June 4, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote this afternoon on a resolution demanding an "immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties." The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent elected members of the Security Council, and reports cite diplomatic sources as saying that the U.S. is expected to veto the measure. [more]
• The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation temporarily suspended its aid distribution in Gaza today amidst concern over civilian safety following reports of dozens of people being killed near distribution sites over a three-day period. The organization has asked the Israeli military to minimize confusion or escalation risks near the sites by developing clearer guidance for civilians and enhancing training to support civilian safety, according to reports. [more]
• Israeli military officials say two rockets were fired from Syria yesterday into the Israel-controlled Golan Heights – the first such weapon launches from Syria since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December. Syrian media reports that Israel shelled areas of Syria’s Daraa province following the rocket launches. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1196 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Representatives of dozens of Ukraine Defense Contact Group member countries are meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels today in the latest move by the group to facilitate military aid for Ukraine. Reports note that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not taking part in the meeting – the first time the U.S. defense secretary will not participate since former Secretary Lloyd Austin created the group in 2022. [more]
• Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed, and 25 others were wounded, in an overnight Russian rocket attack on the northeastern city of Sumy. [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY | On the same day that Elon Musk, who spearheaded the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting efforts called President Trump's spending and tax bill, currently under consideration in Congress, a “disgusting abomination," the White House officially asked Congress yesterday to rescind some $9.4 billion in already approved funding that had been identified by DOGE for cuts. [more]

U.S. ABORTION | The Trump administration yesterday revoked guidance issued under the Biden administration that directed hospitals to provide emergency abortions for women when necessary to stabilize their medical condition. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump issued an executive order yesterday that increases tariffs on almost all steel and aluminum products imported into the U.S. from 25% to 50%, starting today. The order specifically excludes U.K. products from the tariff increase under a separate trade deal reached earlier this year. [full executive order] [more]

FLORIDA | A federal judge yesterday barred state officials in Florida from enforcing a ban on social media accounts for young children while related court proceedings play out. [more]

U.S. TRANSGENDER RIGHTS | U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said yesterday that the federal Bureau of Prisons must continue providing hormone therapy and social accommodations to transgender inmates, blocking an executive order from President Donald Trump that disrupted the treatments. In his ruling, Lamberth said that federal law prohibits prison officials from depriving inmates of medications and other lifestyle accommodations that the bureau’s own medical staff has deemed appropriate. [more]

IRAN | Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today criticized an initial U.S. proposal for a deal that would limit Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Reports note, however, that Khamenei did not reject the idea of an agreement outright. [more]

U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL | The U.N. General Assembly elected five new countries yesterday to serve on the U.N. Security Council for two-year terms starting in January. The new members - Bahrain, Congo, Liberia, Colombia, and Latvia - will replace Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia on the Security Council. [more]

HAJJ | The annual Hajj pilgrimage begins today in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and will last through June 9. Saudi officials have issued severe heat warnings to the estimated 1.3 Muslim pilgrims expected to participate. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Liberal politician Lee Jae-myung was inaugurated as South Korea's new president today, having been declared the winner of yesterday's presidential election. In his inaugural address, Lee said he would continue a policy of the South Korea-U.S. military alliance's "strong deterrence" against potential North Korean aggression, but would seek new cooperation with the North to "establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation." [more]

RARE EARTHS | European auto parts industry representatives say multiple parts production lines have been shut down due to shortages of rare earths and magnets caused by China's new restrictions on exports of the materials. Reports note that China produces about 90% of the world's rare earths and that the new export restrictions have affected automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and military contractors around the world. [more]

BRAZIL | President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a measure into law yesterday increasing the quota for government jobs in Brazil reserved for Blacks from 20% to 30% and adding Indigenous people and descendants of Afro-Brazilian enslaved people as candidates for the affirmative action program. [more]

PAKISTAN | Pakistani military officials say security forces killed 14 suspected insurgents overnight in a raid on a Pakistani Taliban outpost in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. [more]

RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA | Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu is in North Korea today for talks with leader Kim Jong Un on the strategic partnership agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang signed by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024. [more]

GERMANY | Authorities say more than 20,000 residents of Cologne, Germany, have been temporarily evacuated from parts of the city center today as explosive ordinance disposal teams prepare to defuse three unexploded bombs from World War II discovered earlier this week. [more]

BULGARIA | The European Commission and the European Central Bank gave approval today for Bulgaria to adopt the euro currency beginning in 2026, making it the 21st country to join the single currency bloc. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1940, following a massive rescue effort that included civilian boats, the withdrawal of Allied troops trapped at Dunkirk, France, during World War II was completed, saving more than 300,000 soldiers. [more history]