November 1, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 250 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian military officials have announced the expansion of an existing evacuation order in the occupied southern Ukraine city of Kherson. The evacuation order now includes residents along the eastern bank of the Dnipro River and is seen as being prompted by the continuing advance of Ukrainian forces toward the city. [more]
• CNN cites unnamed officials from a Western country as saying that Iran is preparing to send an additional 1,000 weapons, including ballistic missiles and attack drones, to Russia for use in the invasion of Ukraine. [more]
• The Associated Press cites an unnamed U.S defense official as saying that a small number of U.S. military personnel in Ukraine have recently begun inspections to ensure that weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries are properly accounted for and tracked. [more]

U.S. OIL | President Joe Biden yesterday accused U.S. oil companies of “war profiteering” for making record profits and suggested that he could seek Congressional action on additional tax levies on oil companies if they don’t take steps, such as increasing domestic production, to help reduce consumer gasoline prices. [more]

GUN VIOLENCE | Police say at least 14 people, including three children, were injured last night in a drive-by shooting in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood. No suspects or motive for the shooting have been identified, according to Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | Former President Donald Trump yesterday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court ruling that allowed the House Ways and Means Committee to move forward with its request for Trump’s tax returns. The committee has been seeking access to the tax returns since 2019, when Trump was still in office. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Yoon Hee Keun, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, said today that he feels a “heavy responsibility” for the crowd surge in which more than 150 people were killed Saturday in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district. Yoon said police did not effectively handle the crowd situation or respond appropriately to calls warning of potential danger. [more]

ARAB LEAGUE | A two-day summit of the 22-member Arab League begins today in Algeria. Major topics of discussion at the summit are expected to include food and energy crises associated with the war in Ukraine and the prevalence of drought in multiple League member countries. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that opium cultivation in Afghanistan increased 32% in 2022, compared to the previous year, despite the ruling Taliban regime’s outlawing of the crop, which is used in the creation of multiple drugs, including heroin. [more]

ISRAEL | Exit polls of voters in today’s national elections in Israel show a very close race between former leader Benjamin Netanyahu and current Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Analysts predict that neither candidate’s party will be able to form a government without the support of other political blocs. [more]

BRAZIL | Two days after losing a close election to rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has yet to concede defeat, leading to increased speculation that he may challenge the election results. [more]

NORTH KOREA | A statement released by North Korea’s Foreign Ministry warns of “powerful follow-up measures” in response to the start of large-scale U.S. and South Korean military air exercises yesterday. [more]

INDIA | Police in India’s western state of Gujarat have arrested nine people in connection with the Sunday pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least 134 people. Those arrested include managers of the Oreva Group, the company that operates the bridge. [more]

DENMARK | Voting is under way in Denmark’s national elections today, with voters choosing among three candidates for prime minister. None of the candidates are expected to be able to form a government without the support of other political blocs. [more]

GERMANY | German government agencies said yesterday that they would put off decisions on broad plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector until 2023. The country’s previously announced goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045. [more]

OIL PROFITS | Oil giant Saudi Aramco today reported third-quarter profits of $42.4 billion — up from $30.4 billion in the year-ago period and the second-largest quarterly profit in the company’s history. [more]

PUBLISHING INDUSTRY | A U.S. district court judge yesterday blocked the proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster by Penguin Random House, saying the deal would reduce competition in the publishing industry if it went through. Penguin Random House says it intends to appeal the ruling. [more]

BASEBALL | Game 3 of the 2022 World Series was postponed due to rain last night in the Philadelphia area. The Series, currently tied 1-1, is scheduled to continue this evening. [more]

SOCCER | The Ukrainian soccer federation, alleging human rights violations and citing reports of supplying weapons to Russia by Iran, yesterday urged world soccer governing body FIFA to remove the Middle Eastern country from the upcoming World Cup tournament. [more]

MUSIC | Taylor Swift last week became the first artist to hold all top-10 spots at the same time in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. All ten of the songs are from Swift’s recently released album Midnights. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1993, the Maastricht Treaty entered into force, thereby establishing the European Union. [more history]