The Trump administration rescinded an order to freeze federal aid funding. A judge temporarily blocked the pause on Tuesday, shortly before it was due to come into effect. The order sparked confusion among those relying on federal grants, including non-profit organisations, schools, and people receiving direct benefits from Medicaid, America’s health insurance for the poor.
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 on Wednesday, boosted by strong earnings from ASML, a Dutch chipmaker. American tech stocks, meanwhile, continued to post losses, with Nvidia’s share price falling by 4%.
America’s Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at a range of 4.25-4.5%. In a statement the central bank said inflation remained “somewhat elevated”. Its chair, Jerome Powell, said he had not had any contact with Donald Trump; last week Mr Trump insisted he would “demand” that the Fed lowers rates.
Dozens were killed 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.
Germany’s parliament narrowly approved a non-binding motion to restrict immigration at the border. The motion was proposed by opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union, after two people in Bavaria were killed by an Afghan man whose request for asylum had been rejected. It passed with the support of the hard-right Alternative for Germany, triggering uproar.
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.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, will become the country’s president during a “transitional phase” according to state media. A government spokesman said the country’s constitution had been suspended, and both the national army and armed groups had been disbanded—including Mr Sharaa’s own Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group which led a coalition of rebels to topple Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, last month.
Figure of the day: 49%, the share of Republicans who trust the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with 88% of Democrats. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.