A judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze most federal assistance while it conducts an ideological review of government spending. The order was due to come into effect on Tuesday evening. It sparked confusion among non-profit organisations, schools and others relying on federal grants, as well as people receiving direct benefits from programmes such as Medicaid, America’s health insurance for the poor. The judge’s pause remains in effect until Monday.
Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant, unveiled an AI model it claims outperforms DeepSeek’s, the Chinese startup which triggered a market rout on Monday. Stockmarkets in Asia and Europe recovered some of their losses on Wednesday, boosted by strong earnings from ASML, a Dutch chipmaker. On Tuesday American tech stocks staged a partial recovery—Nvidia jumped 9% after a 17% drop, and the Nasdaq rose 2%.
At least 12 people were killed and several more were injured during a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in India. Tens of millions of Hindus have flocked to Prayagraj, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, for a holy dip in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, reportedly called for “immediate support measures” for the victims.
Rachel Reeves, Britain’s finance minister, backed the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport, stating that delays had hurt investment and exports. Arguing for faster economic growth, she also vowed to remove barriers to offshore wind projects, accelerate home-building and develop the Oxford-Cambridge corridor—a planned hub for tech and science—with better transport links and expanded housing.
Israeli troops will remain indefinitely in parts of Syria that they seized after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, according to Israel’s defence minister. Israel initially said that its incursions into Syria were a temporary move to protect its borders. Earlier this month Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, denounced Israel’s “pretexts” for taking control of the land.
America advised its citizens to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo after crowds attacked foreign embassies, including the Rwandan and French consulates, in Kinshasa, the capital. The crowds were protesting against the Rwandan-backed assault on Goma, a city on the border between Congo and Rwanda, by the rebel group M23. At least 100 people have been killed in three days of fighting.
Clinics treating refugees from Myanmar in Thailand could shut by Friday after Mr Trump froze most American foreign aid, cutting funding to the International Rescue Committee which runs the facilities. The closures will leave tens of thousands without health care. The abrupt shutdown highlights how the freeze has upended global relief efforts.
Figure of the day: 12, the number of the world’s 20 most traffic-congested cities that are in Asia. Read the full story.
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