 |
| Children in the wreckage of a car in Rafah. The U.N. warned of dire food shortages in Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
U.N. warned of famine in Gaza
Civilians and aid groups have described food shortages in Gaza so dire that people were turning to leaves and animal feed for sustenance.
The lack of food was particularly acute in northern and central areas, where the U.N. and relief agencies said they had been struggling to deliver supplies amid Israel’s military campaign.
A U.N. humanitarian official told the U.N. Security Council that at least a quarter of Gaza’s residents were “one step away from famine,” and one in six children under 2 in northern Gaza was suffering from acute malnutrition.
A cease-fire remained elusive, as Hamas’s political leader called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to defy Israeli restrictions and march to the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem at the start of Ramadan, creating the prospect of clashes between them and the Israeli security forces.
 |
| Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. Gonzalo Fuentes/RTR, via Associated Press |
Macron’s comments unnerved allies
With his jolting statement that sending Western troops to Ukraine “should not be ruled out,” President Emmanuel Macron of France spread dismay among allies and forced a reckoning on Europe’s future.
By lurching forward without building consensus, Macron may have done more to illustrate Western divisions than to achieve the “strategic ambiguity” he says is needed to keep President Vladimir Putin of Russia guessing.
Countries from the U.S. to Sweden rejected the deployment of troops, and Macron’s statement underlined Franco-German differences on the war when Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out not only the deployment of German forces but of any “ground troops from European countries or NATO.”
At home, where Macron’s popularity has fallen and he does not command an absolute majority in Parliament, he faced an outcry over an apparent policy shift decided on without any national debate, a recurrent issue throughout a highly centralized, top-down presidency.
 |
| The view from a hilltop above Sarajevo. Vladimir Zivojinovic for The New York Times |
Bosnia faces a peacetime exodus
In Bosnia, a small, ethnically fractured nation that endured a bitter war from 1992 to 1995, the population has declined long after peace returned.
Bosnia combines the high rate of emigration common to poorer countries with the low birthrate more frequently seen in wealthier nations. The country’s shrinking population is part of a broader demographic crisis afflicting many places in Eastern and Central Europe, including relatively prosperous countries like Poland and Hungary, as withering populations fuel ethnonationalist politicians who inveigh against the dilution, even extinction, of native groups.Continue reading the main story
| THE LATEST NEWS |
Europe
 |
| Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
| Aleksei Navalny will be buried on Friday. A funeral is planned in Moscow, if the authorities allow it to happen.France moved a step closer to enshrining access to abortion in its Constitution.The Princess of Wales has not been seen in public since Christmas, and underwent abdominal surgery last month, fueling rumors and concern about her health. |
International
| Migration to the U.S. through the Darién Gap halted, at least temporarily, after the arrest of two boat captains who had helped ferry migrants through the dangerous jungle passage.China legally broadened the type of information that could be considered a state secret, increasing risks for foreign businesses operating there.Ghana’s Parliament passed a bill that imposes jail terms on people who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. or organize gay advocacy groups. |
U.S.
| The second-largest wildfire on record raged across more than half a million acres of Texas yesterday, forcing evacuations across the state’s sparsely populated Panhandle region.Aaron Bushnell, a U.S. Airman who lit himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington to protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, left an isolated Christian community for the Air Force before turning to activism.The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether Donald Trump is immune from charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, further delaying his criminal trial, possibly even until after the 2024 election.A New York appeals court rejected Trump’s initial attempt to pause the more than $450 million judgment he faces in a civil fraud trial, potentially exposing him to financial peril. |
U.S. Politics
| Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican Senate leader, announced that he would give up his leadership spot after the November elections.Congressional leaders said yesterday that they had agreed to a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. |
A Morning Read
 |
| Amazon Studios |
Drayton House, a Northamptonshire, England, mansion with over 100 rooms, has existed for close to 700 years in private hands and relative obscurity.
But that was before it was featured in “Saltburn,” a film that has generated a flood of internet commentary, including videos about how to visit the mansion. Hundreds of tourists have since flocked to see the house in a part of the country that is usually tranquil.
Lives lived: Richard Lewis was an acerbic stand-up comic known for playing himself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He died at 76.
| SPORTS NEWS |
Early contenders: Who will win the Premier League’s player of the year award?
The longest-ever season: How Formula 1 drivers and teams are preparing for 24 races.
The Match: The golf event is back with a new format and bright stars.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
 |
| Woohae Cho for The New York Times |
A K-Pop star’s lonely spiral
Goo Hara became one of South Korea’s most popular musical artists as a member of the girl group Kara. But with fame came vicious attacks on social media from a Korean public as quick to criticize stars as it is to fawn over them.
Goo endured more intense harassment after a sordid legal fight with an ex-boyfriend. She died by suicide in November 2019.
Her death was just one of several among young Korean entertainers in recent years, exposing a darker side to South Korea’s entertainment industry.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of resources or https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp, a search page for international help lines for suicidal thoughts and other mental health and emotional struggles.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
 |
| David Malosh for The New York Times |
Cook: Brussels sprouts star in this hearty riff on a wilted salad.
