupation.” David L. Stern and Robyn Dixon report for the Washington Post.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthis seized control of the U.N. human rights office in its capital of Saana on Aug. 3 after storming its premises, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said yesterday. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was removed from office after a court ruled today that he had violated the country’s constitution by appointing a lawyer who had served prison time to his cabinet. The move throws the country into further political uncertainty. Helen Regan and Kocha Olarn report for CNN.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he will not run in the upcoming party leadership vote in September. Stung by his party’s corruption scandals and dwindling popularity, Kishida’s decision paves the way for Japan to have a new prime minister. Mari Yamaguchi reports for AP News.
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is being investigated for murder over the police killing of a man during the recent deadly unrest that killed over 400. Six other top figures in the previous government are also being investigated. Ruth Comerford reports for BBC News.
The Tanzanian police said yesterday they had arrested 520 people as part of a mass opposition crackdown. Abdi Latif Dahir reports for the New York Times.
A second round of Turkish-mediated talks between Somalia and Ethiopia aimed at repairing soured ties ended without a deal yesterday. Tuvan Gumrukcu, Huseyin Hayatsever, and Giulia Paravicini report for Reuters.
Vietnam’s government is carrying out its most intense crackdown on critics and dissenters in decades, jailing activists, lawyers, and journalists and driving more into exile, sources say. Rebecca Tan reports for the Washington Post.
An ex-commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group was convicted yesterday of crimes against humanity in a significant moment of justice for Ugandans who suffered decades of its violent insurgency. Rodney Muhumuza reports for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
The Biden administration will send Saudi Arabia over $750 million worth of bombs in the coming months, according to officials from both nations. Nancy A. Youssef and Michael R. Gordon report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the progressive “Squad,” won her primary race in Minnesota. Steve Karnowski reports for AP News.
A military judge overseeing the cases against three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks will assess the legality of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to quash plea deals that would have spared them the death penalty. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post. Readers may be interested in Eugene R. Fidell’s analysis of Austin’s decision for Just Security.
Hunter Biden sought State Department help for a potentially lucrative energy project in Italy on behalf of the Ukrainian company where he served as a board member while his father was vice president, according to newly released records and interviews. Kenneth P. Vogel reports for the New York Times.
A pro-Trump lawyer facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was disqualified yesterday from representing former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne. A judge found that both Stefanie Lambert and Byrne were responsible for “unilaterally” leaking up to one million confidential records in a separate defamation lawsuit. Spencer S. Hsu and Patrick Marley report for the Washington Post.
A U.S.-Turkish Defense Department engineer accused of retaining and mishandling highly classified records should be released from jail to home confinement pending trial, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Prosecutors immediately said they would appeal the decision. Salvador Rizzo reports for the Washington Post.
A U.S. army analyst has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to sell military secrets to China in exchange for $42,000 in bribes, the Department of Justice said yesterday. Sgt. Korbein Schultz will be sentenced in January. Gavin Butler reports for BBC News.
The ex-chief of a Kansas police unit that carried out a raid on a newspaper office is now facing criminal charges, according to officials. Nadine Yousif reports for BBC News.