Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel considering cease-fire with Lebanon, officials say PM says Israel ready for Iran war resumption, while US gears for another round of talks Iran’s regime has changed—for the worse Trump aims to force a quick Iran deal with a slow squeeze Trump says China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran WSJ Editorial: Iran’s regime wants a Lebanon cease-fire Russia ready to help China with energy ahead of Putin's visit, foreign minister says Russian strikes kill 16 across Ukraine in worst attack this year China sharpens retaliatory tools against U.S. ahead of Trump summit Debt alarms ring as countries rack up more emergency spending Sudan enters fourth year of war amid world’s most severe humanitarian crisis Retired U.S. Army general David H. Petraeus: America’s success against Iran may prove a distractionIn The News
Israel
Israel is considering a short-term cease-fire in Lebanon that could pause the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israeli and Lebanese officials said on Wednesday. – New York Times
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked two resolutions that would have stopped the sale of some $450 million in bombs and bulldozers to Israel, as President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans rallied behind his support for the Jewish state. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said leaders of Lebanon and Israel will speak, saying he was “trying to get a little breathing room” between the countries, after more than six weeks of war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. – Reuters
Israel’s security cabinet convened on Wednesday to discuss a possible Lebanon ceasefire, a senior Israeli official said, more than six weeks into a war with Hezbollah that spiralled out of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is ready for the Iran war to resume, while US President Donald Trump’s administration indicated that a second round of talks with Tehran is more likely. – Times of Israel
The Czech Republic has “always, always” been an advocate for Israel in the European Union and will remain so, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told The Times of Israel this week. – Times of Israel
Already strained by over two years of regional conflict, Israel’s ties with France have sunk to new depths in recent weeks over the fighting in Iran and Lebanon, fraying the countries’ once-robust defense and diplomatic relationships. – Times of Israel
Israel Police officers seized over 5 million shekels in cash, as well as weapons and ammunition across several neighborhoods in the Bedouin city of Rahat, near Beersheba in southern Israel, the police confirmed on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
State prosecutors on Wednesday filed an indictment with the Nazareth District Court charging Shomou Abu Abed, 32, of Nazareth, with maintaining contact with an Iranian foreign agent, carrying out intelligence-gathering and filming assignments for him, and passing along sensitive information she obtained through her work for a company that provides services to the Transportation Ministry. – Jerusalem Post
Hamas is using the instability created by the security situation in southern Lebanon and Iran to avoid advancing its disarmament compromises and gain political force in Gaza, a source from the security establishment warned on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Hamas has denied a claim made by US Vice President JD Vance that the current amount of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip is the most it’s been in the last five years. – Jerusalem Post
A senior official in the British Ministry of Defense met earlier this year with the Governor of Ramallah for a briefing, despite the governor having been documented in recent years holding frequent meetings with Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing and injuring Israelis, according to information obtained by The Jerusalem Post. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: Hungary’s new leadership may not be as supportive of Israel as it was under Viktor Orban’s leadership, while Italy, another ally, is shifting tone as elections approach next year, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appears to believe close ties with Israel are an electoral liability. France claims to be a friend, but its actions belie that, which is why Leiter’s criticism rang true. Germany is a friend, and its actions reflect that, even when it voices criticism. That is why Smotrich’s comments were so far off the mark. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Iranian leaders have portrayed the current cease-fire as a victory against an overwhelming U.S. and Israeli onslaught. But they now face a towering postwar reconstruction challenge that is putting pressure on them to negotiate for sanctions relief. – Wall Street Journal
On March 13, a massive billboard appeared in Tehran’s Enqelab Square. It showed Iran’s newly selected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, standing in a trench and instructing commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fire missiles at their enemies. The text suggested the mission is divinely inspired, comparing Khamenei to Imam Ali, a revered Muslim figure known for his legendary victory over Jewish tribes. – Wall Street Journal
Over a small, private dinner of spinach soup, scallops and Diet Coke on Monday night, President Trump told the Dutch king and queen that he wants to bring the war in Iran to a swift end. – Wall Street Journal
The Rich Starry, a sanctioned Chinese oil and chemical tanker, masked its exact location in the Persian Gulf for more than 10 days before leaving through the Strait of Hormuz this week. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to send arms to Iran and is “very happy” with U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. – Washington Post
Pakistani mediators traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to try to salvage peace talks between Iran and the United States, as a standoff over access to the Strait of Hormuz threatened a tenuous week-old cease-fire. – New York Times
The U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports appeared to be working on Wednesday, with no Iranian-linked ships visibly able to leave the region since the blockade took effect 48 hours earlier, according to U.S. authorities and vessel-tracking firms. – New York Times
Iran could consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack as part of proposals it has offered in negotiations with the United States, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict, a source briefed by Tehran said. – Reuters
Tehran has sought to tighten its grip over the Strait of Hormuz by charging tolls on vessels to ensure safe passage, in conjunction with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. – Reuters
The United States on Wednesday threatened to sanction buyers of Iranian oil and said it believed China would pause such purchases as Washington enforces a maritime blockade on Iran. – Reuters
The Trump administration expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the war with Iran, while also warning of increasing economic pressure against Tehran if it remains defiant. – Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the United States could impose secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Iranian oil. – Reuters
The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that “very detailed” measures to verify Iran’s nuclear activities must be included in a potential U.S.-Iran agreement to end their war in the Middle East. – Associated Press
Iran’s barbaric regime is set to execute its first female protester over recent protests, one of an estimated 1,600 sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic in the past year. – New York Post
Three men unloaded the remains of a monstrous weapon from a white van in Erbil, Iraq last week. Here, in the cordoned-off yard of the Asayish — the security forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq — explosive ordnance disposal specialists examined every Iranian projectile used in this war. – Business Insider
Iranian regime authorities arrested a “separatist terror group” across six provinces, accused of being linked with Mossad, and other “American-Zionist enemy services,” the regime’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
An Iranian Christian who had his leg broken by anti-regime thugs during a hellish five years in prison has called on world leaders not to leave protesters ‘rotting in jail’. – Daily Mail
Editorial: Despite issuing new proclamations, Beirut still hasn’t acted. Fearing civil war, the Lebanese army didn’t carry out government decisions against Hezbollah and wasn’t compelled to do so. Even the decision to expel Iran’s ambassador wasn’t implemented when the Iranian declined to leave. What would another deal with Lebanon, or even a peace deal, mean when the state won’t control its own territory? The defeat of Hezbollah is a joint Israeli-Lebanese interest, and it would serve the U.S. to hold strong against all facets of Iranian power. Europe shares that interest, but many of its leaders feel otherwise. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel’s bombing of Hezbollah is “wrong” and “should stop now.” That’s the Iranian line. – Wall Street Journal
Russia and Ukraine
Russia is ready to increase energy supplies to China ahead of an expected visit by President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Wednesday at a news conference in Beijing. – Reuters
Russia unleashed missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities overnight, killing 13 people, including a 12-year-old child, injuring several dozens and badly damaging buildings, officials said on Thursday. – Reuters
Ukraine’s air force downed or neutralised 31 Russian missiles and 636 drones in attacks at the country over the past 24 hours, it said on Thursday. – Reuters
A major Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse killed two children and sparked a large fire, Russian officials and media reported. – Reuters
Ukraine’s deputy economy minister said on Wednesday he expects the Ukraine-U.S. joint reconstruction fund to approve a second investment project, likely in the energy sector, this summer, with a third project expected before the end of 2026. – Reuters
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday it was introducing a new model of operations integrating drone warfare with infantry activity and pointed to successes announced by its top commander in retaking territory from Russian forces in the south of the country. – Reuters
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed optimism Wednesday that the alliance would successfully fund defence aid to Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism before the end of the year. – Reuters
Russia’s defence ministry warned on Wednesday that European plans to step up drone supplies to Ukraine are dragging those countries deeper into a war with Russia. – Reuters
When a Ukrainian agricultural tycoon founded a volunteer unit of 30 people in the early days of Russia’s invasion, he had no certainty he would live to see what came next — but he did, and so did the force he created. The group is now a 40,000-strong corps widely seen as one of Ukraine’s most effective fighting formations within official defense forces. – Associated Press
Ilya Timtchenko writes: Third, increased funding should be directed to victim protection, prevention, and rehabilitation. This includes expanding support for NGOs, safe houses, and services for displaced populations, particularly women and children. Fourth, international criminal actors should be publicly identified and, once apprehended, face severe legal consequences. Finally, trafficking must be more integrated into policy discussions on Russia’s war. Recognizing the link between the war and sex trafficking brings the issue into sharper focus and highlights the wider consequences of the war, not only for Ukraine but for international security and democratic resilience. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday the Israeli military continued to strike at Hezbollah and was about to overcome what he described as the militia’s stronghold of Bint Jbeil, as pressure mounted for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. – Reuters
United Nations experts on Wednesday condemned Israel’s bombing in Lebanon earlier this month as “illegal aggression and indiscriminate bombing campaign”, the United Nations Human Rights Council said. – Reuters
The Israeli military killed four Lebanese rescue workers and wounded six others in three consecutive, targeted strikes Wednesday, paramedic groups said, a stark illustration of the human cost of the Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon a day after the two countries held historic talks in Washington. – Associated Press
The combat engineering battalion 603 is blowing up “endless” amounts of Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon, Lt. Col. “R,” the battalion commander, told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview. – Jerusalem Post
Syrian authorities in Homs located a tunnel used by Hezbollah terrorists to smuggle weapons across the border into Lebanon, state TV channel Al-Ikhbaria reported on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Amid reports of diplomatic efforts toward a ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF has laid out the operational conditions essential for the security of northern residents. – Arutz Sheva
Gulf States
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is on the verge of announcing it will withdraw financial support from LIV Golf, the upstart golf circuit it launched four years ago to compete with the PGA Tour, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. – New York Times
A second U.S.-sanctioned supertanker has entered the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed, despite a U.S. blockade on vessels visiting Iranian ports. – Reuters
Luxury hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai will shut during a major 18-month renovation, a staff member confirmed on Wednesday, its first since opening in 1999 and at a time when tourism in the region has slowed due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. – Reuters
Kuwaiti authorities have detained U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin who has not been seen for six weeks, a media watchdog said, during a wider crackdown by Gulf nations on people for filming or posting footage during the Iran war. – Reuters
Qatar may extend its force majeure on gas supplies beyond mid-June, Italian importer Edison said on Wednesday, while predicting the gap will be plugged by U.S. supply instead of Russian gas. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates said in-person classes at schools can restart on April 20, the latest step by authorities to bring life back to normal as a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran holds. – Bloomberg
F Gregory Gause III writes: This war has left the Arab Gulf countries worse off than before it began. The Iranian regime is bloodied but unbowed, asserting a right to control the Strait of Hormuz that it never attempted before. The immediate question for the United States is whether it can restore the status quo ante in the strait, the lifeline for all the Gulf states and for the world energy economy. The longer-term question for the Gulf capitals is whether, with their security compromised by the reckless American-Israeli war, they can rely on Washington to return to the effective role it played for decades as a provider of deterrence and security rather than a foolhardy disruptor of the peace. That larger question of American purpose in the region will determine whether US bases, and the larger American-Gulf alliance, will endure. – Middle East Institute
Yasir Atalan writes: That is why the most useful U.S. contribution is not only more redundancy, but a much stronger lower-tier air defense architecture around compute sites. That means counter-drone systems, jamming, machine guns, 30mm guns, Coyote interceptors and integrated command systems that connect air and ground defenses. Ukraine also offers practical lessons in building cheaper and more scalable defenses against mass drone attacks, including the use of interceptor drones and other lower-cost tools. Future compute deals in the Gulf will need to come bundled with lower-cost layered air defense, selective hardening, resilient power and network design, and tighter security cooperation. Cheap drones have not killed Gulf AI ambitions. They have made them more dependent, more expensive, and more strategically governed than before. – Foreign Policy
Middle East & North Africa
The twin-turboprop plane carved a line down through the sky and touched down at a desert airstrip here near Libya’s Mediterranean coast. Out stepped a visitor whose arrival would have been unthinkable a decade ago. – Wall Street Journal
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on scepticism that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region. – Reuters
The Middle East conflict could saddle the region with as much as $58 billion in repair costs for energy-linked infrastructure, with oil and gas facilities alone accounting for up to $50 billion, according to a report by Rystad Energy. – Reuters
The United Nations is ready to set up a corridor to allow fertilizer to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and reach farmers for the planting season — but doing so hinges on a political agreement to go forward, according to a top UN official. – Bloomberg
Ben Fishman writes: If the U.S. government decides to back commercial support for Egypt, it should focus on expanding the tech and startup sectors. In February, Cairo announced a $1 billion “Startup Charter” to provide financing for 500 companies over five years. The United States should explore ways to collaborate with and develop this initiative through public-private partnerships; for instance, it could define a specific platform that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation could underwrite, or get the Egypt-American Enterprise Fund involved. At the same time, Washington must press Cairo to accelerate reforms such as providing more tax incentives and decreasing regulations that inhibit tech growth. The United States is no substitute for Gulf largesse, but it can help Egypt stay on the reform track even as the effects of the Iran war continue reverberating. – Washington Institute
Ghaith al-Omari and David Schenker write: At the same time, Amman is increasingly anxious about the Trump administration’s policies on key Palestinian issues, particularly its willingness to tolerate Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and provocative moves by some Israeli political figures on the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif—a holy site where Jordan’s special oversight role was enshrined in the 1994 peace treaty. Hence, while the U.S.-Jordan relationship remains strong, failure to address these issues could lead to future bilateral tensions and impede Washington’s longer-term Arab-Israel peace goals. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
The largest cryptocurrency heist this year didn’t begin with malicious code, but with handshakes. At a major cryptocurrency conference last fall, members purporting to work at a new quantitative trading firm approached representatives of Drift Protocol, a major player in the world of so-called decentralized finance with roughly half a billion dollars in assets. – Wall Street Journal
Vietnam’s president To Lam is set to meet his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung in Hanoi next week, five people familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will make a state visit to India and Vietnam between April 19 to 24, the Newsis news agency reported on Thursday. – Reuters
China
China’s largely muted public reaction to President Trump’s Iran campaign reflects a measured effort to avoid risk while safeguarding its interests. – Wall Street Journal
A month before President Trump’s scheduled trip to Beijing, China is ratcheting up pressure on the U.S., preparing legal tools for tit-for-tat retaliation against foreign companies it deems to be damaging Chinese interests. – Wall Street Journal
China is employing ships and a barrier to tighten control of the entrance to the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea amid roiling tension with the Philippines over the disputed feature, satellite imagery obtained by Reuters shows. – Reuters
China and Vietnam should maintain high strategic clarity and prioritise political security, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday as China-U.S. competition over influence in Southeast Asia grows. – Reuters
The United Nations human rights office on Wednesday said it was concerned by the trial of Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, famous for making provocative satirical sculptures of former leader Mao Zedong. – Reuters
Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church while tightening surveillance and travel restrictions on all of China’s estimated 12 million Catholics, a rights group said Wednesday. – Associated Press
Karishma Vaswani writes: Still, Xi’s calculations go beyond economics. Taiwan’s very existence as a Chinese-speaking democracy challenges the Communist Party’s narrative of political legitimacy and raises an uncomfortable question: If this democratic and prosperous island can combine economic success with political freedom, why not the mainland? This framing helps explain why pressure is intensifying. China’s repeated drills aren’t just military rehearsals, but a form of psychological intimidation aimed at wearing Taiwan down and convincing its population that unification is inevitable. – Bloomberg
South Asia
Nepal’s new government, led by rapper-turned politician Balendra Shah, has set up a panel to investigate the property and assets of past and present politicians and officials, a move aimed at controlling corruption in the Himalayan nation. – Reuters
At least 17 people died and 36 others were injured following a suspected boiler explosion at a power plant operated by India’s Vedanta Ltd in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, a government official said on Wednesday. – Reuters
A cargo of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Portovaya plant on the Baltic Sea that is under U.S. sanctions is on its way to India, LSEG shipping data showed on Wednesday. – Reuters
Asia
A fire at the largest of Australia’s two oil refineries has hit petrol production, company and government officials said on Thursday, just as the nation faces pressure to shore up fuel security with the Iran war disrupting global supply. – Reuters
A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot on Thursday lost an appeal against his extradition from Australia to the United States on charges of violating U.S. arms control laws while training Chinese pilots. – Reuters
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday that state energy firm Petronas would give priority to providing Australia with its excess fuel supplies, as the two countries sought to bolster energy security following the disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. – Reuters
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain U.S. weapons supplies. – Reuters
Japan said on Wednesday it would establish a financial framework worth about $10 billion to help Asian countries procure energy resources and bolster their stockpiles as Middle East tensions drive prices higher and disrupt supply chains. – Reuters
The Iran war had greatly complicated the global strategic landscape, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday as he announced a major increase in Australian military spending. – Associated Press
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signaled that Malaysia could play a role in ending the conflict in the Middle East, saying leaders from Gulf states have used his country as a channel to Iran’s leadership. – Bloomberg
New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis said finance chiefs gathered in Washington are increasingly uneasy about the lack of clarity over what comes next in the Middle East — and how countries should prepare. – Bloomberg
Gearoid Reidy writes: Tokyo has long-standing good relations with Tehran, and might have sought passage through the strait for its ships. Trump’s own blockade now complicates that logic. The US president’s patience is also not infinite; it was all smiles when Takaichi was in Washington, but he recently declared his dissatisfaction with Tokyo’s lack of support. To maintain her good relations, she will likely have to contribute more than just flattery, whether in the form of logistical support or Japan’s world-class minesweepers. Expect that to meet with skepticism at home, where demonstrations against the war, and her administration, are growing, though still on the fringes. Whether she can keep it that way depends on if the prime minister can prevent shortages in the bathroom from seeping into the broader economy. – Bloomberg
Europe
As President Trump’s rift with Europe widens, he is casting even his political friends into the chasm. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has spent the past year trying to act as a bridge while Trump tussled with other European leaders over tariffs, Ukraine and Greenland. – Wall Street Journal
Germany cut fuel taxes for two months, costing $1.9 billion. Canada announced a plan to slash taxes on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels until early September — at a cost of $1.7 billion. Those actions took place just in the past few days. – New York Times
British police on Wednesday arrested two unnamed individuals in connection with an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in north London, in the latest incident involving the capital’s Jewish community. – Reuters
French and Italian lawmakers are due to vote on new laws defining antisemitism, proposed in the wake of a surge in anti-Jewish incidents but which critics say could be used to censor criticism of Israel and chill protest movements. – Reuters
Finance ministers from almost a dozen countries led by Britain called on the U.S., Israel and Iran to implement their ceasefire in full on Wednesday and said the conflict would weigh on the global economy and markets even if it was resolved soon. – Reuters
Portugal is against the creation of a separate European army and instead backs strengthening and modernising its armed forces within the U.S.-led NATO alliance, the country’s defence minister said, contrasting with neighbouring Spain’s position. – Reuters
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy wants to explore joint drone production with Ukraine, after the Iran war gave President Volodymyr Zelenskiy an opportunity to demonstrate his country’s know-how to other nations. – Bloomberg
Government-formation talks in Denmark are expected to stretch for at least another month, even as simmering tensions with Donald Trump over Greenland are adding urgency to reach a deal. – Bloomberg
UK Defense Secretary John Healey said drones are Ukraine’s priority as it defends against Russia’s invasion, stepping up British support by promising to send 120,000 this year to the war-torn nation. – Bloomberg
Damir Marusic writes: Morawiecki’s vision requires a Europe willing to tear down its regulatory edifice and an America willing to trade the short-term pleasure of leverage for the long-term power of a genuine alliance. The playing field is more level than it has been in generations, but there’s a lot of rubble lying around. Getting the rest of the way will require someone to start picking up the pieces and assembling them into something coherent, durable and deliberate. – Washington Post
Alexander Kolyandr writes: Orbán’s defeat is painful for Russia. This is partly due to the impact on energy ties, like possible reductions in gas sales or problems building the nuclear power station. The loss of financial links via OTP would also sting. But the real damage is strategic. Hungary is Russia’s major stronghold in the EU, simultaneously providing a veto at the EU Council, a banking channel, and energy contracts. None of this would collapse overnight, but Orbán’s departure could trigger an irreversible weakening in Moscow’s foothold inside the EU. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Africa
Wednesday was a stark anniversary in Sudan: three years since fighting erupted between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, igniting a war that has led to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. – New York Times
An international conference to raise funding commitments for Sudan has produced pledges of more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.77 billion) in humanitarian aid, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday. – Reuters
The international community has failed in Sudan, British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said on the sidelines of a Berlin conference on the war in the country, as she called for an international concerted effort to stop the arms flow. – Reuters
Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive more than 30 deportees from the United States this week, four sources told Reuters, the latest example of Washington using agreements with African governments to accelerate migrant removals. – Reuters
Nigeria has ordered a full and independent investigation into a military airstrike on a market that left at least 200 people feared dead, while defending the operation that it said targeted Islamist militants based in an enclave controlled by insurgents. – Reuters
Africa’s leading multilateral insurer of trade risk is seeking around $500 million in capital from partners to support countries that face higher costs as a result of conflict in the Middle East, its chief executive told Reuters. – Reuters
Pope Leo on Wednesday urged Cameroon’s government to root out corruption and resist “the whims of the rich and powerful”, in a forceful speech given in the presence of President Paul Biya, who has led the country since 1982. – Reuters
Vaccination programs across Africa have saved tens of millions of lives over the past two decades, but progress is slowing in some countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, amid warnings that cuts to United States aid risk leaving millions of children unprotected. – Associated Press
The Americas
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil rose to power by fighting for the rights of workers. Now, in an awkward twist, his government is being accused of stifling concerns about labor abuses by a major Chinese carmaker. – New York Times
The United States military said it had struck a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing three people that it accused of smuggling drugs. – New York Times
Leftist Peruvian congressman Roberto Sanchez shifted into second place in a presidential vote tally heading down to the wire on Wednesday, rattling financial markets at the prospect of him facing Keiko Fujimori in the runoff. – Reuters
Former Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem was freed from immigration detention in the United States on Wednesday, according to an ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a source from Brazil’s federal police. – Reuters
The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, appeared to torpedo the candidacy of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the next leader of the world body on Wednesday by saying he shared a U.S. senator’s concerns about her fitness for the job. – Reuters
Colombia’s Constitutional Court ordered President Gustavo Petro’s government on Wednesday to return funds collected during an economic emergency that was declared unconstitutional. – Reuters
Argentina reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on the second review of its $20 billion program, the IMF said on Wednesday, unlocking a $1 billion disbursement, subject to approval by its Executive Board. – Reuters
North America
European buyers, including Germany’s Uniper, are exploring the possibility of purchasing liquefied natural gas from Canada’s Pacific coast and shipping it through the Panama Canal as part of a long-term strategy to diversify supply, an effort made more urgent in the wake of the Iran war, two sources familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits on Wednesday, including one for the construction of a new pipeline, to facilitate the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between the U.S. and Canada, according to documents released by the White House. – Reuters
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has enacted legal reforms allowing life imprisonment for minors as young as 12 convicted of homicide, terrorism, or rape, according to the country’s official gazette. – Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wants to see more domestic natural gas production to ease a longstanding dependence on US supplies, including potentially using fracking techniques that she thinks can sidestep major ecological concerns. – Bloomberg
Arturo McFields writes: Despite Mexico’s opposition, Latin America stands today as the region that has most decisively shut its doors to the Iranian threat. The “New Monroe Doctrine” has paved the way for new designations against Iran’s destructive proxies — an unprecedented development for a region that previously welcomed Iranian diplomats and military personnel. These are neither random nor isolated events; they are the results of a new leadership in the United States — one where peace through strength is not an empty promise, but a consistent strategy that is yielding tangible results. The Iranian regime is not welcome in the Americas anymore. – The Hill
United States
On Wall Street, Steve Feinberg had a well-oiled sales pitch for investors thinking of betting billions on his corporate turnarounds. Now the Pentagon’s No. 2 official, the former private-equity boss faces the biggest sell of his career: persuading Congress to bless the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion military budget. – Wall Street Journal
Several House Republicans joined Democrats to oppose President Donald Trump on his immigration policy Wednesday, forcing a vote to advance a measure to reinstate temporary protections for some 350,000 Haitians living in the United States. – Washington Post
The Trump administration is pushing countries around the world to sign a joint declaration that calls for “trade over aid” and explicitly rejects America’s history as a leading provider of humanitarian assistance and other support to the developing world. – Washington Post
Reports that the White House has requested a ceasefire in the Iran war are wrong, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday but added that discussions about a second round of talks with the Iranians were ongoing and productive. – Reuters
Nearly 200 organizations are urging the Trump administration and Puerto Rico’s governor to restore $350 million in federal funding that was meant to finance the installation of rooftop solar and battery systems for 12,000 low-income families across the U.S. territory. – Associated Press
Thomas Beck writes: The consistent legal understanding has been that infrastructure constitutes a legitimate military target when it contributes to an adversary’s capacity to fight, even if civilians depend on it. And while the Iranian regime’s rhetoric shouldn’t be mistaken for civilized behavior, it bears noting that Iran has for years issued sweeping declarations that Israel should be “wiped off the map.” Mr. Trump’s threats fall within a long tradition of wartime rhetoric. Their propriety is debatable, but as a matter of historical precedent and law, they aren’t war crimes. – Wall Street Journal
Cybersecurity
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain will meet on Thursday with officials from several American social media companies as his government considers introducing new rules to protect children online, his office said Wednesday. – New York Times
The European Commission said on Wednesday it intended to order Meta Platforms to reinstate rival artificial intelligence assistants on its WhatsApp messaging service after the U.S. tech giant imposed an access fee. – Reuters
European lenders are resilient enough to absorb current financial and geopolitical shocks but need to prepare for future uncertainties including cybersecurity risks from AI, François-Louis Michaud, the new head of the European Banking Authority, said. – Reuters
Russia’s intelligence services are now seeking to damage European infrastructure with cyber attacks rather than merely overwhelm websites with excess traffic, Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said. – Bloomberg
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday announced that the state has expanded the use of generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, to more than 3,000 state employees, across 35 agencies, with more enrolled in training to begin using the technology. – Statescoop
The federal agency tasked with analyzing security vulnerabilities is overwhelmed as it and other authorities struggle to keep pace with a flood of defects that grows every year. – Cyberscoop
National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross expects more executive orders coming from the White House as part of implementing the national cybersecurity strategy, he said Wednesday. – Cyberscoop
Defense
The Trump administration wants automakers and other American manufacturers to play a larger role in weapons production, reminiscent of a practice used during World War II. – Wall Street Journal
The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, as President Donald Trump attempts to pressure Iran into a deal that could end the weeks-long conflict there while considering the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations if a fragile ceasefire does not hold, U.S. officials said. – Washington Post
White House budget director Russell Vought said on Wednesday he could not estimate the cost of the Iran war, as he defended President Donald Trump’s request for a massive $1.5 trillion annual military budget against bipartisan criticism from U.S. lawmakers who cited the Pentagon’s historic lack of financial accountability. – Reuters
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span that saw it take part in both the military raid in Venezuela and the Iran war. – Associated Press
US lawmakers questioned a top military officer over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to fire Army Chief of Staff General Randy George earlier this month, saying the Pentagon chief had given no explanation for the move. – Bloomberg
The US Navy has confirmed the loss of an expensive spy drone amid the Iran war, its first known loss of this particular uncrewed aircraft. – Business Insider
The U.S. Air Force for the first time utilized the service’s new artificial intelligence wargame system in an event late last month. – Defense News
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg’s March 9 memorandum sets an ambitious deadline for Pentagon and military leaders to transition the Maven Smart System (MSS) into a formal program of record by the end of this fiscal year. – Defensescoop
David H. Petraeus writes: Our military services need rapid, sweeping change driven by new concepts of warfare across all domains. Those concepts should reshape how we organize, train, operate, educate and procure. We have to learn faster to be ready for the most demanding scenarios. The Gulf conflict demonstrates what American forces can achieve from a position of strength. Ukraine has shown what war looks like from a more vulnerable position, when that strength is contested at scale. The performance of our forces should inspire confidence. The lessons of Ukraine should instill urgency. We will need both. – Wall Street Journal