DOMESTIC
Since April 14, Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi had been detained at a Vermont state prison, but has been released as of Wednesday, April 30. Mahdawi was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship after being deemed a threat to national security. Although he has been a legal permanent resident for 10 years, the U.S. government argued that they can deport Mahdawi under the Immigration and Nationality Act because of the negative effects his presence and actions would have on U.S. foreign policy interest. A government attorney also cited an FBI investigation into reportedly threatening comments Mahdawi had made about Jewish people while at a gun shop, but the judge clarified that the FBI had already determined this report to be a falsity. Mahdawi is of the belief that his detainment is the government’s attempt “to stifle speech with which it disagrees,” as he is a leading activist in Columbia’s on-campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Mahdawi is one of many college students who have been detained by immigration authorities since President Trump’s inauguration, but his position as one of the first students to be released after challenging their arrest suggests that more students could soon see the same outcome.
As of Wednesday, April 30, the U.S. and Ukraine have signed a deal that gives Washington access to Ukraine’s valuable minerals and natural resources in compensation for the U.S.’s aid in their war against Russia. The deal has been titled the “United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund” and is intended to serve as an indicator of both side’s loyalties to each other and their efforts towards peace in Ukraine. This deal is a turning point in the U.S.’s relations with Ukraine, as President Trump has previously criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approach to the war, and tensions between the two leaders were especially exacerbated by their contentious Oval Office meeting mere months ago. While the Ukrainian government seems assured that this is an equal deal, Trump indicated that “in theory” the U.S. would monetarily be getting more from these resources than they had put forth in the military support. Due to its brevity in the public eye as of the day of its signing, both sides have offered little in-depth detail on the deal so far.
INTERNATIONAL
Due to a widespread, nearly daylong blackout in Spain on Monday, April 28, many have now called into question the country’s reliance on solar and wind power, which accounts for almost two-thirds of their electricity. Power was cut from railways, airports and major sporting events, not only across the country but also in Portugal and part of France. Millions were heavily affected, as the outage brought operations in hospitals, banks and stores to a screeching halt. Spain’s government, though not yet offering a cause for the blackout, has assured the public that renewable energy is not at fault. Per Beatriz Corredor, chairwoman of the Spanish electricity company Red Eléctrica, the cause of the blackout “has been narrowed down to two separate incidents in southwestern Spain where two substations experienced a loss of generation,” and the possibility of a cyberattack has been ruled out. Because of the substantial impact weather can have on these energy resources, it has been taken into consideration that the temperature was considerably high at the time of the outage.
On Wednesday, April 30, several towns near Jerusalem were evacuated in response to raging wildfires, halting much of Israel’s Yom HaZikaron ceremonies in memoriam of fallen soldiers. Israel’s memorial day is immediately followed by their independence day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, of which many celebrations have also been cancelled due to the expanding wildfires. The direct cause of the wildfires is presently undetermined. Deemed to be one of the worst blazes the country has seen in years, even well-experienced firefighters are struggling to battle this combination of strong winds and dry conditions. Israel has requested international aid and received an offer of aid from the Palestinian Authority, who helped to fight a similar wildfire near Jerusalem in 2021. “This specific fire was advancing at eight meters per second,” said Eyal Caspi, head of Israel’s fire and rescue service. “There has been nothing like it. When we talk about global warming, this is the reality.”
