Briefly

UNITED STATES

Trump, Netanyahu meet for 2nd time

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal. The Israeli leader departed the White House on Tuesday evening after just over an hour's meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, with no media access. The two men also met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday. This was Netanyahu's third US visit since Trump began his second term as president on Jan 20. Netanyahu met US Vice-President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol on Tuesday, and was due back in Congress on Wednesday to meet US Senate leaders. Meanwhile in Gaza, at least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes, hospital officials said on Wednesday.

RUSSIA

Moscow blacklists Yale University in crackdown

Russia has labeled Yale University as an "undesirable organization", authorities said on Tuesday, as the Kremlin pursues a crackdown on critics that has accelerated during Moscow's campaign in Ukraine. Being declared "undesirable" effectively bans entities from operating in Russia and makes anyone who works with them liable to prosecution. According to the prosecutor general, Yale's activities were aimed at "violating territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, imposing an international blockade on the state and undermining its economic foundations". The prosecutors singled out Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs, accusing it of preparing opposition activists to organize protests in the country.

Agencies via Xinhua