July 31, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 299 of the conflict:

• Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike early today in the Iranian capital of Tehran, where he was attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian . Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the attack in which Haniyeh was killed and Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country is duty-bound to exact revenge for the attack. [more]
• A new report from the U.N. human rights office says Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the October 7 Hamas attacks have been subjected to a variety of forms of torture and mistreatment, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and electric shocks. U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said the findings indicate a “flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.” [press release] [full report] [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 888 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukraine’s military says it repelled one of Russia’s largest mass drone attacks of the war early today, shooting down all 89 drones launched at Kyiv and surrounding regions. [more]
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree today that doubles – to 400,000 rubles, or $4,651 – the up-front payment to people who volunteer to fight in Ukraine. [more]

U.S. FLU | Amidst concern over possible interactions between bird flu and seasonal flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday that it will spend some $5 million this fall to pay for flu shots for farm, poultry, and livestock workers. Reports note that 13 cases of bird flu have been reported in the U.S., all of which have been mild. [more]

U.S. INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS | A new Department of the Interior report says that at least 973 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children died while attending federally operated or supported boarding schools between 1871 and 1969. A statement from the department notes that the report, along with its recommendations, is “the first time in the history of the United States the federal government is accounting for its role in operating historical Indian boarding schools that forcibly confined and attempted to assimilate Indigenous children.” [press release] [full report] [more]

U.S. ONLINE SAFETY LEGISLATION | The Senate voted 91-3 yesterday to pass a bill designed to protect children from dangerous online content. House action on the measure, which would require online platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent harm, is uncertain, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying only that he is “committed to working to find consensus” on the underlying issues. [more]

TEXAS | The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that controversial floating barriers installed in the Rio Grande by Texas to discourage migrants from crossing the river can stay in place during court challenges, overturning a previous decision by a panel of the court. [more]

U.S. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE | In its monthly measurement of Americans’ short-term economic outlook, the Conference Board business research group says its consumer confidence index rose to 100.3 in July – up from a downwardly revised 97.8 in June. [press release] [more]

CALIFORNIA | State emergency officials say northern California’s Park Fire has now burned nearly 600 square miles and was 14% contained as of yesterday evening. The week-old fire has destroyed nearly 200 structures and is threatening thousands more, according to reports. [more]

U.S., IRAQ, AND IRAN | Reports say the U.S. carried out airstrikes on the Iran-linked Popular Mobilization Forces paramilitary group in Iraq's central Babil province yesterday. The action was taken following a rocket attack launched from the province last week at the Ain al-Asad airbase, which houses U.S.-led forces in the area. [more]

ISRAEL AND LEBANON | Israeli officials say a targeted airstrike on Beirut yesterday killed Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah militant group commander thought to have been responsible for last weekend’s rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Hezbollah has not confirmed the commander’s death and has denied responsibility for the rocket attack. [more]

CHINA AND JAPAN | The Chinese foreign ministry said today that China has expressed concerns to Japan over a joint statement released with the U.S. that characterized China’s foreign policy as seeking to “reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others.” Chinese officials suggested that “Japan’s smear attacks on China are self-contradictory to its statement of promoting the strategic and reciprocal relationship between the two countries.” [more]

U.K. | Authorities in the northwest England town of Southport say at least 20 police officers were injured in clashes with right-wing protesters yesterday amidst rumors that a stabbing attack earlier in the day in which three children were killed was associated with the town’s Muslim community – a contention authorities have denied. [more]

INDIA | Officials in India’s southern Kerala state say the death toll from yesterday’s mudslides in the state’s Wayanad district has risen to at least 151 and that more than 180 people remain unaccounted for. [more]

GRENADA | Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said yesterday that early estimates suggest Grenada’s losses from Hurricane Beryl earlier this month could be as high as a third of the Caribbean island nation’s total annual economic output. [more]

MYANMAR | Amidst ongoing, and growing, conflict with armed opposition groups, Myanmar’s military junta extended the country’s national state of emergency – first declared when the junta took power in February 2021 – for another six months yesterday. [more]

PARIS OLYMPICS | As of 5 a.m. ET, the U.S. leads the overall medal count at the Paris Olympics with 26, followed by France, China, Japan, Great Britain, and Australia. In other Olympic news:

• The U.S. women’s gymnastics team won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics yesterday, followed by Italy and Brazil. [more]
• France's Cassandre Beaugrand won gold in the women's triathlon at the Paris Olympics today, and Great Britain's Alex Yee won the men's event, after the swimming portions of the competitions went ahead following days of Seine River water-quality concerns caused by heavy rains. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The treaty barred its signatories from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads and a total of 1,600 intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers. [more history]