September 5: Putin’s Ukraine Talks and West Bank Settler Violence

In Britain Police chiefs in England and Wales say early prisoner releases intended to relieve overcrowded prisons could require nearly £480 million in extra policing. About 2,500 people are expected to be released before Christmas, and forces warn that supervising licence breaches and new offences could pull officers away from existing crime reports. U.S. deportations to Guyana Cuban and Afghan immigrants deported from the United States have arrived in Guyana under the Trump administration’s expanded third-country deportation policy. The administration has reached more than 30 such agreements, extending removals beyond migrants’ home countries. In the Middle East U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called Israeli settler violence in the West Bank an act of terror after visiting Turmusayya and nearby communities. His comments are a direct rebuke from an administration generally close to Israel’s government. In southern Lebanon, Israel and Hezbollah are again fighting around the strategic Ali Taher hill despite a ceasefire reached months ago. Israeli shelling and airstrikes have been met with Hezbollah drone attacks, leaving the area an active front. In Syria, a court has sentenced former dictator Bashar Assad to death for crimes against Syrians. Survivors and rights advocates say the July verdict must be followed by broader transitional-justice efforts after 14 years of civil war. Ukraine negotiations Vladimir Putin has opened Kremlin talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ending the war in Ukraine. The envoys are expected in Kyiv next, while Russia and Ukraine have each pledged not to strike the other’s capital for three days during the negotiations.