June 4, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 242 of the conflict:

• The U.S. is reported to be circulating a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would lend Council support to a three-phase cease-fire plan for Gaza announced by U.S. President Joe Biden last week. [more]
• Israeli officials said today that various sources of information, including intelligence tip-offs, CCTV or bystander videos, and forensic analysis, indicate that more than a third of the estimated 120 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attacks are dead. [more]
• Palestinian officials yesterday applied to join South Africa’s case before the U.N.’s International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The application was signed by Palestinian Authority foreign ministry official Ammar Hijazi and made on behalf of the “State of Palestine.” [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 831 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukraine says more than 100 countries and organizations have agreed to attend a June 15-16 Swiss-hosted peace summit on Ukraine to which Russia has not been invited. Speaking today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested the summit is not geared toward results because it excludes Russia and lacks clear goals. [more]
• Ukrainian authorities say at least eight people, including two children, were wounded and that civilian infrastructure was damaged in a Russian missile attack early this morning on the central Ukraine city of Dnipro. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | President Joe Biden is expected to announce an executive order today that would close asylum requests along the U.S.-Mexico border once the daily average of immigration encounters reaches 2,500 and would re-open such requests only when the daily average declines to 1,500. Reports note that the current daily average is above 2,500, meaning that the executive order could take effect immediately. [more]

HAWAII | The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted yesterday for several hours. Officials say the eruption did not pose an immediate threat to people or infrastructure, but that it would continue to be monitored. [more]

OREGON | PacifiCorp’s Pacific Power agreed yesterday to a $178 million settlement with more than 400 Oregon plaintiffs affected by wildfires in the state in 2020. Previously, a jury had found PacifiCorp liable for its failure to cut power during severe windstorms despite warnings from top fire officials, thereby contributing to the wildfires. [more]

INDIA | Votes are being counted today from India’s six-week phased national election, with early results showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and National Democratic Alliance group with a comfortable lead, but with the main opposition Congress party and its INDIA alliance showing stronger-than-expected support. [more]

TURKEY AND SYRIA | The Associated Press cites Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler as saying in a written interview response that plans by U.S.-backed Kurdish groups to conduct local elections in northern Syria are “unacceptable” and that such elections pose a threat to Turkey’s national security. [more]

MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS | Reports say Iran-backed Shi'ite armed groups in Iraq have increased rocket and missile attacks on Israel in recent weeks, heightening concerns of potential Israeli retaliation and regional escalation. [more]

CHINA | Checkpoints and heavy police presence are reported today along roads leading to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square amidst heightened security surrounding the 35th anniversary of the main military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the square in 1989. [more]

GERMANY | German officials say evidence suggests an Islamic extremist motive behind a knife attack last week in the southwestern city of Mannheim in which five people were injured and a police officer attempting to stop the attack was killed. [more]

SOUTH KOREA AND AFRICA | Hosting a summit today in Seoul with dozens of African leaders, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country will expand development aid across Africa and pursue enhanced cooperation with the continent on technology and critical minerals resource development. [more]

AIR TRAVEL | The International Air Transport Association, which held its annual meeting yesterday in Dubai, says it expects passenger air travel costs to increase this year due to ongoing high inflation and operating costs. The association also predicts that global airline revenue will reach a record high of nearly $1 trillion and that it will have 4.96 billion air travelers in 2024. [more]

SPACE | Chinese officials say their country’s Chang’e-6 lunar spacecraft landed successfully on the far side of the moon Sunday and that the probe planted a Chinese flag on the lunar surface before taking off today for its return to Earth with a cargo of rock and soil samples. [more]

SOCCER | Just days after winning the Champions League final, Real Madrid signed Kylian Mbappé, widely considered to be the best soccer player in the world, to a five-year deal yesterday. [more]

TENNIS | Injury-hampered Novak Djokovic won his record-setting 370th Grand Slam match yesterday, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of the French Open. After the match, Djokovic said he was uncertain if he could continue in the tournament due to his injured right knee. [more]

BASEBALL | Reports say San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is under investigation by Major League Baseball for allegedly betting on baseball and that he could face a lifetime ban as part of the probe. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying the right to vote on the basis of sex and, thereby, effectively recognized the right of women to vote, was passed by the Senate two weeks after being approved by the House of Representatives. The amendment was ratified by U.S. states and went into effect the following year. [more history]