Israeli leader Netanyahu faces growing pressure at home after Biden’s Gaza proposal
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s prime minister faces growing pressure after U.S. President Joe Biden described a proposed agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. Many Israelis are urging Benjamin Netanyahu to embrace the deal, but far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. Netanyahu is calling a permanent cease-fire in Gaza a “nonstarter” until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met. A huge demonstration Saturday night in Israel led by families of hostages held by Hamas is urging the government to act now. Mediators the U.S., Egypt and Qatar say the proposed deal “offers a road map for a permanent cease-fire and ending the crisis.”
The Israeli army says it investigates itself. Where do those investigations stand?
JERUSALEM (AP) — Throughout the seven-month Israel-Hamas war, Israel has been heavily criticized for alleged wrongdoing by its forces. Israel says it can investigate itself and has launched many probes into the conduct of its soldiers. But in the wake of a deadly strike on a tent camp in Rafah, there’s mounting international skepticism that Israel can fairly and diligently pursue those investigations.
Trump’s attacks on US justice system after guilty verdict could be useful to autocrats like Putin
After his historic guilty verdict, Donald Trump attacked the U.S. criminal justice system. He made unfounded claims of a “rigged” trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. Former senior White House national security advisor Fiona Hill and other analysts say Trump’s attacks could be useful to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other autocrats. Those leaders hope to boost their standing among their own citizens, potentially sway the upcoming U.S. presidential election in which Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the United States’ global influence. Moscow agreed with Trump’s assessment of Thursday’s verdict. A Kremlin spokesman called it the “elimination of political rivals by all possible legal or illegal means.”
Black leaders call out Trump’s criminal justice contradictions as he rails against guilty verdict
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump lambasted the guilty verdict of his hush money trial this week from the same Manhattan courthouse that was the site of one of the most notorious examples of injustice in recent New York history that he had a part in. It’s the courthouse where five Black and Latino youths were wrongly convicted 34 years ago in the beating and rape of a white female jogger. Trump famously took out a newspaper ad in New York City in the aftermath of the 1989 attack calling for the execution of the accused. Trump is blasting that same criminal justice system as corrupt and rigged against him. Some Black Americans found irony in that.
Zelenskyy accuses China of pressuring other countries not to attend upcoming Ukraine peace talks
SINGAPORE (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused China of helping Russia to disrupt a Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Speaking Sunday at a news conference at the Shangri-La conference in Singapore, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other countries and leaders not to attend. He implied that China is doing Russia’s bidding, saying it is regrettable that such a powerful country as China is being used by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy made the remarks after speaking at an annual Asia-Pacific security conference. He said he is seeking Asian attendance at the peace conference, which is being organized by Switzerland.
Iran’s hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers for June 28 presidential election
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a possible candidate for the June 28 presidential election, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the nation’s president and seven others. The populist former leader’s registration puts pressure on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In office, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric, and his attempt to run in 2021 was barred by authorities. The firebrand, Holocaust-questioning politician return also comes during a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, its arming of Russia in its war on Ukraine and its wide-reaching crackdowns on dissent.
South Africa’s ‘humbled’ ANC talking to all parties as country looks for way forward after election
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A top official with South Africa’s African National Congress party says it’s talking to everyone in an effort to form a stable coalition government for Africa’s most advanced economy after it lost its 30-year majority in last week’s election. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said Sunday the party was open to negotiations, even with the main opposition Democratic Alliance. The DA has led the chorus of criticism of the ANC but a coalition agreement is viewed by many analysts as the most stable coalition option for South Africa. The ANC received just over 40% of the vote to lose its long dominance of South African politics and Mbalula said it had been “humbled.”
Most US students are recovering from pandemic-era setbacks, but millions are making up little ground
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — America’s schools have just started making progress toward getting students back on track after they fell behind by historic margins during the pandemic. But improvement has varied widely by geography and economic status. Millions of students including those who are poor or marginalized have made up little or none of the ground they lost during pandemic school closures. The Education Recovery Scorecard project at Harvard and Stanford says Virginia students were behind in reading by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level in 2023. The state has added $418 million to boost recovery efforts. But among other states with lagging progress, few say they are changing their strategies to speed up improvement.
A growing community of breast milk donors in Uganda gives mothers hope
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A community of breast milk donors has formed in Uganda after women struggled with finding ways to keep their babies with health issues alive. The nonprofit is the only group outside a hospital setting in the East African country that conserves breast milk in substantial amounts. More than 200 mothers have donated breast milk to support over 450 babies since mid-2021. The administrator says that “every mother who has given us milk, they are kind of attached to us. They are we; we are them.”
California firefighters battle wind-driven wildfire east of San Francisco overnight
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California firefighters aided by aircraft are battling a wind-driven wildfire in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, says gusty winds were fueling the Corral Fire that began Saturday afternoon and continued early Sunday morning near the city of Tracy, 60 miles east of San Francisco. Cal Fire has updated the size of the fire to 17.2 square miles with 13% contained from an earlier report of 15.6 square miles. Interstate 580 connecting the San Francisco Bay Area to central California has been closed in both directions near the fire.
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