| A protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Itay Cohen/Reuters |
U.S. and Israel float ‘all or nothing’ Gaza deal
After months of work on a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza that has appeared to reach an impasse, U.S. and Israeli officials have signaled that they will push for a comprehensive agreement to end the war.
“We think that we have to shift this negotiation to ‘all or nothing’ — everybody comes home,” Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s envoy to the Middle East, said in an audio recording of a meeting with hostages’ families over the weekend.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Trump are said to be working on a deal that would present Hamas with an ultimatum: release the remaining hostages and agree to terms that would disarm the group, or Israel’s military campaign would continue.
The prospect of quickly advancing toward such a deal appeared dim. Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, said that the group had not received a proposal for a comprehensive deal and that while Hamas supported such an agreement in principle, it would not disarm.
The shift in tone comes as the Israeli government faces global criticism over starvation in Gaza and growing domestic pressure to secure the release of the hostages still held there. Hamas released a video on Friday showing Evyatar David, one of the 20 hostages Israel believes are still living, emaciated in what appeared to be an underground tunnel.
How Trump’s tariff threat derailed Lesotho
When the Trump administration finalized its tariffs last week, it looked as if Lesotho had gotten off easy: The small southern African nation would face tariffs of 15 percent, not the 50 percent rate that Trump announced in April. But the damage had already been done.
John Eligon, our Johannesburg bureau chief, spoke to my colleague Katrin Bennhold about the chaos caused by tariffs in Lesotho, where the textile sector accounts for 90 percent of industrial jobs. Click here to watch.
Most of Lesotho’s textiles have been exported duty-free to the U.S. since a law passed over two decades ago. Trump’s threatened 50 percent tariff, the highest rate any nation initially faced, made many U.S. companies stop placing orders. Some factories shut down part or all of their production, leading to thousands of layoffs.
For more: The tariffs are already a source of revenue for the U.S. government, which may make them hard to reverse.
| Russia’s efforts include a state-approved messaging app. Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Image |
Putin tightened control of Russia’s internet
New laws signed by President Vladimir Putin this past week will crack down on workarounds that Russians have been using to gain access to foreign apps and banned content.
The Kremlin is trying to build a state-controlled internet by replacing Western tech products with Russian alternatives that can be easily monitored and censored. They include a new state-approved messaging service, MAX, which will come preinstalled on all new smartphones sold in Russia starting next month. Moscow is also expanding an effort to block VPNs and prevent their use by everyday Russians.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| Russia: A long-dormant volcano in Kamchatka, in the country’s Far East, erupted for the first time in 400 years. Ukraine: The authorities have arrested several officials, accusing them of taking part in a bribery scheme involving military procurement. Migration: More than 60 migrants died after their overloaded boat capsized as they attempted to cross into Yemen. Oil: Eight OPEC Plus producers, led by Saudi Arabia, said they would continue increasing production despite forecasts that supply will soon exceed demand. India: Officials said that they would keep buying cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from President Trump. Trump: Jack Smith, the former special counsel who investigated Trump, is under investigation for possibly violating a law barring federal workers from engaging in political activity. China: Public employees have been ordered to hand in their passports as the authorities seek to limit travel and contact with foreigners. Chile: Rescuers discovered the bodies of three missing miners after the collapse of a large copper mine last week. Two other miners are missing. Haiti: A team of U.S. military contractors that went to fight gangs in Haiti was forced to leave early, and two of its members are missing and presumed dead. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Formula 1: Lando Norris held off his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and cut the gap in the championship race to just 9 points. Soccer: Manchester United’s head coach Ruben Amorim spoke to The Athletic about his team’s future. Tennis: Coco Gauff suffered a shock defeat against the wild card entrant Victoria Mboko at the Canadian Open. |
| MORNING READ |
More than 2,000 lighthouses and other beacons oversee Norway’s rocky coast. Some have stood for centuries, and updating that far-flung network, which is now fully automated, is not easy.
Technicians are visiting and refurbishing lighthouses one by one. The photographer Michal Siarek captured their journey. Take a look.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| J.M.W. Turner painted over 100 coastal views from Margate, a seaside town in England. Tom Jamieson for The New York Times |
| Light master: 250 years after his birth, the Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner helps us see the world clearly. “A little restraint”: A seaside town in France is asking beach-going tourists to please keep their clothes on. Last act: Tatiana Andia turned her pursuit of medically assisted death into activism for the rights of other terminally ill people. Overstay: A reader who has housed his brother for years wonders when letting him couch surf becomes too much. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
Catholic influencers
The Catholic Church has long been trying to expand its appeal to young people; for years the Vatican has run an account for the pope on social media. Now it is embracing influencers who promote their faith online.
A gathering of hundreds of mostly young Catholic influencers from 70 countries kicked off the Jubilee of Youth celebrations last week in Rome. Nicola Campo, a popular Italian TikToker, said that “it was right that the Church recognized this new type of evangelization and supported it.”
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
Cook: Lemon, Parmesan and basil come together in a sauce that makes this pasta sing.
