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Israel, Hezbollah stop short of all-out war

Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday exchanged the heaviest cross-border strikes yet since their ongoing conflict began after Oct. 7, but stopped short of an all-out war. Israel said it preemptively targeted dozens of Hezbollah launch sites before the Iran-backed militant group fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli military targets, which it said was the first phase of its retaliation for Israel’s assassination of a senior leader. The exchange could imperil Sunday’s high-stakes Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Cairo. But both sides signaled they were backing down for now, dampening fears of a wider war. Their appetite for one is low, The Guardian wrote: Israel “does not have the stamina for another front,” and Hezbollah cannot risk its military and financial assets in Lebanon.

Telegram CEO arrested in France

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris Saturday as part of a probe into the messaging app’s content moderation. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire fled the country in 2014 after facing pressure from Moscow for not suppressing opposition voices on his other social media platform. He “can hardly be called a Russian patriot,” a state media outlet wrote, but several Kremlin figures slammed the arrest as politically motivated. X owner Elon Musk — himself in the EU’s crosshairs over content moderation — said the arrest was an attack on free speech. Durov’s detainment may “prove a test case for EU platform regulation,” an internet governance expert wrote, as regulators have criticized Telegram for spreading both Ukrainian and Russian propaganda since the 2022 invasion.

‘Slumdog’ slum plan in trouble

One of the world’s richest men is struggling with his ambitious transformation of one of Asia’s largest slums. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani won a $619 million bid in 2022 to redevelop Mumbai’s Dharavi slum — depicted in the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire — into a “world-class city” and rehouse its million residents. But the venture, which has faced scrutiny and skepticism, is yet to secure land to rehabilitate many of the 590-acre slum’s inhabitants who are ineligible to get free homes, Reuters reported. Several government agencies who own the land have refused to part with it. “In Mumbai, getting land is the toughest of things,” the project head said. Adani has acknowledged the “colossal” challenges, but hoped that Dharavi would produce “millionaires without the slumdog prefix.”

Harris raises ‘record’ campaign cash

Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has raised $540 million since its launch last month, her team said Sunday, calling it “a record for any campaign in history.” The US vice president got $82 million in donations during last week’s Democratic convention where she accepted her historic nomination, a third of which were from first-time contributors, according to her campaign. The cash boost reflects Harris’ surging momentum over her Republican rival Donald Trump only months before November’s presidential election. Both candidates are now turning their attention to crucial swing states this week: Trump is set to campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin, and Harris will visit Georgia where the two are neck and neck according to recent polls.

US, China to focus on Taiwan in meeting

Top Chinese and US officials are expected to raise Taiwan as a major concern during Jake Sullivan’s first trip to China as the US national security adviser. Sullivan’s Tuesday meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be their fifth since February. The “strategic channel” between the two officials — established through a spate of secret meetings across the world — has been a “shock absorber that… has helped cut the risk of a miscalculation” by both superpowers, the Financial Times wrote, especially at a time of heightened tensions. During the upcoming meeting in Beijing, Washington will highlight China’s “destabilizing” military and economic actions against Taiwan, while Beijing will focus on “clarifying its stern position” on the island, which it views as a breakaway province.

Taiwan show imagines China invasion

The trailer of a TV series that imagines a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has sparked a fierce debate in the island. The Taiwanese drama Zero Day, set to release next year, showcases the self-ruled island’s “worst nightmare,” The New York Times wrote, depicting a fictional attack by China on what it sees as its breakaway province. The mini-series is partially funded by Taiwan’s government and comes at a time of Beijing’s heightened military and economic pressure against the island. But the trailer has had mixed reactions in Taiwan: Critics slammed it as government propaganda and “scaremongering,” while some commentators said it provided a much-needed jolt of reality about a scenario many experts believe is plausible.

SpaceX to return stranded astronauts

NASA decided Saturday that SpaceX will bring home the two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station due to problems with the Boeing spacecraft that took them there. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were expected to return to Earth after an eight-day mission in June but will now hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule in early 2025. Although they arrived as guests on the ISS, they will soon become full-time crew members, CNN reported, spending their extra five or six months in space doing everyday tasks like conducting spacewalks and science experiments. Adequate food supplies on the ISS means no one has to diet, but one NASA administrator cautioned that without unlimited reserves of resources, “We need to… get back to normal crew size.”

SE Asia leads world in disaster readiness

Southeast Asia leads the world in disaster readiness, according to a recent Gallup poll, showcasing a model of how developing countries can prepare for climate change threats. The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia had the highest share of households who have disaster plans in place, and all scored above the global average of 70% of respondents who received early warnings about incoming disasters. The findings buck the trend of richer nations outperforming on disaster planning and show that people in Southeast Asian countries that are especially vulnerable to climate change disasters feel some sense of control, a Gallup researcher told Nikkei. But problems remain: Manila, for instance, has not fixed colonial-era flood prone areas that continue to worsen due to climate change, one historian argued.

Wolves at center of partisan debate

Wolves are at the center of a fierce battle between farmers and conservationists in the US and Europe. In 2020, the US took the gray wolf off its federal endangered species list, but their growing numbers pitted advocates against ranchers who blamed wolves for attacking their livestock and destroying livelihoods. The fierce partisan debate has prompted the US to hire a mediator who said many Americans “feel their way of life... is under very real threat,” CBS News reported. The surging wolf population in Europe has sparked a similarly divisive debate with the European Commission mulling whether to downgrade the animals’ protection status, Politico reported, leading to a likely “wolf war showdown” in the fall.

Australians can legally ignore bosses

Australians will be allowed to ignore their bosses outside of working hours under a new “right to disconnect” law that comes into force Monday. Employees will be protected if they refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from their employers or clients outside of work “unless that refusal is unreasonable,” the legislation states. It follows similar laws passed by countries including France, Portugal, and Kenya, which aim to counter the notion that, thanks to cell phones, workers are “always on” — to the detriment of their health. One study found Australians carry out an extra 281 hours of unpaid overtime each year. “In today’s hyperconnected world, clearer boundaries between working time and rest are crucial,” a Melbourne-based management professor wrote in The Conversation.

August 26:

• Indonesia and the US lead joint military exercises with allies.
• Pacific Island leaders meet in Tonga to discuss economic and climate challenges.
• The US Open tennis tournament kicks off in New York.

The Chinese “mistress dispeller” — a person sent to break up a cheating partner and their lover — is the delicate subject of a documentary that premieres at the Venice Film Festival next week. Infidelity rates in China have soared, giving rise to professionals who charge more than $10,000 to end extramarital affairs. Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo takes an “astonishingly intimate look” at the phenomenon in Mistress Dispeller, the South China Morning Post wrote, which follows one love triangle from beginning to end. “Hopefully, as a viewer, regardless of what you’ve done or not done in your life… you have more forgiveness for yourself [after watching],” Lo said.

• India’s Modi urges Zelenskyy to sit down for peace talks with Russia.
• Altman-backed startup to test AV mass transit system in Atlanta.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell says “the time has come” to cut rates.