The Biden administration notified congress on Tuesday that it has appointed Hady Amr as a new special representative for Palestinian affairs, a senior State Department official said.
Why it matters: The move is an upgrade in U.S.-Palestinian relations. It is the first time the U.S. has created a Washington-based position at the State Department that is solely responsible for Palestinian Affairs.
At least 268 people were killed and 151 are missing after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java on Monday, AP reported, citing the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Driving the news: The agency said 1,083 people were wounded and another 151 are still missing as search efforts intensified on Tuesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that it has rescued more than 180 people from an overloaded vessel that eventually hit a sandbar in the Florida Keys.
The big picture: This is the second rescue of such a vessel in recent days. The first one, which capsized over the weekend, led to at least five deaths, the Coast Guard said.
Argentina's stunning loss to Saudi Arabia put a damper — but didn't end — fans' hopes this could be the year South America reigns at the World Cup again.
The big picture: The World Cup started this weekend in Qatar. South American teams have won it nine times since the tournament began in 1930. But no South American team has won it since 2002, when Brazil triumphed over Germany.
The resumption of U.S.-China climate talks at the recent COP27 summit is a positive sign for global cooperation on climate change, but it's not clear how both sides will now follow through at home to meet their climate commitments.
Why it matters: The global community will not be able to meet its climate targets without stepped-up decarbonization efforts in the U.S. and China, which are the world's two largest emitters.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday criticized FIFA's decision to threaten sporting sanctions against team captains who wear rainbow "one love" armbands, calling the move "concerning."
Driving the news: Seven European teams announced on Monday that they had abandoned plans to wear the armbands — intended as a show of inclusion and anti-discrimination — following FIFA's threat of sanctions, which would include automatic yellow cards.
Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history with a stunning 2-1 victory over Argentina on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Argentina's loss ends its 36-match unbeaten streak and comes during what is expected to be soccer star Lionel Messi's last chance to win a World Cup.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said Monday nearly 6,600 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion, though it stressed that its estimates are likely far lower than the actual figures.
The big picture: In total, its human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has so far recorded and independently verified 16,784 civilian casualties in the country, which includes 10,189 injuries.
Iran could soon “toy” with enriching uranium to the level of 90%, which can be used to build a nuclear weapon, the head of the Israeli military intelligence General Aharon Haliva said Monday.
Why it matters: Such a move by Iran will be unprecedented, but Haliva said Tehran would still need a "few years or many, many months" to build a nuclear device.
Iran's players remained stone-faced as the national anthem played ahead of their opening World Cup match against England on Monday.
Why it matters: The decision to remain silent during the anthem came a day after the team captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, spoke in solidarity with the protests in Iran, which began two months ago after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by morality police for "improper hijab."
Biden administration officials say they hope Ron Dermer, the former Israeli ambassador to Washington and incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close confidant, will be appointed to a senior post in the new Israeli government.
Why it matters: The Obama administration had a difficult history with Dermer, but Biden officials believe they can "talk to" him and say "he understands the [U.S.-Israeli] relationship," especially amid concerns that radical right-wing politicians and those from Jewish supremacist parties will get senior jobs in the new Israeli government.
Seven European World Cup teams have abandoned plans to wear rainbow "one love" armbands in a show of inclusion and anti-discrimination after FIFA threatened that players who did so would face sporting sanctions, the soccer associations said in a joint statement Monday.
Driving the news: The captains of England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales had previously voiced their intent to wear the anti-discrimination armbands during their matches at the World Cup in Qatar.
