February 10, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Amidst the ongoing cease-fire in Gaza that has allowed a surge in aid to enter the Palestinian enclave, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said yesterday that the risk of famine in the region has largely been averted, but warned that the threat could return if the truce collapses. [more]
• Local media reports say Israeli police, citing incitement of violence, raided a decades-old Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem yesterday, confiscating hundreds of books on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, taking the store’s owners into custody, and ordering the store to be closed. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1082 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reuters cites multiple unnamed sources and Ukrainian documents as suggesting that U.S. President Donald Trump’s suspension of foreign aid has begun to threaten investigations into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today he could neither confirm nor deny that such conversations have taken place. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump said yesterday that he intends to announce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from major suppliers Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, and South Korea. Trump also said he would implement reciprocal tariffs on other countries later this week. [more]

U.S. TREASURY | A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data Saturday, citing potential risks to sensitive information including Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. Responding to the judicial order, a hearing on which has been scheduled for later this week, government efficiency head Elon Musk called the judge corrupt and said he should be impeached. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked Trump administration plans to send three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba as part of the president’s illegal immigrant deportation efforts. Reports note that the three men have been accused of being members of the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang. [more]

U.S. CONSUMER FINANCE | In a Saturday e-mail, Trump administration Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to cease nearly all work and said the Bureau would no longer be allowed to withdraw funds from the Federal Reserve. Reports note that, in establishing the CFPB, Congress directed the agency to be funded by the Federal Reserve to insulate it from political pressures. [more]

U.S. CURRENCY | President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies, citing high production costs as the reason for the move. The U.S. Mint reports that it produced 3.2 billion pennies in the 2024 fiscal year at a cost of about 3.69 cents per penny. [U.S. Mint 2024 annual report] [more]

BALTIC ENERGY | The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania officially disconnected from the Russian electrical grid over the weekend and began their integration with the European Union grid through connections with Finland, Sweden, and Poland. [more]

ECUADOR | Voters in Ecuador will choose between conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and leftist challenger Luisa González in an April 13 presidential runoff election after the two candidates received the most votes among 16 candidates in the South American nation’s polling yesterday. [more]

GLOBAL HIV/AIDS | In an Associated Press interview, U.N. AIDS agency Executive Director Winnie Byanyima says global HIV infections and related deaths could grow by more than six times by 2029 if U.S. support of AIDS prevention programs, which has been frozen as part of President Donald Trump’s suspension of foreign aid, is not resumed. [more]

CHINA | Amidst ongoing population decline concerns, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs says about 6.1 million couples registered marriages in China last year – down from 7.68 million the previous year despite government efforts to encourage young couples to marry and have children. [more]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | Government, industry, and academia representatives are taking part in a major artificial intelligence summit that opens today in Paris. Public interest AI, the future of work, innovation, trust in AI, and global AI governance are among the main themes of the two-day AI Action Summit. [summit website] [more]

FOOTBALL | The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, last night to win Super Bowl LIX. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named the game’s most valuable player and running back Saquon Barkley finished the season with a new NFL single-season rushing record, postseason included, of 2,504 total yards. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Dog Man" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $13.7 million in receipts, followed by "Heart Eyes" and "Love Hurts." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending territorial conflicts between France and Britain in the Seven Years' War, the North American phase of which was called the French and Indian War. As part of the treaty, France ceded its territory in Canada to Great Britain. [more history]