December 30, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Ahmad al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s government, suggested yesterday that it could take up to four years to hold elections in the country, citing the time needed to hold political dialogues, write a new constitution, and rebuild the country’s infrastructure. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1040 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• The U.S.  announced a new nearly $2.5 billion security aid package for Ukraine today as part of efforts to deliver as much aid as possible to Kyiv before the end of the Biden administration. The support includes a $1.25 billion drawdown package for Ukraine's military and a $1.22 billion package authorized through the U.S. Department of Defense's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and is intended to help the Ukrainian military with ongoing battlefield efforts and supply Kyiv with longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems. [White House announcement] [more]

U.S. PRESIDENCY | Former President Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977-1981, died yesterday at the age of 100. Carter, who was well known for his humanitarian and human rights work following his presidency, received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." [more]

U.S. WEATHER | At least four people were killed yesterday when a strong storm system spawned tornadoes across the southeastern United States. The National Weather Service says there were at least 45 reports of tornado damage across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. [more]

U.S. HOMELESSNESS | In its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report released Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024 – an 18% increase from its 2023 findings. [press release] [full report] [more]

U.S. SOCIAL MEDIA | President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to delay the looming ban of the social media platform TikTok until after his inauguration so a resolution to the issue can be pursued. TikTok is currently facing a January 19 deadline to be divested from its Chinese parent company or be banned in the United States. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | The U.S. State Department announced Friday that it has officially designated the imprisonment of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel in Russia as a case of wrongful detention. Fogel was arrested at a Russian airport in August 2021 on drug charges and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. [more]

BALTIC SEA | Following recent damage to undersea power and data cables in the Baltic Sea, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has announced that the alliance will increase patrols in the region to prevent and respond to possible similar incidents. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | A Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Jeju Air crashed into a concrete barrier yesterday in Muan, South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people aboard the flight. Investigators say it appears that the plane’s landing gear failed to deploy. [more]

MORE SOUTH KOREA | South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol amidst continuing investigations into his short-lived imposition of martial law in early December. Lawyers for Yoon have filed a challenge to the detention warrant application. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | In a move that critics say is a continuation of systemic suppression of women’s rights, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban warned yesterday that it will close all domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations operating in the country that continue to employ women. Also announced yesterday was an order that buildings should not have windows looking into places where a woman might sit or stand. [more]

ETHIOPIA | Authorities in Ethiopia’s Bona district say at least 71 people died yesterday when the truck in which they were returning from a wedding fell into a river. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, but reports note that the truck was significantly overloaded and that the road on which it was traveling contains many curves. [more]

MEXICO | Authorities in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas say 11 clandestine graves containing the bodies of 15 men have been discovered recently in an area linked to an ongoing dispute between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación drug cartels. [more]

AZERBAIJAN | President Ilham Aliyev said yesterday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week, killing 38 people, was shot down unintentionally by Russian air defenses and criticized Russia for delays in providing information on the incident and in accepting responsibility. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $38 million in receipts, followed by "Mufasa: The Lion King" and "Nosferatu." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1853, with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase, the United States acquired nearly 30,000 square miles (78,000 square kilometers) of northern Mexican territory. The $10 million purchase – equivalent to about $270 million in 2023 – included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande in present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.  [more history]