November 29, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 54 of the conflict:

• Reports say international mediators are working today to extend the cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Twelve Hamas-held hostages were released, and 30 Palestinians were freed from Israeli prisons, yesterday under the terms of the cease-fire. [more]
• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said this week that “more people could die from disease than bombings” in Gaza due to inadequate healthcare and dangerous living conditions in overcrowded civilian shelters amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 643 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Speaking at a NATO-Ukraine meeting in Brussels today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there is “no sense of fatigue” among NATO allies regarding ongoing aid to Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion. [more]
• Russian defense ministry officials said this morning that a Russian Black Sea fleet frigate targeted Ukrainian military infrastructure overnight with four Kalibr cruise missiles and that “the designated targets" were hit. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Reports from Japan say a U.S. military Osprey aircraft with eight people on board crashed early today off the coast of Japan’s southern Yakushima Island. U.S. officials say the aircraft was based at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and that rescue operations surrounding the incident are ongoing. [more]

U.S. LIFE EXPECTANCY | According to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average life expectancy in the U.S. for someone born in 2022 is 77.5 years – up from 76.4 years in the 2021 CDC estimates. The 2022 estimated life expectancy for U.S. women is 80.2 years, compared to 74.8 years for men. [full report] [more]

GEORGE SANTOS | In a follow-up to a November 16 House Ethics Committee report, the U.S. House Of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the expulsion of New York Rep. George Santos from Congress. The committee report concluded that Santos, who is also facing multiple charges in federal court, “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.” [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity political arm yesterday announced its endorsement and backing of former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted today that global economic growth will slow to 2.7% in 2024 – down from an expected 2.9% increase in 2023 and the slowest calendar-year growth since 2020. The organization cited global conflicts and ongoing high inflation and interest rates as reasons for the economic slowdown next year. [more]

INDIA | Forty-one construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel for 17 days were rescued yesterday in India’s Uttarakhand state. Reports say all of the workers were evaluated by medical staff and found to be in good health. [more]

NATO | Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said today that Turkey has told Sweden that it expects to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid within weeks. [more]

RUSSIA | According to the state-run TASS news agency, Russian lawmakers have prepared draft legislation that would require foreigners entering Russia to sign an agreement forbidding the visitors from criticizing government officials or official government policy, discrediting Soviet military history, or contravening traditional family values. [more]

BURKINA FASO | The U.N. Human Rights Office says at least 40 civilians were killed, and another 42 were injured, by al-Qaida-linked rebel forces this past weekend in the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo. [more]

SWEDEN | Statistics Sweden reports today that Sweden’s gross domestic product fell by 0.3% in the third quarter of 2023 – its second-straight quarterly decline and a sign of the country’s possible entry into recession. [more]

WORLD EXPO | Members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions selected Riyadh as the host city of the 2030 World Expo, with the Saudi Arabian capital beating out Rome, Italy, and Busan, South Korea. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | As part of its full-year earnings forecast, General Motors said today that this fall’s six-week United Auto Workers strike against the company resulted in a $1.1 billion decrease in its pre-tax earnings this year. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | The 2023 season’s penultimate College Football Playoff rankings were released yesterday, with Georgia still at No. 1, followed by Michigan, Washington, Florida State, Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama. [full rankings] [more]

BASKETBALL | The Associated Press cites unnamed sources as saying that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is in talks to sell the NBA franchise to the family that operates the Las Vegas Sands casino company for an estimated $3.5 billion. [more]

MUSIC | Apple Music released its global list of top songs from 2023 yesterday. The top songs were: Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Kill Bill” from SZA, “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage, and “Snooze” from SZA. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, a resolution, ultimately not implemented, calling for the partition of Palestine into two separate states—an Arab and a Jewish one—that would retain an economic union. [more history]