May 28, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 235 of the conflict:

• The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says at least 45 people, mostly civilians, were killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized as a “tragic mishap.” The airstrike came just two days after the U.N.’s International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in the city. [more]
• Ireland, Spain, and Norway are scheduled to formalize their recognition of a Palestinian state today in a move strongly criticized by Israel but that the countries’ leaders say is intended to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace. [more]
• Reports say an Egyptian border guard was killed yesterday in a clash with Israeli soldiers near Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Both countries say investigations have been launched into the incident. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 824 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• European Union defense ministers are meeting in Brussels, Belgium, today in an attempt to reach agreement, over Hungary’s objections, on a plan to provide some $7 billion in military aid to Ukraine. [more]
• The Russian defense ministry reports that Russian forces captured two villages in eastern Ukraine yesterday – Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region and Netailove in Donetsk. [more]

U.S. STORMS | Reports say at least 22 people were killed over the Memorial Day weekend in powerful storms over the central and southern U.S., with deaths occurring in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. [more]

TRUMP NEW YORK TRIAL | Prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to make their closing arguments today in the business records falsification and hush money criminal trial of former President Donald Trump in New York City. [more]

U.S. TRAVEL | According to the Transportation Security Administration, a record 2.9 million travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Friday, surpassing the previous single-day record set on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year. [more]

PAPUA NEW GUINEA | Government officials say more than 2,000 people were killed in last Friday’s landslide at Yambali village in Papua New Guinea’s Engla province – roughly triple the U.N. estimate of 670 deaths. Thousands of residents in the area were ordered to evacuate today due to the ongoing risk of further landslides. [more]

NORTH KOREA | According to reports from the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the rocket on which North Korea was attempting to launch its second spy satellite into orbit exploded shortly after takeoff yesterday. Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. criticized the attempted launch and noted that it was undertaken in violation of U.N. sanctions. [more]

RUSSIA AND UZBEKISTAN | Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbekistan leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed an agreement yesterday under which Russia will build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency. [more]

INDIA | Heavy storms triggered the collapse of a stone quarry today in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, killing at least 13 workers. Officials say an additional 16 workers remain missing. [more]

UGANDA | Amidst its ongoing yellow fever vaccination campaign, Uganda has announced that anyone traveling to or from the East African nation will be required to have proof of vaccination against the mosquito-borne disease. [more]

PERU | Federal prosecutors in Peru filed a constitutional complaint yesterday against President Dina Boluarte, accusing her of accepting a bribe – a move that, if acted on by the country’s legislature, could lead to Boluarte’s removal from office. [more]

PAKISTAN | Amidst an ongoing heatwave, the temperature in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province rose above 52 degrees Celsius, or 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit, yesterday – the country’s highest recorded temperature this year and nearing the record high of 54 degrees Celsius. [more]

BASKETBALL | The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 105-102, last night to complete a 4-0 sweep of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals and advance to the league finals, where they will play the winner of the Western Conference finals series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. [more]

TENNIS | In what is widely thought to be his last appearance at the French Open, at which he has been the men’s champion 14 times, tennis legend Rafael Nadal lost in the tournament’s first round yesterday to Alexander Zverev. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" topped the North American box office over the long holiday weekend with an estimated $32 million in receipts, followed by "The Garfield Movie" and "IF." [more]

R.I.P. | Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, NBA and NCAA champion, and well-known broadcaster Bill Walton died yesterday at the age of 71 following a prolonged battle with cancer. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1788, the Federalist papers—a series of 85 essays on the proposed new U.S. Constitution and on the nature of government, written in 1787–88 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—were first published in book form. [more history]