October 18, 2024

UKRAINE | Today is day 967 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cites intelligence sources as saying that as many as 12,000 North Korean military troops have been dispatched to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. The reporting follows a statement yesterday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he said intelligence showed that thousands of North Korean troops were preparing to join Russian forces fighting against his country and warned that such involvement of a third country in the fighting could be a “first step to a world war.” [more]
• The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions yesterday against two Chinese companies accused of directly aiding in the production of long-range attack drones for Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. [press release] [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Israel’s military announced yesterday that Hamas leader and October 7 attacks mastermind Yahya Sinwar was killed this week in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israeli officials and international leaders expressed hope that Sinwar’s death could bring with it the possibility of ending the Israel-Hamas conflict, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that, “Our war is not yet ended.” [more]
• Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said today that its fight against Israel has entered a new phase with the implementation of “plans prepared in advance” and the introduction of new weapons, including precision-guided missiles, into its operations. [more]

U.S. TEEN TOBACCO USE | According to a new CDC report, current tobacco product use among U.S. middle and high school students has dropped to the lowest recorded level in 25 years. Researchers note that more than 2 million youth still report regular tobacco use and that continuing efforts to reduce usage levels are needed. [press release] [full report] [more]

U.S. SECRET SERVICE | An independent panel charged with conducting a review of Secret Service protection practices following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this year released its report yesterday, concluding that the Secret Service needs “fundamental reform” and new leadership, and that “another Butler can and will happen again” without major changes to how the agency carries out its protective missions. [full report] [more]

TEXAS | In what is reported to be the first such legal action taken in the country, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit yesterday against a Dallas doctor for allegedly violating the state’s ban on providing gender-affirming care to minors by providing hormone therapies to more than 20 youths. [more]

U.S. WHOOPING COUGH | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 18,506 cases of whooping cough have been reported in the U.S. so far this year – the highest number at this point in the year since 2014. [more]

TENNESSEE | A three-judge panel in Tennessee ruled yesterday that doctors who perform emergency abortions to protect the life of the mother cannot face disciplinary action, such as having their medical licenses revoked, while legal challenges to the state’s 2022 abortion ban play out. [more]

U.S. MORTGAGES | Mortgage firm Freddie Mac reports that the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. rose to 6.44% last week – up from 6.32% the previous week and the third-straight weekly increase. [more]

U.S. AND INDIA | Federal prosecutors in the U.S. filed charges yesterday against former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav, accusing him of directing a failed plot to assassinate U.S. citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who advocates for an independent Sikh state carved out of India. Indian authorities say they are cooperating with the U.S.’ ongoing investigation, but have not commented directly on the charges against Yadav. [more]

U.S. AND PHILIPPINES | Police in the southern Philippines province of Zamboanga del Norte say they are investigating reports that U.S. national Elliot Onil Eastman, of Vermont, was kidnapped by armed gunmen last night in the town of Sibuco. [more]

CUBA | Amidst ongoing fuel delivery difficulties that began with the passage of Hurricane Milton last week, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced plans yesterday to temporarily shut down all non-essential state sector workplaces as part of efforts to control power blackouts that have affected millions of people across the Caribbean island nation. [more]

U.K. AND CHINA | Starting a two-day trip to China, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said today in Beijing that engagement with China is both pragmatic and necessary in “areas of contention as well as areas for cooperation.” [more]

VENEZUELA | Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced yesterday that five foreigners – three U.S. citizens and one each from Peru and Bolivia – have been arrested by Venezuelan authorities and charged with anti-government activities and plots to destabilize the South American country. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | China’s National Bureau of Statistics reports today that the Chinese economy grew at a 4.6% annual rate in the July-September quarter – down from 4.7% in the previous quarter and short of the official target growth rate of 5%. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province have closed all schools and universities for two days as part of efforts to prevent the spread of protests that broke out over an alleged on-campus rape at the province’s private Punjab Group of Colleges in Lahore. Government officials have denied that the rape took place and have announced charges against multiple people for spreading misinformation about the incident on social media. [more]

KENYA | Kenya’s Senate voted to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office yesterday following an impeachment trial that saw Gachagua charged with corruption, inciting ethnic divisions, and supporting anti-government protests. [more]

BASEBALL | Following last night’s games, the New York Yankees lead the Cleveland Guardians, 2-1, in Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series. In the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the New York Mets, 3-1. [more]

R.I.P. | Actress Mitzi Gaynor, best known for her starring role in the 1958 film “South Pacific,” and one of the last survivors of the so-called golden age of Hollywood musicals, died yesterday at the age of 93. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1867, the U.S. flag was first flown over the then-capital city of Sitka, signaling the completion of a deal negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward for the United States’ purchase of the Russian colony of Alaska. [more history]