Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar is useless. Can Israel seal a hostage deal now?

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In the present day’s high tales

Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas and Israel’s most wished man in Gaza, is useless, the Israeli navy confirmed. He was thought of the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel that killed 1,200 folks, in line with the Israeli authorities. The assault sparked a battle that has killed over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza, in line with Gaza well being officers. The Israeli navy reported that he was killed in Rafah, within the south.

• 🎧 Sinwar’s dying — the most recent high-profile killing of a Hamas chief after two different key leaders have been killed over the summer season — has raised questions on who will assume management of the group, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Schalchi tells Up First. Sinwar’s right-hand man has been his brother, Mohamed Sinwar, however there are others exterior of Gaza who’ve represented Hamas in Qatar and Turkey for years. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated final night time his final obligation is to safe the discharge of the remaining hostages. The U.S. and Israel have lengthy argued that Sinwar was the principle impediment to reaching a hostage deal, in line with former Israeli intelligence officer Michael Milshtein. President Biden has emphasised the necessity to transfer ahead, indicating it’s time to reinvigorate stalled cease-fire talks.
• ➡️ Who was Yahya Sinwar? This is all the things you might want to find out about the obsessively secretive man labeled a psychopath by Israeli politicians and safety officers.

NPR put collectively a pair of focus teams in Could with “double haters,” voters who disapproved of each former President Donald Trump and Biden. This was to assist perceive how they made up their minds concerning the candidates, however loads has modified since then. This week, NPR went again to these exact same voters to search out out which manner they’re now leaning within the tighter-than-ever race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump.

• 🎧 NPR’s Mara Liasson says that of 10 springtime double haters, 4 have been locked in or leaning in the direction of Trump, 5 have been locked in and leaning in the direction of Harris, and one was sure he wouldn’t vote for both. The shift in the direction of Harris appears to be pushed extra by anti-Trump than pro-Harris sentiment. “She still isn’t garnering as much support as Biden did in 2020 at the same point in the race with key Democratic groups like African Americans, Hispanics, and young people,” Liasson stated. These voters appear much less involved a few Harris final result as they did not consider she would undermine the election. Extra apprehension surrounds Trump and the potential for political violence resulting from his repeated refusal to decide to accepting the outcomes of any election he did not win.

Biden is in Berlin, Germany, right this moment to fulfill with European leaders for the final time throughout his presidency. It’s a farewell journey to a area that has been entrance and heart since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The assembly holds nice political significance, particularly because the U.S. is poised to elect a brand new president whereas the result of the battle in Ukraine stays unsure. Right here’s a look into this assembly’s significance.

• 🎧 “America’s relationship with Europe is stronger than ever, and that’s largely due to the work that President Biden has done these past four years,” NPR’s Rob Schmitz says. In accordance with a latest survey by the German suppose tank Körber-Stiftung, 80% of Germans polled consider that one other Trump presidency would hurt trans-Atlantic relations. Trump’s uncertainty about persevering with assist for Ukraine might drive Europe to step in to fill the hole in U.S. assist for the nation if he’s re-elected. This might put stress on Germany specifically to strengthen its personal safety. Moreover, a Trump presidency might contribute to the rising reputation of far-right events in Germany and throughout Europe.

Image present

Abrar Saleh Ali, 17, arrived to Milé refugee camp in Japanese Chad two weeks in the past after the civil battle in Sudan destroyed her dwelling and he or she was seperated from her household. It took months for her to stroll throughout the nation and attain the camp, alongside the best way she was robbed of all her belongings, After arriving on the camp, she discovered that her sister had been killed.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

NPR’s Claire Harbage and Fatma Tanis spent every week in September talking with greater than two dozen girls in a number of refugee camps in Chad, which is now dwelling to over 600,000 individuals who have fled Sudan. The ladies stated that the grownup males of their households — their husbands, fathers, grownup sons, and brothers — have been virtually all the time lacking. Some males had disappeared, been killed by the Fast Help Forces to stop them from defending themselves and their households, or had been conscripted by the Sudanese military. The battle has displaced over 13 million folks and resulted in what the United Nations is looking the world’s largest humanitarian disaster.

Weekend picks

Florence Pugh in We Stay in Time.

A24

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A24

Take a look at what NPR is watching, studying and listening to this weekend:

🍿Motion pictures: We Stay In Time stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, who chuckle and cry as a pair attempting to profit from their time collectively. The story jumps from their first assembly to their later disaster and several other important factors in between.

📺 TV: Disclaimer stars Cate Blanchett as a profitable documentarian who’s confronted with a secret from her previous. Every of the seven episodes propels the story ahead, offering new clues, elevating larger questions, and leaving the viewers desirous to study extra.

📚 Books: Clear is narrated by Estela, a pointy girl who works as a housemaid for a rich household. She turns into the principle suspect within the dying of a 7-year-old who was discovered useless within the pool of the house the place she works.

🎵 Music: Famend guitarist and composer John Scofield shall be celebrating 50 years of recorded music in November. To commemorate this milestone, Jazz Evening in America offered him with a particular problem: Select 10 pivotal tracks from his huge discography and reveal the tales behind them. Hearken to the complete setlist right here.

🎮 Video games: Tremendous Mario Occasion Jamboree is full of selection, together with 112 mini-games, 22 playable characters, seven boards, 5 multiplayer modes and an completely single-player journey.

❓Quiz: In case you’ve paid consideration to the presidential hopefuls and incoming pandas, you’ll be able to go not less than half of this week’s quiz. However in case you are like me, you’ll ace all of it. Are you able to take it on?

3 issues to know earlier than you go

Individuals protested in entrance of the White Home in September 2023 to lift consciousness of opioid-related deaths. A 12 months later, the variety of fentanyl-related deaths within the U.S. has dropped sharply.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

1. Drug overdose deaths are down 12.7%, as per CDC knowledge launched this week. If the pattern continues, this 12 months could possibly be the primary since 2020 to see overdose deaths drop under 100,000.
2. Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence official, is going through U.S. federal costs for allegedly planning to assassinate an American citizen in New York Metropolis. The supposed sufferer is a frontrunner within the motion for an unbiased Sikh homeland.
3. Just lately launched physique digicam footage exhibits Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, allegedly being crushed and tased by Phoenix law enforcement officials in August 2024. This comes after a DOJ report discovered proof of discrimination by Phoenix police towards Black, Hispanic, and Native American people.

This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.