Good morning.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration has announced – but it comes with caveats. Not only is the deal contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group, and on the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River, but Hezbollah has not been part of the talks.
The Lebanese government has been negotiating with Israel without Hezbollah as part of its effort to reassert the government’s control over the country and disarm the armed group. And, despite the joint commitment to a ceasefire, Israel carried out drone strikes in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.
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Where has Israel been targeting? William Christou in Beirut reports that three hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine. Analysts and human rights experts have said the attacks on healthcare facilities were aimed at degrading the conditions for life in south Lebanon.
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What did Israel say about it? The military said it had struck “Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Tyre” and acknowledged a hospital was “affected incidentally”. It accused Hezbollah of “taking over” one of the hospitals it struck.
US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump in Iran
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.
The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissidents were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan. The vote sends the resolution to the Senate.
It was the fourth vote on a resolution to rein in Trump’s power to continue the conflict, which has been running for more than 90 days.
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Is that number significant? Yes, the 90-day threshold is important because the 1973 War Powers Resolution lays down that a president must seek congressional approval to continue waging war after hostilities have continued that length of time. Trump’s White House has rejected that argument, citing a temporary ceasefire that has been in place since 8 April – although it has been broken several times by the US, Israel and Iran.
Tech industry wins big in California primary election as millions spent pays off
Silicon Valley had a big night in California’s primary election, proving that the tens of millions of dollars funding candidates across the state was money well spent. While the tech industry’s preferred candidate for governor came in a scant sixth place, donations to smaller elections proved a successful strategy.
Tech billionaires have in past months thrown their full weight into politics as the industry fights regulations, taxation and promotes the unfettered growth of artificial intelligence. Getting the right candidates in office, especially in its home turf of California, is existential, especially as the fight over California’s proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires edges closer to a vote. Tech billionaires have already spent many millions to defeat the tax, which is on the November ballot.
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Has big tech had it all its own way? No, there have been setbacks for the tech bros, particularly on datacenters. Residents in Monterey Park, California, became the first in the US to vote for a permanent ban on datacenters on Tuesday. And Seattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium.
In other news …
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Ben Black, the head of a $205bn government investment agency, had personal and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to documents released by the Department of Justice.
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The US military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two men.
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Protests over a Jared Kushner-backed luxury resort saw thousands take to the streets of Tirana, Albania for a third straight day.
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Space X is seeking to raise about $75bn (£55bn) through its imminent stock market listing, the company has said. That could make its founder, Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire.
Stat of the day: Companies that sold gender-reveal fireworks which ignited California wildfire agree to $4m settlement
Nearly six years after a couple’s gender-reveal stunt sparked a deadly wildfire in southern California, the companies that sold the pyrotechnic device – Ohio-based Wholesale Fireworks Corp and its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC – have agreed to pay more than $4m. A third company, the Miami-based Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc, agreed to pay $50,000.
The Filter recommends: Six small upgrades to relax your tight neck and achy back
Lauren Gould isn’t promising miracle cures, but she has selected six practical items that may help ease your aches and hit the spots a long warm bath doesn’t always reach.
Don’t miss this: ‘We have a shared sky and stars’: the Indigenous American artists challenging our relationship to the natural world
Skye Sherwin examines a new exhibition of Indigenous American art in the UK, which is transporting works from Santa Fe’s Tia Collection, representing more than 35 tribal nations and offering a counterpoint to colonialist history. The artist’s work explores a continent whose beliefs and traditions date back not centuries, as it is often viewed from Europe, but millennia.
… or this: Here’s what New York looked like in 1973, the last time the Knicks won a championship – in pictures
Julius Constantine Motal has compiled a delightful blast of nostalgia in this collection of pictures of NYC in the 1970s.
Climate check: ‘An equal and habitable world is possible’ – academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival
Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival. The report by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) aims to be the most comprehensive attempt yet to navigate the polycrisis that is pushing the world toward climate breakdown, political extremism and ever greater economic and social tension. Wealth taxes, reduced working hours, dietary changes and new investment priorities are, it says, the key.
Last Thing: I launched Cuba’s first independent magazine. That’s when my troubles began
Abraham Jiménez Enoa and his friends wanted to tell the story of Cuban life, without interference. Before long he was being isolated, monitored and interrogated. In this long read he tells the story of how he was treated, and how in the end he was forced to leave Cuba for exile in Spain.
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