January 19, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 105 of the conflict:

• According to the latest Gaza update from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 1.7 million people are considered to be internally displaced in Gaza as of yesterday. [more]
• At a news conference yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a two-state solution following the current conflict with Hamas, saying that Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River.” [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 694 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian state-run news agency Tass reports that an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the western Russia city of Klintsy struck an oil storage depot, setting four oil reservoirs on fire. [more]
• Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament, suggested today that French mercenaries have been fighting against Russia in Ukraine – a claim French officials have dismissed as a “disinformation plot conducted by Russia” to discredit France. [more]

RED SEA | U.S. military officials say a fifth U.S. airstrike on Houthi rebel military sites in Yemen yesterday destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch.” [more]

UVALDE SHOOTING | The U.S. Justice Department released a comprehensive report yesterday on the May 2022 school shooting incident at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two school staff members were killed. The report criticized the lack of urgency by law enforcement members responding to the scene, as well as their unwillingness to directly confront the shooter. In releasing the report, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in active shooter situations and gone right after the shooter and stopped him, lives would have been saved.” [full report] [more]

U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT | According to Labor Department data released yesterday, initial applications for jobless benefits fell to 187,000 in the week ended January 13 – down from 203,000 the previous week and the lowest level since September 2022. The department noted that 1.81 million Americans were collecting ongoing unemployment benefits in the week ended January 6 – down 26,000 from the previous week. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | Both the House and Senate voted yesterday to approve a short-term federal spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of today’s funding deadline. The measure, which funds government operations through March, is expected to be signed by President Biden today. [more]

NATO | An estimated 90,000 personnel from NATO’s 31 nations will take part in the Steadfast Defender 24 military exercises, which start next week and are scheduled to last through May. U.S. General Christopher Cavoli, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said yesterday that the exercises will demonstrate “our unity, our strength, and our determination to protect each other.” [more]

NORTH KOREA | The North Korean Defense Ministry claims to have conducted a test today of a new underwater nuclear-capable attack drone in response to combined U.S. and South Korean naval exercises held this week. The test comes one day after Russia and China blocked U.S.-led efforts to have the U.N. Security Council increase sanctions on North Korea over recent arms tests. [more]

COMOROS | Reports say at least one person was killed, and six others were injured, yesterday in political unrest in the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros following weekend elections which opposition parties have denounced as fraudulent. [more]

SRI LANKA | Amidst U.N. human rights council concern over reports of unauthorized searches and arbitrary arrests, police and security force officials in Sri Lanka say more than 40,000 people have been arrested and questioned in the government’s monthlong crackdown on drugs and drug trafficking. [more]

U.K. ECONOMY | Amidst concerns of recession, the U.K. Office for National Statistics reports that retail sales in Britain fell by a larger-than-expected 3.2% between November and December 2023 – the largest monthly decline since January 2021. [more]

KYRGYZSTAN | E.U., U.N., and U.S. officials this week expressed concern over the recent detention of journalists and search of media outlet offices in Kyrgyzstan. Reports say authorities in the Central Asian nation arrested at least 11 journalists this week. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1955, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower held the first-ever televised presidential press conference. [more history]