May 13, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 220 of the conflict:

• Amidst expanded Israeli military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Egypt says it intends to join South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. [more]
• A U.S. State Department and Defense Department report delivered to Congress on Friday says that Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza has likely violated international humanitarian law and that Israel has played a significant role in preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in the Palestinian enclave. [unclassified report] [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 809 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian officials say at least 15 people were killed in their country’s Belgorod border region yesterday when an apartment building partially collapsed after it was damaged in a suspected Ukrainian missile attack. [more]
• In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukraine’s military forces are involved in “fierce battles” along the country’s eastern and northeastern borders amidst the ongoing Russian ground offensive in the regions. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Police in Baldwin County, Alabama, say three people were killed, and at least 12 others were wounded, Saturday when gunfire broke out during an altercation at a May Day party near the city of Stockton that was attended by approximately 1,000 people. No arrests have yet been made in the case. [more]

TRUMP NEW YORK TRIAL | To start what prosecutors say may be their final week of presenting their case in the criminal business records falsification and hush money trial of former President Donald Trump, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is expected to testify today in New York City. [more]

U.S. BABY NAMES | According to the Social Security Administration, the most popular baby names in the U.S. in 2023 were, for girls: Olivia, Emma, Charlotte, Amelia, and Sophia; and for boys: Liam, Noah, Oliver, James, and Elijah. [SSA baby names website] [more]

MENENDEZ TRIAL | Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the corruption and bribery trial of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who has been charged with illegally accepting gifts and money in exchange for supporting policies to help the governments of Egypt and Qatar. [more]

RUSSIA | Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday nominated Andrei Belousov to be Russia’s new defense minister, replacing Sergei Shoigu, who has been appointed secretary of the country’s Security Council. [more]

SUDAN | A new report from the U.K.-based Center for Information Resilience rights group says forces involved in Sudan’s ongoing civil war appear to be using fire as a weapon, with more than 200 villages and settlements being struck by fire since the conflict between the country’s military and paramilitary forces began in April 2023. [full report] [more]

INDONESIA | Officials on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island say at least 41 people were killed, and another 17 remain missing, following flash floods and landslides brought on by monsoon rains over the weekend in the island’s West Sumatra province. [more]

BURUNDI | Officials in the Central African nation of Burundi say at least 39 people were injured Friday in a grenade attack thought to have been carried out by the RED-Tabara rebel group. Neighboring Rwanda has denied claims by Burundi’s interior ministry that Rwanda has armed the rebel group. [more]

SPAIN | Early results from yesterday’s elections in Spain’s Catalonia region suggest that pro-independence parties led by the Together party of former regional president Carles Puigdemont will lose their 12-year-old outright majority in the Catalan parliament. [more]

GEORGIA | Thousands of protesters took part in demonstrations yesterday in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi against the parliamentary progress of a bill that would require media and nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. The bill, scheduled for a third and final reading before parliament tomorrow, has been criticized as a threat to media freedom and to the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. [more]

PAKISTAN | Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved an $86.25 million grant for Pakistan-ruled Kashmir today following weekend protests over inflation in the region that saw thousands of people take part in demonstrations. [more]

GOLF | Rory McIlroy shot a final-round 6-under-par 65 yesterday to win the Wells Fargo Championship. In LPGA play, Rose Zhang won the Cognizant Founders Cup with a 6-under-par 66 final round. [more]

TENNIS | World No. 1 Novak Djokovic lost to 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open yesterday, making it the first time since 2018 that he has not earned a tournament title by May. [more]

EUROVISION | Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with the song “The Code,” becoming the first artist from Switzerland to win the contest since Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag in 1988. [full results] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $56.5 million in receipts, followed by "The Fall Guy" and "Challengers." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1846, the U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war against Mexico amidst tensions stemming from the U.S. annexation of Texas. [more history]