October 24, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 242 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reports say Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in calls with his counterparts from the U.S., Britain, France, and Turkey this weekend, suggested that Ukraine is preparing an escalation of the war involving a radioactive explosive device or “dirty bomb.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by saying Shoigu’s statement may indicate that Russia itself is preparing to deploy a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil. [more]
• As many as 1.4 million households lost power in several Ukrainian regions over the weekend as Russian forces continued to target electrical and other key infrastructure facilities, according to Ukrainian government reports. [more]

U.S. BORDERS | U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show that migrants were stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border 2.38 million times during the fiscal year ended September 30 — up 37% from the prior year and the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year.  [more]

EDUCATION | Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics shows that student performance in both reading and mathematics declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020 — the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics. [more]

DALLAS HOSPITAL SHOOTING | Nestor Hernandez, 30, has been identified by police as the man charged with two counts of murder following a shooting at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on Saturday in which two hospital employees were killed. [more]

MYANMAR | Reports say as many as 30-60 people were killed in a government air strike on a concert in Myanmar’s northern state of Kachin yesterday. The concert was being held on the anniversary of the founding of the Kachin Independence Organization opposition group. [Reports 1 and 2] [more]

CHINA | Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third five-year term as the leader of China’s ruling Communist Party at this weekend’s Party congress in Beijing. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | Data released today by the National Bureau of Statistics of China says that the country’s gross domestic product grew by 3.9% in the July-September quarter, compared to the year-ago period — higher than the 3.2-3.3% growth expected, but below the official government target of 5.5%. [more]

U.K. POLITICS | Reports say former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is the leading candidate to become Britain’s next prime minister after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that he will not seek the Conservative Party leadership role. [more]

DIWALI | The multi-day Hindu religious and cultural festival Diwali — also known as the Festival of Lights — begins today. [more]

ITALY | Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister Saturday. She is the country’s first female prime minister and its first far-right premier since the end of World War II. [more]

CHAD | Amidst large-scale protests in which reports say more than 60 people have been killed, the government of Chad suspended all political activity by seven opposition parties for three months on Friday. The protests came after interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby extended his time in power by two years on Thursday. [more]

SOMALIA | The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel in Somalia’s port city of Kismayo yesterday in which eight people were killed. [more]

COVID-19 | Global coronavirus infections and deaths continued to fall last week, with infections down 16% from the previous week and the seven-day moving average for deaths down to 1,231, the fewest since March 22, 2020, according to Worldometers.info. [more]

BANKING | Ahead of a strategy overhaul expected to be released later this week, scandal-laden Swiss bank Credit Suisse said today that it has agreed to pay France 238 million euros to settle charges of tax fraud and money laundering. [more]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE | "Black Adam" topped the North America box office over the weekend with an estimated $67 million in receipts, followed by "Ticket to Paradise," and "Smile." [more]

BASEBALL | The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees in the National and American league championships, respectively, this weekend to advance to the World Series, which begins Friday. [more]

TENNIS | American Jessica Pegula defeated Maria Sakkari yesterday to win her first WTA 1000 title at the Guadalajara Open. It was Pegula’s second career title and first since 2019. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | The charter for the United Nations—the world's premier international organization, established at the end of World War II to maintain world peace and friendly relations among nations—entered into force on this date in 1945. [more history]