April 9, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Amidst renewed Israeli military action and occupation of portions of southern Lebanon, Reuters cites a senior Hezbollah official as saying the militant group is open to discussing disarmament if Israel withdraws from south Lebanon and stops its strikes. [more]
• Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said today that his country is willing to offer temporary shelter to Palestinian medical evacuees and children orphaned by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1140 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that two Chinese men fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region had been captured and that information suggested there were "significantly more" Chinese fighters working with Russian troops. China denied the Ukrainian reports, saying they were "totally unfounded." [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Three people were killed, and three others were wounded, yesterday evening when gunmen opened fire on residents of a town house complex outside Fredericksburg, Virginia. Local police said this morning that all suspects in the case are in custody and that there is no further threat to public safety related to the incident. [more]

U.S. AND GLOBAL TARIFFS | Sweeping U.S. tariffs, including a 104% levy on Chinese imports, went into effect just after midnight, prompting a downward turn in European and Asian markets. President Donald Trump, in a speech yesterday, said he is looking into new tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States. Canadian retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. vehicles also went into effect today, and China has announced new 84% tariffs on U.S. goods. [more]

U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | Reports say acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause is resigning her position over a newly signed agreement between the Treasury and Homeland Security Departments under which tax data will be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the United States. [more]

U.S. CRYPTO REGULATION | The Associated Press cites a Justice Department memo as showing that the Department is disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which was established under the Biden administration to target the "misuse of cryptocurrency and related technologies to commit or facilitate criminal activity." [more]

U.S. UNIVERSITY FUNDING | In a continuation of similar actions at schools such as Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Trump administration officials have announced funding and grant cuts at both Cornell University and Northwestern University over alleged civil rights violations related to pro-Palestinian demonstrations. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL WORKFORCE | The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday blocked a lower court ruling that ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees as part of the Department of Government Efficiency's staffing reduction efforts. The court did not rule on the legality of the firings, but said in its ruling that the nonprofit associations seeking the reinstatements lacked the right, or standing, to sue. [more]

U.S. PRESS FREEDOM | A federal judge yesterday ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press' full access to presidential events, which was suspended in February over the AP's policy of continuing to refer to the "Gulf of Mexico" rather than the "Gulf of America" as ordered by President Donald Trump. [more]

GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AID | Reports say U.S. Agency for International Development Acting Deputy Administrator Jeremy Lewin has ordered the restoration of at least six recently cut foreign aid programs for emergency food assistance. The move will restore awards to the World Food Program in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq, and Ecuador, according to reports. [more]

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | Authorities say at least 113 people were killed, and 155 others were injured, early Tuesday when the roof of a nightclub in the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo collapsed during a concert. Rescue operations at the site are still ongoing. [more]

GREECE | Public services, including most transportation, are disrupted across Greece today amidst a 24-hour nationwide general strike called by labor unions to protest austerity measures and the high cost of living. [more]

GERMANY | Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic bloc has reportedly agreed to  a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats under which the CDU's Friedrich Merz will become chancellor. Additional details of the coalition program are expected to be released later today. [more]

ARGENTINA | The International Monetary Fund has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with Argentina to provide the South American country with a $20 billion bailout package amidst its economic troubles. [more]

BRAZIL | Thousands of Indigenous people took part in a march yesterday in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia to demand that the government guarantee and expand Indigenous rights to traditional lands in the country as part of efforts to address the climate crisis. [more]

CHINA | China's official Xinhua news agency reports that at least 20 people were killed in an overnight fire at a nursing home in the country's Hebei province. At least one nursing home administrator has been taken into police custody in connection with the fire, according to reports. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States of America, signed a treaty of surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. [more history]