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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Thailand’s military said today that it launched airstrikes along the disputed border with Cambodia in response to Cambodia’s attack yesterday on Thai soldiers. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he would “use necessary means to preserve [Thailand’s] sovereignty.” A spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said today that Thailand struck first, claiming they attacked Cambodian troops yesterday afternoon and again this morning. The Thai army said that more than 50,000 people have left areas near the border, while Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said that Thai forces killed four Cambodian civilians, adding that tens of thousands of residents had been displaced from several border villages. Jintamas Saksornchai and Sopheng Cheang report for AP News; BBC News reports.
The United Nations today announced that it will halve the amount of money it requests from donor countries in 2026 to help people affected by war and natural disasters. “It’s the cuts [to aid budgets] ultimately that are forcing us into these tough, tough, brutal choices that we’re having to make,” U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher told reporters. “We are overstretched, underfunded, and under attack.” Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin report for Reuters; Nick Cumming-Bruce reports for the New York Times.
Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong summoned journalists from foreign media organizations on Saturday to warn them about coverage of the city’s recent Wang Fuk Court fire, according to the New York Times. The officials told journalists that they would face consequences if they were deemed to have violated the national security law, with one saying: “Do not say you have not been warned.” In recent days, the office issued statements warning “anti-China forces” not to exploit the Wang Fuk Court fire to undermine social stability. The New York Times reports.
Nigeria’s government has secured the release of around 100 schoolchildren who were abducted last month in Niger State, a local broadcaster reported yesterday, and Niger State’s police chief confirmed today. Madina Maishanu and Basillioh Rukanga report for BBC News.
The Africa Corps, a new Russian military unit that has replaced the Wagner mercenary group in Mali, is carrying out abuses, including rapes and beheadings, alongside Mali’s military, dozens of civilians told AP News. Monika Pronczuk and Caitlin Kelly report.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Putin and five other Russians accused of war crimes in Ukraine will stay in place even if a blanket amnesty is approved in the U.S.-led peace talks, ICC prosecutors said on Friday. The prosecutors said that a U.N. Security Council resolution would be required to suspend the court-issued warrants, adding “apart from the bracket we mentioned in respect of the Security Council route, we are obligated to observe our statute, which does not give weight to some of those political arrangements.” Anthony Deutsch reports for Reuters.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held productive talks with Ukrainian national security adviser Rustem Umerov and Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Andriy Hnatov on Friday, according to U.S. officials. A White House Official said that “progress was made,” but did not provide any further details. The participants are said to have discussed the developments arising from Witkoff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier last week. Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk, and Andrea Shalal report for Reuters.
Russia unleashed more than 650 drones and 51 missiles on towns and cities across Ukraine in an overnight assault on Friday, according to Ukrainian officials. On Saturday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had “just had a long and substantive phone call” with Witkoff and Kushner, during which they “agreed on the next steps and formats for talks with the United States.” One source told Axios that the territory discussion was difficult, with another source adding that the United States is trying to develop new ideas to bridge the issue. Cassandra Vinograd, Oleksandr Chubko, and Maria Varenikova report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
“We are starting a new diplomatic week right now – there will be consultations with European leaders,” Zelenskyy said yesterday in a video address. He is set to meet with British, French and German leaders in London today. Olena Harmash reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE
The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Gen. Eyal Zamir, told his troops yesterday in Gaza that “the Yellow Line is a new border line – serving as a forward defensive for our communities and a line of operational activity.” Zamir’s comments come amid uncertainty over how the next phase of the peace plan, requiring Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw further from Gaza, will be implemented. James Shotter reports for the Financial Times.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the second phase of the U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza was close, but still hinged on unresolved issues such as whether a multinational security force would enter Gaza. Netanyahu said that he is set to hold talks with Trump at the end of the month on how to ensure the second phase is achieved. Alexander Cornwell reports for Reuters.
“We can talk about freezing or storing or laying down [weapons], with the Palestinian guarantees, not to use it at all during this ceasefire time or truce,” senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AP News yesterday. Naim suggested a long-term truce of five or ten years for discussions aimed at the establishment of a Palestinian state to take place, adding that Hamas is “very open minded” about what to do with its weapons. Josef Federman and Samy Magdy report.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Israeli soldiers yesterday shot at three Palestinians who were throwing rocks at cars in the occupied West Bank and killed one of them, the Israeli military said, adding that one other person was “neutralized” and one was arrested. The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that one person had been killed and one wounded in the incident. On Saturday, Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian teenager who, the Israeli army says, was driving a car towards them and a bystander at a checkpoint in Hebron. Ali Sawafta and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
A drone attack, allegedly by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, hit a kindergarten in Sudan’s South Kordofan region, killing 50 people, including 33 children, Sudan’s Doctors’ Network said on Friday. The death toll is expected to be higher, but communication blackouts in the area have made it difficult to report. AP News reports.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Top Democrats yesterday called for the release of a classified video of the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug vessel, in which two survivors of an initial strike were killed by a follow-up strike. “It seems pretty clear they don’t want to release this video because they don’t want people to see it, because it’s very, very difficult to justify,” Democratic leader of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said yesterday. Megan Mineiro reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO’s conventional defense capabilities by 2027, Pentagon officials told European diplomats in Washington last week, according to five sources. Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was not satisfied with the steps Europe has taken to boost its defense capabilities, adding that if Europe does not meet the 2027 deadline, the United States may stop participating in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms. Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
The United States, Israel, and Qatar yesterday held a trilateral meeting in New York to rebuild relations after the Israeli strike in Doha, two sources told Axios. Barak Ravid reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
New Orleans City Council leaders on Friday pushed back against the Homeland Security Department’s “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” calling for DHS to release arrest data, for federal agents to remove their masks and for the department to offer clear due process protections. Mayor-elect Helena Moreno issued five demands, which she says were sent directly to Border Patrol agent Gregory Bovino, who is leading the New Orleans-area operation. Chelsea Brasted reports for Axios.
While immigration authorities have insisted the sweeps in New Orleans are targeted at “criminal illegal aliens,” law enforcement records shared with AP News detail criminal histories for less than a third of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the operation. The records also show that state and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism of the immigration crackdown, monitoring message boards for threats to agents and compiling data on public sentiment surrounding the arrests. Jim Mustian and Jack Brook report.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to return Faustino Pablo Pablo, a man it deported to Guatemala in violation of an immigration court’s finding that he was likely to face torture there. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday deported around 50 Iranian citizens on a chartered plane, making stops in Egypt and then Kuwait, where the Iranians would transfer onto a different flight to Tehran, according to two Iranian officials. A U.S. official confirmed the flight had taken off yesterday and described it as a routine deportation flight that included nationals from other countries, not just Iran. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A bicameral version of the National Defense Authorization Act, set for a vote as soon as this week, would authorize around $8 billion more for the military than the Trump administration had requested. The legislation would also place new restrictions on reducing troop levels in Europe, standing in contrast to Trump’s new national security strategy published last week. The legislation Connor O’Brien reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from using key evidence in its efforts to seek another indictment against former FBI Director James B. Comey, following an emergency filing on Friday night by Daniel C. Richman arguing that the DOJ had obtained his files in violation of his constitutional rights and should not be allowed to use them in any attempt to re-indict Comey. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge on Friday granted the DOJ’s request to publicly release grand jury records related to the criminal prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge said that the new law requiring the department to disclose nearly all investigative records into Epstein held by the DOJ surpasses the standard regulations prohibiting the public release of grand jury material. Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday rebuked Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) for his “lack of loyalty” as Cuellar announced that he will be running for Congress again as a Democrat just days after Trump pardoned him. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
Trump said on Friday that winning the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize was “truly one of the greatest honors” of his life. “The fact that we could do that, in India, Pakistan, so many different wars that we were able to end, in some cases, a little bit before they started, just right before they started … but we got them done,” Trump said at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. Josephine Walker reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will hear arguments on the Trump administration’s executive order eliminating birthright citizenship. Justin Jouvenal reports for the Washington Post.
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration exceeded its authority in holding migrants designated for deportation at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The judge rejected the administration’s request to dismiss a class-action challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The judge also denied class certification of the case with respect to the named Plaintiffs’ habeas corpus claim, while certifying a class of “all immigration detainees originally apprehended and detained in the United States who have been ordered removed…and who are, or will be, held at the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
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