Good morning. We’re covering an Israeli attack in Gaza and results from key elections in Japan. Plus, “Eddington” takes us back to the pandemic.
Israel killed dozens of Palestinians seeking aid, Gaza officials saidIsraeli forces yesterday killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians who were gathered in northern Gaza to receive aid from U.N. trucks entering the territory, the Gaza health ministry and health workers said. The health ministry and a hospital director in Gaza City said that more than 60 people were killed in the attack, which took place near the Zikim crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. A nearby field hospital was flooded with victims, including more than 100 who were wounded. Israel’s military said that its soldiers had fired warning shots, and that they had opened fire to “remove an immediate threat,” which it did not specify. It also said the reported toll from the violence did “not align” with its review, and that it was continuing to examine the episode. The U.N. World Food Program said that its convoy of 25 trucks carrying food for Palestinians had been entering northern Gaza when it “encountered large crowds of civilians anxiously waiting to access desperately needed food supplies.” “As the convoy approached,” it added, “the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.” Chaos has dominated aid distribution in Gaza, where Palestinians are facing widespread hunger. Israeli soldiers have repeatedly opened fire near huge crowds of Palestinians seeking food and other aid. Evacuations: After the shooting, the Israeli military warned Palestinians to leave the populated areas of northern Gaza and parts of Gaza City, describing them as “combat zones.”
Japan’s leader vowed to stay on despite his party’s defeatJapan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said yesterday that he had a “responsibility” to continue to lead after his governing coalition suffered a major defeat in parliamentary elections. Before vote counting was finished, members of his party were calling on him to resign. Ishiba’s Liberal Democrats and their coalition partner lost control of the Upper House, leaving the Liberal Democrats, who have led Japan for most of the past seven decades, a minority party in both chambers of Parliament. The party failed to convince enough voters that it could resolve a variety of issues that included rising prices of staples like rice, tariff talks with the United States and eroding opportunities for younger people. What’s next: If Ishiba is forced to step down, analysts said, it could create political paralysis at a time when Japan faces tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, as well as an increasingly assertive China next door. Populist surge: The biggest winners in the election were the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito. Both parties have made right-wing populist appeals to younger voters.
Lawmakers want more Epstein files releasedRepublicans and Democrats called for more files to be released about the investigation of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, adding another obstacle to President Trump’s efforts to dispel criticism and conspiracy theories coming from many of his supporters over the Epstein case. The lawmakers suggested that the Justice Department’s request last week to unseal grand jury testimony in the case was not enough. Trump and Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, socialized together for nearly 15 years until they had a falling out around 2004. Here’s the story of their long friendship.
Like other K-pop boy bands, Big Ocean sings, raps, dances and attracts swooning fans. It also incorporates something else into its performances: sign language. The band members — Lee Chan-yeon, 27; Park Hyun-jin, 25; and Kim Ji-seok, 22 — are all deaf or hard of hearing. They use audio technology to help make their music. Fans are devoted, and many are learning sign languages from the band. Lives lived: Peter Phillips, a vanguard figure in the British Pop Art movement of the 1960s who captured postwar culture’s swirl of sex and consumerism, died. He was 86.
‘Eddington’ takes us back to the pandemicAri Aster made his name as a horror director with “Hereditary” and “Midsommar.” His new film, “Eddington,” enters more familiar territory: It’s a western set during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Reality felt so unreal during those months, and Aster captures that mood in a dystopian movie about a world gone mad. Our critic Alissa Wilkinson said that the film — which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone — at times left her giggling. Yet “Eddington” can’t help but make a point, perhaps in spite of itself. She declared it a Times Critic’s Pick. For more: As a director, Aster terrifies us. As a man, he is afraid of everything. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
Bake: It’s simple to pull together Nigella Lawson’s blueberry upside-down cake. Travel: Spend 36 hours in Key West, Fla., one of the most gay-friendly cities in the U.S. Read: Our editors have made a list of the best books of the year (so far). Listen: Justin Bieber’s “Swag” is a winning example of an artist willing to toss out the old playbook. |
