August 28, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 327 of the conflict:

• 52-year-old Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a member of southern Israel’s Bedouin community who was taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attacks on Israel, was rescued from a tunnel complex in southern Gaza by Israeli special forces yesterday. Reports say Alkadi has been transferred to an Israeli hospital and is in stable condition. [more]
• U.S. officials say an oil tanker attacked in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as part of their ongoing support for Palestinians in Gaza appears to be leaking oil and has the potential to cause an environmental disaster. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 916 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Western nations are “asking for trouble” and risking the possibility of a third world war by considering Ukrainian requests for permission to use donated weapons to strike deep within Russia. [more]
• Three weeks into its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine says it controls more than 100 Russian settlements and more than 500 square miles of Russian territory in Kursk. [more]

TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE | Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment against Donald Trump yesterday over the former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The superseding indictment contains the same charges as the one previously filed, but changes the specifications and descriptions of Trump’s activities in an attempt to comply with last month’s Supreme Court ruling that found presidents to be largely immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. [more]

U.S. SOCIAL MEDIA | In a letter this week to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said government officials, including some from the White House, pressured Facebook to censor some COVID-19-related content, including humor and satire, on the social media platform during the pandemic. Responding to the letter, the White House said it believes companies “should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.” [more]

JANUARY 6 | Michael Sparks, the Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attacks, was sentenced to four years and five months in prison yesterday after having been convicted earlier on six charges, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say Palestinian militant groups exchanged gunfire with Israeli forces in the West Bank today following Israeli raids in which at least nine Palestinians were killed. [more]

VENEZUELA | President Nicolás Maduro appointed ruling socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello as Venezuela’s interior minister yesterday – a move opponents and human rights groups say could signal an increase in crackdowns on activists who contend that Maduro was not the winner of the South American country’s presidential election last month. [more]

MEXICO | Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said yesterday that he has put his country’s relations with the United States and Canadian embassies “on pause” after the two countries expressed concerns over proposed judicial overhaul measures in Mexico that critics say could undermine judicial independence. [more]

JAPAN | Typhoon Shanshan is expected to reach Japan’s southern Kyushu island tomorrow, bringing violent winds, strong waves, and heavy rain to the region. Authorities have issued emergency warnings for the area and some flights and train routes are expected to be cancelled through the weekend due to the storm. [more]

MYANMAR | Reports say the U.K. is circulating a U.N. resolution proposal that would encourage renewed peace efforts in Myanmar, condemn attacks on civilians in the Southeast Asian nation, and call for unhindered aid access to address the country’s deteriorating humanitarian situation. [more]

PAKISTAN | Most public markets across Pakistan are closed today as part of a strike called by opposition parties and sales unions and associations over new retail taxes and recent spikes in electricity prices. [more]

LEBANON | The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote today on a resolution to extend the presence of the U.N peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon for a year and to demand a halt to fighting between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israeli forces. [more]

CHINA AND CANADA | Chinese officials yesterday condemned this week’s imposition of a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles by Canada, saying the move could disrupt supply chains, impact China-Canada economic and trade relations, and damage companies in both countries. [more]

SUDAN | Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying that the World Food Program is investigating at least two of its top officials in war-torn Sudan regarding allegations of fraud and concealment of information from donors about the ability to deliver food aid to civilians. [more]

U.K. AND GERMANY | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans today for their countries to move forward with a new bilateral treaty aimed at strengthening trade, defense, economic, and other ties. [more]

TENNIS | World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz extended his Grand Slam match winning streak to 15 yesterday with a win over Australia’s Li Tu in the opening round of the U.S. Open. In women’s play at the tournament, Naomi Osaka had her first win against a top-10 opponent in more than four years yesterday, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. [more]

PARALYMPICS | The 2024 Paralympics open today in Paris and will continue through the closing ceremony at the Stade de France on September 8. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1963, as part of the U.S. civil rights movement, some 250,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., and heard Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. [more history]