Israel reduces demands, sparking ceasefire hopes
Israeli negotiators have reduced the number of hostages they want Hamas to release during the early stages of the ceasefire from 40 to 33, Israeli officials said yesterday. Provide tips Hopes for ceasefire in Gaza Strip.
Ceasefire talks have been stalled for weeks, but an Israeli delegation plans to fly to Cairo today to resume talks, two officials said, but only if Hamas agrees to participate. Hamas did not respond to a request for comment on whether it would send representatives to Cairo.
Patrick Kingsley, The Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief, told me that “there are a lot of hurdles” before a possible deal can be reached.
“Hamas wants a truce that gives it a chance to survive the war as a military force, while Israel wants a deal that gives its military a chance to eventually resume fighting and defeat Hamas,” Patrick said. “That’s why Israel wants a short-term ceasefire, while Hamas wants a longer ceasefire that can be permanently extended.”
Ukraine retreats from Eastern Front villages
Russian troops occupied or entered some villages Military experts say Ukrainian forces on the eastern frontlines have been outgunned and outnumbered over the past week, ahead of the latest U.S. military aid arriving.
Congress recently approved $60 billion in military aid to UkrainePresident Biden signed the plan last week, vowing to speed up weapons shipments. But before help can arrive, Ukraine faces attacks in several vulnerable areas.
Russian troops are steadily advancing on Avdiivka, which they captured in February after months of fighting. Ukrainian troops fell back to a new line of defense along a series of small villages about three miles to the west, but that line has now been breached.As many as 25,000 Russian soldiers are also trying to seize Chasiv Yar is located on a strategic high groundabout seven miles west of Bahmut.
Fears grow over another genocide in Darfur
An impending attack on a city in Sudan’s Darfur region where genocidal violence killed up to 300,000 people two decades ago has prompted warnings from United Nations and U.S. officials. Fears of imminent mass bloodshed.
El Fasher is the last city controlled by Sudanese forces in Darfur and the latest flashpoint in a year-long civil war between Sudanese forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The Rapid Support Forces were a paramilitary organization fostered by the Sudanese army and later became a fierce rival.
If Médecins Sans Frontières were to seize El Fasher, the group would be able to control about a third of Sudan and the country would be fragmented into competing fiefdoms. But experts say an attack on El Fasher is risky for MSF, and many Western and Arab officials hope international pressure will persuade both sides to back down.
The northern spotted owl is a rare and vulnerable subspecies of spotted owl that is being squeezed out of its limited habitat in the Pacific Northwest by the larger barred owl and now faces extinction. The barred owl also poses a threat to another subspecies, the California spotted owl.
In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has Cull of up to 500,000 barred owls proposed the next 30 years. The plan angered some animal welfare and wildlife conservation groups.
conversation starter
sports news
do not stop Believing: Rory McIlroy wins Zurich Classic.
art and ideas
A look inside the minds of “super seniors”
When it comes to aging, we tend to think of cognitive abilities as getting worse as we age.
But not everyone is like that. For more than a decade, scientists have been studying what they call “superagers,” people aged 80 and older who have the memory capabilities of people 20 to 30 years younger.
new research shows The brains of super-old people They appear to have less atrophy than their peers, and there’s no obvious way to stay sharp. The superseniors in the study displayed a variety of behaviors, and they all tended to have strong social relationships.
For young people, A new study strengthens the link between physical health and better mental health.
That concludes today’s press conference. Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow. —Dan
You can contact Dan and the team at: Briefing@nytimes.com.
Thanks to Patrick Kingsley.
