August 20, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 319 of the conflict:

• Israeli officials say the bodies of six hostages taken in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel were recovered in an overnight operation in Hamas tunnel networks in southern Gaza. Officials did not say when or how the six hostages died. [more]
• Without providing details, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences delaying an agreement for a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and called on Hamas to do the same. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 908 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• As Russian forces quickly approach the Ukrainian eastern Donetsk region city of Pokrovsk, officials have ordered the evacuation of the city, as well as surrounding towns and villages. Reports note that Pokrovsk is a key logistics hub for the Ukrainian military and that its loss would compromise defensive capabilities and supply routes. [more]
• Reports say a Russian airstrike on an industrial facility in Ukraine’s western Ternopil region overnight sparked a fire in a fuel reservoir, causing chlorine levels in the air to increase and prompting officials to urge local residents to stay indoors. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | In a joint statement released yesterday, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said U.S. intelligence has confirmed that Iran is responsible for recent cyberattacks on the campaigns of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that have raised concern over the threat of foreign election interference. [press release] [more]

CONNECTICUT | Officials say two women in the western Connecticut town of Oxford died in flooding that struck the area Sunday and Monday. Numerous roads and some train services in the region remain closed due to the flooding. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | On the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last night, President Joe Biden endorsed the presidential candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris. Former President Barak Obama is scheduled to give the keynote speech at tonight's convention session. [more]

NEW JERSEY | Following his conviction on federal bribery charges earlier this year, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is expected to resign today. Gov. Phil Murphy says he will appoint former aide George Helmy to fill Menendez’s Senate seat through the November election. [more]

NEW YORK | In the case that led to his expulsion from Congress, New York’s former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Reports say Santos is likely to be sentenced to multiple years in prison and ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution at a sentencing hearing in February. [more]

GLOBAL MARKETS | Stock indices around the world are at or near their highest levels in a month today amidst expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon give hints about imminent rate cuts. [more]

INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA | Reports say Indonesian and Australian officials have finalized a new bilateral defense treaty aimed at expanding military interoperability, providing for more joint military exercises, and supporting regional security. The agreement is expected to be signed later this week. [more]

CONGO | Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say they expect to begin receiving donated mpox vaccine doses from the United States by next week. Congo is the epicenter of the mpox-related global emergency recently declared by the World Health Organization. [more]

TAIWAN | Amidst growing Chinese military pressure and regional territorial claims, Taiwan’s military conducted live-fire surface-to-air missile exercises today. Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said all the missiles launched in the exercises hit their targets. [more]

INDIA | Following the recent rape and killing of a trainee doctor that sparked nationwide protests, India’s Supreme Court announced today that it is establishing a national task force to make recommendations on the safety of healthcare workers. [more]

INDIA AND MALAYSIA | Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a series of agreements today between their countries that focus on cooperation in the areas of digital technologies, tourism, and healthcare. The two leaders also said they will seek to expand economic ties and strengthen their cooperation on defense and security issues. [more]

MEXICO | Thousands of federal court workers across Mexico went on strike yesterday over judicial reform measures proposed by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Opponents say the measures, which would require all judges to stand for election and eliminate the current framework by which judges and court employees gain seniority, would degrade Mexico’s system of checks and balances. [more]

PAKISTAN | Reports say internet access across nearly all of Pakistan has slowed considerably in the past few days, with disruptions affecting both business and personal use. Government authorities have denied rumors that the installation of a national firewall is responsible for the slowdown. [more]

SPAIN | Maria Branyas Morera, thought to have been the world’s oldest person, died today in a Spanish nursing home at the age of 117. Branyas Morera was born in San Francisco, California, in 1907 and moved with her Spanish family back to Spain’s Catalonia region when she was seven years old. [more]

AI | A group of authors filed a federal lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Anthropic in San Francisco yesterday, saying the company committed “large-scale theft” in training its popular AI chatbot Claude on pirated copies of copyrighted books. Similar lawsuits are still pending against ChatGPT operator OpenAI. [more]

TENNIS | Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe and Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula yesterday to win the men’s and women’s titles, respectively, at the Cincinnati Open. [more]

R.I.P. | Phil Donahue, who is often credited with pioneering the daytime talk show and who hosted his own show for 29 years, died Sunday at the age of 88. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1968, Warsaw Pact nations, led by the Soviet Union, invaded Czechoslovakia to put an end to the Prague Spring political liberalization and mass protest movement. [more history]