Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September. Pressure to recognize Palestinian statehood had grown since French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will become the first major Western power to do so. As with France and the United Kingdom, which made a similar announcement Tuesday, Canadian recognition will be largely symbolic. Still, it could increase diplomatic pressure for an end to the conflict. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state. – The Associated Press

The Fed left its key interest rate unchanged. It did so for the fifth time this year, brushing off calls from President Donald Trump for a cut. The Fed’s decision Wednesday leaves its short-term rate at about 4.3%, where it has stood since being reduced three times last year. Chair Jerome Powell has said the Federal Reserve would likely have cut rates already if not for sweeping U.S. tariffs. Mr. Powell and other Fed officials say they want to see how Mr. Trump’s duties on imports will impact inflation and the economy. – AP

Lithuania’s prime minister resigned. Gintautas Paluckas stepped down Thursday following investigations into his business dealings that prompted protests in the Baltic country’s capital and calls for his resignation. Mr. Paluckas, a Social Democrat, took the role last year after a three-party coalition formed following parliamentary elections in October. – AP

President Trump said the U.S. and India were still in trade talks. New tariffs remain slated to begin in a few days. India’s government says it’s studying the implications of Mr. Trump’s announcement he’ll impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax, starting Friday, because of its purchasing of Russian oil. India’s Trade Ministry says it remains committed to negotiating a “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” bilateral trade agreement. – AP

Brown University reached a deal to regain federal funding. It said Wednesday that its agreement would restore access to research funding and end investigations into alleged discrimination. The Ivy League school agreed to pay $50 million in workforce development grants in Rhode Island over 10 years as part of the agreement. Brown President Christina H. Paxson said the deal preserves Brown’s academic independence. The terms include a clause saying the government cannot dictate curriculum or the content of academic speech at Brown. – AP

UCLA will pay a $6 million settlement over protests. The plaintiffs, three Jewish students and a professor, said the university allowed pro-Palestinian protesters in 2024 to block their access to classes. The Trump administration joined the lawsuit in March. The settlement marks the first time a U.S. judge has ruled against a university over last year’s demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza on college campuses. The university said it was committed to combating antisemitism. It argued that protesters, not the university, had blocked the students’ access. – AP

India launched an Earth-mapping satellite. The $1.3 billion mission, aided by NASA, will help forecasters and first responders stay one step ahead of floods, landslides, and other disasters, scientists said. The satellite will survey the same locations twice every 12 days, teasing out changes as small as a fraction of an inch. Among its measurements: melting glaciers and ice sheets and forest and wetland disruptions. The satellite departed for its three-year mission from India on Wednesday. – AP

Growing global outrage over the hunger crisis in Gaza has many asking if Israel had a deliberate policy of starving civilians. Israelis say that was never the case, but an ignorance of Palestinian suffering allowed an inconsistent government policy to lead to a calamity.

The president has recently touted a trade deal with the EU, strong second-quarter growth, and a new stream of tariff revenue coming into the U.S. Treasury. But the overall economic outlook is uncertain.

The judicial branch has consistently put checks on President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. He now appears interested in molding the judiciary in the same way he’s already reshaped the Department of Justice, emphasizing personal loyalty.

Braille and talking book libraries are a lifeline for people who are blind. But budget cuts mean these services face an uncertain future. How are staff working to help patrons stay connected to reading, education, and daily life?

Finland has ranked the world’s happiest country for years. But that doesn’t mean Finns are a smiling, perky people. Rather, Finnish “happiness” points to something else – a contentment and reassuredness that few others can match.

In recent months, Afghanistan has been hit by what could soon be among the world’s largest forced displacements of people in the 21st century. Nearly 2 million Afghans, primarily living in Iran for years to avoid repression at home, have been pushed back across the border. A total of 5.9 million Afghans could arrive from both Iran and Pakistan by the end of the year, the United Nations projects.

What’s more, international aid agencies say they can reach only about 10% of the deportees, a result of the hard-line, ruling Taliban restricting aid flows after taking power nearly four years ago.

Yet as this tragedy of mass deportation unfolds – a result of a surge in anti-Afghan attitudes in Iran and Pakistan – thousands of people inside Afghanistan are turning the tables on the Taliban with acts of compassion. They are volunteering hot meals, clothing, shelter, and transportation to deportees in ways that not only outshine the government’s weak response but also open a door for a dialogue with Taliban officials.

“It doesn’t matter whether you have a lot of money or not. I don’t have much, but with the help of Afghans here and abroad, we manage,” one volunteer, Fatima Rezaei, told Agence France-Presse. Another volunteer told AFP, “We have a duty to give what we can, no matter if it is a little or a lot.”

A resident in Herat province wrote on Facebook, “Tomorrow is Friday [Muslim holy day], what a nice day to do a deed,” according to the Diplomat news site. “We sincerely invite anyone who has a vehicle; please bring it to help transport refugees from the border. It is rough days, but it is the least we can do.”

In a society living under authoritarian rule, these actions by ordinary people are a way to exercise rights denied by the Taliban. In particular, women are joining teams to provide aid.

An example of this was set in 2022 after a large earthquake. Local women raised money to support survivors, which led to a discussion with local officials about girls’ education.

Many Afghans have “pivoted towards more humanitarian or less overtly political work” to improve their interactions with the Taliban, concluded a report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

Many activists who are nonconfrontational “have made substantial progress in engagement with the Taliban,” found a 2024 report by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Germany. “What has remained of the civil society in Afghanistan now is more sustainable, more grass-roots, and more firmly rooted in Afghan realities.” And one reality is Afghans opening their hearts to other Afghans.