July 10, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The U.S. State Department announced sanctions yesterday on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, whose investigations into alleged human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories and calls for Israel to end military operations in Gaza were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a "campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel." [more]
• Reports say Hamas has promised to release 10 hostages held in Gaza as part of ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,232 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Representatives of about 100 countries and 40 international organizations and development banks are attending a fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine, which opens today in Rome, Italy. [more]
• A large-scale Russian drone and missile attack primarily targeting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killed at least two people and injured 16 others overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [more]

U.S. CITIZENSHIP | A federal judge in New Hampshire is scheduled to hear arguments today on the potential class-action certification of a lawsuit seeking to block an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that would deny birthright citizenship to children born to parents living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. [more]

U.S. MEASLES | Updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the U.S. has had a total of 1,288 cases of measles so far this year – more cases than in all of 2019, when the U.S. almost lost its status of having eradicated the disease. [more]

FLORIDA | The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday upheld lower court rulings that blocked Florida from enforcing an immigration law making it a crime for people who are living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state. The decision keeps the Florida law on hold while court challenges play out. [more]

PENNSYLVANIA | A nine-day strike by city workers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is set to end after the union representing some 10,000 blue-collar employees reached an agreement with the city that includes a 3% pay raise in each of the next three years. [more]

U.S. FARMING | Under a final ruling announced today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that, in alignment with Trump administration directives to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, it will no longer consider a farmer's race or sex in many of its farm loan, commodity, and conservation programs, ending a longstanding effort by the agency to address a history of discrimination. [more]

U.S. AND BRAZIL | U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on goods imported from Brazil yesterday, citing the South American country's prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of trying to overturn his 2022 election loss and its fining of social media companies as reasons for the move. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said such a move by the U.S. would trigger Brazil's economic reciprocity law, which allows trade, investment, and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness. [more]

U.K. AND FRANCE | As French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet in London, reports say Britain and France have agreed, for the first time, to co-ordinate their use of nuclear weapons in the event of any "extreme threat" to Europe. [more]

YEMEN | Speaking to the U.N. Security Council yesterday, Tom Fletcher, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that more than 17 million people in war-torn Yemen are going hungry, including more than 1 million children under the age of 5 who are suffering from “life-threatening acute malnutrition." [more]

KENYA | Following recent anti-government protests in which dozens of people died, Kenyan President William Ruto said yesterday that he would not allow "anarchy" in his country disguised as peaceful demonstrations and urged police to "break the legs" of demonstrators who steal or destroy property during protests. [more]

AUSTRALIA | A report on curbing antisemitism presented to Australia's government this week includes recommendations to withhold funding from universities that fail to act against antisemitism and from cultural institutions, artists, broadcasters, and individuals that “implicitly endorse antisemitic themes or narratives." The recommendations have been criticized by some, including the Jewish Council of Australia, as potentially being used to stifle political dissent and protests against Israel's actions against Palestinians in Gaza. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | Amidst opposition and calls to resign from a group of hard-right lawmakers, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a confidence vote before the European Parliament today. [more]

SOUTHEAST ASIA | The annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together all 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, the E.U., and the U.S., opens today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | The Seoul Central District Court approved a new arrest of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol today, accepting prosecutors' claims that Yoon poses a risk of destroying evidence while awaiting trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | Chipmaker and tech giant Nvidia's market value rose above $4 trillion yesterday – the first publicly traded company to reach that milestone. [more]

SOCCER | Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Madrid, 4-0, yesterday to advance to Sunday's Club World Cup final against Chelsea. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1962, Telstar 1, the first communications satellite to transmit live television signals and telephone conversations across the Atlantic Ocean, was launched, inaugurating a new age in electronic communications. [more history]