May 27, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it began aid distribution operations in Gaza today amidst objections from the United Nations and other aid groups that suggest Israel is attempting to use food aid as a weapon. [more]
• Speaking at a press conference in Finland today, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israel's ongoing campaign of airstrikes in Gaza, saying they were no longer justified and "no longer comprehensible" in the fight against Hamas. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1188 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Regional officials say Russian forces have captured four border villages in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region. The advance comes just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order to establish a buffer zone along the border. [more]
• Ukrainian military officials say Russia launched around 900 drones at targets across Ukraine over the weekend in the largest sustained series of bombardments of the three-year war. Responding to the increase in drone strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin "has gone absolutely crazy," but also suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comments about the war provoked the Russian action.  [more]
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday that restrictions on long-range use of Western weapons provided to Ukraine have been lifted, allowing Ukraine to target sites deep within Russia. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Horry County Police say at least 10 people were injured in an exchange of gunfire as a private charter boat arrived at a dock yesterday evening in Little River, South Carolina. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which remains under investigation. [more]

MORE U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel says two people were killed, and nine others were wounded, in a shooting incident at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park last night. Reports note that no arrests have yet been made in the case, and it remains unclear if there was only a single shooter. [more]

U.S. NUCLEAR POWER | President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Friday aimed at quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power over the next 25 years – a goal the White House concedes is unlikely to be achieved. The orders include provisions to reorganize the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to accelerate reviews of nuclear projects, invoke Defense Production Act to ensure the U.S. has enough uranium and other reactor fuel for nuclear projects, and call for the Energy and Defense departments to assess the feasibility of restarting closed nuclear power plants. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS | In a social media post yesterday, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the Bureau plans to renew investigations into three incidents of "potential public corruption," including a pair of undetonated pipe bombs left near the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, the discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House over the July 4th weekend in 2023, and the 2022 leak of the unpublished Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that ended federal protections for abortion. [more]

LOUISIANA | Louisiana State Police officials say eight of 10 inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail on May 16 have now been re-arrested after two of the men were captured by police yesterday – one in Louisiana and one in Texas. [more]

U.S. EDUCATION | President Donald Trump will reportedly order federal agencies today to identify additional contracts with Harvard University and evaluate whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere. The action is part of ongoing Trump administration clashes with the Ivy League school over policy and educational independence issues. [more]

U.S. AND EUROPEAN UNION | Following a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is delaying his planned 50% tariff on European Union goods entering the U.S. from June 1 until July 9 to allow time for further trade negotiations. [more]

U.K. | At least 47 people were injured yesterday when a man drove a vehicle into a crowd of people celebrating the Liverpool Football Club's Premier League soccer championship. Police say a yet-unidentified 53-year-old man has been arrested in the incident and note that they are not treating the incident as an act of terrorism. [more]

CANADA | Britain’s King Charles III is scheduled to deliver a 'speech from the throne' in Ottawa, Canada, outlining Prime Minister Mark Carney's agenda for the new Parliament. Reports note that Charles is the symbolic head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. [more]

CHINA | State broadcaster CCTV reports that more than 230 emergency personnel have been dispatched to the site of a powerful explosion at a chemical plant in the city of Weifang in China's eastern Shandong province today. No information on casualties has yet been released. [more]

NIGERIA | Local authorities say at least 42 people were killed in four separate villages in Nigeria's central Benue state over the weekend in attacks thought to have been carried out by herders involved in ongoing land-use disputes. [more]

JAPAN AND GERMANY | According to public economic data, Japan has lost its position as the world’s top creditor for the first time in 34 years despite having record external assets last year. Germany replaced Japan as the global top creditor with $4 trillion in external assets. [more]

E.U. AND HUNGARY | In a joint statement yesterday, 17 European Union nations accused Hungary of going against fundamental E.U. values by enacting laws that target LGBTQ+ people and called for Hungary to revise the measures. The joint statement was signed by Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. [more]

FRANCE | The National Assembly – France's lower house of parliament – is scheduled to vote today on a long-debated measure that would allow adults with an incurable illness “at an advanced or terminal stage" to be prescribed and take lethal medication to end their lives. [more]

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA | Reports say at least six people were wounded yesterday in an exchange of gunfire between rival migrant groups at an asylum camp on the outskirts of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Police say several suspects in the incident have been arrested. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | Swedish automaker Volvo – owned by the Chinese group Geely – has announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs as part of a $1.9-billion cost-cutting plan amidst weakened European demand, U.S. tariffs, and higher costs for raw materials. [more]

OLYMPICS | The International Olympic Committee announced today that the ban on Russia's participation in the Olympics imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 will remain in place for next year's Milano-Cortina winter Olympics. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | Among the awardees at last night's American Music Awards ceremony were: Billie Eilish for artist of the year, Gracie Abrams for new artist of the year, and Beyonce for favorite country album for "Cowboy Carter." Rod Stewart received a lifetime achievement award and Janet Jackson received the icon award. [full list of awardees] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1660, the Treaty of Copenhagen between Sweden and Denmark-Norway was signed, ending the Second Northern War and helping, along with the earlier Treaty of Roskilde, to establish the modern boundaries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. [more history]