Entrenched: The group's officials, gunmen and police are supervising rubble clearance and delivery as well as providing police patrols. This hold on power represents a challenge to making the ceasefire with Israel permanent. Our World News podcast takes a closer look at Hamas' hold on the strip. The deal also puts Benjamin Netanyahu in a squeeze between his far-right allies and Trump. Israel's military raided the West Bank in an offensive against militants, providing another threat to the Gaza deal.
And in Ukraine: Trump's attempts to use tariff threats to force Russia into ending its war with Ukraine struck some Russian politicians and nationalists as disrespectful, insulting and ill-informed. Vladimir Putin is concerned about the economy, and some in the Russian elite harbor the view that labor shortages, high interest rates and record military spending make a negotiated settlement desirable.
I'll always have Paris: Michael Bloomberg's philanthropy arm said it will provide money to help cover the U.S. contribution to the U.N. climate body's budget after Trump said he would end climate funding. And in the U.S. Southwest, projections for a hotter and drier climate means we're going to get more "fast fires."
Police rescued the co-founder of a French crypto firm after he and his wife were kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers freed the wife, whom they kept at a different location. They mutilated the husband's hand.
Afghan girls should return to school, the Taliban's acting foreign minister said. The comments were among the strongest public criticism in recent years by a Taliban official of the school closings.
Fentanyl deaths are down in the U.S., but not on the Alamo Navajo reservation in southern New Mexico. I strongly recommend reading this story. If you've never been to this part of the country, I assure you, it's really something else.
Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.
Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here.
