Netanyahu on Capitol Hill

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forcefully defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza during an address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress, and as the NYT reports, Netanyahu said the war against Hamas was part of a larger conflict between Iran and the United States.

China Casts Itself as Peacemaker

Ukraine’s top diplomat met with his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday for hours of talks in his first such high-level visit to China since Russia’s full-scale invasion, as Kyiv seeks Beijing’s support to end the war on “just” terms, as the WSJ reports.

North Korean Balloon Drops Trash on South Korean Presidential Office

For the past few months, North Korea has been pestering its southern neighbor with seemingly sporadic swarms of balloons ferrying trash. And, as The Washington Post reports, on Wednesday, a balloon landed on the presidential compound in Seoul, delivering what was perhaps the most humiliating of the unwanted loads from the North so far and raising security concerns.

Executive Education

As technology evolves, new opportunities and threats emerge. Critical technological advances will shape policy, redefine security, and impact our lives. Explore the evolution of key technologies–including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Register for Evolving Technologies: Innovation, Competition, and Change to learn more.

Audio Briefs

CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers, and commentaries—in their own words.

Listen here: "Prioritizing Health System Development in the Pacific: A Layered Approach" with CSIS's Kathryn Paik.

In That Number

62.87

Data released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service showed that Monday was most likely the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, with a global average of about 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit, beating a record that had been set just one day before.
Source: NYT

Critical Quote

“We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”

—Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Director

iDeas Lab

CSIS's new Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative is focused on applying an economic security and risk management lens to issues of climate change adaptation and resilience across the Global South. Learn more here.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Michele Spatari/AFP/Getty Images.) A general view of residents and volunteers digging in the mud in search for survivors at the scene of a landslide in Gofa, Ethiopia, on July 24, 2024.

This Town Upcoming

On Friday, at 8:00 a.m., CSIS hosts a discussion on the ongoing water crisis in Gaza.

Also on Friday, at 9:30 a.m., the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies discusses how Taiwan, the United States, and allies in the Indo-Pacific should respond to Chinese gray zone activities in and around the Taiwan Strait.

On Monday, at 12:30 p.m., the CSIS Renewing American Innovation Project hosts a panel discussion exploring the connection between developments in global regulation and litigation of standard essential patents.

Video

Yesterday, the CSIS Japan Chair hosted a discussion of the history and future of the U.S.-Japan alliance, as reflected in the recently released CSIS digital report, Alliance Online: The Evolution of the U.S.-Japan Security Partnership. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

Kenneth Smith Ramos joins Mariana Campero to discuss how the Constitutional Reforms proposed by President Lopez Obrador might weaken Mexico’s judiciary and impact the key principles of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Neil Diamond may be 83 years old, but he knows how to bring his music to a current audience—videos on social media. How else would someone who has sold more than 130 million records keep current? Here’s his latest, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer.”

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.