May 9, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 216 of the conflict:

• In an interview yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that the United States is committed to providing defensive weaponry to Israel, but that it would not provide weapons and artillery shells for use in any potential Israeli operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. [more]
• The World Health Organization said today that it has only about three day's worth of fuel for its hospital operations in southern Gaza and that the shortage has already forced one of three remaining hospitals in the southern city of Rafah to close. The statement comes amidst ongoing concern over limits on humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 805 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reuters cites unnamed E.U. diplomatic sources as saying European Union ambassadors agreed yesterday to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide aid for arms and ammunition to Ukraine. Reports note that the move must still be approved by E.U. ministers. [more]
• Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov says at least four children and three adults were injured this week when a Russian airstrike hit a school facility in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. [more]

U.S. WEATHER | Powerful storms are expected to continue today in parts of the southeastern U.S., a day after severe weather that included tornadoes and hail killed two people in Tennessee and one person in North Carolina. [more]

TRUMP GEORGIA ELECTION TRIAL | The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed yesterday to review a lower court ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis to continue her role in prosecuting former president Donald Trump for alleged election interference in the state in the 2020 presidential election. [more]

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | The House yesterday voted 359-43 to reject a motion by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that sought to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership position. [more]

U.S. COLLEGE PROTESTS | Among incidents this week in the continuing proliferation of pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. colleges and universities: 33 protesters at George Washington University were arrested when police cleared a protest encampment and about 130 protesters were arrested at the University of Massachusetts after refusing to disperse. [more]

IRAN | Iran's Student News Network cites Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying today that Iran would change its stated doctrine against building a nuclear weapon if its existence is threatened by Israel. [more]

RUSSIA | Speaking at a commemoration of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II today, President Vladimir Putin accused Western nations of risking a global conflict by threatening Russia and said his country’s forces are always ready to respond to such threats. [more]

PAKISTAN | Yet-unidentified attackers shot and killed seven barbers, all of whom lived and worked together, in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province this morning. Reports note that regional militant groups have tried to ban the trimming of beards and haircuts in Western styles in the past several years. [more]

YEMEN | Houthi rebel forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for missile attacks on two Panama-flagged container ships in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week as part of their ongoing operations against regional shipping in protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Reports say neither ship was damaged in the attacks. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility yesterday for a bombing attack earlier in the day that killed or wounded 12 Taliban police officers involved in an anti-poppy crop campaign in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province. [more]

NORTH MACEDONIA | Conservative-backed Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was elected the first woman president of North Macedonia yesterday, defeating incumbent Stevo Pendarovski. [more]

ARGENTINA | Amidst ongoing high annual inflation that reached 287% in March, Argentina’s central bank announced this week that it will begin issuing its largest bank note ever – a 10,000-peso note, which, at current exchange rates, would be worth about US$10. The bank also said it would begin issuing 20,000-peso notes later this year. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol today rejected opposition party calls for an independent investigation into allegations of stock price manipulation and improper receiving of gifts by Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee. [more]

SOCCER | Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will face each other in the June 1 UEFA Champions League final at London's Wembley Stadium after beating Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, this week. [more]

BASKETBALL | The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player yesterday – his third time receiving the award in the past four seasons. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was second in voting for the award and Dallas’ Luka Doncic was third. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1914, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. [more history]