October 8, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The Israeli Foreign Ministry says a flotilla of boats attempting to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza was intercepted by the Israeli military in the Mediterranean Sea today. About 145 activists taking part in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition & Thousand Madleens to Gaza were taken into custody and brought to shore to be processed for deportation, according to reports. [more]
• Amidst ongoing cease-fire and peace talks being held in Egypt, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said yesterday that Hamas wants guarantees of a lasting ceasefire as part of any deal to return the remaining 48 Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,322 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Russia's Defense Ministry said today that its air defenses intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions overnight, while Ukrainian officials say their forces intercepted or jammed 154 out of 183 Russian drones during the same period. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | National Guard troops from Texas are reported to have arrived at a training center outside of Chicago yesterday as part of President Donald Trump's plan to deploy units to the city. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the deployments, said yesterday that Trump plans to federalize and deploy about 300 of his state's guard troops, along with 400 others from Texas, to Chicago.  [more]

U.S. SOCIAL MEDIA | Technology publisher Wired cites federal contracting records as showing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to hire contract workers for its National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center to ramp up its digital surveillance capabilities by using social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and X to generate leads about "“individuals who pose a danger to national security, risk public safety, or otherwise meet ICE enforcement priorities.” [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Day 8. President Donald Trump suggested yesterday that not all federal workers may be due back pay following the end of the government shutdown. Reports note that the president's stance seems to contradict legislation he signed into law in 2019 that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. [more]

CALIFORNIA | With Gov. Gavin Newsom signing the measure into law yesterday, California became the third U.S. state, after Pennsylvania and Connecticut, to recognize Diwali – the Hindu “Festival of Lights” – as an official statewide holiday. The new law also recognizes that Diwali is celebrated by Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. [more]

U.S. AIR TRAVEL | Department of Transportation officials and union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners say flight delays at airports across the U.S. are worsening due to staffing shortages amidst the ongoing federal government shutdown, during which the screeners and controllers are required to work without pay. [more]

NOBEL PRIZES | Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi have been named recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in developing metal–organic frameworks that can absorb and contain gases. [detailed info] [more]

GLOBAL TRADE | Citing an unexpectedly strong first half of 2025, the World Trade Organization says its economists now predict global merchandise trade to increase 2.4% this year – up from a 0.2% decline projection made in April – but downwardly revised its projection for 2026 to 0.5% due to what are expected to be delayed impacts of U.S. tariff policies. WTO economists say rising AI-related purchases, front-loaded imports in the U.S. over tariff fears, and robust developing-world trade contributed to the strong trade environment in the first half of this year. [more]

E.U. AND RUSSIA | Speaking to E.U. lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia is waging a “targeted gray zone campaign” and "hybrid warfare" against Europe, including airspace violations, sabotage, and cyberattacks, and that such actions will escalate if the Kremlin is not challenged. [more]

MYANMAR | The BBC cites officials in the Burmese government-in-exile as saying at least 24 people were killed, and 47 others were wounded, Monday evening when an army motorized paraglider dropped two bombs on a crowd gathered for a candlelight vigil in Myanmar's Sagaing region to protest the ruling military junta's policies. [more]

PAKISTAN | At least 11 soldiers and 19 militants were killed in a clash between Pakistani security forces and the Pakistani Taliban militant group today in the Orakzai district of the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. [more]

U.K. | In a letter to Parliament yesterday, Britain's chief prosecutor, Stephen Parkinson, said the trial of two men accused under the Official Secrets Act of spying for Beijing last year collapsed because no one from the British government was willing to testify at the trial that China represented a threat to national security. [more]

SPAIN | Emergency officials say at least four construction workers were killed, and three others were injured, in the collapse of a six-story building yesterday in central Madrid, Spain. Reports note that the building was undergoing renovation and that police say they are investigating the incident as a workplace accident. [more]

GOLD | Continuing a rally that has seen prices increase about 54% so far this year, gold and gold futures both rose above $4,000 per ounce today for the first time ever. Reports note that gold is commonly seen as a safe-haven asset to hedge against global economic uncertainty. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire began in the Illinois city’s southwestern region. Over the course of three days the fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed an estimated 17,000 structures, and left 100,000 residents homeless. [more history]