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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
SYRIA
More than 1,000 people have been killed in clashes between government security forces and Assad regime loyalists on Syria’s Mediterranean coast over the last four days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday. Eyewitnesses say that armed men loyal to the new Syrian government committed atrocities during the unrest, including by carrying out field executions. Christina Goldbaum and Reham Mourshed report for the New York Times; Mostafa Salem reports for CNN.
Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa yesterday called for national unity, vowing to hold accountable “anyone involved in the bloodshed of civilians” who “overstepped the powers of the state.” He did not directly comment on the accusations that his supporters committed atrocities. Lucy Clarke-Billings and Gabriela Pomeroy report for BBC News.
Israel will let Syrian Druze workers enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory, Israel’s defense ministry said yesterday. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian strikes killed at least 25 people in Ukraine and injured dozens through the weekend, Ukrainian officials said. Commenting on the strikes, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that “[t]his is what happens when someone appeases barbarians.” Henri Astier reports for BBC News.
Russia is advancing in Kursk, with Ukraine struggling to retain its sole territorial bargaining chip in the conflict as Russian and North Korean troops seized territory in recent days, according to soldiers in the area. Separately, Ukrainian soldiers and military analysts say Kyiv has stalled Moscow’s offensive in the Donetsk region in recent months and started to win back small patches of land. Evgeniia Sivorka, James Marson, and Jane Lytvynenko report for the Wall Street Journal; Marc Santora reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States has “temporarily suspended” the sharing of satellite imagery with Ukraine in accordance with President Trump’s orders, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said on Friday. Analysts say the move, coupled with the U.S. halt of military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, could potentially give Russia a decisive advantage on the battlefield. Eve Sampson reports for the New York Times.
“Anybody else would” take advantage of the halt in U.S. aid for Kyiv to step up attacks, Trump said on Friday, commenting on Russia’s strikes on Ukraine. Trump added that he is finding it “more difficult” to deal with Ukraine than Russia in negotiations. Hours earlier, the President stated he was “strongly” considering imposing large-scale sanctions on Russia to force it into a peace deal. Michael Birnbaum, Sabrina Rodriguez, and Kostiantyn Khudov report for the Washington Post; Ian Aikman and Tom Bateman report for BBC News; Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration is examining how to ease sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas industry to deliver swift economic relief if Moscow agrees to end its war in Ukraine, according to two sources. Jarrett Renshaw and Jonathan Saul report for Reuters.
Trump has privately told his aides a minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing and that he wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to change his attitude to making concessions to Russia and planning elections in Ukraine, according to an administration official and another U.S. official. Courtney Kube, Kristen Welker, and Carol E. Lee report for NBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel has cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, disconnecting power to a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the territory, officials said yesterday. A Hamas spokesperson called the decision part of Israel’s “starvation policy.” Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy report for AP News.
Israel’s defense ministry will open an office to manage the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said yesterday. The formation of the new office was not immediately confirmed by the defense ministry. Gerry Shih reports for the Washington Post.
Israel and Hamas on Saturday signaled they were preparing for the next phase of Gaza ceasefire negotiations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announcing that Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha today and Hamas saying there were “positive” indicators in the talks. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Israel objected to the Trump administration’s covert direct negotiations with Hamas in a “difficult” call between Netanyahu’s close aide Ron Dermer and U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler last Tuesday, according to an Israeli official. Boehler yesterday said that while he understands Israel’s concerns, the United States is “not an agent of Israel” in the efforts to broker a ceasefire. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Avery Lotz reports for Axios.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom on Saturday announced they support Egypt’s “realistic” plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would avoid displacing Palestinians from the territory. Lucy Clarke-Billings reports for BBC News.
Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Doha tomorrow to join the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, two U.S. officials said. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Justice Department has transferred at least three top officials in the National Security Division, a move that sources say amounts to a complete overhaul of the Division’s leadership. On Friday, the DOJ also removed a top ethics official, a pardon attorney, and a head public records officer, the sources added. Perry Stein and Salvador Rizzo report for the Washington Post.
Two New York federal prosecutors who worked on the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been escorted out of their workplace by federal law enforcement officials after being placed on leave by the Justice Department on Friday, according to law enforcement sources. At least one other DOJ attorney was also placed on leave, apparently over social media comments about the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., Ed Martin, the sources added. Ryan J. Reilly and Tom Winter report for NBC News.
Trump has instructed officials to exclude non-profit organizations that engage in activities that have a “substantial illegal purpose” from a student loan forgiveness program in an executive order published Friday. The move appears to target groups supporting undocumented immigrants, diversity initiatives, or gender-affirming care for children. Stacy Cowley reports for the New York Times.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday announced that Todd Lyons, ICE’s former assistant director of field operations, will serve as the agency’s new acting Director. Noem also pledged to step up polygraph testing of employees to identify personnel leaking information to the media. Christine Fernando reports for AP News.
The Trump administration has told the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prepare to lose another 1,000 workers, raising concerns among scientists that NOAA’s lifesaving forecasts might be hindered as the hurricane season approaches. Raymond Zhong, Austyn Gaffney, and Christopher Flavelle report for the New York Times.
The Homeland Security Department on Friday said it would end its collective bargaining agreement with Transportation Security Administration workers, claiming the union contract was imperilling the safety of travellers. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Calls for negotiations by “bully states” are aimed at dominating others and not resolving issues, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, in an apparent response to Trump’s comments that he has written to Khameini to kick start negotiations on a new nuclear deal. Mohammed Tawfeeq and Donald Judd report for CNN.
The Trump administration has asked researchers and organizations working overseas to disclose ties to entities regarded as hostile, including “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties,” according to a questionnaire seen by the New York Times. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Apoorva Mandavilli report.
Panama on Saturday released dozens of migrants held in a remote camp following their deportation from the United States, telling them they have 30 days to leave Panama. Some migrants said the move leaves them in legal limbo and with no money. Megan Janetsky, Alma Solis, and Matias Delacroix report for AP News.
More than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman say they now face imminent return back to Afghanistan due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts. Yogita Limaye reports for BBC News.
The State Department yesterday ordered non-emergency government personnel to leave South Sudan’s capital amid escalating tensions in the country. AP News reports.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Secret Service yesterday shot a man near the White House after an “armed confrontation” with federal officials, the agency said in a statement, adding that the man’s condition is unknown. Luke Broadwater and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
The Justice Department should dismiss a corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams “with prejudice,” an outside legal expert appointed by the judge overseeing the case opined on Friday, saying that the move would “eliminate the appearance problems” inherent in Adams being subject to an “ever-looming prospect of reindictment.” Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post.
Immigration agents on Saturday arrested a Palestinian graduate student who has played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian protests at New York’s Columbia University, the Student Workers of Columbia labor union said in a statement. Jonathan Allen reports for Reuters.
President Trump’s family business on Friday sued Capital One for allegedly “unjustifiably terminating” its accounts over the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Ben Protess reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge in Missouri on Friday found the Chinese government responsible for covering up the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and hoarding protective equipment, awarding damages of more than $24 billion that Missouri officials vowed to enforce by seizing Chinese assets. Mitch Smith reports for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Former central banker Mark Carney will be the next Prime Minister of Canada following a landslide victory in a contest to lead Canada’s ruling Liberal Party yesterday. Carney is expected to call an election in the coming weeks, according to sources. Anna Mehler Paperny reports for Reuters.
Armed men who attacked a U.N. helicopter on an evacuation mission killed one crew member and injured two others in a volatile part of South Sudan on Friday, the U.N. said. Declan Walsh reports for the New York Times.
Romania’s central election authority yesterday barred the far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election re-run, saying Georgescu violated electoral rules during his first run. Carmen Paun reports for POLITICO.
Poland must “drastically” increase the size of its military and even “reach for opportunities” related to “nuclear and unconventional weapons,” Poland’s Tusk said on Friday. Andrew Higgins reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A group of labor unions on Friday asked a federal court for an emergency order restraining DOGE from accessing the sensitive Social Security data of millions of Americans. Fatima Hussein and Lindsay Whitehurst report for AP News.
A group of Native American tribes and students on Friday sued the Trump administration in a bid to reverse the recent firings of federal workers at Native schools the group says has severely lowered their quality of education. Rachel Nostrant reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
