Tariff ruling stayed. A U.S. federal appeals court paused Wednesday’s trade court ruling against many of Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Trump administration is pursuing a formal appeal, saying in a legal filing that blocking the tariffs would hurt efforts to address the country’s trade deficit. Separately, an additional federal court ruled yesterday that Trump’s use of the IEEPA for tariffs was improper.
Energy deal in Syria. Syria’s interim government signed a roughly $7 billion preliminary deal with a group of U.S., Turkish, and Qatari companies to build three gas-fired power plants and a solar plant. The firms aim to complete construction within three years for the gas plants and less than two years for the solar plant. The projects are expected to cover more than 50 percent of Syria’s electricity needs once finished.
Media crackdown in Kyrgyzstan. Authorities arrested eight current and former workers at media outlet Kloop on Wednesday and Thursday, their lawyers said. The independent outlet is known for anti-corruption reporting. Those detained face charges of calling for mass unrest and disobeying government officials, which can carry prison sentences of up to ten years. Kloop’s co-founder called the accusations fabricated. Some of the detainees were released after questioning.
Portugal’s PM. Center-right politician Luís Montenegro will serve a second term as prime minister following a recent snap election, Portugal’s president said. Montenegro’s parliamentary coalition expanded after the vote, but it failed to win an absolute majority. The far-right Chega party also grew to become the largest opposition party, surpassing the Socialists. This was Portugal’s third early election in three years.
Energy Department supercomputer. The U.S. Department of Energy will buy components for its next supercomputer from Nvidia and Dell that have artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The supercomputer is slated for delivery in 2026 and will use Nvidia chips designed for AI calculations to run simulations for energy and scientific research. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the new machine essential for winning the global AI race.
China skips security forum. China’s defense minister is not attending this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, skipping a potential meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Despite a recent trade deescalation between the two countries, Washington has also moved forward with new tech export restrictions and announced plans to revoke Chinese student visas. Yesterday U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks between the countries are “a bit stalled.”
Gaza ceasefire proposal. Israel endorsed a new U.S. plan for a truce with Hamas, the White House press secretary said yesterday. Hamas said it would study the plan before giving an official response. Unnamed Egyptian and Hamas officials told the Associated Press that the deal includes a sixty-day pause in fighting, a pull-back of Israeli forces from recent advances, assurances of long-term truce negotiations, daily access for hundreds of aid trucks, and the release of ten living hostages and more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.
Nigeria’s oil incentives. Nigeria will offer tax breaks to oil companies that demonstrate they are cutting costs, President Bola Tinubu mandated in an executive order yesterday. It is the latest in a series of regulatory changes designed to attract more investment in the country’s energy sector. Incentives that Tinubu announced last year did not immediately lead to investments in new oil fields, but some companies increased their activities in existing fields.
