November 27, 2024

EDITORIAL NOTE | In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and barring any extraordinary events that would require immediate coverage, the Daily Brief will not be published Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29, as we gather with family and friends for celebrations. We look forward to resuming operations on Monday, December 2.

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• A U.S.- and France-brokered cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group went into effect early today, ending more than a year of cross-border violence sparked by the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.The agreement requires that Hezbollah remove its armed presence from southern Lebanon and that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Following a weeks-long delay, the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump reached an agreement with the Biden administration that allows transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce prior to January’s inauguration. [more]

GEORGIA | The U.S. Department of Energy announced a $6.6 billion loan yesterday to electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive to complete a production facility project in Georgia that had stalled amidst the company’s struggle to become profitable. [more]

U.S., MEXICO, AND CANADA | Officials in both Mexico and Canada have strongly criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Monday announcement that he intends to impose tariffs of 25% on all goods from the two countries upon taking office. Reports cite multiple Canadian and Mexican officials as suggesting that reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods could be imposed if the new U.S. import duties are implemented. [more]

U.S. AND INDIA | India’s lower house of parliament suspended operations for a second-straight day today following disruptions surrounding demands to discuss the U.S. indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani on charges of bribery and misleading U.S. investors. [more]

INTERNATIONAL CYBERCRIME | Global police organization Interpol announced yesterday that 1,006 people suspected of cybercrimes have been arrested in 19 African countries over the course of the two-month Operation Serengeti. Interpol, along with Afripol, the African Union’s police agency, says some 35,000 victims and nearly $193 million in financial losses were associated with the crimes committed by the suspects. [more]

MYANMAR | International Criminal Court prosecutors asked a judge yesterday to issue an arrest warrant for Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military regime that staged a coup in 2021, for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with the deportation and persecution of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. [more]

BRAZIL | According to a newly unsealed report from Brazil’s Federal Police, former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was aware of, and actively participated in, a 2022 coup plot aimed at remaining in power following his electoral defeat by now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Hundreds of airline flights were cancelled, and traffic was disrupted, in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday following the area’s most severe November snowstorm in more than 50 years. Meteorologists say the Seoul region received about 20 centimeters, or 7.8 inches, of snow during the storm. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Federal police filed criminal complaints yesterday against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte and her security staff in connection with allegations of assaulting authorities and disobeying lawful orders. The charges are linked to what reports say was alleged interference in the police detention of Duterte's chief of staff. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Members of Australia’s House of Representatives voted today to approve a bill that would ban children under the age of 16 from social media. The measure, which would hold social media companies responsible for failures to prevent young children from holding accounts, is expected to be approved by the country’s Senate as early as tomorrow. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1895, the Nobel Prizes were established through the will of Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. The prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. A sixth prize, for Economic Sciences, is endowed by Sweden's central bank and administered by the Nobel Foundation. [more history]