July 21, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Palestinian health officials say at least 85 people were killed in Gaza yesterday while trying to reach aid distribution sites and materials across the Palestinian enclave. Reports cite regional U.N. sources as saying that the casualties occurred when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds attempting to take food from a convoy but note that there has been no immediate comment from Israel on the incidents. [more]
• Amidst a new cease-fire and the flow of humanitarian aid in the region, armed Bedouin clans announced yesterday that they had withdrawn from Syria's Druze-majority city of Sweida following a week of clashes. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,243 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• At least two people were killed, and 15 others were wounded, in overnight Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The attacks came just hours before U.S., U.K., German, and NATO representatives were to hold a virtual meeting to discuss U.S. plans to provide weapons to Ukraine through NATO. [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENT | Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Friday that the EPA is eliminating its research and development arm and beginning the process of reducing agency staff by thousands as part of moves that are expected to reduce EPA spending by nearly $750 million. Zeldin said in a statement that the changes will ensure the agency "is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while Powering the Great American Comeback." [more]

U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION | Boston-based U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs is scheduled to hear arguments today in Harvard University's lawsuit seeking to restore some $2.5 billion in grants and other funding cancelled by the Trump administration over what it says is the school's refusal to change its governance, hiring, and admissions practices. [more]

U.S. AIR TRAVEL | Alaska Airlines says it has resumed operations following a nearly three-hour system-wide ground stoppage of its flights due to an IT outage last night. [more]

U.S. AND MEXICO | U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced new approval and documentation requirements for passenger, cargo, and charter flights from Mexico yesterday. Duffy cited a years-old Mexican government policy forcing airlines to move operations away from Mexico City's main Benito Juarez International Airport to the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport more than 30 miles away as the reason for the new restrictions. [more]

TYPHOON WIPHA | Hundreds of flights were cancelled at airports in Hong Kong, southern China, and Macao yesterday as Typhoon Wipha moved through the region. The storm made landfall in China's southern Guangdong province yesterday evening and has prompted emergency alerts in Vietnam as the storm system approaches. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | At least 17 people were killed, and 11 others remain missing, following five days of heavy rains that affected much of South Korea, according to government officials. As of yesterday afternoon, some 2,700 people remain evacuated from their homes due to related flooding. [more]

CONGO | In what the African Union called a "major milestone" in peace efforts, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels signed a declaration of principles Saturday for a permanent cease-fire in eastern Congo. [more]

JAPAN | After weekend elections left his governing coalition with a minority in both chambers of parliament, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said today that he intends to stay in office to address national challenges that include rising prices and U.S. tariffs. [more]

BANGLADESH | Reports say at least 19 people were killed, and more than 50 others were injured, today when a Bangladesh air force training aircraft crashed into a college and school campus in the capital city of Dhaka. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. [more]

IRAN | Government offices, banks, and other businesses in the Iranian capital of Tehran are scheduled to close for portions of this week as the region is impacted by an intense heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The government has urged citizens to conserve energy and water and to stay indoors during peak heat hours. [more]

ALBANIA | The trial of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, his son-in-law, and three other people on charges of corruption begins today in Albania. Prosecutors allege that Berisha, who served as prime minister from 2005-2013, used his position to help his son-in-law privatize public land to build 17 apartment buildings in the capital, Tirana. [more]

PAKISTAN | Police in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province said today that 11 suspects have been arrested after video surfaced on social media over the weekend showing the murder of a young couple after they married without their families' approval. [more]

GOLF | World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished with a 3-under-par 68 yesterday to win the British Open at Royal Portrush. The victory was Scheffler's second major tournament win this year and fourth overall. [more]

FOOTBALL | U.S. President Donald Trump threatened yesterday to hold up approval of a new stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders if the team's nickname is not reverted to the Redskins. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Superman" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $57.3 million in receipts, followed by "Jurassic World Rebirth" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2011, NASA's space shuttle program came to an end after 135 missions as the Atlantis orbiter landed at John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.  [more history]