May 30, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 237 of the conflict:

• Israeli military officials say their forces have taken control of the Philadelphi Corridor border region between Gaza and Egypt through which some 20 tunnels have been used to covertly supply weapons and other goods to Hamas militants in Gaza. [more]
• Reports say the U.S. military-built pier for aid delivery to Gaza is being repaired in a port in southern Israel after being damaged by strong winds and heavy seas, and that the pier is expected to be reinstalled and operational again next week. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 826 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• A two-day summit of NATO foreign ministers begins today in Prague, with a focus on military and financial aid for Ukraine and amidst ongoing disagreements over whether NATO countries should allow Ukraine to use donated weapons to strike targets inside Russia. [more]
• In an interview this week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine expects to receive its first supplies of donated F-16 fighter jets “very soon.” [more]

U.S. SUPREME COURT | In a letter to members of Congress yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejected calls to recuse himself from cases involving former President Donald Trump and the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol over the flying of two controversial flags at his homes. Alito said his wife was responsible for flying both an upside-down U.S. flag and an “Appeal to heaven” flag at the couple’s homes and that the events did not “meet the applicable standard for recusal.” [more]

U.S. OIL INDUSTRY | ConocoPhillips announced plans yesterday to purchase Marathon Oil in a stock and debt-assumption deal valued at $22.5 billion. [more]

TRUMP NEW YORK TRIAL | Jury deliberations in the business records falsification and hush money trial of former President Donald Trump are scheduled to resume for a second today today after jury members asked to rehear testimony from former tabloid publisher David Pecker and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The jury also asked for clarification on the trial judge’s jury instructions meant to guide them on applying applicable laws. [more]

U.S. AND MOLDOVA | U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $135 million aid package to Moldova yesterday, intended to bolster the Eastern European nation’s energy and farming industries and counter Russian disinformation and political interference efforts. [more]

U.N. PEACEKEEPING | In an Associated Press interview published today, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix suggested that deep divisions between the world’s most powerful countries – namely, the U.S., Russia, and China – undermine U.N. peacekeeping efforts worldwide, as well as the international organization’s other efforts to promote peace and stability. [more]

SPAIN | The Spanish parliament gave final approval today to a controversial bill that grants amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists who took part in an unsuccessful and illegal 2017 secession effort. [more]

HONG KONG | Fourteen pro-democracy activists were convicted in Hong Kong today on charges of “conspiracy to commit subversion” for their roles in a June 2020 unofficial primary election that prosecutors said was meant to undermine the government’s authority and create a constitutional crisis. [more]

ICELAND | The Icelandic Meteorological Office says a volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted yesterday for the fifth time since December, threatening the nearby town of Grindavik, as well as the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Citing early results from yesterday's national election, reports say South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party appears on course to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, said yesterday that an international police effort has taken down computer networks responsible for the largest-ever cybercrime operation that used infected emails to spread ransomware. Reports say at least four arrests were made as part of the "Operation Endgame" investigation and that more than 100 servers and 2,000 internet domains were seized. [more]

BASEBALL | Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career batting average leader at .372 , surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, after the records from the U.S. Negro leagues were incorporated into MLB record books this week following a three-year research project. [more]

GOLF | Prosecutors in Louisville, Kentucky, yesterday asked a judge to drop all four charges against Scottie Scheffler related to actions by the world’s top golfer’s interactions with a police officer during last week’s PGA Championship tournament. After being arrested, Scheffler characterized the incident as a misunderstanding with police directing traffic, which Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, in making his request for dismissal, said was “corroborated by the evidence.” [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1431, Joan of Arc, after being charged with heresy and witchcraft and despite having led the French army in a victory over England at Orléans during the Hundred Years’ War, was burned at the stake.  [more history]