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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Fighting resumed yesterday after a brief calm following a heavy exchange of strikes on Sunday between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. State media reported that Israeli strikes targeted the Lebanese border village of Tair Harfa and part of the coastal city of Sidon. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Later in the day, Hezbollah said that it had targeted military surveillance equipment in northern Israel. AP News reports.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has extended the tour of the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the Pentagon said yesterday. The decision comes after Israel and Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Four days of ceasefire talks in Cairo concluded on Sunday with no breakthrough, with Israel and Hamas remaining far apart on key issues including the Egypt-Gaza border. Nonetheless, a U.S. official said the talks were constructive and would continue with working-group discussions this week. Julian E. Barnes and James C. McKinley Jr. for the New York Times
More than 1.2 million doses of the polio vaccine arrived in Gaza yesterday, in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign, according to the United Nations, Israel, and Gaza health authorities. It comes after the territory’s first case of the disease in 25 years was confirmed earlier this month. Hiba Yazbek reports for the New York Times.
The United Nations has temporarily suspended its aid operations in Gaza following Israeli military evacuation orders covering the town of Deir al-Balah, a senior U.N. official said. The Israeli military yesterday said its troops were continuing to “eliminate terrorists” on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah, where the U.N. has its main operation center. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
An Israeli airstrike on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank yesterday killed at least five Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel’s military said on social media that it had attacked “an operations room” in the area. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Ireland is investigating claims that arms for the Israeli military were transported through Irish airspace. The allegations were made on The Ditch website, which claimed that a cargo flight bound for Israel flew through Irish airspace earlier in 2024. BBC News reports.
HOUTHI ATTACKS
The Sounion oil tanker burning in the Red Sea may lead to “environmental disaster,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement yesterday. He added that the tanker threatened to “spill a million barrels of oil,” or about four times as much oil as the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska released in 1989. The New York Times reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes killed seven people and hit critical infrastructure in Ukraine yesterday. Separately, Poland announced it launched a search after an object, “most likely” a drone, had potentially landed on its territory. Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, and Yuliia Dysa report for Reuters.
China today called for more countries to endorse its peace plan for Ukraine, after a round of diplomacy with Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa to support its plan. Separately, President Biden yesterday spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and commended his engagement with Ukraine and visit to Poland last week, the White House said. Huizhong Wu reports for AP News.
Russia’s security service said today it had opened a criminal case against two foreign journalists who it claimed illegally crossed Russia’s border to report from the Kursk region. The journalists included a reporter for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and a correspondent for Ukraine’s 1+1 TV channel. Reuters reports.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Special Counsel Jack Smith urged the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to reinstate the classified documents case against former President Trump, after Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed it on the grounds that Smith was wrongfully appointed. Smith wrote in a brief that Judge Cannon’s decision “lack[ed] merit” and ignored decades of precedent. Katelyn Polantz reports for CNN; Perry Stein and Devlin Barrett report for the Washington Post.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Democrats sued the Georgia State Election Board yesterday over new election rules they say conflict with state law mandating certification of election results. Lisa Rubin, Charlie Gile, and Raquel Coronell Uribe Report for NBC News.
Trump yesterday suggested he may skip the scheduled ABC News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10 because it would be a hostile setting. The debate is the only one both campaigns have agreed to. Jake Traylor, Gabe Gutierrez and Rebecca Shabad report for NBC News; Marianne LeVine reports for the Washington Post.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Texas Attorney General raided the homes of several Latino Democrats, in what he said was an ongoing election integrity investigation. In response, the League of United Latin American Citizens, one of the country’s oldest Latino civil rights groups, is asking the Department of Justice to open an investigation. Arelis R. Hernández reports for the Washington Post.
Elon Musk yesterday voiced his support for a polarizing AI policy proposal, backing a California bill that would require large-scale models to undergo safety testing. Tech giants such as OpenAI have criticized the bill for what they say are vague and burdensome regulations. Lara Korte reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked Biden’s new citizenship plan for migrant spouses. The 14-day stay, issued yesterday, comes in response to a lawsuit from 16 Republican-led states that sued the Biden administration over the program. Max Matza reports for BBC News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Gunmen killed at least 38 people in three coordinated attacks across Pakistan’s south-west Balochistan province yesterday, according to a Pakistani senior police official. Abdul Sattar and Munir Ahmed report for AP News.
At least 30 people were killed after torrential rains caused Sudan’s Arbaat dam to burst. More than 20 villages have been destroyed and hundreds of individuals are still missing, according to the U.N. and first responders. Eltayeb Siddig reports for Reuters.
A Chinese military plane violated Japanese airspace yesterday, Japan’s defense ministry said. Japan’s Self Defense Force placed its fighter jets on high alert and issued warnings to the Chinese surveillance aircraft. River Akira Davis and Hisako Ueno report for the New York Times.
China announced its military would hold military drills near its border with Myanmar starting today. The exercises follow Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, two weeks earlier, during which he reiterated Beijing’s backing for the military junta. David Pierson reports for the New York Times.
French President Emmanuel Macron decided not to name a prime minister from the leftist New Popular Front coalition that won last month’s parliamentary elections, extending the country’s political limbo. Kim Willsher reports for The Guardian.
Tunisia’s president Kais Saied sacked his defense and foreign ministers this week, the latest reshuffling ahead of the country’s October presidential election. Massinissa Benlakehal reports for AP News.
Australia said today it would limit the enrollment number of new international students for 2025, as the government looks to ease record migration amid concerns over rising housing costs. Renju Jose reports for Reuters.