Monday Briefing: The crisis at the Gaza/Egypt border
Good morning. We’re covering the crisis at Gaza’s border with Egypt and disagreements at COP28 over phasing out fossil fuels. Plus, Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting contract.
The U.N. and W.H.O. issue dire warnings for GazaU.N. officials warned yesterday that pressure was mounting near Gaza’s border with Egypt, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have tried to flee Israel’s military campaign. “I expect public order to completely break down soon and an even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,” António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, said, adding that there was “no effective protection of civilians in Gaza.” At an emergency session of the W.H.O.’s executive board, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s director general, said that “Gaza’s health system is on its knees and collapsing.” Only 14 of the enclave’s 36 hospitals were even partly able to treat the sick and injured, he said. Yesterday the Israeli military said that it had struck more than 250 “targets” in Gaza over the previous 24 hours. The intensified fighting followed a U.N. vote last week demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, which failed because the U.S. vetoed it. U.S.: The Biden administration declared an emergency to expedite arms shipments to the Middle East, bypassing Congress to sell 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel. Israel: The New York Times unearthed new details about Israel’s policy of “buying quiet” by allowing Qatar to support Hamas.
Saudi Arabia blocks a new climate dealSaudi Arabia, the world’s leading exporter of oil, has become the most forceful opponent of a new agreement to end fossil fuels at the U.N. climate talks in Dubai, which are scheduled to wrap up tomorrow. Saudi negotiators have flatly opposed including in a deal any language that even mentions fossil fuels, and have objected to a provision, endorsed by at least 118 countries, aimed at tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030. Saudi diplomats have been particularly skillful at blocking discussions and slowing the talks, according to a dozen people who have been inside closed-door negotiations. If nations do agree in Dubai to phase out fossil fuels, or even to phase them down, it would be a historic moment. Past U.N. climate deals have shied away from mentioning the words “fossil fuels.” But any one of the 198 participating nations could thwart a deal.
Shohei Ohtani signs the biggest deal in baseball historyThe most significant free-agent saga in Major League Baseball ended with Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese star pitcher and outfielder, choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers. His 10-year, $700 million contract surpassed the record-setting twelve-year, $426.5 million extension from Ohtani’s former Angels teammate Mike Trout — and even Lionel Messi’s four-year, $674 million contract with FC Barcelona in 2017.
Asia Pacific
AROUND THE WORLD
Europe
A Morning Read Fifty years ago, eight Americans set off for Argentina to climb Aconcagua, one of the world’s mightiest mountains. Two of them died under mysterious circumstances. Now, a camera belonging to one of the deceased climbers has emerged from a receding glacier near the summit. The film does not solve the mystery. It adds to it. Lives lived: Gao Yaojie, a Chinese doctor who defied government pressure in exposing an AIDS epidemic that spread across rural China through reckless blood collection, has died. She was 95. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
Hong Kong’s disappearing neonNights in Hong Kong these days feel as if the city is still in the pall of a plague, or a deep political malaise. Many of the tourists and resident foreigners are gone. More than 110,000 permanent residents departed last year, and the city’s population of those worth more than $30 million shrank by 23 percent. Its brash flash is literally fading as well. The government has been cracking down on Hong Kong’s neon signs for environmental and safety reasons. Tens of thousands have been removed in the past decade, by one estimate. Hong Kong today can feel like a city of shadows and metaphor, where a subject as innocuous as neon takes on shades of meaning. “Neon is a kind of city emblem, an embodiment of Hong Kong stories,” said Cardin Chan, who runs Tetra Neon Exchange, a group dedicated to conserving condemned signs. “But it’s not only neon that’s undergoing a transformation. It’s the whole city, right?”
Cook: The viral Marry Me Chicken, with its promise of romance for whoever cooks it, is among our most popular recipes of 2023. Listen: This eight hour, 124-song playlist assembles our critics’ favorite songs and albums from 2023 in one place. Enjoy: Here are 24 things from 2023 that reporters, editors and visual journalists on the Culture desk couldn’t stop thinking about. Explore: “Wild World,” a map by Anton Thomas, a self-taught artist-cartographer, has no borders and 1,642 animal species. Play Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here. That’s it for today’s briefing. Jonathan Wolfe will be here tomorrow. — Whet P.S. In The Times’s weekly Australia Letter, Yan Zhuang bids farewell to the country before moving to the Seoul bureau. We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@nytimes.com.
|
Older messages
What’s on our gift writers’ wish lists
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Cinderella slippers and more ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
24 gifts that’ll last forever
Saturday, December 9, 2023
(Or extremely close) ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How to make crystal-clear ice
Friday, December 8, 2023
An entertaining hack ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The very best gifts under $100
Thursday, December 7, 2023
'Tis the season ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Friday Briefing: Israel says Hamas fired rockets from near shelters
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Plus, “Oppenheimer” is coming to Japan. View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition December 8, 2023 Author Headshot By Jonathan Wolfe Good
You Might Also Like
Crypto Surge On Fed Cut | Trump’s DeFi Details
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Election betting could go mainstream in the US, as Kalshi triumphs over the CFTC. ADVERTISEMENT Forbes START INVESTING • Newsletters • MyForbes Nina Bambysheva Staff Writer, Forbes Money & Markets
Amazon's quest to become a startup again | 6 years of progress in driverless cars
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Can this startup improve your golf swing? | Amazon's real estate chief is retiring ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Get your ticket for AWS re:Invent, happening Dec. 2–6 in Las Vegas:
How climate change can get lost in translation
Saturday, September 21, 2024
+ why summer has to end
A Strategist Special Report: A Guide to GU, Uniqlo’s Sister Store
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Plus: A glittery tote that “might be the next Baggu.” The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate
This one neat trick will make fundraising emails stop
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Fair warning — we'll be sending a LOT of fundraising emails over the next couple weeks. Every day, The Intercept produces hard-hitting investigative journalism that the corporate media never will.
Danger, Mark Robinson
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer Weekend Reader Required Reading for Political Compulsives 1. Mark Robinson and the
The best coasters
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Like jewelry for your tables View in browser The Recommendation Our favorite coasters An assortment of coasters in various shapes and sizes with a few cups of water and tea resting on some of the
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: A School Lending Bully Gets Expelled
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Plus, the hearing-aid cartel gets muted, the country's busiest streets are going fossil-free, and interest rates sink while spirits rise. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: A School Lending Bully Gets Expelled By
Weekend Briefing No. 554
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Exploding Pagers and the Future of War -- Utopia On the Blockchain -- Ending Tuberculosis ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
☕ Nuclear revival
Saturday, September 21, 2024
An infamous power plant will serve Microsoft's energy needs… September 21, 2024 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Morning Brew PRESENTED BY Studio by Tishman Speyer Good morning, and happy last (