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Aid workers have said Israel’s new measures – meant to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza – fall far short of what is needed and aid access continues to be blocked amid the population’s spiralling famine.
The new measures, which came into effect on Sunday and include daily humanitarian pauses, as well as airdropped aid and humanitarian corridors for UN aid trucks, were announced by Israel as international pressure mounted to alleviate the hunger crisis.
Aid groups have said Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is the principal cause of the starvation crisis, which has seen 151 Palestinians die of hunger, more than half of whom died in the past month alone. While the crisis has deepened, Israel’s military has continued its attacks, killing at least 48 people seeking aid in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the territory’s ministry of health.
Meanwhile, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said the country will also formally recognize Palestine during the UN general assembly in September, after France and 14 other countries co-signed a declaration.
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How much aid is now needed? The number of aid trucks that have been entering Gaza since the new measures were announced has increased, with more than 200 trucks entering on Tuesday, according to Israeli customs authority (COGAT). But it falls far below the 500-600 trucks the UN has said is necessary to sustain the 2 million residents of Gaza.
Kamala Harris announces she will not run for governor of California
Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she would not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.
Harris, 60, who previously served as California’s attorney general and US senator, had been exploring a run for the state’s top job since leaving the White House in January. The decision does not rule out a future run for public office, including a third bid for the White House, after unsuccessful campaigns in 2020 and 2024.
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What did Harris say? “I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their governor. … But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for governor in this election.”
Donald Trump has been accused of launching “a direct attack on Brazilian democracy”, after the US treasury imposed sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian supreme court judge widely credited with helping save the country’s democracy from a 2022 rightwing coup.
The move was announced on Wednesday by the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, before Trump hit Brazilian imports with 50% tariffs by signing an executive order “to deal with the recent policies, practices, and actions by the government of Brazil”.
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What’s the context? Hundreds of supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro have been put on trial and jailed for taking part in the 8 January 2023 rightwing riots in the capital, Brasília, during which the supreme court, congress and presidential palace were stormed and ransacked.
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And what did Bessent say? He accused Moraes of being “responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights and politicized prosecutions – including against former president Jair Bolsonaro”.
In other news …
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The Trump administration has reportedly frozen $108m in federal research funding to Duke University over its affirmative action policies. Meanwhile, Brown University announced on Wednesday it struck a deal with the administration over admissions policies to restore $50m in funding.
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A UK high court judge ruled that a co-founder of the proscribed group Palestine Action can pursue a legal challenge, following the group being banned by the home secretary under anti-terrorism laws.
Stat of the day: Supersized stick insect discovered in Australia
A newly discovered stick insect which weighs slightly less than a golf ball may be the heaviest insect in Australia, scientists say.
The 40cm-long new species, named Acrophylla alta, was found in the high altitudes of the Atherton tablelands in north Queensland – and scientists said the habitat could be part of the reason for its large size.
Don’t miss this: The return of the spoof – can comedy’s silliest subgenre make a comeback?
The Naked Gun returns this weekend, heralding the potential return of the spoof – a comedic subgenre with astonishing versatility, writes Jesse Hassenger. In a period when a pure comedy hasn’t crossed the $100m mark in the US in almost a decade, The Naked Gun could be leading a spoof revival, with This Is Spinal Tap, Scary Movie and Spaceballs all upcoming.
Climate check: Countries failing to act on UN climate pledge to triple renewables, climate thinktank finds
Most global governments have failed to act on the 2023 UN pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade, according to the climate thinktank Ember. Only 22 countries of 130 have increased their renewable energy ambitions since signing a renewables pact at the Cop28 climate talks. Countries failing to act include the US, China and Russia.
Last Thing: Fans line streets of Birmingham in UK to say farewell to Ozzy Osbourne
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Birmingham in the UK to watch Ozzy Osbourne make his final journey through his home city, as crowds chanted the late Black Sabbath singer’s name. He died last week, aged 76, 17 days after playing his final concert. In an interview in 2011, Osbourne said he wanted his eventual funeral to be “a celebration, not a mope-fest”.
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