Tensions are rising in Lebanon and Gaza
Fragile ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza were put to the test yesterday.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces killed or wounded scores of people, Lebanese officials said, and in Gaza Israel prevented thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes, saying Hamas had violated the terms of their truce, including failing to follow an agreed order for the release of hostages.
By the end of the day, however, Israel and Hamas said mediated agreements had been reached to resolve their dispute, and the White House issued a statement saying an initial 60-day ceasefire deal in Lebanon would be extended until February 18.
Negotiators had hoped to make the ceasefire in Lebanon permanent by now, ensuring some measure of peace in the turbulent region. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war have poured onto the roads leading south as they seek to return home.
Latest: Displaced residents of Gaza in the south of the enclave can start walking back to their homes in the north starting at 7 a.m. local time this morning, followed by vehicles on another route two hours later, according to an Israeli army spokesman.
Diplomacy: President Trump has pushed to “cleanse” the Gaza Stripincluding asking Egypt and Jordan to take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. His proposal provoked a decisive rejection by those countries, the two most important US allies in the Middle East.
Related: The sudden end to US foreign aid will not apply to emergency food aid and arms support to Israel and Egypt.
The Colombian-American feud is coming to an end
USA and Colombia yesterday he narrowly avoided a trade warwith President of Colombia Gustavo Petro and President Trump in the dispute over the deportation of Colombian migrants from the USA
Petro gave up late last night and agreed to accept all deportees from the US, including those on military planes. Trump threatened to impose high tariffs and a range of other penalties in response to Peter’s announcement that he had returned military planes carrying deportees to Colombia.
In yesterday’s statement, the White House said that Petro agreed to all conditions. It said the tariffs and sanctions would be “held in reserve” and that other penalties would remain in place until the first planeload of deportees arrived in Colombia. Colombia’s foreign ministry also released a statement, saying it would accept deportation flights and “guarantee dignified conditions” for those Colombians on board.
In other news from the Trump administration:
Lukashenko wins the elections again
In an election that many dismissed as rigged, Europe’s longest-serving leader, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, reached his seventh election victory in a row yesterday.
A survey of voters leaving polling stations published by state media last night showed the president received 87.6 percent of the vote, more than the 81 percent he claimed to have won in 2020. Exit polls are controlled by the state, as are all aspects of elections in Belarus. , and generally reflect the final outcome.
MORE TOP NEWS
Times columnist Caity Weaver loves sugar. Like, he really does. Her home is stocked with Dunkaroos, bags of Gusher, and packages of Strawberry Sensation Fruit Roll-Ups, automatically delivered from Amazon.
Determined to kick the habit and learn about sugar addiction, Weaver traveled to a nutritional therapy facility in Austria to try to change her lifestyle. It was, he says, a road to hell.
Lived lives: Carol Downer, a feminist leader in the women’s health movement who gained national fame for her role in the case known as the Great Yogurt Conspiracy, died at 91.
An art fraud, on a grand scale
Two art fraud rings in a remote Canadian town produced thousands of paintings that were sold as works by Norval Morrisseau, Canada’s most celebrated aboriginal artist.
By the time it all came to light – decades later – the works had collectively brought in millions of dollars across Canada, landing on the walls of the country’s best galleries and universities. They were bought by retired teachers, billionaire art collectors and even rock stars.
“None of us knew anything about art,” said one of the hard-boiled homicide detectives who helped solve the case. They spent their investigation reconstructing Morrisseau’s life in order to understand how and what he painted and how he signed his works.
That’s it for today’s briefing. It’s great to be back. — Natasha
Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
