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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Azerbaijan conducted military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh for a second day as part of its “anti-terror” campaign yesterday. Azerbaijan said its operations would continue until all ethnic-Armenian separatists surrender. Azerbaijan and Armenia last went to war three years ago. Paul Kirby reports for BBC News.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rejected India’s denial that it was involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader in British Columbia, and again called on India to take his assassination allegation seriously. “We are not looking to provoke or escalate,” Trudeau said. “We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them, and we want to work with the government of India.” Ian Austen, Vjosa Isai, and Peter Baker report for the New York Times.
Survivors of the deadly flood in the Libyan coastal city of Derna have begun protesting, calling for an international investigation into the disaster. Protestors set the mayor’s home on fire. The government has responded by limiting access to the internet and cellular services and ordering some international rescue organizations and journalists to leave. Chao Deng, Summer Said, and Benoit Faucon report for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world to unite to end Russian aggression against Ukraine, telling the U.N. General Assembly that “evil cannot be trusted.” “While Russia is pushing the world to the final war, Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after the Russian aggression, no one in the world will dare to attack any nation,” Zelenskyy said. He also accused Russia of “genocide” by abducting Ukrainian children. James Landale and Jaroslav Lukiv report for BBC News.
Ukraine’s use of domestically-produced sea drones has allowed Ukraine to erode much of Russia’s naval superiority, reopening the Black Sea to commercial shipping. Commercial vessels have entered Ukraine’s main port of Odesa without seeking Russia’s permission for the first time since the full-scale invasion began. Yaroslav Trofimov reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Russia has been in the International Court of Justice this week following Ukraine’s claim the full-scale invasion violates the Genocide Convention of 1948. Russia has argued that its “special military operation” is not covered by the Genocide Convention. “The legality of these actions [falls] under the U.N. Charter and customary international law,” Alfredo Crosato, a lawyer for Russia, said. The United States sought to intervene to support Ukraine, but the court ruled it was ineligible because it was not bound by the Genocide Convention. Jess Bravin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. RELATIONS
The Biden administration is discussing terms of a mutual defense treaty with Saudi Arabia, similar to military pacts with Japan and South Korea, to incentivize the normalization of the Saudi relationship with Israel. If agreed, the United States and Saudi Arabia would agree to provide military assistance if the other is attacked in the region. Edward Wong and Mark Mazzetti report for the New York Times.
The diplomatic tension between Canada and India, following the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader, has made President Biden’s effort to build ties with India more difficult. To not upset either side, the United States has been offering support for Canada’s investigation and urging India to cooperate without criticizing India or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yasmeen Abutaleb, Ellen Nakashima, and Gerry Shih report for the Washington Post.
President Biden is set to host a second summit with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum at the White House on Monday. The planned summit is part of the United State’s effort to engage in the region as competition with China for influence builds. Reuters reports.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Hunter Biden intends to plead not guilty to three federal gun charges, his lawyer said in a filing yesterday. Hunter Biden also seeks to hold the hearing by videoconference instead of appearing in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. Glenn Thrush reports for the New York Times.
Ray Epps, an ex-supporter of former President Trump accused of being a federal agent by online conspiracy theorists, has been charged with disorderly conduct for his actions during the Jan. 6 attack. He is expected to appear in court today. In July, Epps sued Fox News over the rumors that he was an FBI agent, accusing the network of defamation. Mike Wendling reports for BBC News.
House Republicans failed to agree on a stopgap funding bill yesterday, increasing the chances of a government shutdown. While Republicans are generally united on the need to curb federal spending, they are divided over the process. Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Paul Kane, and Amy B Wang report for the Washington Post.
Molly Michael, an ex-assistant to former President Trump, informed investigators that Trump told her to say she knew nothing about the boxes containing classified documents hidden in his Mar-a-Lago home. “You don’t know anything about the boxes,” Trump told Michael. Michale also said Trump wrote notes to himself on documents – some marked as classified – that he gave her listing tasks he wanted done. Maggie Haberman and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times.
Nicholas Dominici, a one-year-old, died of a suspected drug overdose last week after over two pounds of fentanyl were tucked under a nap mat at a nursery in New York City. Three other children were taken to hospital. Two people have been charged with drug conspiracy and murder. Max Matza reports for BBC News.
Students for Fair Admissions, the group that successfully challenged affirmative action in college admissions, sued the U.S. Military Academy at West Point yesterday, arguing that race-conscious admissions violate the Constitution. Mariah Timms and Erin Mulvaney report for the Wall Street Journal.
President Biden is set to announce the creation of a federal office of gun violence prevention this week, the first of its kind, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. The plan comes after there have been 504 mass shootings this year. Myah Ward reports for POLITICO.
The House Oversight Committee is scheduling the first hearing in their impeachment inquiry into President Biden for September 28. The Committee may issue its first subpoenas to the President’s son and brother this week. Annie Grayer reports for CNN.
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