July 19, 2024

GLOBAL IT OUTAGE | Various airlines, emergency services, airports, banks, media outlets, and other industries are reporting widespread global IT outages this morning. The disruptions are reported to be linked to an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 applications and services, which the tech giant says is under investigation. [more]

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 287 of the conflict:

• At least one person was killed, and 10 others were injured, this morning in a drone strike that hit near the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Yemen’s Houthi rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the strike was in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza [more]
• Following hearings earlier this year in which Palestinian groups and others accused Israel of apartheid and asked that Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands be declared illegal, the U.N.'s International Court of Justice is expected to issue a non-binding advisory opinion today on Israel's 57-year occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 876 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Following his attendance at a summit of the European Political Community hosted by newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address Starmer’s Cabinet today amidst ongoing efforts by the U.K to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion. [more]
• The Russian Ministry of Defense says 19 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian territory overnight, including 11 over the Kursk region, where acting regional governor Alexei Smirnov says two people were wounded by falling debris. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against Southwest Key Programs Inc. – the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. – alleging that the company, through its employees, has engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied children in Southwest Key shelters. [press release] [more]

U.S. STUDENT LOANS | The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion yesterday that blocks implementation of the Biden administration’s student debt relief program known as the SAVE plan while court challenges to the program play out. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said yesterday that borrowers who are enrolled in the SAVE plan, which was the subject of the court ruling, will be placed into interest-free forbearance while the case works its way through the legal system. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | A court in Yekaterinburg, Russia, today returned a guilty verdict in the espionage case against Evan Gershkovich and sentenced the Wall Street Journal reporter to 16 years in prison. Gershkovich, the U.S. government, and the Wall Street Journal have denied the charges against him. [more]

U.S. AND SUDAN | The United States announced a new nearly $203 million humanitarian aid package for Sudan yesterday amidst ongoing humanitarian crises linked to the African nation’s civil war. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | Members of the European Parliament voted yesterday to elect Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen to a second 5-year term as president of the 27-nation European Union’s executive commission. [more]

BANGLADESH | Reports say at least 22 people were killed yesterday in ongoing clashes between student groups and police over the allocation of government jobs in Bangladesh. Internet services and mobile data are reported to be down this morning in the capital Dhaka as student groups call for more widespread demonstrations. [more]

BELARUS | Tomorrow marks 30 years in power for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose strong ties to Russia and suppression of internal opposition have prompted Western sanctions and security concerns. Lukashenko has announced that he intends to run for a seventh five-year term in office next year. [more]

VIETNAM | According to an official government statement released today, Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party since 2011 and one of the country’s most powerful leaders in decades, has died at the age of 80. [more]

FRANCE | A kilometers-long security perimeter was put into place along the banks of the River Seine in Paris yesterday as part of anti-terrorism measures ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, which open on July 26. [more]

JAPAN | The Japanese Gymnastics Association says Shoko Miyata, the 19-year-old captain of the Japan women's artistic gymnastics team, has withdrawn from the squad for the Paris Olympic Games after violating the team's code of conduct by smoking and drinking alcohol. [more]

SOCCER | Argentina remained the world’s top-ranked soccer team in the latest FIFA men’s rankings released yesterday – a position the team has held since April 2023. France was ranked second, followed by Spain, England, and Brazil. The U.S. dropped five places to No. 16, and Morocco at No. 14 and Japan at No. 18 were Africa's and Asia's highest-ranked teams, respectively. [more]

GOLF | Ireland's Shane Lowry has taken the lead in the ongoing second round at the British Open golf tournament at Scotland’s Royal Troon course today. In women’s play, South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi shot a 7-under-par 64 yesterday to take the lead at the Dana Open for Children. [British Open leaderboard] [more]

KENNEDY CENTER HONORS | Honorees for this year’s 47th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement were announced yesterday, and include filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; legendary American rock band the Grateful Dead; blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and The Apollo Theater, which will receive a special Honors as an iconic American institution. [more]

R.I.P. | Comedian, actor, and television star Bob Newhart, best known for the 1970s and 1980s television series "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart," as well as for his more recent guest role on "The Big Bang Theory," died yesterday at the age of 94. [more]

MORE R.I.P. | Conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host Lou Dobbs, a founding anchor of CNN and, more recently, a host on the Fox Business Network, died yesterday at the age of 78. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1848, the women's suffrage movement in the United States was launched with the opening of the Seneca Falls Convention, which sought to gain certain rights and privileges for women, notably the right to vote. [more history]