In another blow to Ukraine’s war effort, John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA, said that America is stopping intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. Among other uses Western intel had been used to help guide Ukrainian missiles towards targets in Russia. America suspended all military aid to Ukraine on Monday following the row between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday.
China set an annual growth target of 5% for 2025. The figure, which is consistent with the past two years and in line with analysts’ forecasts, defies trade tensions with America and domestic economic malaise. The country also raised the headline budget deficit target from 3% to 4% of GDP and announced plans to increase its defence budget by 7.2%.
America’s Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny Mr Trump’s bid to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign-aid spending. A judge had ordered the Trump administration to resume the payments by last week, prompting the government to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. Wednesday’s ruling allows the lower court to set a new deadline for the administration to unfreeze payments.
The parties negotiating Germany’s next coalition government said they had agreed to set up a €500bn ($530bn) debt-financed fund for infrastructure. The conservative Christian Democratic alliance and the Social Democrats also plan to exempt defence spending above 1% of GDP from Germany’s deficit-limiting debt brake. The outgoing parliament will vote on the deal, which requires a two-thirds majority, this month.
Arab states endorsed a $53bn plan for the administration and reconstruction of post-war Gaza. The plan, which was unveiled by Egypt and discussed at the Arab League Summit in Cairo, offers an alternative to Mr Trump’s suggestion that America “develop” the enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. Palestinians would not be forced out of the war-ravaged enclave under Egypt’s proposal, unlike America’s.
Two suicide bombers attacked a military base in Bannu, a city in northwestern Pakistan. At least 12 people were killed, including several children, and 30 injured. The explosions collapsed the roof of a nearby mosque. A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack—the third by militants in Pakistan since Ramadan began on Sunday.
Time is money—so suggests the price of the world’s most accurate commercial clock, on sale from today. Intended for scientific research, the clock tracks the movement of strontium atoms in a “lattice” of laser beams. It deviates less than one second over 10bn years. Shimadzu, a Japanese precision-tool maker, plans to sell ten devices over the next three years at around $3.3m each.
Figure of the day: 65m, the number of tourists who visited New York in 2024—the second-highest number in the city’s history. Read the full story.
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has brought exceptional changes to American politics—with consequences for the rest of the world, too. Read The US in brief, a daily update of the domestic political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.