July 10, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 501 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• The governor of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region says four people were killed, and another 11 were wounded, yesterday when a Russian guided bomb hit a school in the town of Orikhiv where residents had gathered at a humanitarian aid distribution center. [more]
• Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has condemned the U.S. decision Friday to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, saying the move was aimed at prolonging the war in Ukraine. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | In multiple instances of multi-victim gun violence over the weekend:

• NEW YORK CITY | One person was killed and another three were wounded Saturday in a series of shootings carried out by 25-year-old Thomas Abreu. Police say Abreu shot the victims while riding a scooter through parts of Brooklyn and Queens. [more]
• OHIO | Police say nine people were wounded early Sunday morning when an unidentified gunman opened fire into a crowd of people exiting nightclubs in Cleveland’s Warehouse District. [more]

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | President Joe Biden is in the U.K. today, where he will meet with both U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III before heading to Lithuania for the NATO summit in Vilnius later in the week. [more]

NEW YORK | Heavy rain in New York’s Hudson valley has sparked widespread flooding and road closures. Officials say at least one person has been killed and several remain missing due to floods in Orange County, for which Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency. [more]

NATO | Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, current and post-war security assistance for Ukraine, Sweden’s potential membership, and member defense spending are expected to be the main topics of discussion when leaders of NATO alliance nations hold a two-day summit beginning tomorrow in Vilnius, Lithuania.  [more]

TURKEY AND SWEDEN | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today linked his country's potential accession to the European Union to its pending approval of Sweden’s bid to join the NATO alliance, saying, “Come and open the way for Turkey at the European Union and then we will open the way for Sweden.” [more]

CHINA | Six people were killed, and one other was wounded, today in a stabbing attack at a kindergarten in the city of Lianjiang in China’s southeastern Guangdong province. Reports say a 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the attack. [more]

INDIA | At least 15 people died in northern India over the weekend in flooding and landslides brought on by heavy rains, with most of the deaths occurring in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Many schools and roads in New Delhi are closed today due to ongoing flooding. [more]

JAPAN | More than 17 million residents of southwestern Japan’s Kyushu and Chugoku regions are under emergency warnings today due to heavy rains that have caused floods and mudslides over the past few days, killing at least two people and leaving another six missing. [more]

WEST AFRICA | Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was elected the new chairman of the 16-nation Economic Community of West African States regional bloc yesterday. In a statement following his election, Tinubu said peace and security challenges in the region have “reached an alarming level” and that urgent actions are needed to address the issues. [more]

SPAIN | Reuters cites officials at the migrant aid group Walking Borders as saying that at least 300 people traveling on three migrant boats from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands are missing. All three of the boats are reported to have been missing for about two weeks. [more]

SUDAN | In a statement released Saturday following an airstrike that killed 22 people in the Sudanese city of Omdurman, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that Sudan is on "the brink of a full-scale civil war" and urged the country's warring military and paramilitary forces to commit to a "durable cessation of hostilities." [more]

SOUTHEAST ASIA | Foreign ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as diplomats from the U.S., China, and Russia, are set to attend the Association’s annual security meeting this week in Jakarta, Indonesia. Among the topics expected to dominate the agenda are: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tensions in the South China Sea, ongoing unrest in Myanmar, and U.S.-China relations. [more]

SYRIA | Reports cite officials at the U.S. military’s Central Command as saying Islamic State group leader Usamah al-Muhajir was killed in a U.S. drone strike Friday in western Syria. [more]

RUSSIA | Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin following the group’s aborted mutiny last month, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. [more]

GOLF | Allisen Corpuz shot a final-round 3-under-par 69 yesterday to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at California’s Pebble Beach course. The win was Corpuz's first LPGA tour victory. [more]

SOCCER | After finishing regular time tied 2-2, the U.S. beat Canada, 3-2, in a penalty shootout last night to advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament. The U.S. will face Panama on Wednesday, with the winner facing the winner of the other semifinal match between Jamaica and Mexico. [more]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE | "Insidious: The Red Door" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $32.7 million in receipts, followed by "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," and "Sound of Freedom." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1925, the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial, in which high-school teacher John T. Scopes was charged with violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, began in Dayton, Tennessee. The trial’s proceedings helped to bring the scientific evidence for evolution into the public sphere and sparked a national debate on the issue. [more history]