January 5, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 91 of the conflict:

• Ahead of the latest visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suggested today that Israel will scale down its military operations in northern Gaza and continue to fight Hamas in the territory’s southern regions. Gallant also said that an Israeli-guided Palestinian body could oversee day-to-day administration of Gaza after the conflict ends, with Israel maintaining security control. [more]
• Reports say at least six people were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on a home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 680 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said yesterday that recently declassified intelligence indicates that Russia has used missiles acquired from North Korea in the war in Ukraine and that it is seeking additional ballistic missiles from Iran. [more]
• Citing reports of Nepalese citizens being recruited into both Russian and Ukrainian military services, Nepal’s government has announced a ban on the country’s citizens traveling to Russia or Ukraine for employment. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | One student was killed, and five other people were wounded, yesterday when a 17-year-old student armed with a shotgun and a handgun opened fire at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. Reports say the gunman, identified as Dylan Butler, died at the scene of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. [more]

U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT | The Labor Department reports that initial claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell to 202,000 in the week ended December 30 – down from 220,000 the prior week and the lowest level since mid-October. [more]

NEW YORK CITY | Citing a 19th-century New York law that requires anyone who transports "a needy person" likely to seek government assistance to New York from another state to cover their expenses, New York City filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing 17 charter bus companies of illegally transporting more than 33,000 migrants to the city from Texas as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign to relocate illegal migrants. [more]

IRAQ | A statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office today says Iraq is forming a committee to prepare to permanently close down the U.S.-led international military mission in the country. [more]

RED SEA | U.S. military officials say an armed, unmanned sea drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen got within a few miles of U.S. naval and commercial ships before exploding in the Red Sea yesterday. The failed attack followed a warning from the U.S. and other nations Wednesday that Houthi forces could face a military response if such attacks continue. [more]

IRAN | The Islamic State militant group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks in the city of Kerman, Iran, this week that killed at least 89 people. [more]

KOREA | Reports say North Korean forces fired more than 200 artillery rounds into the sea near a disputed maritime border with South Korea today. South Korean officials called the action an act of provocation, while North Korea said it was a response to recent military actions by the South. [more]

INDIA | Reports say the Indian navy deployed a naval ship and patrol aircraft in the Arabian Sea yesterday following an apparent attempted hijacking of a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the region. [more]

EUROPEAN ECONOMY | European statistics agency Eurostat reports that annualized inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose to 2.9% in December – up from 2.4% in November and the first increase since April 2023. [more]

U.K. | More than 300 flood warnings have been issued, travel services have been disrupted, and more than 1,000 homes have been reported as damaged today across England and Wales following a day of heavy rain causing already-swollen rivers to rise above their banks. [more]

BANGLADESH | Ahead of this weekend’s parliamentary elections, Bangladesh’s main opposition Nationalist Party has called for a general strike and urged voters to join it and other opposition parties in boycotting the election over voting administration concerns. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Former Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend in 2013, was released from prison in South Africa today. Pistorius is expected to serve the remaining five years of his sentence on parole. [more]

VEHICLE RECALL | Electric vehicle maker Tesla has announced the recall of more than 1.6 million vehicles in China due to issues with their automatic assisted steering functions and door latch controls. [more]

R.I.P. | Actress Glynis Johns, best known for her role as the mother in the central family of the film “Mary Poppins” and for being the original singer of the Stephen Sondheim song “Send in the Clowns,” died yesterday at the age of 100, according to her manager. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The suspension bridge once boasted the longest main span in the world and has been celebrated for the magnificence of its setting. [more history]