August 13, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 312 of the conflict:

• According to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, nearly 84% of Gaza is currently under evacuation orders from the Israeli military. [more]
• Responding to an international call for the resumption of Gaza peace talks and the return of Hamas-held hostages yesterday, and amidst concern over the escalation of regional violence, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it is his country’s right to retaliate for the July killing of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which it has blamed on Israel. [more]
• According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a ship in the Red Sea was attacked at least three times today in action thought to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 901 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian military chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said yesterday that, almost a week into Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory, his forces now control some 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russia’s Kursk region. Reports note that some 200,000 people in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions have been evacuated due to the Ukrainian offensive. [more]
• International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi says IAEA investigators have been unable to determine the cause of a fire earlier this week at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | The FBI confirmed yesterday that it is investigating the alleged theft of sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in a cyberattack that the campaign has blamed on Iran. [more]

U.S. CANCER | In an appearance today at Tulane University, President Joe Biden is expected to address the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health “moonshot” initiative aimed at reducing cancer deaths, which he has made an area of focus for his final six months in office. [more]

U.S. ABORTION | State officials in Arizona confirmed yesterday that sufficient signatures for a ballot initiative on enshrining the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution have been certified and that voters will decide the issue this November. Similar initiatives are set to go before voters this year in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota. [more]

PUERTO RICO | Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico today ahead of the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto early tomorrow. The storm is expected to avoid the U.S. mainland as it intensifies into a hurricane later this week. [more]

EUROPEAN HEAT | A new report from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health says 47,690 people in Europe died in 2023 from heat-related causes. Researchers note that the 2023 death toll was down from the 60,000 heat-related deaths estimated for 2022 and suggest that significantly more deaths would have occurred without measures such as early warning systems and healthcare improvements that have been introduced over the past 20 years. [full report] [more]

TURKEY | Turkish media outlets report that an 18-year-old has been arrested in the city of Eskisehir after he stabbed at least five people today at an open-air cafe, streaming the attack on social media. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says investigations into the incident are still ongoing. [more]

CANADA | Officials in the Canadian Rockies town of Jasper announced yesterday that some 5,000 residents who were evacuated in late July due to a wildfire can return to the town on Friday. [more]

COLOMBIA | Government officials say 66 Colombian army soldiers “kidnapped” by villagers in the country’s southern Guaviare province last Friday were released unharmed yesterday. Reports suggest that the villagers were acting under the orders of local rebel groups in holding the soldiers. [more]

GREECE | Firefighting efforts continue today on the outskirts of Athens, Greece, ahead of expected stronger winds this afternoon that authorities say could spread the flames. Reports say at least one death has been linked to the ongoing wildfire. [more]

DENMARK AND SWEDEN | Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said yesterday that his country will pressure Sweden to take steps to address growing cross-border violence linked to Swedish gangs. [more]

U.K. ECONOMY | The U.K. Office for National Statistics reports that pay levels rose at their slowest rate in nearly two years in the second quarter of 2024, with average weekly earnings 5.4% higher than the year-ago period. [more]

GLOBAL EV SALES | Market research firm Rho Motion reports that global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by about 21% in July, compared to the same period in 2023, led by sales in China, where year-over-year sales were up 31%. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Georgia is No. 1 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll, followed by Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, and Alabama. [full rankings] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tenochtitlán, today’s Mexico City, after a 93-day siege, thereby ending the Aztec empire and claiming Mexico for the crown of Spain. [more history]