No King's Rally, Gaza-Rafah Border, Afghanistan and Pakistan Peace Talks, AstraZeneca's breast cancer drug and Other News

Nationwide "No Kings" protests against President Donald Trump’s policies are expected to draw thousands across all 50 U.S. states, with organizers planning 2,600 rallies. Civil libertarians have issued warnings that participants may be targeted for federal government surveillance, utilizing an array of advanced technology. Federal agencies, notably the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, possess extensive digital surveillance capabilities, including tools for facial recognition, phone hacking, and cell site simulators, which allow for granular surveillance of mobile phones. The Department of Homeland Security has previously deployed MQ-9 Predator drones, aircraft traditionally used in combat zones, over Los Angeles during earlier anti-ICE protests. Critics assert that, given the administration's open hostility to dissent, such surveillance poses a significant threat to free expression, particularly because there are virtually no legal guardrails in place to prevent mass surveillance. In Chicago, a U.S. judge, citing concerns over non-compliance with a previous court order, mandated that federal law enforcement officers involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown must wear body cameras.

In diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House seeking crucial long-range Tomahawk missiles to use against Russian targets. However, President Trump appeared more intent on brokering an immediate peace deal, urging both Ukraine and Russia to "stop the war immediately" and hold the line where fighting stands, even if it meant Ukraine conceding territory. Trump, who is planning an upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary, appeared cool to the idea of supplying the Tomahawk missiles, citing the need for the United States to retain its own weaponry for national defense.

In the Middle East, efforts to cement a full end to the conflict in Gaza face significant difficulties regarding disarmament and governance. A senior Hamas official stated that the group intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim phase to protect aid delivery and stop armed gangs, and he could not commit to disarmament, citing that such a decision requires a broader Palestinian consensus. Hamas has suggested a long-term truce lasting three to five years is needed to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip. The critical Rafah border crossing with Egypt saw conflicting announcements: the Palestinian embassy in Egypt stated it would reopen on Monday to allow Palestinians residing in Egypt to return to Gaza, but shortly thereafter, Israel announced the crossing would remain closed until further notice, pending Hamas's fulfillment of its commitment to return the bodies of deceased hostages.

Economically, the global film industry is displaying a muted reaction to President Trump’s renewed threat of imposing a 100% tariff on movies made outside the United States. While an earlier tariff threat caused temporary paralysis in international movie financing, the industry continues to utilize global production hubs. In the last year, Hollywood studios and streaming services spent $24.3 billion on film and television projects produced outside the U.S., significantly more than the $16.6 billion spent in the U.S. Meanwhile, French luxury group Kering is in advanced discussions to sell its beauty division, which was launched in 2023 with the acquisition of Creed, to beauty group L’Oréal for approximately $4 billion. In the medical field, the drug Enhertu, a collaboration between AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, showed strong results in two pivotal studies for the early stage treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. In one late-stage study, Enhertu cut the risk of invasive disease recurrence or death by 53% compared with Roche's Kadcyla, demonstrating the potential for this class of antibody-drug conjugates to displace conventional chemotherapy.