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An active-duty serviceman commits “an extreme act of protest.” Plus: European leaders rally support for Ukraine. And if you already know what a 24-hour city is, you’re cooler than me.
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Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP
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1. Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy
On Sunday afternoon, a 25-year-old active-duty airman, Aaron Bushnell, live-streamed himself approaching the embassy in Washington, D.C., then dousing himself in liquid and setting himself on fire.
In the beginning of the video, which has been removed from the live-stream platform Twitch, Bushnell says he will “no longer be complicit in genocide” and is engaging in “an extreme act of protest.”
“But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all,” he goes on.
Bushnell yelled, “Free Palestine,” as he set himself on fire. The Secret Service extinguished the blaze, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died on Monday.
In December, a different protester self-immolated outside of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. The police described it as “an act of extreme political protest.”
In other Gaza-Israel news:
- On Monday, the International Court of Justice wrapped up its hearings on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Representatives from more than 50 countries testified. Most argued that the occupation is illegal, while the U.S. and Britain testified in support of Israel. Israel did not appear before the court, instead rejecting the hearings as biased in a written statement.
- Human Rights Watch said that Israel has failed to comply with orders from the ICJ, in a separate case, to “take immediate and effective measures to enable provisions of urgently needed basic services and human aid” into Gaza.
- The U.S. is confident a deal for a cease-fire can be reached “in the coming days,” according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that, whether or not a cease-fire deal is agreed upon, Israel will invade the southern city of Rafah as planned.
Related: Israel has occupied Palestinian territories since 1967; UN court considers whether that’s legal.
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2. European leaders assemble in Paris to show support for Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron convened the meeting of almost 30 European heads of state and top officials on Monday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda were among those attending.
“Together we must ensure that Putin cannot destroy our achievements and cannot expand his aggression to other nations,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an appearance by videoconference.
Support for Ukraine has waned as the war enters its third year. In Congress, for instance, an aid package is currently stalled.
Amid this environment, the European meeting needs to contradict any “impression that things are falling apart,” an anonymous French official told Le Monde.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began two years ago. This is the first time he named a specific figure for casualties, though it’s far below the United States’ estimate of 70,000.
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3. The cities that never sleep
Maybe because I prefer to be in bed by 10 p.m., I’m just now hearing about the concept of a “24-hour city.”
The term means what you might think: a city whose nightlife extends well beyond 2 a.m. and into the wee, wee hours. A place like Berlin or Buenos Aires where restaurants, bars, and clubs stay open all day and night, or at least very, very late.
But 24-hour cities aren’t just about staying up partying. They also feature 24-hour public transportation and other services like healthcare and stores open around the clock.
“An official 24-hour policy is just an admission that the city and its economic activities never stop,” Michele Acuto, director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, told Bloomberg.
Montreal, whose bars usually close at 3 a.m., is the latest to announce its plan to become a 24-hour city — or at least to introduce a 24-hour entertainment district. This new downtown district is part of a broader initiative to revitalize the city’s nightlife.
More than 50 cities around the world similarly hoping to reinvigorate their entertainment districts have designated “night mayors,” a term that needs even less explaining than “24-hour city.” I’m imagining the night mayors wearing sunglasses 24/7.
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In other news
- Most of the current government of the Palestinian Authority resigned on Monday in the hopes that fresh leadership can take control in Gaza after the war. [Associated Press]
- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was about to be freed in a prisoner swap when he died, according to a colleague. [CBC]
- Mexico City could be on the verge of running out of water, according to Mexican authorities. Water levels in the metropolitan area of 22 million are at their lowest ever. [UPI]
- Tens of thousands of people came out to support former President Jair Bolsonaro in São Paulo as he denied his role in the attempted overthrow of Brazil’s 2022 elections. [Le Monde]
- A close call: A 53-car freight train in India traveled more than 40 miles without a driver. Apparently the train began sliding down an incline after the driver and his assistant got off. No one was hurt. [BBC]
- After months of delays, Hungary has finally officially voted to let Sweden join NATO. [PBS]
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Say that again
“Some days I’m telling to myself, ‘Yes, I want to go back.’ And some days I’m telling … ‘This is not a place to live, it’s a graveyard,’” said Michal Pinyan, describing her thoughts when she and her family were deciding whether or not to return to their home in Kibbutz Be’eri. At least 97 civilians in the close-knit community were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. [This American Life]
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‘Can you do something to help those people?’
See how two students ended up helping dozens of people get out of Khartoum when the war in Sudan broke out last April.
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What we’re cooking
One of the best things I ever ate while traveling was tteok, the Korean rice cake that’s famous as a street-food snack. I had it at Dan Sung Sa, a late-night spot in Los Angeles’ Koreatown where people go to soak up the alcohol they’ve drunk and knock a few more back. (I went there dead-sober around 6:30 p.m. because I’m cool.) I had tteokkochi there, a dish that features the rice cakes packed onto skewers.
The other night, I cooked a saucier version of the dish, known as tteokbokki, using a couple different recipes: this one and this one from Vice’s Munchies (R.I.P.).
Because I bought the rice cakes pre-made, the dish came together a lot faster than I was expecting. And I was able to replicate both the crispy and chewy texture of Dan Sung Sa’s tteokkochi, which to me was the best part. However you want to make them, I recommend giving tteok a shot.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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