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Daybreak: Hint That Direct Talks Are Nigh

Plus Bloomberg’s strong, personal stand, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
August 13, 2010
Michael Bloomberg before speaking last Friday.(Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
Michael Bloomberg before speaking last Friday.(Michael Nagle/Getty Images)

• A leaked letter from the European Union’s chief diplomat hints that Palestinian President Abbas may agree to direct talks next week. [Reuters/Haaretz]

• The U.N. flotilla probe, which answers to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, kicked off yesterday. [JPost]

• Uri Brodsky, the only man so far arrested in connection with the assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, will appear in German court, to which he was extradited from Poland. [AP/JPost]

• Why is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg taking so strong and vocal a stance in favor of the Ground Zero Islamic center? The reasons sure aren’t political: It polls terribly, even in New York. [NYT]

• BREAKING: August Fridays are really slow hard-news days.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.