September 17, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 347 of the conflict:

• Israeli officials said today that ending attacks on northern Israel by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group is now an official goal of the nearly year-long conflict that has centered on Hamas and Gaza. Analysts suggest that the new Israeli policy could increase the risk of a wider Middle East conflict. [more]
• Speaking before the U.N Security Council yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.  Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Israel’s military of striking schools, humanitarian workers, and civilians in its ongoing military operations in Gaza and suggested that unintended casualties in such strikes were largely preventable. For its part, Israel has maintained that its operations target Hamas militants who often hide with civilians and use them as human shields. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 936 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• More than two years into the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s military yesterday to increase its total number of troops by 180,000 to a total strength of about 1.5 million. [more]

GLOBAL DEMOCRACY | In its latest Global Report on the State of Democracy, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance says 2023 had the largest decline in credible election and parliamentary oversight in almost half a century, with government intimidation, foreign interference, disinformation, and the misuse of artificial intelligence in campaigns among the factors contributing to the decline. The organization notes that about one in three elections around the world are disputed in some way and that the average percentage of eligible voters who actually cast ballots has declined from 65.2% in 2008 to about 55.5% in 2023. [report website] [more]

TRUMP ASSASSINATION PLOT | Following the weekend arrest of a man believed to have been planning to shoot former President Donald Trump in Florida, Trump yesterday blamed his political opponents for rhetoric that he said is inspiring assassination attempts on him. Reports note that the rhetoric of which Trump accuses his opponents is similar to many statements Trump himself has made about his political rivals. [more]

U.S. WORKPLACE | Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced yesterday that the e-commerce giant will require its employees to return to working in-office five days a week beginning next year instead of the current three days per week requirement implemented following the COVID-19 pandemic. [more]

WISCONSIN | Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke ruled yesterday that, in accordance with state law, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name must remain on the November election ballot in Wisconsin. Kennedy has sought to have his name removed from ballots in swing states – successfully in North Carolina and unsuccessfully in Michigan and Wisconsin. [more]

NORTH CAROLINA | Multiple coastal regions of southern North Carolina are under states of emergency today amidst widespread flooding brought on by an unnamed tropical weather system that, according to the National Weather Service, dropped as much as 18 inches of rain on some areas. [more]

EUROPEAN FLOODING | Countries in Central Europe continue to deal with extensive regional flooding brought on by heavy rains over the past several days. At least 16 deaths have been linked to the flooding – seven in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic, and one in Austria. [more]

VENEZUELA | A new report from the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela warns that Venezuela’s government has “dramatically intensified efforts to crush all peaceful opposition to its rule” in the wake of July’s disputed presidential election, sparking “one of the most acute human rights crises in recent history.” [press release] [full report] [more]

AFGHANISTAN | According to World Health Organization officials, the ruling Taliban have suspended polio vaccinations campaigns in Afghanistan for unknown reasons in a move medical experts say could have major repercussions for not only Afghans, but for people in other countries in the region. [more]

BOLIVIA | Former Bolivian President Evo Morales urged his supporters yesterday to take part in protests against current President Luis Arce, who accused Morales on Sunday of trying to overthrow his government. [more]

INDIA | The first of three phases of local election balloting begins today in India-controlled Kashmir – the Muslim-majority region’s first balloting in about 10 years and the first since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked its special state status and made it a federally governed territory. [more]

MYANMAR | State-run media in Myanmar reports that at least 226 people have died, and 77 others remain missing, in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, which struck the Southeast Asian nation last week, causing widespread flooding and landslides. [more]

ZIMBABWE | In its first such move since 1988, the government of Zimbabwe announced plans yesterday to cull 200 elephants in four of the country’s districts to help feed communities facing hunger amidst southern Africa’s worst drought in decades. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | Facebook parent company Meta yesterday banned RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other Russian state media networks from its platforms, accusing the outlets of using deceptive tactics to carry out covert influence operations online. [more]

SPYWARE | The United States announced new sanctions yesterday against five people and one organization connected to the Greece-based smartphone spyware company Intellexa, whose products, according to U.S. officials and independent researchers, have been used for mass surveillance campaigns around the world and for targeting dissidents, journalists, political candidates, and opposition figures. [more]

LITERATURE | Finalists for the 2024 Booker Prize for fiction have been announced and include: Anne Michaels for “Held;” Rachel Kushner for “Creation Lake;” Samantha Harvey for “Orbital;” Percival Everett for “James;” Yael van der Wouden for “The Safekeep;” and Charlotte Wood for “Stone Yard Devotional.” [full details] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.  [more history]