July 15, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 283 of the conflict:

• Hamas yesterday denied Israeli reports that militant group commander Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike Saturday on southern Gaza’s Muwasi district in which, according to reports, more than 90 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured. [more]
• Reports say newly appointed British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is pressing for an immediate cease-fire and the release of hostages, as well as making the case for a “credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution,” during a trip to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories today. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 872 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• In a recent intelligence report, the British Ministry of Defense estimates that Russia lost more than 70,000 troops in its invasion of Ukraine over the past two months, with an average of 1,262 and 1,163 killed or wounded military personnel in May and June, respectively. [more]
• Russian officials say their forces shot down 22 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and western Russia overnight. Reports say several buildings were damaged in the drone attacks on Russia's Bryansk and Lipetsk regions and that a radar installation was damaged in the attacks on Crimea. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The Republican National Convention is set to open today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – just two days after former President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In a televised address last night in the aftermath of the attack on Trump, President Joe Biden called on Americans to reject political violence and to limit divisive political rhetoric. [RNC more] [Trump attack more] [Biden speech more]

U.S. BIRD FLU | Health officials in Colorado confirmed the diagnosis of bird flu in four poultry workers yesterday. The infections were accompanied by relatively mild eye and respiratory infection symptoms, and none required hospitalization. [more]

TEXAS | An estimated 270,000 Houston-area homes and businesses remained without power yesterday – nearly a week after Hurricane Beryl hit the region as a Category 1 storm. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will launch an investigation into responses by the utility company that serves the area. [more]

CHINA AND RUSSIA | Chinese and Russian naval forces began a series of joint military exercises yesterday in China’s Guangdong province. The exercises come just days after NATO labeled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say at least eight civilians were killed, several soldiers were wounded, and multiple homes were damaged this morning a what appeared to have been coordinated suicide bomb attacks near a military facility in the city of Bannu. No claims of responsibility for the attacks have yet been made. [more]

SOMALIA | Officials in Mogadishu, Somalia, say at least five people were killed, and 20 others were injured, yesterday when a car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in the city. The Islamist Al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported today that the country’s economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual rate in the second quarter of 2024 – down from a 5.3% annual growth rate in the first quarter. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION AND ESTONIA | Kaja Kallas formally resigned as prime minister of Estonia today in preparation for taking on her new role as the European Union’s foreign policy chief later this year. [more]

ITALY | Officials in Venice, Italy, say a two-and-a-half-month pilot program aimed at alleviating overcrowding in the tourist destination city by charging visitors 5 euros per day brought in about 2 million euros in revenue but did not appear to significantly reduce tourism levels. [more]

GERMANY | State-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn has closed the rail line 70-kilometer stretch of rail line between Frankfurt and Mannheim – one of Germany’s busiest – through December 14 for an overhaul of tracks, stations, and other infrastructure, kicking off a series of some 40 modernization projects that are expected to disrupt travel in various regions through 2030. [more]

TENNIS | Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets yesterday to win his second straight Wimbledon tennis tournament and his fourth Grand Slam title overall. On Saturday, Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini to claim the Wimbledon women's championship. [more]

SOCCER | Spain beat England, 2-1, yesterday to win their record-setting fourth European Championship. In the Copa America tournament, Argentina beat Colombia, 1-0, to claim their record-extending 16th tournament title. [Euro more] [Copa more]

BASEBALL | Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana was selected first overall by the Cleveland Guardians in last night’s Major League Baseball draft, becoming the first Australian and first second baseman taken as the initial draft selection. [full draft] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Despicable Me 4" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $44.7 million in receipts, followed by "Longlegs" and "Inside Out 2." [more]

R.I.P. | In a series of high-profile deaths over the weekend: Actor James Sikking, best known for his television roles in “Hill Street Blues” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” died Saturday at the age of 90, according to a statement from his publicist. Actress Shannen Doherty, best known for her roles in films including “Heathers” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and the television “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died Saturday the age of 53. Also Saturday, 1980s fitness guru and workout personality Richard Simmons died at the age of 76. On Friday, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist, pop culture icon, and best-selling author, died at the age of 96. [Sikking more] [Doherty more] [Simmons more] [Westheimer more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1799, the Rosetta Stone, on which three versions of a decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V, and which became a key to deciphering ancient Egyptian scripts, was found at Fort Julien in the Nile Delta during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt.  [more history]