| | | | | | | Hello. We bring you the latest diplomatic developments around the Israel-Gaza war, as aid agencies say they could run out of fuel today. My colleague Kayla Epstein was in the New York court where Donald Trump "reunited" with his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified against him in a fraud trial. At the end of the newsletter, you'll find a story from New Zealand that's so loud I can almost hear it from London. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | UN running out of fuel in Gaza | | | | The war had a brutal impact on Gaza's children. Source: Reuters |
| | The main UN agency in Gaza says it will run out of fuel tonight, amid increasing calls for "humanitarian pauses" between Israel and Hamas to get more humanitarian aid into the enclave. When the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it would soon have no fuel to operate at all, the Israeli military pointed to what it said were 500,000 litres of fuel stored in Gaza. "Ask Hamas if you can have some," it said on social media. The UN, whose secretary general Antonio Guterres is facing increasingly virulent criticism from Israel, also said more than a third of hospitals in Gaza are shut. Those which are still working are on the brink of cancelling life-saving treatment, reports our correspondent in Gaza Rushdi Abualouf. Shelling has continued in Gaza, including the southern city of Khan Younis, with Israel saying its strikes targeted Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons sites. | | • | The latest: Israel Defense Forces say it killed Hamas divers attempting to infiltrate Israel by sea. Follow our updates live. | | • | Children of Gaza: My colleague Fergal Keane has been looking into the impact of the war on children in the enclave. The territory's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 2,300 children have been killed since 7 October. Watch his report. | | • | Fears of escalation: There are still concern that the conflict could expand, our correspondent in Lebanon Hugo Bachega reports. Syrian state media says eight soldiers were killed by Israeli air strikes in Daraa overnight |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Hurricane Otis: An "extremely dangerous" storm has made landfall in southern Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said. The NHC warned of "destructive waves" and heavy flooding in coastal areas, including in Acapulco. | | • | Is fourth time the charm?: US Republicans have picked Congressman Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Republican nominees "have developed the political lifespan of mayflies", wrote my colleague Anthony Zurcher when the third party appointee, Tom Emmer, dropped hours after his nomination. | | • | Transgender rights: Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to require citizens to be sterilised before they can officially change genders. A 2004 law said Japanese could only change their gender if they have no reproductive capacity. | | • | Threatened species: Global banking giants such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs and UBS are investing in companies which produce traditional Chinese medicines containing leopard and pangolin parts, a report has found. | | • | Earthquake aftermath: Hundreds of residents of the Moroccan town of Amizmiz have protested against local authorities, accusing them of delaying aid weeks after a deadly earthquake destroyed their homes. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | New York County Courthouse | | 'Heck of a renuion' | | Five years after they last met in person, former US president Donald Trump and his former "fixer" turned arch-enemy, Michael Cohen, were reunited in court. The lawyer took the stand yesterday in Mr Trump's fraud trial. | | | Dressed in a blue blazer, Mr Cohen had ditched the tie but kept his signature hangdog expression and thick Long Island accent. Over several hours, Mr Cohen provided damaging testimony that repeatedly tied his own actions, and the actions of all the employees at the Trump Organization, directly to Mr Trump. "Whatever issues he had, whatever created ire for him, he would bring it to me in order to resolve it," he told the court.
In this setting, there was not much Mr Trump could offer in response aside from folded arms and a stony expression. But in the court of public opinion, Mr Trump has sought to paint his former personal counsel as a traitor and a "rat". |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | The UAE firm taking over Africa's ports | | | | DP World pledged in 2021 to invest $1bn in Africa over the next several years. Credit: Reuters |
| | The Emirati maritime giant DP World signed a $250m (£205m) deal with Tanzania this weekend, further entrenching the dominance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Africa's freight industry. It also shows Abu Dhabi is increasingly becoming a political and economic counterweight to the West in the continent, particularly in the Horn of Africa, explains Beverly Ochieng. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Sour grapes | | You might have balsamic vinegar in your kitchen. But have you tasted the real thing? | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Residents of Porirua, in New Zealand, have launched a petition against car park events where songs such as Céline Dion's My Heart Will Go On are blasted through rows of megaphones and sirens installed on cars until 2am. "Sleep is a basic human right," a supporter of the petition wrote. | |
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| | | | | | Essential List Newsletter | | The week’s best stories, handpicked by BBC editors, in your inbox every Friday. | | |
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– Jules |
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