March 13, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• A new report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory accuses Israel of the “systematic use of sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence” against Palestinians since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report's findings, calling them biased and antisemitic. [full report] [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1113 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow today to present a proposal for a cease-fire in Ukraine to Russian officials. The Kremlin has yet to officially comment on the proposal, which Ukraine has accepted, but reports cite a senior foreign policy advisor to President Vladimir Putin as saying a 30-day cease-fire such as the one proposed would simply give Kyiv's forces a much-needed battlefield respite. [more]
• The Russian Defense Ministry claimed today to have re-taken Sudzha – the largest town occupied by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | Ahead of tomorrow’s government funding deadline, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday that Senate Democrats are “unified” in opposing a stop-gap spending measure passed by the House that would fund federal operations through September. Schumer also said he has proposed a one-month extension of existing spending to give lawmakers an opportunity to complete more comprehensive appropriations bills. [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION | Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced dozens of planned actions yesterday that would roll back or reconsider various landmark environmental regulations and programs. Zeldin said his announcements constituted the “most consequential day of deregulation in American history” and that the actions “are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age.” The actions, which are detailed in a series of releases on the EPA website, include the elimination of rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, refactoring or eliminating climate-related goals and programs, and the termination of environmental justice staff. [EPA news website] [more]

U.S. CLIMATE LAW | The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a bid by Republican attorneys general in 19 states to block climate-related lawsuits filed by Democratic-led states accusing the oil and gas industries of deceiving the public about the risks of their products contributing to climate change. [more]

U.S. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency say an investigation has been launched into “significant concerns” that recipients of grants from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants may have violated a law making it a felony offense to bring people across the border illegally or transport them within the United States. [more]

U.S. INTERNATIONAL AID | A federal judge ruled this week that President Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in freezing almost all spending on U.S. humanitarian and development work abroad. Judge Amir H. Ali said in his ruling that the constitutional power over whether to spend allocated foreign aid funds “is not the President’s own — and it is Congress’s own.” [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Testifying before the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee yesterday, the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force expressed concern that the stop-gap government funding measure under Congressional consideration, which keeps defense spending largely unchanged, could adversely affect military readiness and modernization efforts. [more]

MORE U.S. MILITARY | U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said yesterday that she hopes to issue a ruling by next week on a request to block a Trump administration executive order that would ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. [more]

ALASKA | Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say the Mount Spurr volcano, located about 80 miles northwest of Anchorage, has recently shown “significantly elevated volcanic gas emissions” that could indicate an increased risk of eruption. Mount Spurr last erupted in 1992, depositing about a quarter-inch of ash in Anchorage and affecting regional air flights. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | In a social media post yesterday, President Donald Trump said he would impose a 200% tariff on all wines, champagnes, and other alcohol products from the European Union if the E.U. doesn’t drop plans to place a 50% tariff on American whiskey products. [more]

UNITED NATIONS | U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday launched the UN80 initiative, which aims to develop proposals for improving the way the United Nations works and addresses global issues ahead of the 80th anniversary of the organization's founding. The initiative comes amidst major funding reductions and concerns over how to deal with different powers, new technologies, and greater global divisions. [more]

PAKISTAN | Officials say more than 300 train passengers held by the Baloch Liberation Army insurgent group were rescued yesterday in commando operations in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. Reports say 21 civilians, 33 insurgents, and four military service members were killed in the two-day incident. [more]

G7 | Top diplomats from the Group of 7 leading industrialized nations begin a two-day summit in Canada’s Quebec province today amidst growing concern over U.S. President Donald Trump’s international relations and trade policies. Among the topics formally on the summit’s agenda are: China and the Indo-Pacific; Ukraine and Europe; stability in the Americas; the Middle East; maritime security; Africa; and China, North Korea, Iran and Russia. [more]

CHINA, RUSSIA, AND IRAN | In a show of regional force, Chinese, Russian, and Iranian warships conducted joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, prompting a warning from the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which said it had noted interference of GPS signals in the area, forcing ships to rely on backup navigation methods. [more]

CONGO | The government of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group will hold peace talks next week, according to Angolan President João Lourenco, whose country has been acting as a mediator in the Congolese conflict and will host the talks. [more]

FRANCE | An association of French publishers and authors announced pending legal action against Meta yesterday, accusing the tech giant of unlawfully using copyrighted works to train its artificial intelligence models. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1925, the Tennessee General Assembly approved the Butler Act, which prohibited public schools from teaching the theory of evolution. The bill was challenged in court later that year in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, and Tennessee ultimately repealed the law in 1967. [more history]