Portal:Current events/2025 May 2

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war
    • Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident
      • A Gaza-bound activist humanitarian aid ship, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, catches fire and issues an SOS after what its organizers alleged was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters. (CNN)

Arts and culture

• Rust is released theatrically in the United States, three and a half years after a fatal on-set shooting accident occurred involving members of the cast and crew, including cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, director Joel Souza, and lead actor Alec Baldwin. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

• Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • China–United States trade war
    • The Trump administration terminates the de minimis tariff exemption for some imports shipped directly to consumers. Online shops such as Shein and Temu adjust prices, while Temu also announces a shipping pause to the United States. (The New York Times) (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• A car lost control and plunged into a ravine on the Karakoram Highway in Kohistan district, Pakistan, killing eight. (Pakistan Today)

Health and environment

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 216 children have died this flu season in the United States, making it the deadliest since the 2009 swine flu pandemic. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration
  • The United States Department of Defense designates a second area on the Mexico–United States border, attached to the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, as a military zone to enforce immigration laws. (AP News)
• Gang war in Haiti, Haiti–United States relations
  • The United States Department of State designates the Viv Ansanm coalition and the Gran Grif gang as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

• Freedom of the press in the United States
  • US President Donald Trump signs an executive order calling for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop directly funding NPR and PBS, and for government agencies to stop indirectly funding these public broadcasters. (CNN)
• The German Constitution protection office designates the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a right-wing extremist organization. The AfD came second in the 2025 German federal election after winning 20.8% of the vote for a record 152 seats in the Bundestag. (BBC News)