May 20, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• In a video posted online yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said explicitly that the goal of Israel's expanded military operations is “to take over all of the territory of Gaza” in a bid to fully defeat Hamas. [more]
• Amidst Israel's intensified military operations in Gaza, Palestinian health officials say at least 60 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight, including ones that hit a family home and a school being used as a shelter. [more]
• Israeli opposition leader and former army general Yair Golan warned today that Israel is becoming an "outcast among nations” because of the government’s approach to the war in Gaza, citing military actions against civilians and the goal of expelling the Palestinian population as examples of policies that "a sane country doesn’t engage in." [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1181 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Following yesterday's conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said talks regarding the war in Ukraine were "very informative and very frank," and that Moscow is ready to work on a memorandum outlining a framework for a "possible future peace treaty." Trump claimed Ukraine and Russia were ready to immediately start ceasefire negotiations following the call, but Russian officials said today that there is no deadline for such talks. [more]
• The European Union and United Kingdom announced new Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia today, targeting Moscow's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and financial companies that have helped Russia avoid the impact of other sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Trump administration can move forward with plans to end Temporary Protected Status immigration protections from some 350,000 Venezuelans, reversing a lower court ruling that kept the protections in place while related lawsuits played out. [more]

U.S. CONGRESS | Justice Department officials say they are charging New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver with assault in connection with a confrontation with federal officers earlier this month outside a Newark immigration detention center where she and two other members of Congress were attempting to carry out an inspection. [more]

U.S. BUDGET | President Donald Trump is scheduled to address House Republicans at their weekly conference meeting today as part of attempts to ensure sufficient support for passing the Trump-supported "One Big Beautiful Bill" budget act. [more]

U.S. WIND POWER | Following an agreement with New York that would reportedly allow new gas pipeline capacity to move forward, the Department of Interior has lifted a month-old stop-work order on the Empire Wind project off the coast of the state that is expected to provide power for half a million homes from 2027 onwards. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Reports say that, under a settlement agreement not yet made public, the Trump administration has agreed to pay just under $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Ashli Babbitt, who died after being shot by a Capitol police officer as she tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby during the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. [more]

NEW YORK | Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to visit the Seneca Nation in western New York today to formally apologize for the state’s role in running an upstate boarding school from 1875 to 1957 that separated Native American students from their families with the goal of assimilating them into American society. [more]

U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE | Senior U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled yesterday that the Trump administration's takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace was unlawful, and that efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the agency are "null and void." [more]

U.S. AND IRAN | Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that U.S. statements that it would not allow Iran to enrich uranium are "way out of line," and that “No one in Iran is waiting for their permission. The Islamic Republic has its own policies and direction — and it will stick to them.” [more]

GLOBAL HEALTH | Under an agreement adopted by World Health Organization member countries yesterday and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries that share virus samples will receive tests, medicines, and vaccines in response to future pandemics and up to 20% of such products will be given to the WHO for distribution to poorer countries. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | Amidst ongoing trade tensions between China and the U.S. and a slowing Chinese economy, the People’s Bank of China made its first cut to its benchmark interest rates in seven months today, reducing its one-year and five-year loan reference rates from 3.1% to 3% and 3.6% to 3.5%, respectively. [more]

PAKISTAN | Local media reports say thousands of people took part in protests today following a suspected drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed four children yesterday. Regional officials say it is unclear who was responsible for the attack, but reports note that the government has carried out operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the area previously. [more]

SYRIA | Officials in the Syrian capital of Damascus say the region's lowest rainfall in nearly 70 years has led to water shortages and to the government urging residents to use water sparingly. [more]

RUSSIA | Classifying it as an ""undesirable organization" for supporting Ukraine, Russia yesterday effectively banned Amnesty International, which responded by saying it would increase its efforts to expose Russian human rights abuses. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | Japanese carmaker Honda said today that slowing sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. is a factor in the company's decision to push back its goal of having EVs be 30% of its global vehicle sales by 2030 in favor of placing a greater concentration on producing hybrid vehicles. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | Actor Denzel Washington received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday ahead of the premiere of his latest film, Spike Lee's “Highest 2 Lowest." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1902, Cuba gained its independence from the United States, which had taken control of the island in 1899 after defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War. [more history]