{"id":41705,"date":"2024-05-03T05:05:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T05:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/03\/friday-briefing-7\/"},"modified":"2024-05-03T05:05:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T05:05:03","slug":"friday-briefing-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/03\/friday-briefing-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Briefing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/02\/multimedia\/03ambriefing-mideast-crisis\/02mideast-crisis-leadall-02-cvfk-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Friday Briefing\" title=\"Friday Briefing\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-69f24af7\">Hamas hinted at progress on a cease-fire<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A Hamas leader said yesterday that the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/02\/world\/middleeast\/hamas-israel-gaza-ceasefire.html\" title=\"\">group was studying Israel\u2019s latest cease-fire proposal<\/a> with a \u201cpositive spirit,\u201d raising hopes of progress in the stalled efforts for a truce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas\u2019s political wing, said that a delegation would travel to Cairo to discuss the cease-fire. The current deal would include a weekslong truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas and of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The proposal would also allow civilians to return to northern Gaza and would enable increased delivery of aid to the territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The complex cease-fire negotiations have dragged on for months. This week, Israel softened some of its positions, saying that it would allow Palestinians to return north en masse and would lower the number of hostages accepted for the cease-fire to 33, from 40.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Israel\u2019s insistence on a ground invasion of Rafah, a city where around a million Palestinians are sheltering in the southern Gaza Strip, remains a major sticking point. \u201cIf the enemy carries out the Rafah operation, negotiations will stop,\u201d a Hamas spokesman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-15bc03e\">U.S. accused Russia of using chemical weapons<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/02\/world\/europe\/us-russia-chemical-weapons-ukraine.html\" title=\"\">The U.S. accused Russia<\/a> of violating a global ban on chemical weapons by using them against Ukrainian troops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The State Department said in a statement that Russia had used chloropicrin, a \u201cchoking agent\u201d widely used during World War I, as well as tear gas. Both of them are prohibited during warfare under the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control treaty ratified by more than 150 countries, including Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Attacking with the chemicals was \u201cnot an isolated incident,\u201d and they were probably used to drive Ukrainian forces out of fortified positions, the State Department said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Ukrainian authorities have reported about 1,400 cases of suspected chemical weapons use by Russia since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. The officials said that the rate has accelerated as Moscow has pressed ahead with attacks along the front lines.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/><\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-153fab8d\">Protests swelled in Georgia over \u2018foreign interests\u2019 bill<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/02\/world\/europe\/georgia-protests.html\" title=\"\">Security forces clashed<\/a> with protesters in Georgia\u2019s capital after Parliament advanced legislation that has sparked weeks of demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Tbilisi ever since the governing Georgian Dream party pushed the bill through Parliament early last month. Georgia\u2019s Ministry of Internal Affairs said yesterday that security forces had used water cannons and tear gas when the protesters turned \u201cviolent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The draft law would require nongovernmental groups and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to register with the government and to provide annual financial statements or face hefty fines. The pro-Western opposition believes that the law could be used to crack down on dissent.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-55bd377a\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">MORE TOP NEWS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Less than two years ago, Brittney Griner was starting her nine-year sentence in a penal colony in Russia, sewing uniforms for the Russian military and subsisting on spoiled food. She had never been farther from the sport that made her famous, rarely got to hear from her wife, Cherelle, and she had no idea when \u2014 or if \u2014 she would be coming home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">My colleague J Wortham spoke with Griner for <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/02\/magazine\/brittney-griner-book-russia-interview.html\" title=\"\">The New York Times Magazine<\/a>. \u201cI will never forget any of it,\u201d said Griner, whose memoir \u201cComing Home,\u201d will be published on May 7.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-286d948a\"><span>CONVERSATION STARTERS<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-4393a9e5\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">SPORTS NEWS <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Intensity and concentration:<\/strong> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5465450\/2024\/05\/02\/dortmund-psg-champions-league\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-48475536\">A challenge for theater leaders in Shakespeare\u2019s hometown<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tourists flock to Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town famous as the home of William Shakespeare, expecting classical period-dress productions of his works. Stratford is also home to the Royal Shakespeare Company, which brings Shakespeare\u2019s work to a contemporary audience with a diverse and forward-thinking repertoire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, the troupe\u2019s new artistic directors, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/02\/theater\/royal-shakespeare-company-new-leaders.html\" title=\"\">are trying to embrace the classical and the modern<\/a>, as they embark on their first season in charge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">That\u2019s all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, and goodbye for now. My colleague Natasha Frost will return on Monday. \u2014 Dan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">P.S. Lynsey Chutel, who writes our Spotlight on Africa series, is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/press\/lynsey-chutel-moves-to-london\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">moving to our London newsroom<\/a>. Congratulations, Lynsey!<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">You can reach Dan and the team at <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/03\/briefing\/mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Europe%20Morning%20Briefing%20Feedback\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">briefing@nytimes.com<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/03\/briefing\/hamas-ceasefire-russia-chemical-weapons.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hamas hinted at progress on a cease-fire A Hamas leader said yesterday that the group was studying Israel\u2019s latest cease-fire proposal with a \u201cpositive spirit,\u201d raising hopes of progress in the stalled efforts for a truce. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas\u2019s political wing, said that a delegation would travel to Cairo to discuss the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/02\/multimedia\/03ambriefing-mideast-crisis\/02mideast-crisis-leadall-02-cvfk-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[235,10057],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41705"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41707,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41705\/revisions\/41707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}