November 21, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 46 of the conflict:

• Reports cite Israeli, U.S., and Hamas officials as saying that Qatar-mediated talks to exchange Hamas-held hostages for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza have seen significant progress and that an agreement could be announced as early as today. [more]
• Israeli military officials say Hamas forces in northern Gaza have regrouped in the region’s Jabaliya refugee camp and that operations to “prepare the battlefield” around the camp are underway. [more]
• U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is scheduled to take part in a virtual meeting of BRICS bloc leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, today for talks on the Israel-Hamas war and the civilian humanitarian crisis in Gaza. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 635 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• In a visit to Kyiv yesterday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a new $100 million military aid package for Ukraine and reiterated the U.S.’ “long-haul” support for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion. [more]
• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and European Council President Charles Michel are both in Kyiv today in shows of support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia and marking the 10th anniversary of what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity pro-European uprising that chilled relations with Russia. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Authorities in southwestern Ohio say four people were wounded last night when a man opened fire in the Dayton-area Beavercreek Walmart store before killing himself. Police have not yet released the identity of the victims or the shooter. [more]

THANKSGIVING TRAVEL | AAA predicts that about 55.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for the Thanksgiving holiday between tomorrow and Sunday, and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration says it expects to screen some 5.6 million air passengers today and tomorrow. Travel prices are reported to be down this year, with gasoline averaging about 40 cents per gallon lower than this time last year and flights down an average of 14% from a year ago. [more]

TRUMP FEDERAL ELECTION TRIAL | A federal appeals court is expected to rule today on whether to reimpose limited restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s public speech regarding prosecutors, potential witnesses, and court staff in his federal election subversion case. [more]

VOTING RIGHTS ACT | In a 2-1 decision yesterday, a three-judge panel of the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the U.S. attorney general, and not private individuals or groups such as the NAACP,  can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires political maps to include districts where minority populations’ preferred candidates can win elections. [more]

WISCONSIN | The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case brought by state Democrats who are asking the court to re-draw legislative districting maps that they say are unfairly favorable for Republicans. [more]

CLIMATE | According to a new U.N. Environmental Program report, global carbon emissions will have to be reduced by 42% by 2030 to meet the 1.5-degree Celsius global warming limit adopted in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The 2023 Emissions Gap Report notes that worldwide carbon emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas rose 1.2% last year. [full report] [more]

AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA | Alleging support of “separatist tendencies and separatists,” Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accused France today of increasing the chance of war in the South Caucasus by supplying weapons to Armenia. [more]

PAPUA NEW GUINEA | The Mount Ulawun volcano on Papua New Guinea’s northeastern island of New Britain erupted yesterday, sending volcanic ash as high as 50,000 feet, according to the South Pacific nation’s Geohazards Management Division. Reports say the eruption continues today, but that its severity rating has been downgraded. [more]

BRAZIL | According to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, the South American nation recorded its highest-ever temperature Sunday, with a high of 44.8 degrees Celsius (112.6F) measured in the southeastern town of Araçuaí. [more]

ITALY | Italian coast guard authorities say at least one child died, and eight other people remain missing, after a small boat carrying migrants capsized yesterday off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. [more]

GERMANY | According to German media, the homes of at least 17 people in the state of Bavaria were raided today in connection with investigations into the posting of antisemitic hate speech and making online threats against Jews. [more]

COP28 | According to a Reuters report, France and the United States are expected to propose a plan to halt private financing for coal-based power plants during the upcoming COP28 climate conference, which will be held November 30 to December 12 in Dubai. [more]

FOOTBALL | The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 21-17, last night in a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl. [more]

U.S. SOCCER | Despite a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago last night, the U.S. men’s national soccer team has earned spots in the 16-nation Copa América tournament and the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals by virtue of the team’s four-goal series lead in the Nations League quarterfinals. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1920, on Bloody Sunday, the Irish Republican Army killed 15 Englishmen suspected of being intelligence agents, and the Black and Tans constabulary took revenge the same afternoon, attacking spectators and players at a Gaelic soccer match in Croke Park, Dublin, killing 14 and wounding 60. [more history]