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After several vetoes, the U.S. finally let a Gaza cease-fire resolution through today — by abstaining. That and more on this very busy Monday.
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Photo: Craig Ruttle / AP
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1. UN Security Council passes cease-fire resolution, as Israel bans UNRWA aid into northern Gaza
After more than five months of war and amid a humanitarian crisis that grows more dire by the hour, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
In exchange for a cease-fire lasting at least for the remainder of Ramadan, the resolution demands that Hamas free hostages taken in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Fourteen members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, which was put forth by 10 nonpermanent members, while the U.S. abstained. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, though the U.N. has no means of enforcing them.
Shortly following approval of the resolution, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled an Israeli delegation’s scheduled trip to Washington. The prime minister’s office said in a statement that the United States’ abstention was “a clear departure from the consistent position of the United States at the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”
Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, is already in Washington, and it’s expected he’ll still meet with U.S. officials as planned. Gallant is bringing “a long list of U.S. weapons Israel wants to receive in an expedited manner,” according to Axios.
Read more on Blue Marble: How the U.S. has used its power in the U.N. to support Israel for decades.
In other Israel-Gaza news:
On Sunday, Israel told the U.N. it would no longer allow UNRWA aid convoys into northern Gaza.
“This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on the social media platform X.
UNRWA’s director of communications, Juliette Touma, said no reason was given for the decision, which was relayed in a meeting with Israeli military officials. According to Touma, officials also rejected a U.N. request to evacuate injured people from Al-Shifa hospital.
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2. EU to investigate Apple, Google, and Meta under new law
The European Commission announced on Monday it was investigating the tech giants for not complying with the Digital Markets Act.
The act, which went into full effect on March 7, is aimed at loosening the vise grip that six companies deemed “gatekeepers” by the EU — Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok owner ByteDance — have on consumer technology.
Here are a few things each company is being investigated for:
- whether Google and Apple kept app developers from directing users to cheaper options outside of their app stores;
- whether Google’s search results favor its own services, like Google Shopping or Google Flights, over those of competitors;
- whether Meta’s offer for subscription-based ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram for Europeans prevents personal data from being accumulated for those who don’t consent to having their data used for ad targeting.
Under the new law, the European Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global revenues, up to 20% for repeat offenders.
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3. Russia blames Ukraine for Moscow concert attack, as Tajik suspects appear in court
Even as the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for one of Russia’s worst terrorist attacks in decades, over the weekend Russian state media blamed Ukraine.
The main evening news in Russia on Sunday featured reports suggesting that Ukraine was responsible for the attack, which has resulted in at least 137 deaths and more than 150 injured people. On Friday night, gunmen entered the Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb during a sold-out concert, opened fire on the crowd, and then set fire to the venue.
A day after the deadly assault, Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had helped the attackers and prepared a “window” for them to cross the border into Ukraine, which denied the claims as “absolutely untenable and absurd.”
Hours after the attack, Russian police detained 11 people, including four men from Tajikistan, who appeared in court on Sunday. The suspects all showed signs of having been beaten, including one in a wheelchair who appeared to lose consciousness during the arraignment.
Related: Did Russia ignore U.S. “extremist” attacks warning?
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In other news
- Just days after being released from jail, outsider candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye celebrated victory in Senegal’s presidential election on Monday. The 44-year-old was unknown before receiving the backing of opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko. [The New York Times]
- Twenty-seven-year-old Brigitte Garcia, Ecuador’s youngest mayor, was found dead in a car on Sunday along with her aide. The assassination comes as Ecuador nears its third month of a state of emergency, instituted to crack down on gang violence. [CBS]
- On Friday, a high court in India struck down an education act it said violated the country’s secularism law, effectively banning Islamic schools in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. [CNN]
- More than 130 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren were rescued by security forces on Sunday after being held captive since March 7. The children’s school had said more than 280 children had been taken; the discrepancy has not yet been accounted for. [BBC]
- The U.S. and the U.K. accused China of a massive cyberespionage campaign on Monday. Millions of people were allegedly affected, including U.S. senators and British parliamentarians who’ve been critical of Beijing. [Reuters]
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Say that again
“[I]t is very difficult to explain to someone what that forest does — if you told them that you get furniture out of it or sculptures … people will not even believe, people still need to be sensitized [educated] about bamboo,” said Taga Nuwagaba, a farmer and furniture factory owner in Uganda who’s part of the country’s growing bamboo industry.
Ugandan officials say the fast-growing crop can be used for fuel and could ease the pressure of eucalyptus deforestation. [Africanews]
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‘I fled war, now my new home is turning to sand’
Meet the South Sudanese refugee advocating for energy-saving stoves and tree-planting in Uganda.
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What we’re cooking
One of my favorite things to get at taquerías are sopes — flat, fried masa discs topped with the usual, delicious suspects of Mexican cuisine. In my mind, they’re more texturally interesting than tortillas — thicker, chewier, and with a nice char.
And last night I discovered they’re way easier to make than I originally thought.
For the sopes themselves, it was just a matter of mixing masa harina, or corn flour, with water until a workable dough was achieved. Then I formed the dough into balls, pressed each one between two plates into discs, and cooked them in a bit of avocado oil in a medium-hot pan.
(Should you require more detailed instructions, here’s a sope recipe that looks pretty good.)
I topped mine with refried beans, a little avocado, and a lot of homemade pico de gallo — but, just like tacos, you can fill them with whatever you want. They were well worth the extra (but by no means too extra) effort.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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