Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Biden, Netanyahu expected to meet in Washington during Israeli PM's July visit UN says Israel evacuation order largest in Gaza since October Iran’s presidential candidates discuss economic sanctions and nuclear deal ahead of Friday runoff Beijing and Moscow go from ‘no limits’ friendship to frenemies in Russia’s backyard Henry Jackson Society’s David Kirichenko: Ukraine is taking the fight to Russia in Africa, Syria Blinken says Hezbollah attacks have cost Israel sovereignty in north Lebanese authorities charge US Embassy shooter with affiliation to militant Islamic State group Yemen's Houthis claim attack on vital target in Israel's Haifa Bloomberg’s Hal Brands: Ukraine rumor shows how North Korea boosts Russia-China axis US allies allege China is developing attack drones for Russia World’s most successful political party stares at sweeping defeat in U.K. election Bloomberg Editorial: Macron’s mistakes will haunt France — and EuropeIn The News
Israel
Israel’s top generals want to begin a cease-fire in Gaza even if it keeps Hamas in power for the time being, widening a rift between the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has opposed a truce that would allow Hamas to survive the war. – New York Times
Israeli forces bombarded several areas of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday and thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in what could be part of a final push of Israel’s intensive military operations in nine months of war. – Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to meet in Washington in late July when the Israeli leader comes to address the U.S. Congress about his country’s war in Gaza, a White House official said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The plan for post-war Gaza that Israel pitched to U.S. allies is to run the strip in cooperation with powerful local families. But there’s a problem: in a place where Hamas still wields ruthless influence, none want to be seen talking to the enemy. – Reuters
At least four people were killed in an Israeli strike on the West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The United Nations said on Tuesday that an order by Israel for Palestinians to evacuate areas of Khan Younis and Rafah was the largest such edict in the Gaza Strip since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October. – Reuters
Gaza’s European Hospital in Khan Younis is virtually empty with staff and patients fleeing the facility after the Israeli army ordered residents in the surrounding areas to evacuate, a World Health Official spokesperson said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Israeli police clashed with Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank as they dismantled an illegal settler outpost early on Wednesday, according to video footage of the police operation seen by Reuters. – Reuters
Some Ryanair Holdings Plc pilots have asked the airline for the right to turn down flights to Tel Aviv as concerns grow about flying to the country during the war. – Bloomberg
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released a second round of incriminating documents which shed more light unto funds that were allegedly ordered to be transferred from Doha to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, which is claimed to have taken place at least twice in the past 12 years. – Jerusalem Post
An investigation by the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate into the events surrounding Hamas’s October 7 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, presented to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Monday night, has found that there were more than enough indications of the imminent Hamas attack to have set off warning lights and enabled the prevention of the catastrophe, Israeli television reported. – Times of Israel
Brigadier General Amir Avivi, chairman of the IDSF and former commander of the IDF School of Engineering, spoke to Israel National News – Arutz Sheva on the continued clearing of Hamas tunnels even now, almost nine months since the outbreak of the Gaza war. – Arutz Sheva
Birzeit University, located just outside of Ramallah in the West Bank, is home to an overwhelmingly Hamas-affiliated student government that holds on-campus terrorist parades. It also has relationships with some of America’s most prestigious universities, despite the fact that its leadership and faculty openly harbor pro-terrorist and anti-American sentiments. – Daily Wire
Editorial: According to the Israel Prison Service, Abu Salmiya was held at Nafha Prison, 100 km. from Beersheba, and not at Sde Teiman, which is 30 km. from the Gaza border. “Contrary to the false claims that have been published in recent hours, those who decided to release the director of Shifa Hospital were the IDF and Shin Bet – not the IPS,” it said. “IPS does not make decisions on its own to release prisoners of any kind and is only entrusted with the incarceration of prisoners.” – Jerusalem Post
Bret Stephens writes: A better Israeli prime minister would articulate the real stakes in this war — not a war of Israel against Hamas, but a multifront campaign against an “Axis of Resistance” that includes not just Hezbollah and the Houthis but also their masters in Iran and its allies in Russia, Syria, China and North Korea. In other words, the fighting we see in Gaza isn’t a regional war between Jews against Muslims. It’s a battle in a long global struggle between the free and unfree worlds. – New York Times
David Kirichenko writes: If Russia were to prevail in Ukraine, the Western world would be significantly weakened, and the authoritarian powers threatening the US and Israel would be emboldened. The sooner Israel realizes that supporting Ukraine on the battlefield is in its long-term interest, the quicker Iran’s power will begin to erode as one of its principal backers falters. – Jerusalem Post
Louis Rene Beres writes: For now, all things considered, Israel’s primary survival obligation is to prepare for “escalation dominance” without enlarging risks of eventual nuclear war with Iran. Such Israeli preparations could represent the best remaining way to keep Iran non-nuclear. Though the pertinent issues are complicated and opaque, they should never be minimized or misunderstood in Jerusalem. The errors could prove to be existential. – Jerusalem Post
Inbar Noy-Freifeld and Uri Kidron write: But it is also advisable that the Israeli public does not forget about Britain during the endless Donald Trump-Joe Biden battles. Israelis should not avoid London, which is unquestionably more inviting for them than it might seem on Twitter. Israeli students, even today, should not skip an opportunity to participate in exchange programs and enroll in British universities, which have a dramatic and out-sized influence on academia, business, and culture in the West. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Two candidates, a reformist and an ultraconservative, will face off in Iran’s runoff presidential election on Friday, amid record-low voter turnout and overarching apathy that meaningful change could happen through the ballot box. – New York Times
Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their proposals for reviving a nuclear deal with world powers. – Associated Press
Hard-line Iranian presidential candidate Saeed Jalili may have been Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator for years, but he won no plaudits from Western diplomats sitting across the table as he repeatedly lectured them on everything while offering nothing. – Associated Press
A senior Iranian military commander said that the country is waiting for a chance to launch another direct attack on Israel as a follow-up to a barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones it fired in April, Iranian media reported Tuesday. – Times of Israel
Iran is trying to source uranium from West Africa, signaling a further expansion of the nuclear program that has long rattled states in the West […]Iran is trying to source uranium from West Africa, signaling a further expansion of the nuclear program that has long rattled states in the West. – Newsweek
Arash Azizi writes: Opponents of the regime can celebrate Friday’s low turnout as proof that most Iranians share their disgust with the entire system and do not wish to legitimize it with their vote. But now they face a dilemma. Should they boycott the second round on July 5 and allow Jalili to cruise into the presidency? Or should they cast a lesser-evil vote for the reformist Pezeshkian? – The Atlantic
Russia & Ukraine
Relations between China and Russia are at a historic high as the authoritarian powers band together to confront what they see as a Western campaign to hem them both in. But in Central Asia, which Moscow regards as its backyard, the friendship that Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared as having “no limits” is colliding with Beijing’s global ambitions. – Wall Street Journal
Russia has arbitrarily detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich under unsubstantiated claims of espionage and should immediately release him from prison, a United Nations panel said. – Wall Street Journal
The pressure to outthink the enemy, along with huge flows of investment, donations and government contracts, has turned Ukraine into a Silicon Valley for autonomous drones and other weaponry. – New York Times
Ukraine is not ready to compromise with Russia and give up any territory to end the war, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday when asked about U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s declaration that he could quickly end the conflict. – Reuters
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for regional security and defence talks, the Kremlin said, as well as a series of bilateral meetings, including with Chinese and Turkish leaders. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Tuesday discussed NATO members’ intention to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said. – Reuters
Russian attacks on the central Ukrainian city of Nikopol killed two women aged 61 and 86 on Tuesday and wounded nine other people, the regional governor said. – Reuters
Explosions reverberated across the pre-dawn sky as Ukrainian air defences fended off a Russian attack on this small city in western Ukraine, home to an important air base and a frequent target of Moscow’s strikes. – Reuters
Ukraine’s air force commander, Mykola Oleshchuk, said on Tuesday the military had carried out a “destructive strike” on a Russian ammunition depot in Moscow-occupied Crimea on Monday. – Reuters
Russia cannot comment on Donald Trump’s idea for ending the war in Ukraine because Moscow does not know what it involves, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the final details of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia were being worked out, and that deepening trade and economic cooperation would be one of the key themes of the visit. – Reuters
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the U.S. will soon announce an additional $2.3 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, to include anti-tank weapons, interceptors and munitions for Patriot and other air defense systems. – Associated Press
Russia’s reliance on China has gotten to the point where Beijing could end the war in Ukraine if it chose to, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said. “Russia is so dependent on China right now,” Stubb, 56, said in an interview in Helsinki Tuesday. “One phone call from President Xi Jinping would solve this crisis.”- Bloomberg
The United Nations’ telecommunication agency condemned Russian interference in the satellite systems of several European countries. Earlier this month, the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) received a series of complaints from Ukraine, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg about the Kremlin’s alleged satellite interference that has affected GPS signals and television channels. – The Record
David Kirichenko writes: Ukraine has the capability to engage militarily in regions where Western powers might be hesitant to intervene, such as Sudan and southern Syria. The return on investment for a small amount of Ukrainian input from Western powers could be quite substantial. The West would be wise to provide Ukraine with more resources, including intelligence, to support its efforts to strike Russia wherever necessary. – The Hill
Hezbollah
Israel “has effectively lost sovereignty” in its north because Hezbollah attacks launched from southern Lebanon have driven much of the population away, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said this week, underscoring the stakes of cross-border attacks that have threatened to ignite a larger regional war alongside the conflict in Gaza. – New York Times
The deputy leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Tuesday the only sure path to a cease-fire on the Lebanon-Israel border is a full cease-fire in Gaza. – Associated Press
During the early hours of Wednesday morning, the IDF attacked terrorist Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Air Force fighter jets attacked Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures in the areas of Leida, Yaron and Tir Harfa in southern Lebanon. – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
Over the past two days, angry groups of men in a half-dozen cities in Turkey have turned on the Syrian refugees living among them, damaging their shops and cars and assaulting them with fists and knives. – New York Times
Turkey closed its main border crossings into northwest Syria on Tuesday after Turkish troops came under fire from Syrians angered by violence against their compatriots in Turkey, a Syrian opposition source and residents said. – Reuters
Turkey is holding talks with the United States on the construction of large-scale nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMR), a senior Turkish Energy Ministry official said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have activated a naval task force dedicated to countering mine warfare in the Black Sea. The move comes as Ukraine fights off a Russian invasion, which has involved clashes in and around the body of water. – Defense News
Lebanon
A judge at Lebanon’s military court on Tuesday charged the gunman who opened fire at the U.S. embassy near Beirut with being affiliated to the militant Islamic State group, security and judicial officials said. – Associated Press
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib sent a special third-party message to Foreign Minister Israel Katz explaining to him that his country did not want a war to break out between them. – Jerusalem Post
A diplomatic solution is urgently needed to avert a third Lebanon war, French President Emmanuel Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the two spoke by phone on Tuesday night. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday set the presidential election date for Oct. 6 and is widely expected to seek a second term, with at least one potential candidate in jail and others facing prosecution. – Reuters
Yemen’s Houthis said on Tuesday that they, along with the Islamic resistance in Iraq, have conducted a joint military operation, attacking a vital target in Israel’s Haifa. – Reuters
French prosecutors have requested the country’s highest court to rule on the validity of the international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad for alleged complicity in war crimes during Syria’s civil war, according to a statement on Tuesday. – Associated Press
Egypt is set to name Ahmed Kouchouk as its first new finance minister since 2018, Extranews reported, as the North African nation pledges an economic revamp after emerging from its worst crisis in decades. – Bloomberg
Yemen’s Houthi rebels conducted the largest number of attacks on commercial ships so far in 2024 in June, fresh proof that the group’s threat to trade intensified in recent weeks. – Bloomberg
Korean Peninsula
North Korea said on Tuesday that it had tested a new ballistic missile with a “super-large warhead,” the most recent development in an arms race with South Korea as the countries vie to introduce weapons of increasingly destructive power. – New York Times
South Korea’s government on Wednesday vowed to support small businesses and the construction sector struggling due to high interest rates in the second half of 2024, as it revised up its forecast for this year’s economic growth. – Reuters
Hal Brands writes: North Korea and Iran are presumably instructing Putin’s newly isolated government in the dark art of sanctions evasion, a discipline in which these rogue states truly are world leaders. North Korea could also dispatch some of its excess workers to man Russian military production lines. Meanwhile, Pyongyang and Tehran are learning valuable lessons from how Russia has used their drones and missiles in Ukraine. – Bloomberg
China
China’s Coast Guard seized a Taiwanese fishing boat and its crew of five and forced it to a port on the mainland Chinese coast, in the latest move by Beijing that is likely to increase pressure on President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan. – New York Times
China and the Philippines held a crucial meeting Tuesday to try to ease mounting tensions following their worst confrontation in the disputed South China Sea that sparked fears of a wider conflict that could involve the United States. – Associated Press
After the United States passed new subsidies designed to boost domestic electric vehicle production and cut into Beijing’s supply chain dominance, Chinese manufacturers began investing in an unlikely place: Morocco. – Associated Press
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a Chinese-sponsored resolution with U.S. support urging wealthy developed nations to close the widening gap with developing countries and ensure they have equal opportunities to use and benefit from artificial intelligence. – Associated Press
Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine, European officials familiar with the matter said, a sign that Beijing may be edging closer to providing the sort of lethal aid that western officials have warned against. – Bloomberg
China sailed its aircraft carrier CNS Shandong (17) into the South China Sea, as close as 230 miles from the Philippine main island of Luzon. Meanwhile, PLAN ships have been operating around Japan over the past few days, according to Japan Joint Staff Office releases. – USNI News
Bonnie S. Glaser and Bonny Lin write: Washington should encourage Lai to prioritize the strengthening of Taiwan’s defense and resilience above all else. The United States should also caution Taipei against engaging in activities that China could use as a pretext to escalate aggression against the island. Beijing creates and is looking for pretexts, and Taipei must take care to ensure that it does not take actions that will divide international opinion against it. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
More than 100 people, most of them women and children, died Tuesday in a stampede at a crowded religious event in northern India, according to local officials, in the country’s deadliest such incident in over a decade. – Washington Post
A special court in Pakistan’s city of Rawalpindi granted interim bail on Tuesday to the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case, media outlet ARY News said. Khan, in jail since last August, was convicted in some cases ahead of February’s general election, but a U.N. human rights working group said on Monday his arbitrary imprisonment violated international law. – Reuters
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s first speech in the new parliament ran into controversy with parts of it, including accusations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, redacted on Tuesday for violating the rules of the legislature. – Reuters
Asia
Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday set July 17 as the next hearing date for a case seeking the dissolution of the popular opposition Move Forward party, which has 30% of the seats in the lower house of parliament. – Reuters
Sprawling camps in Cox’s Bazar are already home to around one million displaced Rohingya, and Bangladesh authorities have repeatedly said they cannot accept any more refugees from neighbouring Myanmar. – Reuters
China has donated a presidential building complex in Vanuatu while Australia and New Zealand inaugurated a A$55 million airfield in neighbouring Solomon Islands, amid competition for influence in the Pacific Islands region. – Reuters
A Cambodian court handed jail terms of up to eight years to 10 activists of environmental group Mother Nature, on charges of plotting against the government and insulting the king, the group’s founder and a lawyer said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Azerbaijan is escalating a conflict with France that’s playing out in French territories in the Pacific, Caribbean and Latin America over weapons the European nation has supplied to Armenia. – Bloomberg
Marines on Okinawa, Japan, have received their first batch of amphibious combat vehicles ― the Corps’ upgrade for the assault amphibious vehicle that has been in service since the Vietnam-era. – Defense News
Europe
Polls ahead of Thursday’s U.K. election show the opposition Labour Party and its leader Keir Starmer on course to win by a margin of about 20 percentage points, ending 14 years of government by the ruling Tories. The question is, What will be the scale of the defeat for the world’s oldest and most successful political party, measured by years in power over the past 150 years? – Wall Street Journal
Sidestepping historic animosity and a decade of political tension, Germany and Poland pledged to boost defense cooperation amid fears that a Trump victory in November could herald a period of vulnerability for NATO in its confrontation with Russia. – Wall Street Journal
For the second time in seven weeks, a German court has convicted the prominent far-right leader Björn Höcke of using a banned Nazi slogan. – New York Times
Hungarian officials explained the previously unannounced trip as an effort to promote “peace” — Hungary’s euphemism for a settlement built on Ukrainian capitulation to Russian demands. Many observers saw it instead more as a move by Mr. Orban to try to end his isolation over Ukraine on the European stage. – New York Times
A week after the European Union launched membership talks with Moldova, the country’s separatist region complained on Tuesday that central authorities had ignored its proposals to settle their long-running dispute and imposed a “banking blockade”. – Reuters
Italian authorities intercepted and seized two Chinese-made military drones that were destined for Libya and disguised as wind turbine equipment, Italy’s customs police and customs agency said on Tuesday. – Reuters
A Norwegian man appeared in an Oslo court on Tuesday to face accusations of espionage on behalf of China and will be detained for an initial four weeks, a police official said, in the latest case involving alleged spying by China in Europe. – Reuters
Pro-European politicians must act decisively in tackling issues of concern to ordinary voters like illegal migration to counter rising nationalism, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, after far-right gains in French and EU elections. – Reuters
French opposition parties made hurried deals Tuesday to try to block a landslide victory for Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in Sunday’s second round of legislative elections, as she said her party would lead the government only if it wins an absolute majority — or close to it. – Associated Press
A new Dutch government was sworn into office Tuesday on promises to impose strict new limits on immigration, more than seven months after elections dominated by a far-right, anti-Islam party. – Associated Press
A survey of people in 13 of the nations belonging to NATO found a median of about 6 in 10 held a favorable view of the Western military alliance, the Pew Research Center said Tuesday. – Associated Press
The European Union’s lending arm and NATO’s venture capital fund will share information and work more closely together to support small and mid sized companies across the continent that focus on security and defense, the organizations announced Tuesday. – Defense News
Editorial: As a nuclear power, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a critical NATO ally — not to mention one of the largest economies in Europe — France remains a significant force on the global stage. Its elections matter. Its interests are best served by stable politics, a growing economy and reinforced alliances in a more threatening world. That’s going to get a lot harder. – Bloomberg
Philippe Marlière writes: That’s for the future. Right now, France is on the brink. It is a deeply torn and anxious nation approaching an epochal vote. For all the problems of a hung parliament, it is essential to deny National Rally a passage to power. Either France rejects the far right to remain an outward-looking country, true to the liberal values of the French Revolution, or it succumbs to xenophobia and bitter nationalism. The stakes have never been so high. – New York Times
Philip Collins writes: Yet politics in Britain is a two-horse race, and if one horse is lame, the other one wins, perhaps by a long stretch. It’s a novel situation and Starmer, with his lukewarm landslide, will be a pioneer. It may be that he has the momentum to win well but lacks the goodwill on which governments rely, especially when times are hard as, sadly, they will be. – CNN
Robert Peters writes: Therefore, Europe must take the primary responsibility for its conventional defense, especially by denying the aforementioned fait accompli in the East. Such a primary responsibility would include most, if not all, the conventional forces (naval platforms, long-range fires, missile defenses, land armies, and air power) necessary to deter and, if necessary, defeat the Russian military as the United States re-postures or divests its forces and capabilities to shore up defenses in the Pacific. The question then becomes what this looks like over the short term (one to two years) to mid term (three to five years). – Heritage Foundation
Russell A. Berman writes: These maverick recognitions of Palestine contribute to preexisting inner-European political divides, which is particularly unfortunate at a time when Russia and China are trying to divide the West. Reaching a unified European foreign policy just became a lot harder. Meanwhile, the countries’ underinvestment in defense will put a strain on relations with the United States, regardless of the outcome of the November elections. A Europe of free-riders that refuses to invest in security and also engages in pointless showmanship on the Palestine question in a way that flouts U.S. policy will not be viewed as a credible partner in Washington. – The National Interest
Africa
Fighters from Sudan’s paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces ransacked and looted towns, markets and homes in the southeastern agricultural state of Sennar, opening up a new front in the country’s 14-month-old war as aid groups warn of an impending famine. – Wall Street Journal
Around 80 people are taking refuge inside the Dar Mariam mission, a Catholic church and school compound in Khartoum’s al-Shajara district, caught in the crossfire between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to accounts by the priest and seven other people at the mission. – Reuters
Riot police fired tear gas grenades and charged at stone-throwing protesters in downtown Nairobi and across Kenya on Tuesday in the most widespread unrest since at least two dozen protesters died in clashes a week ago. – Reuters
Thee protesters have died in detention in Mauritania, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, after security forces made mass arrests in the town of Kaedi to contain unrest in the wake of the West African country’s presidential election. – Reuters
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group’s advance into strategically important new territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has led to fresh clashes and food price rises as people flee, two officials and local residents told Reuters. – Reuters
The Americas
The Biden administration will begin paying for Panama to detain and deport more of the migrants streaming through Central America en route to the United States, the latest White House effort to curb illegal crossings at the southern border, officials said Tuesday. – Washington Post
Images captured from space show the growth of Cuba’s electronic eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction at a previously unreported site about 70 miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, according to a new report. – Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration remains open to dialogue with the Venezuelan government, U.S. officials said on Tuesday after President Nicolas Maduro said he had agreed to restart direct talks just weeks ahead of a July 28 presidential election in Venezuela. – Reuters
Brazilian police said on Tuesday they broke up an organization that allegedly laundered 5.5 billion reais ($970 million) in money derived from selling cocaine to Mexican cartels and other markets. – Reuters
North America
Top Democrats in Congress met on Tuesday with Haiti’s newly installed prime minister, Garry Conille, and pledged to push for additional American assistance days after a U.S.-backed international police mission arrived on the Caribbean island to restore stability to a country that for months has been under siege by criminal gangs. – New York Times
An Ontario judge ordered pro-Palestinian protesters to leave their two-month-old encampment at Canada’s largest university by Wednesday evening, granting the University of Toronto’s injunction request in a ruling on Tuesday. – Reuters
Mexican security officials found the bodies of 19 men piled into the back of a truck, the local prosecutor’s office said late on Monday, with the victims allegedly linked to a gunfight between a Guatemalan criminal gang and Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel. – Reuters
United States
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that 116 Chinese nationals were deported back to China, a move that came after a surge of Chinese migrants entering at the U.S. southern border in recent years. – Wall Street Journal
For two years, many unprofitable tech start-ups have cut costs, sold themselves or gone out of business. But the ones focused on artificial intelligence have been thriving. – New York Times
The Biden administration awarded $504 million on Tuesday to a dozen projects across the country in a bid to transform communities that had been overlooked in the past into technological powerhouses. – New York Times
Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred in New York for “misusing” his position as former President Donald Trump’s attorney to attack the legitimacy of 2020 election with “repeatedly and intentionally made false statements.” – Washington Examiner
David Wolpe writes: Israel was conceived in part as a haven for Jews suffering persecution. In many ways it has been an almost miraculous success—an America for the Jewish people. But this isn’t Germany in the 1930s. It’s the U.S. in 2024. The opportunities America has afforded to Jews, and the welcome it has offered, are to be treasured […]To my fellow Jews and all those who link arms with us: stay vigilant, stay strong, but also stay calm and be grateful. There are people of good heart and good will, of soulfulness and love, all over this great nation. – Wall Street Journal
Cybersecurity
Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would lift its blanket ban, opens new tab on the word “shaheed”, or “martyr” in English, after a year-long review by its oversight board found the social media giant’s approach was “overbroad”. – Reuters
Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) has decided to suspend with immediate effect the validity of Meta’s new privacy policy for the use of personal data to train generative artificial intelligence systems in the country. – Reuters
It’s not often that an OpenSSH vulnerability is discovered, so when researchers at the cybersecurity firm Qualys revealed a flaw in the widely used secure communications protocol, it set the security community buzzing. – CyberScoop
The LockBit ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Croatia’s largest hospital, which forced it to shut down IT systems for a day. The group claims to have gained access to patient and employee information, medical records, organ and donor data and contracts signed with external companies. – The Record
Financial technology company Affirm told regulators this week that a cyberattack on a banking partner exposed customer information. – The Record
Dave Lee writes: But the AI race is different. European officials have underestimated the degree to which nothing can stand in the way of Silicon Valley’s ambitions. While the tech giants clearly value the European market and its 450 million potential customers, they value the unconstrained development of groundbreaking AI even more. As Clegg has warned, the result may be a widening gap between Europe and the rest of the world. Instead of setting the agenda, the EU seems at risk of being cast aside. – Bloomberg
Defense
The criminal investigative arms of the Pentagon and the U.S. Army descended on Florida last week to execute search warrants, officials confirmed to Army Times. – Defense News
Three years after launching an effort to help combatant commands adopt artificial intelligence tools and concepts, the Pentagon is crafting a long-term vision for the program. – Defense News
Tom Rogan writes: Delta’s success at recruiting and developing talent has led to its widely regarded status as the world’s foremost special operations force — Delta operators are particularly notorious for their innovative versatility and close-quarter battle skills. But getting into Delta is not easy — fewer than 10%, often around 5%, of each selection-training course will eventually pass out of the Operator Training Course and join the unit […]For a Supreme Court justice to defame one special mission unit as a bunch of traitors-in-waiting is to defame them all. – Washington Examiner
Iulia-Sabina Joja writes: Beyond NATO at 75, and two and a half years into the war, it is high time for the Alliance to issue a Black Sea strategy that outlines the main challenges for member states and commits their collective and national-level resources to boosting regional security. Such a strategy should pursue three main aims: improving the Black Sea NATO members’ security environment, containing Russian aggression against Allies, and living up to the 2008 promise of granting Ukraine and Georgia membership. – Middle East Institute