April 1, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 178 of the conflict:

• Israeli forces withdrew from the Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, early today after a two-week raid on the site that Israeli officials say resulted in the deaths of dozens of Hamas militants, including senior operatives, seizure of weapons caches, and valuable intelligence. Gaza health officials say the protracted raid endangered patients and put Gaza’s already-overwhelmed health sector at further risk. [more]
• Reports say tens of thousands of Israelis took part in anti-government demonstrations in Jerusalem yesterday, calling for a cease-fire deal with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages and for early elections to be held. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 767 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian forces continued their targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure yesterday, with cruise missile and drone attacks on facilities in multiple regions. Reports say some 170,000 homes in the southern Odessa region were left without power due to a fire caused by a downed Russian drone. [more]
• Military administration officials in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv say Russia has fired five of its new Zircon hypersonic missiles at the city since the start of 2024. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | One man was killed, and five other people were injured, yesterday when a man opened fire with a handgun inside a Nashville, Tennessee, restaurant. Police say the search for the 46-year-old male suspect in the shooting is ongoing. [more]

MARYLAND | Amidst ongoing work to remove debris from Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, a task force set up to manage the incident response says Port of Baltimore officials are planning to open a temporary channel to the north-east side of the main channel near the collapsed bridge for "commercially essential vessels. [more]

U.S., JAPAN, AND SOUTH KOREA | According to Japanese media reports, the U.S. government is preparing to host a trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea on the sidelines of the July 9-11 NATO Summit in Washington. [more]

U.S. AND YEMEN | The U.S. military’s Central Command said yesterday that its forces destroyed multiple Houthi drones in Yemen and over the Red Sea this weekend in continuing action against the Iran-backed rebel group that has threatened regional shipping in support of Hamas amidst Israel’s operations in Gaza. [more]

CANADA | Citing potential traffic issues, emergency service demands, and cell phone network outages associated with expectations of up to a million visitors, Ontario’s regional municipality of Niagara has proactively invoked a state of emergency ahead of the April 8 total solar eclipse. [more]

RUSSIA AND IRAN | Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying that Iran warned Russia about the possibility of a major terrorist threat ahead of the March 22 Islamic State attack on the Moscow-area Crocus City Hall concert venue in which at least 144 people were killed. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | As part of ongoing integration into the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Europe’s Schengen travel zone yesterday. Officials note that ID-check-free intra-zone cross-border travel to and from the two countries is now possible for European residents, but that land border checks remain in place. [more]

ECUADOR | In the country’s second mass killing in days, gunmen opened fire on a pedestrian street in the southwestern city of Guayaquil yesterday, killing nine people and wounding 10 others. Authorities say no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

TURKEY | Reports say Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party maintained control of both Istanbul’s and Ankara’s mayoral offices in yesterday’s local elections across the country, and that the party had, overall, the best opposition showing against the governing Justice and Development Party since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power two decades ago. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | According to newly released data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s purchasing managers index measure of manufacturing activity rose in March after five consecutive months of declines. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Former President Jacob Zuma is not eligible to run for upcoming elections, according to South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission, which cited the country’s constitutional ban on holding public office for anyone convicted and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment in its ruling. [more]

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | Participants in the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four are set, with UConn facing Alabama and NC State playing Purdue. In the women’s bracket, South Carolina and NC State have reached the Final Four, and games between Southern California and UConn and Iowa and LSU today will decide the other participants. [full men’s bracket] [full women’s bracket] [more]

GOLF | World No. 1 Nelly Korda won her third straight LPGA tournament yesterday, shooting a final round 7-under-par 65 to win the Ford Championship. Also yesterday, Stephan Jaeger won his first PGA Tour event with a 3-under-par 67 at the Houston Open. [more]

PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY | Mobile phone giant AT&T says the personal information, including names, addresses, social security numbers, and passcodes, of some 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders has been discovered online and that the company is taking steps to notify affected customers and mitigate damage from the data breach. [AT&T info page] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $80 million in receipts, followed by "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" and "Dune: Part Two." [more]

R.I.P. | Actor Louis Gossett, Jr., best known for his Oscar-winning performance in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman” and his Emmy-winning role as Fiddler in the 1977 miniseries “Roots,” died Friday at the age of 87, according to a statement released by his family. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne formed Apple Computer Company, later Apple Computer Inc. and Apple Inc., starting the company's journey to becoming one of the world's leading tech firms and, for much of the period from 2011 to 2024, the world's largest company by market capitalization. [more history]