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| The funeral for an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza on Monday. Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated Press |
Soldiers killed during construction of buffer zone
The Israeli military suffered its deadliest day of the Gaza ground invasion on Monday, announcing that 24 soldiers had been killed, about 20 of them in an explosion inside the territory near the Israeli border.
The blast occurred after Gazan militants fired toward a tank guarding an Israeli unit that had been setting explosives inside Palestinian buildings on the border in central Gaza with the intention of demolishing them, the Israeli military said. In the firefight, the explosives went off, killing many of the soldiers inside, the military said.
Israel wants to demolish many Palestinian buildings close to the border to create what it describes as a border-long “security zone” of up to roughly six-tenths of a mile to make attacks by Hamas less likely, according to officials. That would effectively reduce the size of Gaza, a process the U.S. opposes.
Criticism: To Palestinians, the practice is cruel and would keep Gazans from being able to return to their homes. Critics say the practice is part of a wider disregard for civilian housing and property. The majority of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged during the war, according to U.N. estimates, and more than 25,000 Gazans have been killed, according to Gazan officials.
In other news from the war:
| More than half a million people in Gaza face “catastrophic hunger,” a U.N. aid agency said, and it called for a critical increase in aid as the “risk of famine grows.”A U.N. office said Israel’s treatment of thousands of Palestinian detainees, who were held in “horrific” conditions and in some cases freed wearing only diapers, might amount to torture.A Lebanese Australian journalist at Australia’s public broadcaster shared a Human Rights Watch post that was critical of Israel. A day later, she was forced to leave her role. |
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| From left, the leaders of Turkey, NATO and Sweden. Pool photo by Yves Herman |
Turkey backs Sweden’s NATO bid
Turkey’s Parliament voted to allow Sweden to join NATO, putting the Nordic country one step closer to entering the military alliance and easing a diplomatic stalemate that has clouded Turkey’s relations with the U.S. and hampered Western efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The measure would make Hungary the only NATO member that has not approved Sweden’s accession, depriving the alliance of the unanimity required to add a member. The bill’s passage is a big moment for the alliance, paving the way for expanding its deterrence against Russia.
Quotable: NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in a statement that he welcomed the news from Turkey. But, he said, “I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible.”
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| The Federal Constitutional Court. Ronald Wittek/EPA, via Shutterstock |
Germany’s top court banned public funding for neo-Nazi party
The Federal Constitutional Court in Germany stripped the neo-Nazi party Die Heimat, which means the Homeland, of the right to public financing and the tax advantages normally extended to political organizations. The decision could provide a blueprint for government efforts to head off a resurgence of the far right.
The party was already too small to receive public funding, but the case was closely watched because it could have implications for countering the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, a far more popular far-right party. Germany uses public financing of parties to diminish the power of private donations.
In France: A car plowed into a barrier set up by protesting French farmers yesterday, killing one woman and injuring her husband and daughter. The protests mirrored demonstrations in Germany, driven by a sense of marginalization among farmers that the extreme right has been quick to exploit.Continue reading the main story
| THE LATEST NEWS |
Around the World
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| Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times |
| Russia rained missiles at Ukrainian cities yesterday, killing at least 19 people and injuring another 120, according to the local authorities.A wave of violent crime has targeted visitors to Colombia, especially in the tourist destination of Medellín. Some victims were fed powerful sedatives.Agadez, a desert outpost in the West African country of Niger, had been officially closed to migration for years in a deal with the E.U. Now, the gate has reopened.A Canadian court found that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tactics in ending a truck convoy protest in January 2022 were an unjustified infringement of civil rights. |
Other Big Stories
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| Doug Mills/The New York Times |
| Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary election, continuing his momentum toward the Republican nomination.The state of Alabama plans to carry out the first U.S. execution via nitrogen hypoxia, which has been used in some assisted suicides in Europe.The Iranian authorities hanged a 23-year-old man who had been accused of killing a police officer during last year’s protests, over the objections of dozens of psychiatrists.The F.B.I. recovered the remains of Cydney Mizell, an aid worker teaching English who was abducted in Afghanistan in 2008. |
What Else Is Happening
| Using lasers, archaeologists have mapped the remnants of sprawling ancient cities in the Amazon.In a mystery that has baffled the police in England, seven giant tortoises were found dead in a forest.An 11-year-old boy who was born deaf gained the ability to hear upon receiving gene therapy. |
| Can the world’s largest cruise ship really be climate-friendly? |
A Morning Read
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| The New York Times |
The Times gathered 121 menus from restaurants all over the U.S. Together, they offer a glimpse into the tastes and values of today’s diners, who like caviar, fried chicken and yuzu and appreciate a choice of nonalcoholic beverages.
| SPORTS NEWS |
The most-watched soccer league in the U.S.: How the Premier League overtook Liga MX, the Mexican league.
Alexander Zverev: He keeps winning at the Australian Open, but nobody wants to talk about his upcoming trial on a domestic abuse charge.
Golf: Nick Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win a PGA Tour tournament when he prevailed in La Quinta, Calif.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Universal Pictures |
‘Oppenheimer’ leads the Oscar nominations
The Academy Awards bestowed 13 nominations on Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” the most for any movie, though it did not pick up a nomination for best picture. “Barbie” had eight nominations.
“Poor Things,” a twist on the Frankenstein story, received the second-highest number of nominations — 11 — including one for best picture. Joining it in the best picture category were “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Past Lives,” and “The Zone of Interest.”
Streaming companies dominated. Netflix received 18 nominations, including honors for short films. Apple TV+ received 13 nods, with “Killers of the Flower Moon” receiving 10 and “Napoleon” earning three. Amazon’s MGM division received five. Here’s a full rundown.
For more: Cillian Murphy was at his parents’ home in Cork, Ireland, when he learned he had been nominated for the best actor Oscar. Read how he felt.Continue reading the main story
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times |
Cook: Readers describe this hearty bean soup as a “sleeper hit.”
