September 5, 2025
Second Special Session Ends with Almost All but Hemp Bills Passed
In a major victory for Governor Gregg Abbott, the second special session of the Texas legislature wrapped up on September 4, 2025, with almost all of the red meat political issues-driven legislative packages approved. They include a controversial mid-decade redistricting that had led to a quorum-busting first special session having ended up in a fiasco, an anti-transgender bill, further restriction on abortions and narrowing the opportunities for voting by mail ballots. There are some bipartisan and less partisan measures that have been passed too such as a set of camp safety measures, including $280 million in state funding, to address issues exposed by the July 4, 2025, Hill Country flooding and doing away with the STAAR tests in 2027-28 academic year.
September 6, 2025
Israel Targets a Prominent Gaza City High Rise, Rights Groups Decry U.S. Sanctions
Israel is expanding and intensifying its military operation in Gaza City and surrounding areas as it aims to seize and hold Gaza City and the areas in the vicinity to the largest city of the enclave. Accusing Hamas of using high rises for surveillance and stockpiling of weapons, Israel is pursuing a new military strategy to strike Gaza City's high rises. On September 5, 2025, Israel struck one of the most prominent pre-war high rises of the Gaza City, Mushtaha tower in Rimal, an upscale neighborhood. It's not known whether there is any casualty in that strike. Overnight at least two dozen people were killed throughout the enclave.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups on September 5, 2025 criticized U.S. measure a day ago to impose sanctions on three Palestinian charitable and aid organizations--Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Al Mezan and Al Haq.
Putin Responds to "Reassurance Force" Deployment
On September 4, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron said in the aftermath of a meeting at Paris for the "Coalition of the Willing", a group of 35 nations, in Paris that 26 member nations of that coalition had consented to the participating of the deployment as part of a "reassurance force" to be deployed in Ukraine after the ceasefire was reached.
On September 5, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the "reassurance force" idea unacceptable and such deployment during the time of conflict a "legitimate target".
Veteran Thai Politician Wins Parliamentary Vote
A veteran Thai politician, Anutin Charnvirakul, on September 5, 2025 won the parliamentary nod to become the new premier by receiving 311 votes in the 492-member House of Representatives. Charnvirakul will be sworn in after he meets with King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
