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The Washington DC national guard began deploying on the city’s streets on Tuesday night, as the city’s mayor toughened her response to Donald Trump taking control of the city’s police force.
The unusual federalization of law enforcement in the US capital began a day after the president ordered the troops’ arrival, calling Washington DC a “lawless” city despite official crime statistics saying otherwise, a White House official confirmed.
About 850 officers and agents took part in a “massive law enforcement surge” across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House has said. The violent crime rate in Washington DC is at a 30-year low.
What did Washington’s mayor say? Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor of Washington, hardened her stance after treading a more diplomatic line earlier in the day. During a live event on social media on Tuesday night, she described the arrival of federalized national guard members as an authoritarian push. Other critics have said the move seeks to distract attention from political problems such as the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Israel intensifies bombing of Gaza, killing 89 Palestinians in 24 hours
Israel has intensified its bombing of Gaza, killing at least 89 Palestinians in 24 hours, including at least 15 people lining up for food, despite global outcry over the deaths of six journalists in the territory on the day before.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City had intensified in the three days after Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved plans to expand the war in the territory.
Five more people, including two children, were reported to have died of starvation, as the foreign ministers of 24 countries including the UK, Australia, France, Spain and Japan warned that “humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels”.
What is the humanitarian cost of Israel’s assault on Gaza? Over the past 22 months of war, more than 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Disease and sickness are rife in the territory as solid waste accumulates and people live tightly packed together, with limited access to clean water or hygiene products.
How many people have now died of starvation? The total number of hunger-related deaths recorded is now 227, including 103 children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. And Gaza is facing a new threat as diseases resistant to antibiotics spread, research reveals.
What is the situation with sick children in Gaza awaiting evacuation? Getting approved for a medical evacuation is an arduous process that can take years. Gaza’s ministry of health says more than 16,000 patients need treatment abroad, with 600 dying while still waiting to travel, many of them children.
Ukraine will not cede land that could be Russian springboard for new war, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine’s president has said his country could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he did not believe that Donald Trump supported Russia’s demands, and he expressed hope the US president would act as an honest mediator when he meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Zelenskyy warned that Russia was planning new offensives on three parts of the frontline. He said there was no sign that Russia was preparing to implement a ceasefire, as reports emerged that small sabotage groups had pierced Ukrainian defences in the eastern Donbas, advancing about 6 miles (10km) in three days.
In other news …
UN investigators warned that children as young as two years old have been detained by Myanmar’s military, often as proxies for their parents and held in prison facilities where there is systematic torture.
A train with at least 35 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed in Texas on Tuesday, as emergency services responded to the accident in Palo Pinto county.
A medical journal warned against using ChatGPT for health information, after a man developed a rare condition following an interaction with the chatbot about removing table salt from his diet.
In the UK, gender non-conforming people have spoken out about abuse in public toilets, after a UK supreme court ruling in April on “biological sex” that has been criticized for discriminating against trans and gender non-conforming people.
Stat of the day: Otter pelts, Orthodox priests and a $7.2m bargain – how Russia sold Alaska to the US in 1867
Alaska remained part of the Russian empire under Tsar Alexander II until its sale to the US in 1867. Yet the price – $7.2m – struck many in Russia as insultingly low. Will Friday’s high-stakes summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump result in a warming of historic ties?
Don’t miss this: ‘It felt like a scene from The Handmaid’s Tale’ – American comics at Edinburgh festival on the dangers of political satire
Three US comics at the UK’s Edinburgh festival discuss the threats to freedom of speech under the Trump administration. Sam Jay, a former Saturday Night Live writer, explores the state of America in her show We the People. She describes it as “a fun, risky little ride” as she tries to get to the root of why the US feels so divided.
Climate check: Thousands evacuated in Spain amid deadly wildfires and new European heatwave
About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave with forecasts of up to 112F. The deadly heat across Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.
Last Thing: ‘Deceptively cute’ ancient whale with razor-sharp teeth and eyes the size of tennis balls discovered in Australia
Scientists have discovered a new species of ancient whale, from a 25-million-year-old fossil found in Australia. According to researchers, Janjucetus dullardi was about the size of a dolphin and had razor-sharp teeth. “This was a really gnarly whale that I personally wouldn’t want to get in the water with,” one scientist said.
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