U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein on Saturday sent Israel and Lebanon a draft agreement on the maritime border dispute, with Israeli, Lebanese and Western officials voicing optimism about the chances of inking a deal in the next few days, according to a Western diplomat with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
Why it matters: Hochstein has been mediating between Israel and Lebanon for a year. Several U.S. mediators have tried to get a deal on the maritime border for more than a decade.
Venezuela and the U.S. conducted a rare prisoner swap Saturday, freeing seven Americans from the South American country in exchange for two relatives of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, the White House said.
Why it matters: This is the largest prisoner swap of President Biden's term so far, the Associated Press reports.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) during a trip to Israel last monthwarned Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu that if he forms a government after the Nov. 1 elections that includes right-wing extremists, it could harm U.S.-Israel bilateral relations, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Why it matters: Netanyahu recentlyunited several radical right-wing Jewish supremacist parties as part of his effort to consolidate his right-wing bloc and win the November election.
Why it matters: The detained director, Ihor Murashov, maintains nuclear and radiation safety for the plant, which has been a subject of concern amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia said Saturday it had withdrawn troops from the city of Lyman as Ukraine's military inched closer to re-capturing the annexed city, the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: The withdrawal comes one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed four regions of Ukraine, including the Donetsk region where Lyman is located.
The U.S. and its NATO allies are urgently grappling with a question that once seemed to have faded along with the Cold War: Will Moscow go nuclear?
The big picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats are growing more direct as his battlefield position in Ukraine grows more precarious.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine is making an "accelerated" bid to join NATO.
Driving the news: The announcement comes on the same day Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories after a series of referendums that most western governments have labeled a "sham."
The Biden administration announced new sanctions on Russia for its purported annexation of regions of Ukraine.
Why it matters: The sanctions come in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin laying claim to four regions in Ukraine, which Russia only partly controls. The Kremlin helped stage referendums that most western governments labeled a "sham."
The force that caused leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines "probably corresponded to an explosive load of several hundred kilos," according to a letter to the United Nations Friday.
Driving the news: Denmark and Sweden provided the estimate in a new letter laying out how the leaks have disrupted sea and air travel in their respective economic zones and will likely have wide-reaching consequences for the Baltic Sea and climate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a major speech on Friday that Russia would annex four regions of Ukraine, a dramatic escalation that leaves no clear path to peace.
The big picture: Russia partially occupies the four Ukrainian oblasts — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — and held staged referendums over the past few days that most western governments labeled a "sham."
Russian strikes killed 25 civilians and injured at least 50 others overnight in the Ukrainian province of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's prosecutor general said.
Why it matters: The attack was one of the deadliest targeting Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, according to the New York Times. It comes as the Kremlin plans to declare the area a part of Russia Friday following a series of sham referendums that have drawn wide condemnation from western governments.
