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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The conclave of Roman Catholic Church cardinals yesterday voted to elect Cardinal Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, to lead the Catholic Church. Leo XIV, born in Chicago, is the first North American pontiff and the first pope to hail from the United States. President Trump described Leo’s election as a “great honour.” Anthony Faiola, Michelle Boorstein, and Stefano Pitrelli report for the Washington Post; Ana Faguy reports for BBC News.
Fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has now prevented humanitarian aid from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the country’s northeast for more than a month, the World Food Programme and UNICEF said today, adding that they expect nutrition supplies for Upper Nile State to run out by the end of May. The U.N. agencies did not specify which fighting had disrupted the aid supply routes. Reuters reports.
Turkish authorities have blocked access to the social media account of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, within the country, Imamoglu’s party told BBC News. Social media was Imamoglu’s main tool for communicating with his supporters. Orla Guerin reports.
Russia today marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II with a major military parade attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and several dozen other leaders. Dmitry Antonov and Guy Faulconbridge report for Reuters.
INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICT
India and Pakistan today accused each other of launching new military attacks using drones and artillery as the worst fighting between the neighbouring countries in nearly three decades dragged into its third day. India also accused Pakistan of attacking three of its military bases with drones and missiles yesterday. In Pakistani Kashmir, officials said shelling across the border killed five civilians and injured 29 others this morning. Aftab Ahmed and Charlotte Greenfield report for Reuters; Frances Mao reports for BBC News.
There is “high confidence” that a Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft using air-to-air missiles on Wednesday, two U.S. officials said in the first Western confirmation of the incident. Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes. Saeed Shah and Idrees Ali report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Most of Gaza’s 170 community kitchens shut their doors yesterday, hours after the World Central Kitchen charity announced it had run out of supplies necessary to provide meals in the territory. The development closes off a lifeline used by hundreds of thousands of people to stave off growing hunger in the enclave. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa report for Reuters.
Armed Israeli security forces yesterday forced the closure of three schools run by the U.N. aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in the Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said. Israel accuses the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas, a claim that UNRWA denies. Yolande Knell reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The solution to delivering aid to Gaza is “steps away”, and an announcement on the issue is coming shortly, a State Department spokesperson said yesterday. The U.N. and international aid organizations have previously expressed skepticism about the U.S.-Israeli plan for reestablishing the aid deliveries. Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, and David Brunnstrom report for Reuters.
Trump yesterday met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for a private meeting focused on the war in Gaza and U.S. nuclear talks with Iran, sources say. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Israel’s plans to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza would amount to illegal forceful displacement, undermine efforts to create a Palestinian state, and would lead to more violence, the foreign ministers of Norway and Iceland said yesterday. Gwladys Fouche reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Ukraine’s Parliament yesterday voted overwhelmingly to ratify a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal signed on April 30. Isobel Koshiw, Kostiantyn Khudov, and Natalia Abbakumova report for the Washington Post.
Russia has asked for territory it has not conquered during peace talks over its invasion of Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview yesterday. Separately, Trump yesterday proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and threatened sanctions if the pause in fighting is not respected. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO; Ali Bianco reports for POLITICO.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Pointing to allegations of continued attacks across the front line, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha yesterday labelled Russia’s unilateral three-day ceasefire as a “farce.” Sybiha accused Moscow of 734 violations since its truce came into effect overnight into Thursday. Jessica Rawnsley reports for BBC News.
Ukraine’s security service today said it had uncovered a spy network run by Hungary to obtain intelligence about Ukraine’s defences. The Hungarian foreign minister said he regards the announcement as “propaganda” that should be treated with caution. Christian Lowe and Gergely Szakacs report for Reuters.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
The United States’ operation against Houthi rebels has cost more than $1 billion since March, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the strikes. Courtney Kube and Gordon Lubold report for NBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalises its ties with Israel as a condition for progress on U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation talks, sources say. Dropping the demand would be a major concession by Washington. Pesha Magid reports for Reuters.
The United States’ 145% tariffs on China will likely “come down,” Trump commented yesterday, adding that he expects there to be substantive negotiations between the United States and China on trade this weekend. Andrea Shalal and Jeff Mason report for Reuters.
The EU may impose tariffs on U.S. aircraft, car parts, and other products if talks with Washington break down, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement yesterday. Ellen Francis reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. intelligence agencies are focusing more closely on Greenland in the past several weeks, as well as Russian or Chinese interests in the territory, spurred by Trump’s interest in the island, multiple U.S. officials say. Julian E. Barnes and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration is working to relocate the first group of White Afrikaners it has classified as refugees to the United States next week, according to U.S. officials and documents reviewed by the New York Times. Trump claims the group have been the victims of racial discrimination in South Africa. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz, and John Eligon report.
Federal immigration authorities told migrants they would be deported to Libya and drove them to a military plane in a bus on Wednesday, with the bus eventually returning to a detention facility, according to an account shared by one of the migrants with his attorney. Priscilla Alvarez and Natasha Bertrand report for CNN.
Immigrants are skipping accessing medical care in the United States in fear of coming to the attention of federal immigration authorities, U.S. doctors, nurses, and social workers say. Health officials warn that healthcare outcomes and costs can worsen if the trend continues. Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, Nina Agrawal, and Jessica Silver-Greenberg report for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Senate Democrats yesterday voted down a motion that would allow the chamber to proceed on a landmark Republican-led cryptocurrency legislation, dealing a blow to the GOP effort to advance industry-friendly digital assets legislation this year. Jasper Goodman reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday said he would name Jeanine Pirro as his new pick for the interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. after announcing he will withdraw the nomination of Ed Martin, the post’s current occupier, to hold the post full-time. Republican support for Martin faltered in recent days, particularly after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced he would not support Martin’s nomination. Pirro, the former Republican District Attorney of Westchester County, N.Y., and a Fox News personality, has previously backed challenges to federal judges who questioned the legality of Trump’s immigration policies. Her false statements about the 2020 election were also part of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News. Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO; Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush, and Charlie Savage report for the New York Times.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into real estate transactions involving N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, sources say. The move would be the first known criminal probe of a law enforcement official who acted against Trump. Shayna Jacobs, Salvador Rizzo, Jeremy Roebuck, and Perry Stein report for the Washington Post.
Trump yesterday fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, according to a library spokesperson and an email obtained by POLITICO. Nicholas Wu, Lisa Kashinsky, and Katherine Tully-McManus report.
The Trump administration yesterday removed Cameron Hamilton as the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to an internal email seen by the Washington Post. Hamilton on Wednesday told Congress that he does not believe FEMA should be eliminated. Jake Spring and Brady Dennis report.
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission on Wednesday placed Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge who spoke out against a Trump administration directive for the agency to pause investigations into discrimination against transgender people, on leave pending termination over “conduct unbecoming of a federal employee” and failing to follow the agency’s email policy, according to letters reviewed by the New York Times. Nikole Hannah-Jones reports.
National Science Foundation staff were told yesterday the agency’s 37 divisions are being abolished and the number of programs within those divisions will be drastically reduced, with the consolidation appearing to be driven in part by Trump’s proposal to cut the agency’s budget by 55%. Jeffrey Mervis reports for Science.
Transgender U.S. Army troops will have between 30 and 60 days to leave voluntarily or be forced out, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced yesterday after the Supreme Court handed down an order permitting the Trump administration to enact the ban. Alex Horton and Casey Parks report for the Washington Post.
Trump yesterday nominated Mary Anne Carter, the head of the National Endowment of the Arts during the first Trump administration, to lead the agency again, Senate records show. Trump previously proposed eliminating the NEA altogether. Zachary Small reports for the New York Times.
Education Department officials yesterday accused the University of Pennsylvania of submitting incomplete, inaccurate financial disclosures about its foreign ties and demanded that the school provide a raft of documents related to its foreign ties. Michael C. Bender reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Trump administration yesterday asked the Supreme Court to stay a lower court ruling that temporarily blocks the government from revoking humanitarian parole protections for migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela. Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
FEATURED IMAGE: WASHINGTON – JANUARY 23: Clouds move as the sun sets against the west front of the United States Capitol building January 23, 2007 in Washington, DC. U.S. President George W. Bush is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union speech before a joint meeting of Congress at 9:00 PM Eastern. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
