January 24, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 110 of the conflict:

• U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday warned again of the risk of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading into a regional war and said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict will prolong fighting and threaten global peace. [more]
• Seven out of 24 hospitals in northern Gaza are now “partially functioning,” though with shortages of staff and supplies, according to a statement issued by the World Health Organization today. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 699 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian officials say a military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war was shot down by Ukraine over Russia’s Belgorod region this morning and have suggested that Ukraine deliberately downed the plane to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange. Ukrainian officials have yet to release an official statement on the incident. [more]
• According to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least 18 people were killed, and more than 130 others were injured, overnight in a wave of Russian missile strikes that targeted three Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | The U.S. military carried out airstrikes yesterday on three sites in Iraq and two in Yemen in action Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said targeted Iran-backed militia groups that have threatened U.S. personnel and ships in Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former President Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire yesterday, receiving about 54.5% of votes, compared to 43.2% for his closest rival, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. President Joe Biden won the state’s Democratic primary through a write-in campaign. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Governor Gavin Newsom declared states of emergency this week for southern California’s San Diego and Ventura Counties due to flooding caused by rains that in some regions was the heaviest for a single day in nearly 175 years. [more]

GLOBAL RISKS | For a second year in a row, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has kept its famous “Doomsday Clock” of how close the Earth is to global catastrophe at 90 seconds to midnight, citing Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict, ongoing climate-related risks, and the dangers of artificial intelligence as factors in its measurement. [more]

NATO | The Turkish parliament voted yesterday to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO, leaving Hungary as the only alliance member nation not to have approved Sweden's accession, though Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said yesterday that he has invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest to discuss “future cooperation in the field of security and defense as allies and partners." [more]

NORTH KOREA | In its second such action this year, North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles into the waters off its west coast today, according to South Korean and U.S. officials. [more]

GERMANY | About 80% of long-distance train service has been canceled, and regional rail service has been severely disrupted, across Germany today as train drivers of the GDL union begin a six-day strike over pay and working condition issues. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | In a move analysts say signals strong support for the Chinese economy amidst stock market declines and other fiscal issues, the People's Bank of China central bank announced significant cuts in bank reserve requirements yesterday. The move is expected to inject up to $140 billion in cash into China's banking system starting February 5. [more]

CYPRUS | Authorities in Cyprus say 60 migrants on a small boat that sailed from Lebanon on January 18 were rescued today about 30 nautical miles off Cape Greco, Cyprus' most southeasterly point. [more]

FOOTBALL | Data company Nielsen says last weekend’s four NFL divisional round playoff games averaged 40 million viewers on television and streaming platforms – the highest viewership for the round on record. [more]

BASEBALL | Todd Helton, Adrián Beltré, and Joe Mauer were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday, and will be inducted into the Hall, along with former manager Jim Leyland, on July 21. [more]

OSCARS | Nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced yesterday, with “Oppenheimer” receiving a pack-leading 13 nominations, followed by “Barbie” with eight nominations. Films nominated for the best picture award include: American Fiction," “Anatomy of a Fall," “Barbie," “The Holdovers," “Killers of the Flower Moon," “Maestro," “Oppenheimer," “Past Lives," “Poor Things," and “The Zone of Interest.” [full list of nominees] [more]

R.I.P. | Five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist [Charles Osgood](Charles Osgood), best known for anchoring CBS's "Sunday Morning” news broadcast for 22 years and for the long-running radio program “The Osgood File,” died yesterday at the age of 91, according to a statement from his family. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1984, two days after airing its groundbreaking “1984” commercial [video], Apple Computer began selling its first Macintosh model, which featured a built-in 9-inch monochrome display, a clock rate of 8 megahertz, and 128k of RAM. [more history]