Monday briefing
A drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan
Three US soldiers were killed and at least 34 others injured in Jordan yesterday in what the US says was a drone strike by an Iranian-backed militia. The deaths were the first US military fatalities from enemy fire in the unrest stemming from Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
The attack took place at a base near the Syrian border. The deaths of US service members will almost certainly put more pressure on President Biden to respond more forcefully as unrest grows in the Middle East.
“While we are still gathering the facts about this attack, we know it was carried out by radical, Iranian-backed militant groups active in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement.
This month, at least four U.S. service members stationed in western Iraq were injured when their base came under fire from what the U.S. says were Iranian-backed militias. A week ago, the US declared two Navy SEALs dead after their disappearance during an operation at sea to intercept weapons targeting Houthi fighters, who have been firing on commercial ships off the coast of Yemen since November.
New details about UN workers accused of aiding Hamas
The UN said on Friday it has fired several employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the UN agency that helps Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, after Israel alleged that 12 employees played a role in the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October. or in its aftermath. Israel has provided the US with a dossier detailing its claims, but little was known about the allegations until the documents were reviewed by The Times yesterday.
One person was accused of kidnapping a woman. Another is said to have distributed ammunition. A third was said to have taken part in the kibbutz massacre that killed 97 people.
The Israelis described ten of the employees as members of Hamas, while seven of the suspects are also said to be teachers at UNRWA schools, teaching students subjects such as math and Arabic. According to the dossier, Israel tracked and tracked many of the accused employees through their phones.
Fallout: The US and several other countries said yesterday they were suspending some funding for UNRWA. António Guterres, the head of the UN, pleaded with major donor countries to continue their support. He said that without this money, UNRWA would run out of money next month. Fears of famine are growing in the enclave, and two million Gazans depend on the agency for food, water and essential services.
Three African juntas left a regional economic bloc
Military juntas that seized power in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso said they were withdrawing from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, because of sanctions imposed on the group after the coups were staged.
The three juntas said the sanctions were “inhumane” and that the bloc had “become a threat to its member states and their people.” West African commentators said the countries' departure could affect trade ties and regional stability and cause pain for the bloc's remaining 12 member states.
Background: In recent years, coups have erupted in a region south of the Sahara, creating a continuous strip of military-ruled countries stretching from coast to coast across the continent. ECOWAS failed to reverse some of these coups and later imposed sanctions, leaving millions of people in dire straits.
THE LAST NEWS
Around the world
London hopes to repeat the success of Manhattan's High Line park by transforming an unused railway line in Camden into its own elevated green space.
Backers of the Camden Highline project, which carries an estimated price tag of 35 million pounds (about $44.5 million), hope it will one day become a vibrant attraction for tourists and locals alike.
SPORTS NEWS
Africa Cup jersey ratings: The goodthe crazy and the ugly.
Finally doubles champion: Rohan Bopanna wins a Grand Slam title for the first time at the age of 43.
Achieving His Goal: Matthieu Pavon triumphs at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.
ARTS AND IDEAS
At Sundance: Reasons to Love Movies
Our chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, wrote from Park City, Utah, that she was taken to the Sundance Film Festival she always hoped for, “the one where a film surprises, moves and perhaps delights me.”
The movie in question, which rocked houses, is “Will & Harper,” a documentary in which actor Will Ferrell and his longtime friend Harper Steele, a trans woman, set out on a memorable journey of discovery across the country.