Wednesday Briefing

Image

Trump and his aides downplay Signal chat leak

President Trump insisted yesterday that top officials in his administration had not shared classified information about an imminent attack on Yemen in a group chat on the Signal messaging app, to which the national security adviser had mistakenly added a journalist.

Tulsi Gabbard, the intelligence director, and John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, testifying before the Senate about the leak, acknowledged that details about strike targets had been discussed, but they said none of it was sensitive information from their departments. That left Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared the plans for the March 15 attack in the chat, under a microscope.

Democrats have called for Hegseth’s resignation, as well as that of Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. (Read more about Hegseth’s rocky first months in his role.)

Trump downplayed the significance of the leak and defended Waltz, calling him “a very good man.” He called Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, who was added to the chat before the attack began and revealed the leak this week, a “sleaze bag.”

Image

Russia and Ukraine say they won’t fight in the Black Sea

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to stop fighting in the Black Sea, the White House said yesterday. The pause in maritime attacks would be a significant step toward peace, but it was unclear when it would start, and Moscow added significant caveats.

The announcement came after three days of negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. also said both sides had agreed to hash out details about halting strikes on energy facilities.

The Kremlin said it would not honor the Black Sea deal until Western restrictions on Russian agricultural exports had been removed. The White House promised to “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports,” among other particulars.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the provision was “a weakening of positions and a weakening of sanctions.” And lifting restrictions would need E.U. approval, which at the moment is unlikely.

What’s to gain: Kyiv and Moscow both want to stop strikes on their respective energy facilities. In the Black Sea, Russia’s navy has been forced into a retreat by Ukrainian attacks.

What’s next: It remains unclear how and when this partial cease-fire would be implemented or how firm either side’s commitment is. Ukraine’s defense minister said more talks would have to be held as soon as possible to put the deal in place.

Image

A Palestinian Oscar winner said he was beaten by settlers

The Israeli authorities yesterday released Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” who had been detained overnight. Ballal was arrested after what he and other witnesses said was an attack by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Israeli authorities questioned Ballal on suspicion of throwing stones and property damage, charges he denied.

In Gaza: In a rare show of dissent, Palestinians protested against Hamas. Some chanted slogans critical of the armed group’s grip on the territory after more than a year of war with Israel.

Image

• Japan: A court awarded $1.4 million to a man who spent 44 years on death row for a murder conviction that was later overturned.

• Sudan: An airstrike on Monday by the country’s military ripped through a crowded market in Darfur, killing at least 54 people, monitoring groups said.

• China: The authorities freed five workers from a U.S. firm who were detained two years ago in a crackdown on foreign consultancies.

• India: A mob attacked a comedy club in Mumbai hours after a performer made fun of a state political leader.

• Germany: The newly sworn-in Parliament is noticeably more male and less diverse than the constituents it will represent.

• France: Testifying in court, the movie star Gérard Depardieu admitted to grabbing a female colleague by the hips but denied accusations of sexual assault.

• Britain: A jurist scolded two men who damaged a statue of Paddington Bear, saying their actions were “the antithesis of everything” the character stands for.

• Russia: How a cheap drone pierced the 40,000-ton steel protective shield that surrounds Chernobyl.

• Space: Frozen fuel from a recent SpaceX rocket created a luminous display in the sky, visible from England to Eastern Europe.

• Tech: We took a look inside Nvidia’s dreams of a robot future at its weeklong A.I. conference.

• Research: European universities are recruiting American scientists who lost their jobs in the Trump administration’s cost-cutting drive.

SPORTS NEWS

• Figure skating: Amber Glenn jumps like a pole-vaulter, collects lightsabers, is openly L.G.B.T.Q. and has blossomed at an age when many peers have retired.

• Soccer: Real Madrid is moving closer to a blockbuster transfer for the Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.

• Tennis: Italy will host the Davis Cup finals in 2025, taking over from Spain.

• Formula 1: McLaren has two drivers capable of winning the championship this season. How they manage themselves will be decisive.

• Athletics: Track and field will introduce mandatory DNA sex testing for athletes entering female competitions, the first Olympic sport to do so.

MORNING READ

Image

On a luxurious train trip from Cape Town to Pretoria, a reporter grapples with the whiplash of traveling through South Africa’s two worlds, from majestic mountains to struggling shantytowns.

“Few things scream excess more than a train with hot showers, air conditioning and an open bar,” John Eligon writes, “crawling past settlements where many people live in shacks without running water or electricity.”

Lives lived: Han Jong-Hee, the co-chief executive of Samsung Electronics and a nearly four-decade veteran with the tech giant, died at 63.

Image

‘Adolescence’ tackles teens and their smartphones

The hit series “Adolescence,” about a 13-year-old British boy suspected of killing a girl from his school, has been Netflix’s most-watched show in dozens of countries. It has reignited debate about restricting children’s access to smartphones to stop them from viewing harmful content.

In Britain, lawmakers have used the show to argue that the country should crack down on social media use among children. That’s exactly what its writer, Jack Thorne, intended.

Related: Sadistic online groups are recruiting teenagers in Britain, according to the National Crime Agency, which warned that young men were being targeted with misogynistic material.

Image