November 25, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• A potential cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah could be announced within days, according to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog. Ongoing negotiations are complicated by Israel's insistence on retaining the right to respond if Hezbollah violates the terms. [more]
• In what is reported to be the group’s heaviest barrage in months, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fired some 250 rockets into northern Israel yesterday, wounding seven people. The rocket attack followed an Israeli strike on central Beirut on Saturday in which at least 29 people are reported to have been killed. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1005 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian state news agency Tass reports that James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British national, was captured by Russian forces while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. Reports note that Anderson was serving as a member of the International Legion of Ukraine, which was established by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after the Russian invasion began in 2022. [more]
• Reuters cites U.S. researchers as saying that satellite imagery suggests North Korea is expanding its manufacturing capacity for a type of short-range ballistic missile that has been used by Russia in Ukraine. The report follows the recent finalization of a mutual defense treaty between Russia and North Korea and the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk region. [more]

U.S. THANKSGIVING TRAVEL | Auto club AAA has predicted that some 80 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during the Tuesday to Monday Thanksgiving period this year, and the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen some 18.3 million air travelers during the same period. Reports also note that some service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are expected to strike during the busy travel week, though efforts are being undertaken to minimize related disruptions to flight operations. [more]

TRUMP NEW YORK TRIAL | New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday agreed to a request by attorneys for now President-elect Donald Trump to file a motion to dismiss the falsification of business records and hush money case in which Trump was convicted earlier this year. Merchan also said that Trump’s sentencing in the case, which was due to take place this week, has been indefinitely postponed. [more]

U.S. REGULATORY OVERSIGHT | The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear arguments in a case challenging the Federal Communications Commission's oversight of a program that provides approximately $8 billion in subsidies for telecommunications and internet services to rural areas, schools, and libraries. The FCC collects these funds from telecommunications companies, which often pass the costs onto consumers, raising concerns about whether Congress granted the agency excessive power. [more]

GLOBAL PLASTICS POLLUTION | Representatives of 66 countries began a week of meetings today in Busan, South Korea, in an effort to create a legally binding international treaty establishing targets and reconciling differing opinions on reducing plastic pollution. Reports cite the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as predicting that, without policy changes, the production and use of plastics globally is set to reach 736 million tons by 2040, up 70% from 2020. [more]

G7 | The Group of Seven foreign ministers began a two-day meeting in Italy today, focusing on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The meeting comes amidst escalating violence in the regions and aims to coordinate ongoing international responses. [more]

COP29 | Representatives to the U.N.’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan agreed early Sunday to provide at least $300 billion annually to developing nations to support efforts to reduce use of fossil fuels, adapt to global warming, and pay for damages caused by climate change. The deal was praised by many countries as a good starting point, but criticized by poorer nations for being far less than what is needed to address the effects of climate change and global warming. [more]

PAKISTAN | Thousands of supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan are expected to defy a lockdown in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad for a planned rally later today. The government has banned protests to prevent potential clashes, following unrest during previous political gatherings. [more]

ROMANIA | Preliminary results from yesterday’s first round of voting in Romania’s presidential election show far-right populist Calin Georgescu and independent reformist Elena Lasconi leading, with 22.95% and 19.17% of the vote, respectively. Georgescu and Lasconi will face each other in a runoff in two weeks. [more]

RUSSIA | President Vladimir Putin signed bills into law Saturday that ban the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal and impose fines of up to about $50,000 for the publication or spread of materials that encourage people to not have children. [more]

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | UAE officials say three Uzbek nationals have been arrested in connection with the killing of ultra-Orthodox Israeli-Moldovan rabbi Zvi Kogan, who went missing in Dubai on Thursday. [more]

URUGUAY | Voters chose leftist candidate Yamandú Orsi to be Uruguay’s next president yesterday. Reports note that the South American country’s election outcome is the latest in a worldwide trend in which incumbent parties are being rebuked in the face of post-pandemic economic and social pressures. [more]

PHILIPPINES | In a continuation of bitter disputes over domestic and international policies, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday that she has hired an assassin to kill the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the speaker of the country’s House of Representatives, if she herself is killed. Reports say Duterte is likely to face an investigation into possible criminal charges for her comments. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Oregon remains No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll following this weekend’s games, followed by Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, and Notre Dame. [full AP Top 25 rankings] [more]

FORMULA 1 | With a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive Formula 1 racing championship. [more]

TENNIS | Italy claimed their second consecutive Davis Cup title yesterday with a win over the Netherlands, led by singles victories by No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Wicked" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $114 million in receipts, followed by "Gladiator II" and "Red One." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1783, following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War, the last remaining British troops in the United States were evacuated from New York City. [more history]