January 17, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 103 of the conflict:

• Under a deal brokered by France and Qatar, a shipment of medicine for dozens of Hamas-held Israeli hostages is scheduled to be delivered to Gaza today. Qatari officials say the deal also includes the delivery of medicine and other humanitarian aid to residents of the Palestinian enclave. [more]
• Jordanian military officials say their country’s field hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis was seriously damaged by Israeli shelling yesterday in what it called a “flagrant breach of international law.” [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 692 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• At a meeting of top NATO military commanders today in Brussels, Admiral Bob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fear of democracy underlies the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bauer called for continued support of Ukraine, saying, “the outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world.” [more]
• Authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv say two Russian missiles struck a residential area of the city yesterday, injuring at least 17 people and damaging at least 10 buildings. [more]

U.S. SUPREME COURT | In a case analysts suggest could have major implications on government regulatory power, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a challenge to requirements that commercial fishermen pay for government-mandated observers who track their fish intake. A central issue in the case is the 1984 so-called “Chevron” decision, which set forth a legal test for when U.S. federal courts must defer to a government agency's interpretation of a law or statute. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | The Senate voted yesterday to begin consideration of a temporary government funding measure aimed at averting a partial shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline. The measure, if passed into law, would set new funding expiration dates of March 1 for some federal agencies and March 8 for others. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Following a sixth-place finish in Monday’s Iowa caucuses and ahead of next Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary election, Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. [more]

YEMEN AND RED SEA | The Associated Press cites unnamed U.S. government sources as saying that the U.S. plans to redesignate the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen a foreign terrorist organization due to the group’s continued attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. [more]

IRAN AND PAKISTAN | Reports say at least two people were killed yesterday in an Iranian airstrike on militant Sunni separatists in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province. Pakistan condemned the attack as a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say at least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two locations in the West Bank today. According to the Israeli military, the targets of the strikes were militants suspected of planning on imminent attack on Israel. [more]

DAVOS | Among speakers scheduled to address attendees of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, today are French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Argentinian President Javier Milei, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. [more]

NIGERIA | Officials in the Nigerian city of Ibadan say at least three people were killed, and 77 others were injured, yesterday in a large explosion thought to be linked to explosives stored for use in illegal mining operations. [more]

CHINA | According to government data released today, China’s population fell by 2 million in 2023 to 1.4 billion, making it the second-most-populated nation on Earth after India. [more]

FRANCE | Following a reported 7% decrease in France’s birth rate last year to its lowest point since World War II, French President Emmanuel Macron said he intends to overhaul France’s parental leave and related pay policies to encourage families to have more children. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | China’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that the Chinese economy, as measured by its gross domestic product, grew 5.2% in 2023, surpassing the government’s 5% targeted growth rate. [more]

GLOBAL TOBACCO USE | According to a new report from the World Health Organization, about 1.25 billion adults worldwide used tobacco in 2022, down from 1.36 billion in 2000. The report says that while global tobacco use continues to decline, it is not doing so as quickly as hoped. [full report] [more]

AIRLINE INDUSTRY | JetBlue Airways’ proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines was blocked yesterday by a U.S. federal judge, who said in his ruling that the merger would violate antitrust laws and significantly reduce competition in the low-budget airline industry. [more]

SMARTPHONE SALES | According to a report from International Data Corporation, Apple sold more than 234 million smartphones in 2023, surpassing sales by Samsung for the first time in 12 years. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1917, the United States purchased three of the Virgin Islands—St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix—from Denmark for $25 million. [more history]