Wednesday Briefing: A U.S. warning to Israel

Plus, the dark side of panda breeding.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 16, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering a letter from the U.S. to top Israeli officials and Donald Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin. Plus: An investigation into the brutal reality of panda breeding. Trucks carrying aid lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip last month. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The U.S. warned Israel of cuts to military aid over Gaza In a letter to top Israeli officials, the U.S. warned Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip within 30 days or risk losing military aid, U.S. officials said. American law forbids giving military aid to any country found to be blocking the delivery of U.S.-provided humanitarian supplies. The amount of humanitarian aid that entered Gaza last month had fallen by over 50 percent from where it was at its peak and was the lowest it had been since the war began, Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said. U.N. officials say that conditions in Gaza, where hunger is widespread, have deteriorated in recent weeks. Analysts were skeptical that the warning would have much influence on Israeli leaders. "It strains the bounds of credulity to the breaking point to believe that the administration would act to restrict U.S. military aid to Israel as the Iran-Israel crisis heats up," said Aaron David Miller, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Response: Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the letter. But the Israeli agency that oversees policy for the Palestinian territories said that 30 aid trucks had passed a crossing point into northern Gaza. U.S. officials said in April that they considered 300 to 400 aid trucks per day to be adequate. On the ground: U.S. officials are particularly concerned about northern Gaza, where about 400,000 people remain. A former schoolteacher there faced a desperate choice — heed an Israeli military warning to evacuate, or stay with her mother, who uses a wheelchair and is unable to travel. In other news: The Israeli government told the U.S. it would not strike Iran's nuclear or oil facilities in its response to the recent Iranian missile attack. Oil prices fell about 5 percent. Sheikh Qassem, Hezbollah's acting leader, promised to inflict more damage on Israel, including striking deeper inside its territory. Only a cease-fire would allow the approximately 60,000 displaced Israelis to return home, he said. Donald Trump speaking with John Micklethwait, Bloomberg's editor in chief, on Tuesday, Jim Vondruska for The New York Times Has Trump kept in touch with Putin? In an interview with John Micklethwait, the editor in chief of Bloomberg News, Donald Trump repeatedly dodged a question about whether he had spoken to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, since the end of his presidency, as reported in a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward. "Can you say, yes or no, whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since you stopped being president?" Micklethwait asked. "Well, I don't comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it's a smart thing," Trump responded. When Micklethwait later pushed further, saying, "That sounds very much like you did talk to him," Trump replied, "No, I don't talk about that." Trump campaign staff members adamantly denied last week that the former president had continued talking with Putin since the end of his presidency. Context: It would be unusual for a former president to speak with an adversary like Putin in the middle of a war, especially without coordinating with the current White House or State Department, or even disclosing it. More on the U.S. election Americans head to the polls in less than three weeks. In an odd improvisational detour during a medical incident at a rally, Donald Trump stood and swayed to songs on his campaign playlist for about half an hour. Vice President Kamala Harris and her allies are racing to win over Black voters, whose growing alienation the party's leaders had not confronted directly until now. Meet the election denier — and former Army intelligence captain — forecasting a victory for Trump. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we'll find the answers. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, at a news conference on Tuesday in Ottawa. Blair Gable/Reuters Canada's accusation casts a spotlight on India's spy agencies When Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, accused India's government of working to threaten and kill Sikhs on Canadian soil, it raised questions about the potential reach of a shadowy intelligence network. India's neighbors — especially its archrival, Pakistan — are well acquainted with Indian covert operations. India's national security adviser, Ajit Doval, is a close adviser of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been known to wield significant influence by using intelligence to shape foreign policy, according to analysts. Details: Trudeau offered little evidence to back up his claims, though Canadian agents said the F.B.I. had helped in their investigation. The allegation resulted in the expulsion of high-level diplomats from both countries. Read more about the dispute. MORE TOP NEWS Ivor Prickett for The New York Times Health: Nearly two million children in Africa may die of malnutrition because of a shortage of a peanut-based, high-nutrient therapeutic product, the U.N. Children's Fund said. Boeing: The airplane maker announced steps to improve its financial position as costs mounted and a strike by its largest union entered its second month. U.S. banks: Goldman Sachs and two other major banks reported profits that were far higher than what Wall Street analysts had expected, amid a steadying economic environment. Sean Combs: The embattled music mogul is facing six more sexual assault lawsuits in New York, in what a team of lawyers say are the first filings from dozens of plaintiffs. Lufthansa: The U.S. Transportation Department fined the German airline $4 million after finding the airline had discriminated against 128 Jewish passengers in 2022. News From Europe Nicole Tung for The New York Times Ukraine: Political infighting is hampering efforts to avert an energy crisis. Automobiles: China's ambitions to become a force in the European car market were on full display at the Paris Auto Show. Britain: The government is exploring, via a new research trial, whether weight-loss injections could help improve the country's sluggish productivity. Media Industry Trump Media & Technology: Shares jumped about 10 percent in early trading — before closing down about 10 percent. Substack: Tina Brown, the British journalist who became synonymous with Manhattan media in the 1980s and '90s, debuted her newsletter. Pitchfork: Some alumni of the publication, which was folded into GQ, are striking out on their own with a new online music magazine, which launched yesterday. Washington Post: The new chief executive, Will Lewis, hopes to build up the newspaper, in part through acquisitions. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: A Spanish sporting government body has recommended a 15-day stadium closure after recent Atlético Madrid crowd trouble. Basketball: Thirty years after its release, "Hoop Dreams" remains an unflinching look at the pursuit of glory. Football: Tom Brady and Richard Seymour, two former players, were approved as minority owners of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to league sources. Tennis: Novak Djokovic is again fighting his way up from a No. 3 rank, this time behind Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. MORNING READ Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times In the 1990s, China began sending pandas to foreign zoos to be bred, in the hope that future generations could be released into nature. But nearly three decades later, more pandas have been removed from the wild than have been released, a Times investigation found. Some have been injured and even killed during the breeding process. Panda diplomacy: Two of the bears arrived yesterday at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington. CONVERSATION STARTERS Conker wars: The World Conker Championships in England — where participants face off to see whose buckeye chestnut is strongest — has been roiled by a cheating scandal. Art market boost: The Paris art scene is expanding, with the opening of a new Sotheby's salesroom focused on watches, jewelry, handbags and fashion. Inside shoes outside: Would you wear $990 slippers? Would you wear them outside? Stolen marvels: Two painstakingly reassembled ancient Greek cups are a wonder of art conservation. But investigators think they were looted. ARTS AND IDEAS Calligram Studio A philosophical journey, with the click of a mouse Jigme Ozer, the writer of the video game Phoenix Springs, says it touches upon two questions at the heart of Buddhism: What is the nature of death, and what is the nature of perception? Players assume the role of Iris, a veteran reporter, as she sits on a train with a desert looming through a window. What follows is a slippery exploration of memory, time and space grounded in her quest to uncover the mystery of what happened to her brother. Ozer said he had tried to avoid "the key before door problem" baked into too many point-and-click games — where the player acquires an object and then looks for where it can be used. That's not how it works in real life, he observed. "If you have a problem," Ozer said, "it stays in your head before you go looking for the solution." We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Cook: Crispy balsamic chicken thighs are sautéed in a sweet and savory glaze. Listen: Make sense of the U.S. election with these audiobooks. Heal: Does bone broth really have health benefits? Read: Our opinion columnists dig into Melania Trump's memoir. Travel: A cultural immersion vacation in Provence offers lessons on language and life — and pastries to die for. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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