Wednesday briefing
Hamas denied that a ceasefire is imminent
Hamas officials said yesterday there had been no breakthrough in talks to pause the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages there, a day after President Biden said he hoped there would be a ceasefire within a week enter.
Hamas officials said they had not formally received any new proposals from Israel as of last week.
Global pressure has increased on Israel to agree to an agreement to end the war. Gaza’s health authorities say the death toll in Gaza is approaching 30,000.
Hamas’s political leaders have publicly insisted that any deal to free the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza is conditional on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. But Israel has said it will topple Hamas in Gaza, suggesting the country will not agree to a long-term ceasefire.
Russia warned of NATO troops in Ukraine
The Kremlin warned yesterday that a ground intervention by any NATO country in Ukraine would lead to a direct clash between the Western military alliance and Russian forces.
The warning came a day after President Emmanuel Macron of France said “nothing should be ruled out” regarding the possibility of a NATO country sending troops to Ukraine.
Poland, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg all said they were not considering putting troops on the ground in Ukraine. France clarified that Macron had tried to emphasize how Europe should consider new ways to support Ukraine.
The discussion about ground troops can overshadow more pressing concerns, such as the lack of ammunition in Ukraine.
Russia News:
Biden faced protest votes in the Michigan primaries
President Biden and Donald Trump decisively won their presidential primaries in Michigan yesterday. But early voting tallies showed Trump’s opponent, Nikki Haley, winning more than a quarter of Republican votes, and a significant number of Democratic voters chose “uncommitted” over Biden, a protest against the president for his support of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Michigan — thanks to its large Arab-American population, college campuses and early primaries — became the electoral focal point of broader Democratic unease over Biden’s position on Israel. About 20,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in each of the last three presidential primaries in Michigan, but early results showed that number was more than three times that number this year.
Some of Biden’s allies feared that a severe censure of him in the primaries could have lasting consequences for the general election, especially if he stuck to his position on the conflict.
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The Crooked House, known as “Britain’s wobbliest pub” because of its sloping walls and floors, was demolished last year after a suspicious fire.
Kate Winslet has fun as a neurotic autocrat
In the new HBO limited series ‘The Regime’, Kate Winslet plays a hypochondriac, agoraphobic dictator who loses control of her Central European country.
“The Regime” was created by Will Tracy, who wrote for “Succession” and “The Menu,” two projects that also feature delusions drunk on their own power. Tracy said he had been obsessed with geopolitics and authoritarian regimes since he was a teenager, and had researched leaders from Syria, Russia and Romania for the show.
Both Winslet and Tracy were convinced that ‘The Regime’ was not about current affairs. “I have to let the audience know that this is something they can laugh about,” Winslet said.
PS The New York Times launched “Encore”, a new series that will resurface rarely seen archive films.
You can reach Dan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.