June 24, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Iran is reported to have warned both the U.S. and Qatar yesterday prior to firing missiles at the U.S. air base in Qatar in retaliation for the weekend U.S. bombing operations targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. There were no casualties associated with the Iranian attack. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Iran yesterday evening, though both countries have accused the other of limited violations of the agreement. Trump criticized both sides in the conflict this morning for the apparent violations. [more]
• Reports cite Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid as saying that most, but not all, of Iran's enriched uranium was destroyed in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes over the past 12 days. [more]
• Reports cite local officials and witnesses as saying that at least 25 people were killed early today when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians gathering near an aid distribution site in central Gaza. Israeli military officials say they are investigating reports of casualties after a group of people approached troops in the area. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1216 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian officials say at least nine people were killed, and dozens of train passengers were injured, in Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region today. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | With a divided finding yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to resume its policy of swiftly removing illegal immigrants to countries other than their homelands while related lower-court proceedings play out. The ruling lifts, for now, a district court order that said immigrants must be given an opportunity to argue that deportation to a third country would put them in danger. [more]

U.S. NATIONAL FORESTS | According to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the Trump administration plans to rescind the decades-old so-called "roadless rule" that blocked logging on about 34%, or some 59 million acres, of national forest lands. [more]

U.S. ABORTION | A new report from the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion access, says the number of abortions performed in the U.S. rose to about 1.1 million in 2024 – up from just over 1 million in 2023, but lower than the historic peak of nearly 1.6 million per year in the late 1990s. [full report] [more]

U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION | Boston-based U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs yesterday blocked a renewed Trump administration effort to prevent foreign students from attending Harvard University as part of a pressure campaign seeking changes to governance and policies at the Ivy League school. [more]

U.S. CONGRESS | According to a Reuters report, use of the WhatsApp messaging service on U.S. House of Representatives devices has been banned over security and data privacy concerns. WhatsApp owner Meta condemned the move, saying the platform provides higher security than other allowed platforms such as Signal, iMessage, and Wickr. [more]

FLORIDA | State Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday to allow Florida to enforce a new immigration law making it a misdemeanor for people living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state. A lower court issued a temporary restraining order and injunction that barred enforcement of the new law statewide in April. [more]

NATO | Ahead of today's opening of a two-day NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Dutch officials say pro-Russian hacking groups have targeted several municipalities and organizations linked to the gathering. Members of the military alliance are expected to endorse a defense spending goal of 5% of gross domestic product for almost all members and reports note that Middle East security and the war in Ukraine are among the main topics to be discussed. [more]

GREECE | Amidst an ongoing state of emergency, authorities say more than 400 firefighters, 85 vehicles, eleven helicopters, and two water-dropping planes are involved in battling an out-of-control wildfire on the Greek island of Chios. [more]

SUDAN | World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today that more than 40 people, including at least six children and five medics, were killed in an attack on a hospital in West Kordofan, Sudan, over the weekend. Reports note that the hospital is near the battle lines between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and that Ghebreyesus did not speculate on who was responsible for the hospital attack. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Treasury officials say a newly approved $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank will help South Africa to address "pressing economic challenges of low growth and high unemployment" and move forward with plans to both upgrade transportation infrastructure and transition toward a low-carbon economy. [more]

THAILAND | The opposition Bhumjaithai party announced today that it plans to seek a parliamentary no confidence vote against Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet. The move comes a week after the Bhumjaithai party withdrew from the ruling coalition. [more]

R.I.P. | Mick Ralphs, singer, guitarist, and founding member of the classic British rock bands Bad Company and Mott the Hoople, has died, according to a statement posted on the Bad Company website yesterday. Ralphs is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bad Company later this year. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. [more history]