Tuesday morning news: May 28, 2024

Israel/Rafah » European leaders are turning up the heat on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.

Ireland and Spain are set to officially recognize a Palestinian state today. And Spain is also calling for sanctions against Israel.

That follows a deadly airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Netanyahu said Israeli forces made a “tragic mistake” after that strike set fire to a tent camp.

The airstrike killed two Hamas leaders but reportedly also killed more than 40 civilians.

EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said he condemns the strike in the strongest possible terms.

BORRELL: It proves that there is no safe place in Gaza and these attacks take place immediately after the International Court of Justice ordered it to stop all military activities in Gaza.

But Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast says it is Hamas that intentionally uses civilians as human shields.

MAST: There will continue to be civilian casualties if the world does not become up in arms about the fact that Hamas purposefully embeds themselves with civilians, purposefully places civilians in front of themselves.

Mast and many other Republicans in Washington say Israel must keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed.

Papua New Guinea » In Papua New Guinea …

SOUND: [Digging]

Local villagers heard there frantically digging through mud with their hands and sticks hoping to find survivors from a catastrophic mudslide on Friday.

UN officials believe more than 2,000 people were buried alive.

Justine McMahon is the local Director of Care International.

MCMAHON: The ground is still unstable. Because of the instability, they have to work with great urgency, but also caution.

She says rescue crews and aid workers are trying to help, but with roadways blocked or destroyed, reaching those in need is challenging.

Iran uranium near weapons-grade levels » The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency says Iran is ramping up its uranium enrichment and could be very close to producing nuclear weapons.

WORLD’s Mark Mellinger has more.

MARK MELLINGER: Iran in recent months has rapidly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium.

That’s according to a confidential new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

It says Iran has more than 300 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%, a jump of 45 pounds in just three months.

Experts say uranium enriched at that level is just a short step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.

Iran says it’s willing to slow its nuclear program IF the U.N. first lifts economic sanctions.

For WORLD, I’m Mark Mellinger.

SOUND: [Cameras clicking]

More aid to Ukraine from Spain/European FMs meet » Cameras flashed in Madrid, Spain as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday.

Zelenskyy has secured a commitment from Spain to deliver more urgently needed air defense missiles.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

The president said Russia is dropping more than 3,000 bombs on his country every month.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine still needs another seven U.S.-made Patriot defense systems to fend off relentless Russian airstrikes.

U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan » A delegation of U.S. lawmakers is on the ground in Taiwan in a show of support after recent Chinese aggression.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul:

MCCAUL: We are not here as Republicans or as Democrats but as Americans in strong support of this beautiful island.

The group of four Republicans and two Democrats met with Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te.

Days earlier, Chinese warships and fighter jets carried out intense live-fire drills around Taiwan as “punishment” for Lai’s inauguration.

McCaul assured the president that weapons Taiwan has ordered from the U.S are on the way as Washington and Taipei hope to deter a Chinese invasion.

Weekend storms update » Officials in several U.S. states now report that fierce weekend storms killed at least 21 people.

Arkansas. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

HUCKABEE-SANDERS:  Certainly, it's devastating to see, um, and anytime you have the loss of life, the loss of homes and businesses.

The storms also proved deadly in Texas, Oklahoma, and in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday:

BESHEAR: There are at least four families this morning that have suffered the loss of a loved one that are hurting and we ought to rally around them and do everything we can to carry them.

Strong winds and heavy rains knocked over trees and spawned deadly tornadoes.

The storms injured hundreds, left thousands without power, and many without homes.

Bill Walton obit » NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton has died. He spent decades in American living rooms, as a player and later as a broadcaster.

He won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 1978 and was a two-time NBA champion.

WALTON: Getting into the Hall of Fame is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. It’s an incredible accomplishment.

Walton heard here ahead of his induction in 1993.

In retirement, he became an Emmy-winning broadcaster covering the game for several networks.

Walton died after a battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: A fatal mission in Haiti. Plus, leaving the occult.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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