October 10, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 593 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian military officials say their troops have made progress recently in the eastern Bakhmut region, as well as near the towns of Andriivka and Klishhiivka, as part of their four-month-old counteroffensive, but that it remains “too early to talk about achieving concrete goals” in the counteroffensive. [more]
• Authorities in Ukraine’s Donetsk region say at least one person was killed in overnight Russian shelling of the towns of Donetsk and Avdiivka. [more]

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day four of the conflict:

• Heavy Israeli bombardments of Gaza continue today in retaliation for the Hamas attacks on Saturday, with Israel reporting some 900 civilian and military deaths since the outbreak of hostilities and Palestinians reporting about 700 deaths in Gaza. Israel claims to have regained full control of its southern regions and of the borders with Gaza. [more]
• The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and Israel have both confirmed that multiple people were killed or wounded yesterday when members of the group crossed into Israel from Lebanon. Increased signs of a possible second front in the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border include rockets fired by Hezbollah militants and cross-border artillery fire by Israel.  [more]
• Reports say the U.N. and other international aid groups are in talks with Egypt about establishing humanitarian aid corridors into Gaza along the short border shared by Egypt and the Palestinian enclave after Israel imposed a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off electricity, as well as food, fuel, and water supplies. U.N. officials said today that as many as 187,000 residents in Gaza have fled their homes since the onset of hostilities. [more]
• Following confirmation of at least 11 American deaths in the Hamas attacks on Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver an address on the hostilities this afternoon. [more]

BIDEN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS | The White House Counsel Office said yesterday that President Joe Biden took part in voluntary interviews by special counsel Robert Hur on Sunday and Monday in connection with the investigation into classified documents found in Biden’s Delaware residence that were reportedly tied to his time as a senator and as vice president. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Police in San Francisco, California, say a yet-unidentified man rammed a car into the Chinese Consulate in the city yesterday afternoon, causing significant damage. The driver was fatally shot by police responding at the scene, and investigations into the incident are ongoing. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The Republican conference in the House of Representatives is expected to vote behind closed doors today in preliminary balloting to choose a new House Speaker. The voting comes a week after Kevin McCarthy was removed from the Speaker position. [more]

U.S. GAMBLING | A report released yesterday by the American Gaming Association says the casino gambling industry generates nearly $329 billion in economic activity annually, including $104 billion in wages across the United States. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA NUCLEAR TESTING | Russia’s TASS state news agency cites Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today as saying there are indications that the United States may be conducting preparatory work for a nuclear arms test in Nevada and that Russia would not resume such tests unless the U.S. does so. The U.S. and the Soviet Union last conducted nuclear tests in 1992 and 1990, respectively. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | The International Monetary Fund’s October 2023 World Economic Outlook report predicts global economic growth to slow to 2.9% in 2024 – down from an expected 3% this year and 3.5% in 2022 – and global price inflation to drop from 8.7% in 2022 to 6.9% this year and 5.8% in 2024. The report further notes that the global economy shows “remarkable resiliency,” but faces ongoing pressure from higher interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and widening geopolitical rifts. [full report] [more]

KOREA | South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-shik said today that the recent Hamas surprise attack on Israel has prompted concerns of similar actions by North Korea. Shin urged increased surveillance along the two countries' shared border. [more]

MYANMAR | Multiple humanitarian groups say Myanmar’s military government carried out an airstrike yesterday on a displaced persons camp in the country’s northern Kachin state, killing more than 30 people and wounding 60 others. Reports note that the camp is located in the town of Laiza, where the Kachin Independence Army rebel group maintains its headquarters. [more]

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL | The United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to select today between Russia, Albania, and Bulgaria to fill two open seats allotted to the East European regional group on the U.N. Human Rights Council. Russia was suspended from the Council in April 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine. [more]

SYRIA | Two days of hearings before the International Court of Justice begin today in a case brought by Canada and the Netherlands, who have accused Syria of widespread human rights violations, including torture, against the Syrian people. No representatives of the Syrian government attended today’s hearings. [more]

NIGER | The United States will reportedly make a formal declaration as early as today that July’s military takeover of the government in Niger meets the legal standard for a coup – a determination that normally involves the suspension of all non-humanitarian assistance. [more]

CANADA | More than 2,400 auto workers went on strike at three General Motors plants in Canada today over pension and retirement issues. The action follows a new labor agreement reached between Unifor union members and automaker Ford last month. [more]

SOCCER | European soccer governing body UEFA announced today that the United Kingdom and Ireland will host the 2028 European Championship tournament. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1911, a group of revolutionaries launched an uprising in Wuchang, China, which many regard as the formal beginning of the Chinese Revolution, a nationalist democratic revolt that overthrew the Qing dynasty. [more history]