November 28, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 53 of the conflict:

• Israel agreed yesterday to extend its temporary cease-fire in Gaza for two more days in exchange for 10 hostages being released by Hamas each day. So far, 51 Israelis and 19 hostages of other nationalities have been released by Hamas and 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons as part of the cease-fire agreement. [more]
• According to a U.N.-led aid consortium report, more than 234,000 homes have been damaged in Gaza and 46,000 have been completely destroyed since the conflict began with the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, amounting to more than 60% of available housing in the Palestinian enclave. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 642 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Citing unnamed intelligence sources, Ukrainian media reports say Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukrainian military intelligence agency, has been poisoned with heavy metals. [more]
• Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday in Kyiv to demonstrate the E.U. bank’s “unwavering support, especially amid Russia’s continued attack and atrocities” and to announce two recently approved loans totaling 450 million euros as part of the E.U. for Ukraine Initiative. [more]

U.S. DIPLOMACY | In an extended overseas trip this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a NATO summit in Brussels and an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje, both of which are expected to focus heavily on the war in Ukraine. Blinken will then travel to Israel and the Middle East, where he is expected to express support for Israel as well as the need to continue efforts toward peace and humanitarian aid. Finally, Blinken will participate in meetings on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later in the week. [more]

SANDY HOOK | Relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, who won a $1.5 billion judgment against conspiracy theorist and broadcaster Alex Jones, have reportedly offered to settle for a minimum payment of $85 million over 10 years. [more]

U.S. BORDERS | In response to growth and changes in illegal entry and migration routes along the U.S. southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection yesterday closed a border crossing at Eagle Pass, Texas, and reduced traffic flow at a crossing in Lukeville, Arizona, to facilitate staffing of other areas. [more]

TEXAS | Oral arguments are scheduled to take place this morning before the Texas Supreme Court in an appeal of the state's near-total ban on abortions. The case centers on a lower court ruling that said the state could not prosecute doctors for performing abortions in some circumstances, including when a pregnancy poses a health risk or when the fetus is not likely to survive after birth. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL REGULATION | The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments tomorrow on a Biden administration appeal of a lower court ruling that restricted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's power to enforce securities laws through its in-house tribunal system, which critics say gives the agency an unfair advantage compared to trials before a jury in federal court. [more]

RUSSIA | According to Russian media reports, a Moscow court today extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich through January 30. Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip to Russia in March and charged with espionage, which he, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government have denied. [more]

NEW ZEALAND | Officials in New Zealand’s new National party-led government say they intend to repeal the country’s Smokefree law passed by the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government. The law would have banned cigarette sales to anyone born after 2008 starting next year. [more]

PAKISTAN | A Pakistani court ruled today that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s upcoming trial on charges of revealing official secrets will be public, but that it will be held in the prison where Khan is being detained due to security concerns. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Reports say 11 mine workers were killed, and another 75 were injured, yesterday when an elevator carrying the workers to the surface of a platinum mine in Rustenburg, South Africa, suddenly dropped more than 650 feet. All operations at the mine have been suspended while the incident is investigated, according to the mine operator, Impala Platinum Holdings. [more]

GERMANY | Authorities in western Germany have issued travel warnings and urged residents to stay home in some areas today due to a sudden-onset snow and ice storm that has left two people dead. [more]

CHINA | Chinese state media outlet CCTV reports that at least 11 people died today following a suspected rock burst at a coal mine in the country’s northeastern Heilongjiang province. [more]

2024 OLYMPICS | Officials in Paris have announced that public transportation metro ticket prices for non-residents will nearly double while the city hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics, which begin next July. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1943, the mid-World War II Tehran Conference of Allied leaders U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin was opened. The main outcome of the summit was the Western Allies' commitment to open a second front against Nazi Germany. [more history]