May 12, 2025

INDIA AND PAKISTAN | Both India and Pakistan report no overnight clashes or attacks following the announcement of a U.S.-brokered cease-fire on Saturday. Reports say senior military officials from the countries are scheduled to speak later today to assess if the ceasefire was holding. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Hamas says it plans to release American hostage Edan Alexander today. Alexander is the last U.S. citizen hostage thought to still be alive since Hamas attacked Israel and took about 250 hostages in October 2023. [more]
• The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says at least 16 people were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the Palestinian enclave's Jabaliya area. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1173 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• The leaders of France, the U.K., Germany, and Poland called Saturday for a Russia-Ukraine cease-fire to be implemented by today and promised new sanctions and a surge in weapons to Ukraine if Russia refuses to go along with the plan. [more]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday proposed an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week amidst demands for immediate implementation of a 30-day cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war, which Russia has rejected. Reports note that there have been no direct responses from Moscow on the proposal for the leaders to meet in Turkey. [more]

U.S. HABEAS CORPUS | Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said Friday that the Trump administration is "actively looking at” suspending the right of habeas corpus, a constitutional protection that allows detained persons – citizens or non-citizens – to challenge their detention in court and which has only ever been suspended in times of actual war. Reports say President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions surrounding possible suspension of the protection. [more]

U.S. PRESIDENCY | President Donald Trump has defended plans to accept the gift of a Boeing 747-8 jet estimated to be worth more than $400 million from Qatar for use as Air Force One. Reports cite government sources as saying the plane would be transferred to the Trump presidential library after he leaves office, which would allow him to use it for personal transportation. Critics suggest the gift raises both ethical and security questions and could represent a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans foreign payments to a sitting US president. [more]

U.S. MEDICAID | Reports say a budget proposal released by House Republicans last night includes plans for at least $880 billion in federal spending cuts – largely from Medicaid and green energy programs. House Democrats released details of a report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that says the Energy and Commerce Committee proposed budget would reduce the deficit by $912 billion over a decade — with at least $715 billion coming from the health provisions and could result in up to 13.7 million additional people not covered by health insurance in 2034. [CBO report details] [more]

U.S. COPYRIGHT | Just days after the Librarian of Congress was removed from her position, the Trump administration on Saturday fired Shira Perlmutter from her role as head of the U.S. Copyright Office. Reports note that Perlmutter's office recently released a report expressing concerns about use of copyrighted materials for training artificial intelligence models. [AI and copyright report] [more]

U.S. FEDERAL WORKFORCE | In a case brought by federal employee unions, local governments, and outside organizations that rely on federal services, contracts, and employment, Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order Friday evening halting the Trump administration's mass firings of government workers and agency reorganizations under a February executive order. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | After President Donald Trump offered white South Africans refugee status in the U.S., the first group of Afrikaners is scheduled to arrive by private charter plane in Washington, DC, this morning. Trump accused South Africa’s Black-led government of racial discrimination against the white minority in a February executive order – a charge the South African government says is "completely false." [more]

U.S. MEDICATION PRICES | In a move expected to face strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today directing the federal government to tie what it pays pharmaceutical companies for certain drugs covered by Medicare to the lowest prices paid by other countries. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Both Chinese and U.S. officials have announced a 90-day pause for most of the two countries' reciprocal trade tariffs, during which U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will drop to 30% from 145%, and Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods will drop to 10%. [more]

U.S. AND IRAN | Following weekend talks in Oman over Iran's nuclear program, both the U.S. and Iran offered few details of their negotiations, but said a next round of talks is being planned. [more]

TURKEY | Signaling a possible end to four decades of conflict, the PKK Kurdish militant group announced today that it will disarm and disband as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey. [more]

POLAND AND RUSSIA | Poland has ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in the city of Krakow after government officials said investigations have shown that a May 2024 fire at a shopping center in Warsaw was a result of an arson attack sponsored by Moscow. [more]

BURKINA FASO | A new report from Human Rights Watch says at least 130 civilians – all members of the ethnic Fulani group – were killed by Burkina Faso special forces and members of a pro-government militia in the country's western town of Solenzo in March. [more]

BANGLADESH | Amidst ongoing investigations into student deaths during anti-government protests last year, Bangladesh's current government has banned all activities of the Awami League political party, which was in power during the protests, until a special tribunal completes a trial of the party and its leaders. [more]

U.K. | Warning that his country risked becoming "an island of strangers," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced new immigration policies today that would extend waiting times for immigrants to fully settle in the U.K., scrap care worker visas, and raise the qualification threshold for skilled-role immigrants. [more]

CONGO | Authorities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say more than 100 people have died over the past few days in flooding caused by torrential rains and strong winds near the shores of Lake Tanganyika and the Kasaba River. [more]

MYANMAR | Reports cite aid groups and local media as saying as many as 20 students and two teachers were killed in a suspected government airstrike today that hit a school in Myanmar's central Sagaing region. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Thunderbolts" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $33.1 million in receipts, followed by "Sinners" and "A Minecraft Movie." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1949, the Soviet Union lifted its 11-month blockade of Berlin, Germany, which Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with the Berlin Airlift.  [more history]