Ukrainian forces are reported to have been all but pushed out of Kursk. They had captured large swathes of the Russia territory in a surprise attack last summer, but a months-long counterattack has now forced a retreat. Ukrainian soldiers continue to defend a small position on the Russian side of the border, and President Voldymyr Zelensky has denied reports that they are surrounded.
American air strikes targeting the Houthis have killed at least 31 people, according to the Iran-backed militia. Donald Trump said that the strikes were aimed at securing shipping routes in the Red Sea and vowed that America would “use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective”. The Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea since late 2023.
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, claimed on social media that more than 250 gang members had arrived in his country after being deported from the United States. Mr Bukele’s announcement came hours after a federal judge temporarily forbade Mr Trump from using an 18th century law to deport alleged gang members. Mr Bukele evidently found the timing funny, writing: “Oopsie… Too late”.
A fire in a nightclub in North Macedonia killed at least 59 people and injured more than 100. Some 1,500 people were attending a concert at the Pulse club in Kocani, about 100km east of the capital, Skopje. Pance Toskovski, the interior minister, said that initial reports suggest that the blaze was caused by pyrotechnics.
Media-advocacy groups denounced Mr Trump’s decision to cut off funding for Voice of America, a government-sponsored news organisation. VoA was set up as a radio station during the second world war to counter Nazi propaganda in Europe and has since broadcast across the world in support of America’s foreign policy. Mr Trump said that the federal government should not pay for such “radical propaganda”.
Baidu became the latest Chinese tech giant to unveil a new artificial-intelligence model. Baidu was one of the first big Chinese firms to release an AI chatbot, but it fell behind rivals such as ByteDance and, in particular, DeepSeek. The swift rise of China’s AI industry has spooked investors in American competitors.
A SpaceX capsule carrying new crew members has docked with the International Space Station. Two of the astronauts on the ISS had intended to be there for only eight days, but technical issues with the spacecraft they arrived on kept them trapped in orbit for nine months. After a two-day handover, they will be able to come home at last, as soon as the weather allows re-entry.
Word of the week: Fulul, a term used by Syrians to refer to the remnants of the Assad regime. 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.