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Nearly two weeks have passed and no large-scale response has materialized, leaving Israel and the wider Middle East on edge. Iran, which backs Hamas, blamed Israel for the assassination, but Israeli leaders have not said their forces were responsible. What could an Iranian response look like? U.S. and Israeli diplomats and security officials had some advanced knowledge of its scope and intensity of Iran’s attack in April, which facilitated defensive preparations. The foreign minister of Jordan, an ally of the United States, has traveled to Tehran in recent days for meetings.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Masoud, Israel, Fuad Shukr, Haniyeh’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasser Kanaan, Sanam Vakil, Pezeshkian, Vakil, Ms, Ali Vaez, Vaez, “ Israel, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jordan, Mr, Haniyeh, Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden Organizations: Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Chatham House, Crisis, Diplomats, of Islamic Cooperation, United, Hamas Locations: Iran, Tehran, Israel, Masoud Pezeshkian, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, East, London, Yemen, Iranian, United States, Gaza, Saudi Arabia

☆ Russia reinforces Kursk region, videos show Ukrainian presence, evidence of attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Russia moved extra tanks, artillery and rocket systems to its southern Kursk region and imposed anti-terrorism measures in border areas as it battled a shock incursion by Ukraine’s military. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, posted a video purporting to show them in control of a town near the border, the first pictorial evidence of their cross-border advances. The acting governor of Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, said drone debris had fallen on a power substation near Kurchatov, site of one of Russia’s largest nuclear power stations with four reactors. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing the situation in the Kursk region on Friday. Kursk Region Governov Alexei Smirnov via AFP - Getty ImagesHe praised his army’s ability “to surprise”.

Persons: Alexei Smirnov, Anatoliy Zhdanov, Vladimir Putin, Aleksey Babushkin, Alexander Bortnikov, Staff Valery Gerasimov, “, Ukraine ”, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, ”, Ben Barry, Zelenskiy, Gerasimov Organizations: Reuters, Getty, Atomic Energy Agency, Moscow’s, Terrorism, Staff, Armed Forces, Grad, Gazprom, Armed Forces of, ”, Ukrainian military’s, AFP, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Telegram, United States, Stinger Locations: Russia, Kursk, Ukrainian, Kurchatov, Sudzha, AFP, Russian, Vienna, Ukraine, Bryansk, Belgorod, Armed Forces of Ukraine, U.S, ”

PARIS — Algerian Imane Khelif won welterweight gold Friday, dispatching China’s Yang Liu and overcoming a firestorm of questions from opponents wrongly questioning her gender. "Your victory today belongs to Algeria, and your gold is Algeria’s gold. Khelif held up her gold medal for the cameras and said this was a culmination of eight years of work. Khelif and Lin are veteran fighters and well-known in the women’s boxing community. She was the first Algerian boxer to participate in the Olympics and win the most beautiful medal,” the Algerian Olympic Committee wrote on Facebook.

Persons: Imane Khelif, China’s Yang Liu, Khelif, Roland, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Lin Yu, Ting, Angela Carini, Yang, didn’t, Lin, “, Umar Kremlev, Khelif’s, sparred, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Toufik Koudri, ”, David K, Li, Sam Brock, Rima Abdelkader Organizations: Roland, Garros, Team Algeria, Algerian, Boxing, IBA, IOC, USA, Gazprom, United Nations, Olympics, Algerian Olympic, Facebook Locations: PARIS, Algerian, Algeria, USA, Europe, Chinese Taipei, France, Russian, New Delhi, Bulgarian, Paris, Russia, ”, Connecticut

This came after the Israeli military said it had struck a “terrorist cell operating a drone” in southern Lebanon after “numerous projectiles” were fired at northern Israel. Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel. The killing came a day after Shukr, a senior Hezbollah leader died in an Israel airstrike on Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas military compound embedded in the schools. It came after an Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp inside a hospital in central Gaza earlier in the day.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jordan, Jalaa Marey, Ismail Haniyeh, Fuad Shukr, Haniyeh, Masoud Pezeshkian, Israel “, ” Israel, Shukr, ”, Menahem Kahana, Burcu Ozcelik, Mahmoud Zayyat Organizations: NBC News, Rockets, Israel's, Getty, Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel, Pentagon, Navy, Royal United Services Institute, NBC, Diplomats, Health Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Australia, France, Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Lebanon, Beirut, Galilee, AFP, Iran, Tehran, Golan, Shams, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, U.S, Britain, Haniyeh’s, London, Lebanese, Sidon, Gaza City

☆ Israel’s ambassador to Japan criticizes Nagasaki’s peace ceremony invitation snub
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The decision by Nagasaki contrasts with that of Hiroshima, which hosts its ceremony on Tuesday and has invited Israel. Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters last week that Israel’s exclusion from Friday’s upcoming memorial was due to security concerns and was not a political decision. CNN has reached out to the Nagasaki authorities for comment. But he pointed out authorities in Hiroshima took no issue with security over Israel’s attendance. Kyodo News/Getty ImagesThe diplomat noted that Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, is set to attend the Nagasaki ceremony.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Shiro Suzuki, “, ”, Gilad Cohen, Cohen Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Hiroshima Peace, Kyodo, ” CNN Locations: Japan, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Israel, Gaza, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Tokyo, ”, Iran

☆ What Russia’s arrest footage of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan really tells us
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Russia’s pro-Kremlin media know how to create an alternative reality, and last week’s historic prisoner swap was no exception. On Monday, Russian state-backed media outlets treated viewers to lurid footage of the arrests of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan. And we see a handcuffed Paul Whelan on a hotel bed, flanked by Russian security officers. But in the cases of Gershkovich and Whelan, the aim of the Russian state was to build a bank of human collateral to trade for its valued agents held abroad. But the good news is that Gershkovich is out of Russian custody and can now write the definitive and reliable account of what happened during his arrest.

Persons: CNN — Russia’s, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Gershkovich, Whelan, –, Dow Jones, Almar Latour, Emma Tucker, “ Vladimir Putin, ”, Evan Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Wall Street, Bolshoi Theater, Gershkovich, US State Department, State Department, Dow Locations: Russian, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Russia, British

TEL AVIV — Israel is bracing for a potential multiday attack by Iran and its ally Hezbollah following the assassination of two senior militant leaders last week, an Israeli official told NBC News. Israel killed Shukr in a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut last Tuesday. Hours later, news broke that Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in the early hours Wednesday morning. The call was “tense,” according to the Israeli official. This time, the Israeli official said the attacks could come over several days, with Hezbollah attacking Israel from the north while Iran’s longer-range weapons are fired from the east.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Fuad Shukr, “ They’ll, Shukr, ”, Haniyeh, Masoud Pezeshkian, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, “ Biden, Israel, Netanyahu, Raf Sanchez, Doha Madani Organizations: NBC News, Diplomats Locations: TEL AVIV, Israel, Iran, Beirut, Golan, Tehran, Gaza, U.S, Cairo, Damascus, Tel Aviv, Doha, New York City

More than in any other foreign arena, Vance has sought to echo Trump on the Ukraine war. In doing so, he emphasized the thick vein of “scarcity politics” that runs through his foreign policy, arguing that the U.S. can’t equip Ukraine with enough materiel to hold back an opponent as vast as Russia. Vance described Ukraine ceding territory to Vladimir Putin as being in “America’s best interest” while appearing more supportive than Trump of remaining in NATO. The foreign policy views of Pence, vice president when Trump was in office, while not loved by everyone, were at least “mature” — they were informed by several terms experiencing the consequences of foreign policy becoming reality, according to Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now a professor at Princeton. Vance, on the other hand, brings “no foreign policy experience, certainly no expertise,” Kurtzer says, and he will fall in behind his boss when needed.

Persons: JD Vance, Donald Trump, ”, “, Vance, Clayton Allen, —, Anna Moneymaker, Trump, Bronwen Maddox, “ He’s, ” Allen, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Chatham House’s Maddox, Joe Biden, ” Vance, Patrick Baz, doesn’t, William Ruger, Israel, — Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Viktor Orban, ” Trump, Stephen Maturen, Vance “, Dick, Cheney ”, George W, Allen, Hitler, Mike Pence, Pence, Daniel Kurtzer, ” Kurtzer, Benjamin Netanyahu, Charles Hollis, Hollis, Trump’s, ’ ”, Maddox, Grover Cleveland Organizations: Marines, Yale Law School, Gaza, Ohio, GOP, Eurasia Group, Republican Party, NATO, Republican National Convention, Democrat, Republicans, NAFTA, China, Getty, American Institute for Economic Research, Kremlin, Bloomberg, Trump, Princeton, United, Aperio Intelligence Locations: Iraq, U.S, Ukraine, Sierra Vista, London, Kyiv, Russia, lockstep, Europe, Mexico, Baghdad’s, Owerij, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Great Barrington , Massachusetts, Ukrainian, Taiwan, “, St Cloud, Minn, Israel, China, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United States, Montezuma, Canada

☆ Inside the Petrostate Hosting This Year’s Global Climate Negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Max Bearak | Nanna Heitmann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s an unlikely place for such talk: It is out of the way, under authoritarian rule and, crucially, hyper-dependent on fossil fuels. Azerbaijan is hosting the annual climate summit, called COP29, only by dint of a quirky United Nations selection process that left it as the last option on the table. It’s a nearly vertical learning curve for officials who acknowledge their inexperience in global climate politics. They also acknowledge that they are under pressure from some people in their own country, who fear the global energy transition away from fossil fuels. Mr. Babayev himself spent most of his career rising through the middle ranks of the state oil company.

Persons: Mukhtar Babayev, ”, Mr, Babayev Organizations: United Locations: Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Vanuatu, It’s, Europe

But although Mr. Nasrallah promised that Hezbollah would respond, he equivocated on the scope and nature of that retaliation. “We have entered a new phase,” he said, speaking in a televised address during the funeral for Mr. Shukr. “You do not realize the red lines you have crossed,” warned Mr. Nasrallah, addressing Israel directly. “The only things lying between us and you are the days, the nights and the battlefield,” said Mr. Nasrallah, again addressing Israel. Credit... Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York TimesAfter Mr. Nasrallah finished his speech, Mr. Shukr’s coffin was carried onto the street outside and met a sea of mourners.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Fuad Shukr, Nasrallah, ”, Shukr, Mr, Diego Ibarra Sanchez, Fatima Nizan al, “, ” Aaron Boxerman, Hwaida Saad Organizations: The New York Locations: Lebanese, Beirut, Lebanon, Israel, Lebanon’s, Iran, Credit, Beirut’s, Jerusalem

☆ At a Mountain Retreat, Wine, Lamb Kebabs and Lots of Climate Talk
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Max Bearak | Nanna Heitmann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A few days ago, at an ornate hilltop hotel in Azerbaijan’s wine country with panoramic views of the Caucasus foothills, the world’s top climate diplomats debated how to marshal whopping amounts of money to fight global warming and compensate poor and vulnerable countries that suffer its worst effects. “Some say single-digit trillions. Some say double-digit,” said Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan’s chief climate negotiator. The meeting was a pre-meeting, of sorts, for the main event: November’s United Nations sponsored climate negotiations, known as COP29, to be held in the seaside capital, Baku, a few hours away. At previous summits, the world’s nations had struggled to agree on a seemingly basic premise in the fight against climate change, namely that humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels must be curbed as quickly as possible.

Persons: ”, Yalchin Rafiyev Organizations: November’s United Locations: Azerbaijan’s, Caucasus, November’s United Nations, Baku

☆ The Threat of More War
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yesterday, Iran and Hamas accused Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior leaders of Hamas, while he was in Tehran. (Haniyeh was Hamas’s lead negotiator in cease-fire talks to end the Gaza war, which began with the Oct. 7 attacks.) And the groups themselves say they do not want a wider regional war. (Hamas has said it wants a wider war, but it is depleted from nearly 10 months of conflict in Gaza.) That’s why, in the span of a few months, Israeli bombs have hit Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen.

Persons: amity, Israel, Ismail Haniyeh Organizations: United, Diplomats Locations: East, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Tehran, United Arab Emirates, Iranian, Gaza, Yesterday, Beirut, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, It’s

☆ Hezbollah Leader Threatens Retaliation Against Israel, Saying Conflict Is in ‘New Phase’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Thursday that its conflict with Israel had entered a new phase after an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, this week. But although Mr. Nasrallah promised that Hezbollah would respond, he equivocated on the scope and nature of that retaliation. “We have entered a new phase,” he said, speaking in a televised address during the funeral for Mr. Shukr. “You do not realize the red lines you have crossed,” warned Mr. Nasrallah, addressing Israel directly. The speech by Mr. Nasrallah on Thursday appeared to straddle that line.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Fuad Shukr, Nasrallah, ”, Shukr, Mr Locations: Lebanese, Israel, Lebanon’s, Beirut, Iran

Tokyo CNN —Israel will not be invited to this year’s peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki to promote a “peaceful and somber atmosphere” at the August 9 event, the city’s mayor told local media Wednesday. Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters Wednesday that Israel’s exclusion was due to security concerns and was not a political decision. Hiroshima’s annual peace ceremony is the larger of the two and representatives from 115 countries and the European Union are set to attend this year. Some local activists and peace advocates accused Hiroshima authorities of double standards for excluding Russia and Belarus but allowing Israel to take part. However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine,” a Hiroshima city government spokesperson told CNN last month.

Persons: Tokyo CNN —, Shiro Suzuki, “, ”, Gilad Cohen, Israel, Suzuki, don’t Organizations: Tokyo CNN, CNN, Hamas, European Union, Israel’s, Israel, Kyodo Locations: Tokyo CNN — Israel, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Israel, Gaza, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Moscow, Ukraine, ”

☆ Fears of Wider Mideast Conflict Deepen, With U.S. Seen as ‘Not in Control’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For months, diplomats and analysts in foreign capitals have worried that prolonged political upheaval in the United States could invite aggression abroad, whether in Russia’s waging of war in Ukraine, North Korea’s rogue nuclear ambitions or China’s expansionist designs in the South China Sea. Now, less than 100 days before Americans elect a new president, that broader geopolitical crisis has erupted in the familiar theater of the Middle East. The targeted killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran have deepened fears of a regionwide conflict — one that the United States, caught up in its own political drama at home, may have little capacity to avert or even contain. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States had not been involved in, or even informed of, the operation in Tehran, which the Iranian government swiftly blamed on Israel. To some, Mr. Blinken’s statement confirmed a dangerous power vacuum in the region.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken Locations: United, Ukraine, North, South China, Beirut, Tehran, United States, Israel

CNN —A large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia is under way, according to a source familiar, and it is expected to include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a number of Americans. The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are expected to be in the care of US officials, according to a senior administration official. The deal would end a nightmare that lasted more than five years for Whelan and more than a year for Gershkovich. The former US Marine was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges he vehemently denies. In April of that year, Moscow exchanged former US Marine Trevor Reed for Russian citizen and convicted drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Whelan, Gershkovich, Whelan –, –, ” It’s, Trevor Reed, Konstantin Yaroshenko, Brittney Griner, Viktor Bout Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Gershkovich, US State Department, Marine, Russian Locations: Russia, Moscow, Washington, Yekaterinburg, Irish, Mordovia, Russian

☆ War Gives Palestinian Olympians a Wider Role: Athlete-Diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Tariq Panja | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Taliyah Brooks gingerly approached the athlete as he lay on the grass and asked her question in a voice just louder than a whisper. “Do you have a pin?” she began, squeezing her shoulders together in a nervous shrug and offering a slight smile. The athlete, who had been stretching, shot up immediately and flashed a huge grin. Pins are the currency of friendship at the Olympic Games, and for Mohammed Dwedar, who will run for the Palestinian team in the track and field competition, this intrusion was more than welcome. “I was almost nervous to come over,” Brooks, a Texan, said, “because I don’t know how y’all feel about the United States.”

Persons: Taliyah Brooks gingerly, needn’t, Mohammed Dwedar, “, ” Brooks, ” Organizations: Olympic Games, Palestinian Locations: United States

Tensions were running high on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border on Monday in anticipation of an escalation in hostilities, after Israel’s security cabinet authorized its leaders to decide on the nature and timing of an Israeli military response to a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon last weekend. The Israeli military said overnight that its aerial defense systems successfully intercepted an unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanon into northwestern Israel. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on those attacks. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the rocket attack Saturday that struck a soccer field in Majdal Shams. But the Israeli military said the type of rocket used in the attack is Iranian-made and carries more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of explosives.

Persons: Majdal Shams, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Antony J, Blinken, Isaac Herzog, “, Matthew Miller, Adrienne Watson, Gallant, ”, Mohamed Awada, Hwaida Saad, Edward Wong, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck Organizations: Hezbollah, Israel’s, United, State Department, U.S . National Security Council, Lufthansa Group, East Airlines, Lebanon’s Locations: Lebanon, Majdal, Golan, Israel, Iran, United States, Gaza, Tokyo, Majdal Shams, Iranian, Beirut’s, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ Blinken chides Beijing's 'escalating actions' at sea, concerned over Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing's "escalating and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, while his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety with its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula. Blinken singled out China over its coast guard's hostile actions against U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines in the South China Sea. The Philippines' small troop presence on a grounded former U.S. navy ship at the Second Thomas Shoal has angered China for years. Blinken discussed Taiwan with Wang and concerns about Beijing's recent "provocative actions", included a simulated blockade during the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, a senior U.S. State Department official said. Wang told Blinken that although communications had been maintained between China and the United States, Washington had not stopped its containment and suppression of Beijing and had even intensified it.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Beijing's, Blinken, Thomas Shoal, Wang, Lai Ching Organizations: China's, 57th Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Washington, Seoul, U.S, ASEAN Regional Forum, EU, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Foreign, Taiwan, U.S . State Department Locations: Vientiane, South, China, Philippines, South China, Manila, Russia, India, Australia, Japan, Gaza, Ukraine, North, U.S, Laos, Beijing, Taiwan, United States, Washington

☆ Blinken meets China’s top diplomat in Laos as global giants keep communication lines open
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Nectar Gan | Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as China’s increasingly assertive moves in the South China Sea and threats toward Taiwan, have in recent years soured the Washington-Beijing relationship. In contrast, both Putin and Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov have been greeted in Beijing multiple times since the invasion. against a backdrop of increasingly violent clashes between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea. “We are pleased to take note of the successful resupply today of the Second Thomas Shoal, which is the product of an agreement reached between the Philippines and China,” Blinken said. His running mate JD Vance has advocated halting military aid to Ukraine in favor of focusing on Taiwan’s defense.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Wang Yi, Joe Biden’s, China’s, Xi Jinping’s, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Wang, Dmytro Kuleba, Beijing “, ”, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Kuleba, Lavrov, Russia …, “, ” Lavrov, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, Beijing’s, Shoal, Thomas, ” Blinken, Biden, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kamala Harris Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United, Foreign, ASEAN, Laos –, North American Aerospace Defense Command, NATO, Ukraine, European Union, Ukrainian Foreign, South China, Republican, Democratic Locations: Hong Kong, China, Laos, Asia, Vietnam, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Mongolia, Ukraine, South, Taiwan, Washington, Beijing, Alaska, Russia, Moscow, Russia’s, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Manila, South China

☆ Kamala Harris Is Known Abroad for a Personal Touch, and Tough Talk
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Like most vice presidents, Kamala Harris was not given much runway on foreign policy. But in the role she did fill, Ms. Harris made an impression. Ms. Harris can be many things at once: warm but steely on occasion; authoritative but personable. She has represented the United States frequently during trips to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and has met with more than 150 world leaders. In recent months, she has also become more directly involved in discussions with global leaders on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Democratic Locations: United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas, Ukraine, Israel, Washington, Gaza

☆ A Fabled Washington Home, Kept Empty by a 22-Year Battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Elizabeth Williamson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President-elect John F. Kennedy was there for dinner the night before his inauguration. “It was a special place to grow up,” said Donald Graham, a former publisher of The Washington Post, remembering his childhood home. After she died in 2001 her estate sold the home to Mark Ein, a venture capitalist and philanthropist who owns Washington City Paper and has a stake in the city’s N.F.L. Mr. Ein, then a bachelor, had no plans to entertain in Mrs. Graham’s grand style and did not move in. But after he married Sally Stiebel in the home’s garden in 2013, the couple decided to raise their family there.

Persons: John F, Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Truman Capote, Princess Diana, ”, Donald Graham, Katharine Graham, Graham’s, Philip Graham, Mark Ein, Ein, Sally Stiebel Organizations: The Washington, Beaux, Arts, The, Washington, Citi D.C Locations: Washington, Georgetown

☆ These apartments go for more than $100,000 a month. Why the superrich are deciding to rent rather than buy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementIn doing so, they have etched out a new niche at the most rarefied heights of the residential market, in part by persuading buyers who might have lavished millions of dollars – or more – to rent instead. Rental projects, on the other hand, while less lucrative upfront, offer more stability for owners with a long time horizon. It recently reconsidered the plan based on the success of the building's rentals, Aries said, and is now offering the penthouse unit for rent. A guest room at a Maison Hudson luxury apartment Kira Turnbull for The CollectionBased on the success of Maison Hudson, Wainbridge is planning identical projects in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, according to Oudinot. Advertisement"The demand is thin and high and very volatile" at the top of the residential market, according to Nancy Packes, a real estate advisor and broker.

Persons: —, Ken Griffin, –, Maison, Tyrone McKillen, McKillen, Maison Hudson, Kira Turnbull, Jay, Beyonce, Erin Boisson Aries, Douglas Elliman, Aries, Maison Hudson Kira Turnbull, Maison Hudson's, Mikhail Kurnev, Kurnev, Jacques Oudinot, Barths, Oudinot, Wainbridge, Nancy Packes Organizations: Service, Business, Maison Hudson, Bel Air, Wainbridge, Miami Locations: Manhattan, West, Los Angeles, Maison, London, Fasano, Paris, Saint, St, Maison Hudson, Miami Beach

☆ In a Taiwan war, the US could find itself fighting China without its top allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The study excluded nations that already faced a risk of direct conflict with China, the US and their respective allies. On the other hand, America's top allies don't share American fears that a massive Chinese military buildup and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's avowed determination to "reunify" Taiwan with China are steps toward war, but rather may be nationalistic posturing. AdvertisementYet if Japan, Australia, Britain and Canada are reluctant to confront China, there are actions they can take to help Taiwan. In addition, the four middle powers could play a role in mediators to prevent a Taiwan war from happening. "To build credibility with both great powers, the four middle powers need to rebuild and bolster their strategic autonomy, material power, and commitment to the Asia-Pacific region."

Persons: Rafiq Dossani, isn't, Xi Jinping's, China's, Dossani, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, America's, RAND Corp, RAND, Business, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canada, Chinese Communist Party, NATO, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, American, South Korea, India, Beijing, Asia, South China, Pacific, Okinawa, East China, Britain, Europe, Forbes

However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine,” a Hiroshima city government spokesperson told CNN. Envoys from Russia and Belarus haven’t attended since Hiroshima excluded them in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Russia used Belarus as one of the launch pads for its assault and later moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons there. “As a city of international peace, Hiroshima city needs to invite all nations, regardless of whether they are at war or not,” said Kunihiko Sakuma, president of Hiroshima Hidankyo, an atomic bomb survivors’ advocacy group. Hiroshima authorities said they only send invitations to countries with embassies in Japan and have never invited Palestinian representatives to the ceremony.

Persons: haven’t, Israel, ”, Hiroshima’s, Belarus haven’t, Tetsuji Kumada, Khan Younis, Mohammed Salem, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelensky, Naoya Azuma, Kunihiko Sakuma, Yoko Kamikawa, Junko Ogura Organizations: Tokyo CNN —, CNN, “, ”, European Union, Hiroshima’s, Russia, Hamas, Reuters, AP Japan, Kyodo, ” Kyodo, Mission of Locations: Tokyo CNN — Hiroshima, Gaza, Hiroshima, Israel, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, ”, “ Russia, Nagasaki, Palestine, Japan, Israeli, Al, Khan, Reuters Japanese, Hiroshima Peace, Kyiv, Tokyo, Mission of Palestine

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