Good morning.
Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, has said he accepts “full responsibility” for creating the group chat of top security officials that leaked highly sensitive information about imminent strikes in Yemen after accidentally including a journalist.
His admission came on Tuesday, a day after the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, published an article suggesting Waltz had inadvertently invited him to the chat on the messaging app. Signal is not approved by the US for sharing classified information and the Pentagon had recently warned its staff against using it.
After being pressed by Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, Waltz took responsibility for creating the group chat. But despite admitting this, he continued to deflect blame, implying the security blunder could have occurred “through some technical mean” or even be orchestrated by Goldberg deliberately. He did not provide evidence for this.
How has the leak been received internationally? Mostly with shock (and a fair amount of ridicule) – but it has also led Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, to warn that Five Eyes allies must “look out for ourselves”.
Attacks show Moscow not moving towards ‘real peace’ despite truce talks, says Zelenskyy
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight show that Moscow is not moving towards “real peace”. On Tuesday night, Russia struck Mykolaiv – a Ukrainian port in the Black Sea – and launched an attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih.
The attack came within hours of the US saying it had reached a deal with both sides to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea.
In a Telegram post, Zelenskyy said the attacks were “a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace”. He asked the US to impose further sanctions.
Zelenskyy emphasized that the US offer for a total ceasefire had been available to Moscow since 11 March, but that Russia rejected the option “literally every night”.
What has Russia said? The Kremlin’s line is that a ban on striking energy targets is in place – but that the Black Sea security deal, agreed on Tuesday, will first require the lifting of sanctions.
Hundreds join anti-Hamas protest in Gaza
Hundreds of Palestinians have joined anti-Hamas protests in northern Gaza in the largest demonstration against the militant group in the territory since the 7 October attacks.
Footage shared on social media late on Tuesday showed hundreds of people chanting “Hamas out” and “Hamas terrorists” in front of the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahiya, with some carrying banners saying, “We want to live in peace”.
At least one call to join the protest was circulating on the social media platform Telegram, though the identity of its organizers appeared unclear. Other clips showed dozens of people in Jabaliya refugee camp, in the western part of Gaza City, burning tyres, calling for peace and chanting: “We want to eat”.
Is this the first time this has happened? There have occasionally been modest protests in Gaza since the start of the war, and in 2019 economic protests were violently suppressed by Hamas, which said they were organized by its rival, Fatah.
In other news …
Panama has deported hundreds of migrants from Colombia and Ecuador who have crossed the Darién Gap under a $6m agreement with the US.
A federal judge in Manhattan has blocked immigration officials from detaining a permanent US resident whom the Trump administration is trying to deport for joining pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
Democratic officials began “hush-hush talks” to discuss Joe Biden’s withdrawal as the party’s presidential nominee in 2023, according to a new book.
Wildfires in South Korea have killed at least 24 people and are still raging, with winds fueling the blazes that have been described as some of the worst in the country’s history.
Stat of the day: African human genomes make up less than 2% of those analyzed so far – ‘The field of human ancestry is rife with racism’
Despite people from Africa making up 17% of the world’s population, less than 2% of the human genomes analyzed so far have come from Africans. The disparity has set back scientists’ understanding of cancer and its treatment, and experts say it has resulted in the development of drugs that are not as effective for all people.
Don’t miss this: Grudges are bad for us. Here’s how to get over them
If you’re a person who’s known to hold a grudge, you’ll be aware that they can make you feel good – at least for a bit. “Short doses of anger release dopamine, which is a pleasure chemical,” says the psychologist Fred Luskin, who is director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project. But if they drag on for too long, it inhibits your brain from feeling pleasure from other things in life, he explains. They’re also linked to stress. Whether you still resent someone who was unkind to you in elementary school or a store that ripped you off, here’s how to let go.
Climate check: Tackling the planetary emergency will boost economic growth, OECD says
Dealing with the climate crisis will boost economic growth, according to research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the world’s economic watchdog. Critics of net zero have claimed strong climate policies will hurt the economy, but letting the crisis run its course would slash a third of global GDP this century, it found.
Last Thing: Meet the man who has eaten 35,000 burgers
Donald Gorske, 71, has eaten two Big Macs every day since 1972, so it’s no shock that he holds the lifetime Guinness world record for it. The Guardian sat down with the world’s No 1 Big Mac enthusiast after he crossed the milestone of 35,000 burgers this month, warning others who may be considering trying to come for his record, simply: don’t.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
