An update: In addition to this, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, an official says.

State Dept’s No. 2 diplomat questioned the need for NATO in a post on X - which he later deleted - as the alliance prepares for a summit expected to be dominated by a U.S. demand for higher defense spending and Russia's war on Ukraine. Jonathan Landay Reuters reuters.com/world/no-2-us-…

Israel has carried out strikes in Iran, but without U.S. involvement or U.S. assistance, officials tell Reuters. W/Phil Stewart

SCOOP: The White House on Wednesday recommended terminating U.S. funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar and Syria, as well as on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine. From me and Anthony Deutsch

Congo drops demand for immediate Rwandan troop pullout, sources say reut.rs/40mlNa6 reut.rs/40mlNa6

The foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days, according to a version initialled by technical teams last week seen by Reuters. w/ Robbie Corey-Boulet Sonia Rolley reuters.com/world/africa/r…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of ASEAN in Malaysia, per a senior State Department official.

SCOOP: President Trump yesterday said that he would help Afghan evacuees who were stuck in the UAE, but an internal State Dept cable shows that the Emirati government had already begun returning some of them to Afghanistan since early July & had informed Washington of its plan.

NEW: Senior Trump administration officials told Congress this month that Israel agreed to match a U.S. award of $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a previously unreported contribution to the controversial armed private aid operation. W/Jonathan Landay Reuters Daphne Psaledakis

A United Nations report seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs has revealed: U.N. reports are not widely read. reuters.com/world/un-repor…

NEW: The United States and Rwanda have agreed for the African country to accept up to 250 migrants deported from the U.S., the spokesperson for the Rwandan government and an official said. reuters.com/world/africa/r…

The U.S. military is preparing for the activation of hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington D.C., a U.S. official tells Reuters

NEW: State Dept's Human Rights Report is finally out. The main theme is a softening of U.S. criticism towards countries that have partnered with the admin such as El Salvador while sounding alarm about freedom of speech in Europe. El Salvador language below in 2024 vs 2023

Other notable things include: Governments' treatment of LGBTQI communities is largely omitted, criticism ramped up on Brazil and South Africa, both of which have clashed with the administration. Reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine is mostly the "Russia-Ukraine war".

This purge is much deeper. Hegseth also fired the chief of U.S. Naval reserves and the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.

SCOOP: The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on officials from the EU and/or member states responsible for implementing the bloc's landmark Digital Services Act, which U.S. says is censoring Americans, people familiar with the matter tell me 1/X