March 29, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 175 of the conflict:

• The U.N.’s International Court of Justice issued new provisional rulings yesterday as part of its consideration of a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of acts of genocide in its military campaign in Gaza. The rulings order Israel to take immediate measures to ensure unhindered delivery of basic services and humanitarian assistance to residents of Gaza and to not allow its military to take actions that could harm Palestinians’ rights under the Genocide Convention, including by preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance. [more]
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that his country’s military has “conquered” northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis and is moving forward with preparations to enter the city of Rafah. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 764 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief, said today that Ukraine will need to mobilize fewer troops than initially expected to continue its fight against Russia’s two-year-old invasion. [more]
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said today that Ukraine has received a $1.5 billion tranche of funding under a World Bank program funded by the U.K and Japan for social and humanitarian needs and reconstruction amidst the ongoing war with Russia. [more]

GEORGIA | Lawmakers in Georgia gave final approval today to new regulations that would require children younger than 16 to have parental permission to create social media accounts, mandate that pornography sites verify that users are over the age of 18, and ban social media use on school-owned devices and internet services. The bill now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto. [more]

NEW YORK CITY | As part of efforts to improve subway safety, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans yesterday to test new weapons detection technology in the city’s subway system and to hire more clinicians to support a pilot program that looks to connect people with severe mental illness in the subways to treatment and care resources. [NYC press release] [more]

PUERTO RICO | Officials in Puerto Rico declared a public health emergency this week due to a spike in cases of dengue fever in the U.S. territory. The declaration notes that 549 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been recorded on the island so far this year – a 140% increase over the same period in 2023. [more]

SOUTH CAROLINA | A panel of federal judges in South Carolina ruled yesterday that this year’s congressional elections in the state will be conducted under a districting map that the same panel found to be unconstitutional last year. The judges said rapidly approaching elections, a still-pending appeal before the Supreme Court, and no alternative districting plan being in place made changes to district maps impractical for this year’s elections. [more]

MARYLAND | Amidst ongoing investigations into this week’s collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a cargo ship, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration yesterday approved $60 million in emergency funding for relief and recovery efforts related to the incident. [more]

HAITI | In a report released yesterday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that gang violence is the main driver of human rights abuses and violations in Haiti and calls for the urgent deployment of a multinational security support mission to re-establish security on the island nation and create conditions for free and fair elections. [full report] [more]

TAJIKISTAN AND RUSSIA | Reports say authorities in Tajikistan have detained nine people suspected of links to last week’s mass shooting at the Moscow-area Crocus City Hall concert venue and to the militant Islamist group that claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Authorities say at least 45 people were killed yesterday when a bus carrying passengers from Botswana fell off a bridge in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province. [more]

NORTH KOREA | After vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution yesterday that would have renewed part of the monitoring enforcement for U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its weapons programs, Russian diplomats accused Western nations of seeking to “strangle” North Korea and suggested that the West needs a new approach to the reclusive Asian state. [more]

ISRAEL | In a ruling estimated to affect some 60,000 people, Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered an end to government subsidies for full-time seminary students who receive deferrals from the country’s mandatory military service. [more]

MADAGASCAR | Emergency officials in Madagascar say at least 11 people were killed, and thousands of others were displaced, this week when tropical cyclone Gamane swept across the African island nation. [more]

JAPAN | Reports say Japanese health supplement maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. began recalling its products that contain the ingredient benikoji this week after five deaths and more than 100 hospitalizations were liked to use of the products. [more]

THAILAND AND LAOS | The Thai government has implemented increased border control measures for livestock transportation along the Thailand-Laos border due to reports of increased levels of anthrax infection being reported in Laos. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has published long-awaited draft rules on requirements for critical infrastructure companies, including those in the healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and financial industries, to report cyberattacks to the government. Under the rules, critical infrastructure companies would have to report significant cyberattacks within 72 hours and report ransom payments within 24 hours. [more]

CRYPTOCURRENCY | Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted on fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering charges last year, was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday – a sentence half as long as that sought by prosecutors. [more]

PARIS OLYMPICS | Reuters cites unnamed French government sources as saying that France has asked some 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand military, police, and civilian personnel to help with security efforts during this summer’s Paris Olympic Games. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1867, with the British North America Act, the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada were united as the Dominion of Canada, and the province of Canada was separated into Quebec and Ontario. [more history]