What you need to know

House narrowly approves Trump tax bill

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed President Donald Trump’s tax bill by a single vote, following days of intra-party negotiations. The legislation, approved by 215 to 214, reduces taxes, cuts social spending, and expands federal debt. Trump called it “a big beautiful bill,” claiming it was among the most significant legislative acts in U.S. history.

Contentious issues included reductions in healthcare and clean-energy tax credits, as well as caps on state and local tax deductions. The bill authorizes approximately $350 billion in new spending, of which $150 billion is earmarked for the Pentagon.

Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that the bill would strip at least 13.7 million people of health coverage due to food stamp reductions. Nonetheless, the legislation is considered a political victory for Trump, who has faced sagging approval ratings.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated the bill would add more than $3.3 trillion to U.S. national debt over the next decade. It now moves to the Senate, where Republicans also hold a majority.

The rising Middle Powers: India, Türkiye, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, the GCC nations

Modi says Pakistan will be denied water from India’s rivers

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that Pakistan would not receive water from rivers over which India holds usage rights.

Last month, following a terrorist attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank that governs water-sharing between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The terms of the treaty provide irrigation for around 80 percent of Pakistan’s farmland.

Pakistani officials said the suspension would have no immediate effect. In the mid to long term, however, any restriction could prove devastating.

Pakistan’s Attorney General Manor Osman Awan said Islamabad was open to addressing Indian concerns. He added that India had recently proposed amendments to the treaty, citing population growth and clean energy needs.

Earlier this month, India struck several Pakistani military facilities and militant targets, before a ceasefire was reached on 10 May. During the clashes, Pakistani forces shot down several Indian fighter jets.

Europe's center of gravity shifts east, politics moves right, & hostility to migrants from the south rises

EU begins lifting sanctions on Kosovo after 2023 unrest

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said on Thursday that the bloc had begun easing sanctions on Kosovo, though the process would depend on sustained de-escalation in the north.

The EU imposed sanctions in 2023 after tensions rose in Serb-majority areas, where Albanian Prime Minister Albin Kurti had sought to assert central authority. Ethnic Albanian mayors assumed office with police support following disputed local elections. Clashes broke out when Kosovo’s police raided Serb-controlled buildings in an effort to impose state authority.

Violence followed between Kosovo police and NATO-led peacekeepers on one side and local Serbs, backed by Serbia, on the other. Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, was previously a province of Serbia. Serbia does not recognize its independence.

A Serbian minority remains concentrated in Kosovo’s north.

The United States recognizes Kosovo’s independence, but Russia, China, and several EU member states do not.

In 2023, the EU blocked roughly €150 million ($170 million) in funding to Kosovo. Speaking in Pristina, Kallas said the EU had begun lifting measures imposed in June last year, contingent on continued efforts to reduce tensions.

Both Kosovo and Serbia aspire to EU membership but must normalize relations to progress.

Xi and Macron call for trade cooperation amid cognac dispute

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed in a phone call on Thursday to work together on global trade and resolve a dispute over cognac tariffs, according to a post by Macron on X. Xi urged joint efforts to “safeguard international trade rules” and support “genuine multilateralism.”

Earlier this year, tensions flared after the EU imposed tariffs of up to 35.5 percent on Chinese electric vehicles, citing unfair subsidies. Beijing retaliated by launching an anti-dumping probe into EU brandy imports, which has cost the industry an estimated €50 million ($56 million) per month. China is a major market for French cognac, with exports valued at €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) annually.

Macron said he and Xi had agreed to move past the dispute “as quickly as possible,” and added that Chinese investment remained welcome in France. He also called for greater access for French firms to the Chinese market. Last week, French Economy Minister Eric Lombard raised the cognac issue with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris.

Macron is scheduled to visit Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore next week in a tour described by the Elysée as a push to bolster French influence in the Indo-Pacific.

It's now the US vs China, everyone else needs to pick a side

Georgian opposition leader detained ahead of trial

A court in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, on Thursday ordered the pre-trial detention of opposition leader Zurab Japaridze for failing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry. Demonstrators gathered on the city's main thoroughfare, demanding the release of dissidents and the calling of new elections. Japaridze, who leads Girchi–More Freedom, was detained as part of an inquiry into alleged wrongdoing by a previous government led by former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Before being detained, Japaridze said he did not recognize the legitimacy of either the current parliament or the commission investigating past administrations.

Near-daily protests have taken place in Tbilisi since the October elections, which were won by Georgian Dream.

The opposition declared the results illegitimate, alleging electoral fraud backed by Russia. Georgian Dream has aligned the country more closely with Moscow, distancing it from the European Union, which most Georgians still wish to join.

Germany stations military brigade in Lithuania

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday inaugurated a permanent German brigade in Lithuania, intended to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. It marks the first long-term overseas deployment of a German brigade since the Second World War. While Germany has had troops stationed in Lithuania—bordering the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad—since 2017, the new formation will significantly deepen its presence. The brigade is expected to reach its full strength of around 5,000 troops by 2027.

At a ceremony in Vilnius, Merz said “protecting Vilnius is protecting Berlin.” Germany has been working to modernize its military after years of underinvestment. The push accelerated following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and pressure from President Donald Trump for NATO members to spend more on defense and reduce reliance on the U.S.

In 2022, then-chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to raise military spending to 2 percent of GDP. In March, Germany loosened its constitutional debt brake to allow a surge in defense funding—previously a politically contentious move.

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