December 3, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Israel said today that, in compliance with the terms of the ongoing cease-fire, it will resume permitting Palestinians to leave Gaza through a re-opened Rafah border crossing with Egypt that has been closed since May 2024. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,376 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Following talks yesterday on a U.S.-authored peace plan for Ukraine, European and Ukrainian officials accused Russian President Vladimir Putin today of "wasting the world's time" by feigning interest in peace efforts. The comments followed an accusation by Putin yesterday that Europe was sabotaging Ukraine peace efforts and a statement that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe. [more]
• Belgium today rejected a European Commission proposal to use frozen Russian assets, most of which are held in Belgium, to support Ukraine's economy and war efforts amidst the ongoing Russian invasion, saying the plan poses unacceptable financial and legal risks. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | In a policy memo posted online yesterday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency says it is pausing the processing of all immigration and asylum applications for people from 19 so-called high-risk countries, including: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan the Republic of Congo, Togo, Turkmenistan Venezuela, and Yemen. [full memo] [more]

MORE U.S. IMMIGRATION | Granting a preliminary injunction sought by civil liberties and immigrants' rights groups, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell yesterday blocked federal immigration authorities from making widespread immigration arrests in Washington, DC, without warrants or probable cause that the person is an imminent flight risk. [more]

D.C. NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING | In his first hearing before a judge, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House last week, pleaded not guilty yesterday to murder and assault charges. [more]

TENNESSEE | In a closely watched race, Republican Matt Van Epps won yesterday's special U.S. House election in Tennessee's 7th congressional district, defeating Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn. [more]

CALIFORNIA | The city of San Francisco, California, filed a lawsuit against 10 major U.S. food manufacturers yesterday, claiming that ultra-processed foods from the companies are responsible for a public health crisis. The companies named in the lawsuit include: Coca-Cola, Nestle, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz Company, Post Holdings, Mondelez International, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated, and ConAgra Brands. [more]

NEVADA | Amidst declines in the number of people visiting the resort and casino city of Las Vegas, Nevada, Gov. Joe Lombardo has signed a broad crime package into law that, among other things, revives a unique court program that bans perpetrators of some crimes from the Las Vegas Strip and stiffens penalties for smash-and-grab robberies, DUIs, and assault and battery against hospitality workers. [more]

WEST VIRGINIA | Following a state Supreme Court decision that paused a lower court ruling allowing parents to claim religious exemptions to opt their children out of school vaccination requirements, the West Virginia Board of Education yesterday reinstated its mandate that children receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. [more]

MINNESOTA | Reports cite government officials as indicating that federal authorities plan to begin targeted immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota as early as this week that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. [more]

EUROPEAN INDUSTRY | Reports say the European Commission, in a push to prioritize domestic goods and reduce reliance on China, is considering a plan under which European Union countries would target having up to 70% of the content of certain high-priority products, such as cars, made in Europe. [more]

MYANMAR | According to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar – already the world's main known source of illicit opium – expanded this year to its highest level since 2015, with 53,100 hectares (or 131,212 acres) of land used to cultivate the crop that is processed into morphine and heroin. [press release] [more]

INDIA | Following widespread objection from privacy advocates and some smartphone makers, India's Ministry of Communications today reversed an earlier decision and said it would not mandate the installation of a government-run cybersecurity app on all smartphones sold in the country. [more]

IRAN | Amidst the effects of nuclear-related sanctions on the country's economy, Iran's rial currency fell today to an all-time low of 1.2 million to a U.S. dollar. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say three police officers were killed today in a roadside bombing attack that targeted a police vehicle. While no group has claimed responsibility, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the attack. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1984, a gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, spread over a populated area, resulting ultimately in 15,000 to 20,000 deaths and leaving some half million survivors with chronic medical ailments. [more history]