November 7, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Lebanese officials said yesterday that at least 30 people were killed late Tuesday night in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the central Lebanon city of Barja. [more]
• Israel’s parliament passed a law today that would allow the deportation of Palestinian citizens of Israel who are family members of militants who carry out attacks and who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.” Reports say the law is likely to face legal challenges following any attempt to implement it. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 987 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Reports say a sustained Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight lasted for eight hours and resulted in damage to a hospital and to multiple residential and office buildings. Three people were injured in the attacks, according to local officials. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | With 38 races yet to be called, control of the House of Representatives following this week’s elections remains unclear. Currently, 206 seats have been won by Republicans and 191 by Democrats. 218 seats are needed for control of the lower chamber of Congress. [more]

MORE U.S. ELECTIONS | Speaking yesterday at Howard University in Washington, DC, Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump. Both Harris and President Joe Biden say they have spoken with Trump and offered to facilitate the transition to the second Trump administration. [more]

TRUMP TRIALS | Reports say Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down his office’s two federal cases against now-President-elect Donald Trump – one related to attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and one alleging that Trump illegally possessed classified documents at his Florida home following his first term in office. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate for a second-straight time today amidst ongoing slowdowns in inflationary pressures. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Officials in southern California’s Ventura County have ordered the evacuation of more than 10,000 people as the area’s Mountain Fire spreads near the city of Camarillo, destroying dozens of homes. The fire, which was considered 0% contained as of last night, has burned approximately 16 square miles since yesterday. [more]

GLOBAL CLIMATE | Researchers at the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service say 2024 is on track to eclipse 2023 as the warmest year on record, noting that this year will be the first in which the planet is more than 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period – a key global warming progress measurement point established in the 2015 Paris Agreement. [more]

GERMANY | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said yesterday that his coalition government has collapsed following the firing of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Scholz has announced plans to hold a vote of confidence on January 15 that could lead to new national elections as early as March 2025. [more]

CUBA | Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba yesterday as a powerful Category 3 storm, causing widespread damage including flooding and nationwide power outages. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have expanded school and government closings in and around the cultural capital of Lahore as record-high pollution continues to plague the region. Reports cite medical officials in the region as saying that tens of thousands of people suffering from respiratory conditions have been treated at local hospitals and clinics over the past week. [more]

BRAZIL | Government officials say deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest dropped to a nine-year low in the latest year of annual tracking. The loss of 6,288 square kilometers of rainforest in the August 2023 to July 2024 period represents a 30.6% reduction from the previous year. [more]

AUSTRALIA | The Australian government announced today that it plans to introduce world-leading legislation that will set a 16-year age limit for children to use social media, holding platforms responsible for compliance. The measure would take effect 12 months after it is passed, giving platforms time to implement age verification measures. [more]

INDONESIA | Following a second eruption this week of Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano, Indonesian authorities today urged thousands of residents evacuated after Monday’s eruption not to return to their homes, saying that permanent relocation may be required to mitigate risks from future eruptions. [more]

SWEDEN | A Swedish court this week sentenced far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, founder and head of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, to four months in jail for “incitement against an ethnic group” after he made hateful comments about Muslims at a rally in 2022. [more]

CANADA | Canada’s government has ordered the Canadian business offices of Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok closed following a review of the platform’s parent company by security and intelligence community officials. Reports note that the order applies only to company offices and that Canadians will still be able to access the TikTok platform. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | Amidst increasing costs and poor sales, Japanese automaker Nissan announced today that it will reduce its global workforce by 6%, or about 9,000 jobs, and cut its global production capacity by 20%. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first woman elected to Congress. [more history]