Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
US Senate rejects effort to block arms sales to Israel Israel says it killed a Hamas commander in Lebanon New York Sun Editorial: Hamas removes thousands from its casualty count Russia says US threats of military strikes against Iran are unacceptable Iran abandons Houthis under relentless US bombardment France plans to take Iran to international court over citizen detentions Russia hosts top diplomats from Sahel countries for talks on boosting security ties Houthi missile hits Saudi Arabia en route to Israel South Korea’s impeached President is removed from office over martial-law decree Ignoring protests, Thailand opens door to Myanmar's military leader Indian PM Modi and Bangladesh's Yunus hold first talks after Hasina exit WSJ Editorial: Finland knows winter is comingIn The News
Israel
For much of the war in Gaza, Israel’s military has argued that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas can only be achieved with a political solution. Now, the military has a new chief, and he has a different idea. – Wall Street Journal
For years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been standing trial for corruption, even as he oversees conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. – New York Times
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Hungary for its “bold and principled” decision to leave the International Criminal Court as he visited Budapest on Thursday, a rare trip abroad in defiance of an ICC arrest warrant. – Reuters
The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed Hassan Farhat, a commander of Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Sidon region of southern Lebanon. – Reuters
The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel over the human rights crisis facing Palestinians in Gaza following Israel’s bombardment of the enclave and suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries. – Reuters
The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution”. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that he may visit the United States next week. – Reuters
Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement could impact Israel’s exports of machinery and medical equipment, an Israeli finance ministry official said on Thursday, as the government sought to minimise the impact of the threatened U.S. measures. – Reuters
Former Israeli UN representative Gilad Erdan stated that the “UN is a lost cause. It has no real ability to protect human rights,” during a conversation with Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (Habitchonistim)’s Vice President of Research and Content, Or Yissachar, at their “Year of Opportunity” National Security Conference, hosted by partnership with Channel 14, on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
Nicaragua on Tuesday told the International Court of Justice it is withdrawing its request to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. The court issued a press release on Thursday confirming the withdrawal. No reason was offered for the move. – Times of Israel
The military said it was entering “a new stage” of fighting against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as troops prepared to cut off the southern city of Rafah and warplanes carried out extensive strikes across the enclave, amid warnings of further attacks. – Times of Israel
The United Nations Human Rights Council is scheduled on Friday to reappoint an investigator into Israel with a history of antisemitism and vitriol against the Jewish state, amid fierce pushback from the US and other opponents. – Times of Israel
Editorial: “We know that Hamas uses child soldiers, and these statistics show clearly that Israel is targeting fighting-aged men,” Mr. Fox said. Israeli troops in Gaza are fighting with one hand tied behind their back amid global scrutiny of their war conduct. They must avoid areas where hostages might be held. Hamas hides behind civilians to maximize global sympathy. There’s no reason for world leaders and the press to buy their claims. – New York Sun
Editorial: Maybe there’s no new information that will enable the families to move on and cope with their massive losses. But one thing is clear: Until a state commission of inquiry is established to probe all of the angles of October 7 – the before, during, and after – the raw wounds that are festering and were on display so clearly this week will remain raw and unable to scar over. The same can be said for Israel as a whole, which is why a state commission of inquiry is essential. – Jerusalem Post
Daniel M. Rosen writes: The ultimate goal should be to provide Hamas with only one option: withdrawal from Gaza, which will then allow for a civil administration not hostile to Israel to replace it. Failing to do this will send the wrong message to the Gazans and will ultimately slow down the process of “conquer, hold and build” It is clear to all that Hamas’s days in power are numbered. Israel’s shift in strategy, coupled with the internal unrest in Gaza, presents a real opportunity to dismantle Hamas’s rule once and for all. A future without Hamas’s grip on Gaza is finally within reach and Israel’s next challenge will be to win the peace. – Arutz Sheva
Iran
Russia said on Thursday that threats of military strikes against its ally Iran were unacceptable and warned that attacking the Islamic Republic could lead to potentially catastrophic results if nuclear installations were bombed. – Reuters
Two French citizens held in Iran for almost three years have not had consular services for more than a year prompting Paris to prepare a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. – Reuters
Israel is not ruling out a diplomatic path to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday, adding that there were signs that there could be indirect talks between Tehran and the United States. – Reuters
US President Donald Trump said he believed that Iran was willing to engage in direct talks over its nuclear program, a day after Tehran indicated it would be willing to negotiate through intermediaries. – Bloomberg
Iran has faced suspicion for decades over its nuclear ambitions and whether it’s developing the capability to fire an atomic weapon. The country has been ramping up production of fissile material in recent years and would likely be able to produce the amount of enriched uranium needed for a bomb in less than a week. – Bloomberg
Iran has ordered military personnel to leave Yemen, abandoning its Houthi allies as the US escalates an air strike campaign against the rebel group. – The Telegraph
Marc Champion writes: In other words, this is going to be messy and will require unwanted concessions from all sides. The only approach guaranteed to have still less predictable outcomes would be a campaign of airstrikes against Iran’s deeply buried nuclear program and missile capabilities. So the sooner serious negotiations start, the better. – Bloomberg
Russia & Ukraine
A top Kremlin envoy completed two days of talks with President Trump’s Russia negotiator at the White House on Thursday, the first high-level bilateral meeting in the U.S. since before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. – Wall Street Journal
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday visited Ukraine’s northern Sumy region across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv’s troops still hold small swathes of land. – Reuters
Moscow’s troops were waging fierce battles on Thursday in Russia’s western Kursk region against Ukrainian forces, including hundreds holed up in a monastery, in an effort to rout them from Kyiv’s last major foothold in sovereign Russian territory, war bloggers said. – Reuters
Ukraine appears to have resolved some of its shortages of troops fighting against Russia, including by widening the pool of eligible recruits, the top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that France had “killed democracy” with the conviction of far-right leader Marine Le Pen. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine on Thursday of launching “provocative” attacks on Russian energy facilities despite a moratorium brokered by the United States. – Reuters
Russia on Thursday discussed ways to boost military ties with the Sahel countries, promising to train their troops and supply weapons as it seeks to expand its clout in the junta-led West African countries that have expelled French forces. – Associated Press
Russia is still counting on US President Donald Trump to deliver an acceptable peace deal in Ukraine, though it’s prepared to continue the war if talks fail, according to people in Moscow familiar with the matter. – Bloomberg
Victor Davis Hanson writes: Putin knows that India, China and others who buy his oil will not if he reneges on his willingness for a ceasefire. If and when peace comes, we can already foresee the misinformation that will follow: Trump deserves no credit. Zelensky remains the true hero. A now hollowed-out Russia was the real winner. The only mystery? Since when did the anti-war left prefer an endless and horrific war to a difficult, messy peace? – New York Post
Benjamin Jensen and Erica Lonergan write: To succeed, Ukraine’s armed forces and civilian agencies must integrate cyber and space planning into every level of operations. […] When combined with credible diplomatic pressure, unity among NATO and European partners, and transparent public attribution of malicious cyber or space behavior, Ukraine can shape a deterrent posture that makes it far more difficult for an adversary to leverage these domains as “gray-zone” pressure points. In this evolving era of digital and orbital statecraft, resilience is nonnegotiable, and the alliances that provide it will be the cornerstone of any lasting peace. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Syria
Syria accused Israel on Thursday of trying to destabilize the country after intense airstrikes on military bases and a deadly raid in southern Syria, part of a deepening incursion that is sharply raising tensions in the region. – New York Times
Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday called on the Syrian Arab Republic’s government to ensure accountability for sectarian massacres targeting the Alawite minority last month, saying they may constitute war crimes. – Agence France-Presse
Hanin Ghaddar writes: Drawing the border with Syria would also bolster Lebanon’s upcoming border talks with Israel, which Ortagus mentioned last month. Although formally linking the two discussions is not necessary, they are necessarily interdependent—implementing Resolution 1680 on the Lebanon-Syria frontier will not be effective unless 1701 and 1559 are implemented on the Lebanon-Israel frontier. Put another way, Israel’s border with Lebanon cannot be fully secured until Beirut secures its border with Syria. – Washington Institute
Turkey
Inflation inched down in Turkey, suggesting the country remains on the path to stabler prices despite the threat from recent political turmoil. Annual inflation was 38.1% in March, easing from 39.1% in February, Turkey’s statistics authority said Thursday. That was a little lower than economists had expected, according to a poll compiled by FactSet. – Wall Street Journal
Turkish police have detained 11 people as part of an investigation into social media calls for an economic boycott backed by the opposition following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, state media reported on Thursday. – Reuters
AllianceBernstein Holding LP increased its exposure to Turkey’s hard-currency bonds, saying recent weakness on political turmoil is a buying opportunity. – Bloomberg
Lebanon
At least three people were killed in a “hostile” drone strike in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on Friday, state media reported. – Agence France-Presse
Two suspected Hezbollah members were arrested in London on Tuesday over their membership with the proscribed terrorist organization and involvement in preparing terrorist attacks, the Metropolitan Police announced on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said at a press conference in Paris on Thursday that Israel is interested in normalizing relations with Lebanon in the future. – Haaretz
Middle East & North Africa
The U.S. Department of State has approved the possible sale of upgrade and recertification of Patriot missiles to Kuwait for $400 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The principal contractor will be RTX Corporation (RTX.N) it said. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron will go to an Egyptian port near the Gaza Strip next week to highlight concerns over the conflict in the Palestinian territory, his office said Thursday. – Agence France-Presse
The prosecutor’s office in Dar El Beida near Algiers has appealed against a five-year jail sentence imposed on French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the Algiers bar association told local media. – Agence France-Presse
A ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Houthis fell in Saudi Arabia as it was en route to Israeli territory, Army Radio reported on Thursday evening. – Jerusalem Post
Qatar denied and condemned on Thursday evening the main emerging claims by Israeli investigators that it paid to have its image boosted and Egypt’s belittled as one of the main mediators in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. – Jerusalem Post
Lt. Col. Eli Dekel, a former intelligence officer who specializes in Egypt studies, elaborated on his knowledge about Cairo’s building of mass emergency weapons warehouses to reduce global dependency. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
South Korea’s Constitutional Court ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law, clearing the way for a snap vote to elect a new president who will contend with deep divisions at home and rising friction with the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
The authorities in South Korea were expecting tens of thousands of protesters to descend on central Seoul on Friday as the nation’s Constitutional Court decides the fate of President Yoon Suk Yeol. – New York Times
While U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on allies and foes including Europe, India, Japan and China, some of the world’s most heavily sanctioned countries – Russia, Belarus, Cuba and North Korea – avoided being singled out for special punitive treatment. – Reuters
South Korea’s ousted leader Yoon Suk Yeol, a brash ex-prosecutor who came to power by repeatedly defying setbacks and taking gambles, ultimately fell victim to political recklessness that led him to impose martial law, former colleagues say. – Reuters
Victor Cha writes: The combination of North Korea’s unchecked nuclear buildup and uncertainty about Trump’s commitment to South Korea’s defense has led to a groundswell of calls for South Korea’s nuclearization. According to recent polls, 66 percent of South Koreans support their country going nuclear. Prominent Korean political leaders in both the conservative and progressive camps have not ruled out such policies, with some openly supporting them. South Korea enters the next phase of its political crisis this week, but by the time the crisis is resolved and a leader is in place, the damage to the alliance may be beyond repair. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
China
President Trump’s jumbo tariffs on China threaten to create a new problem for a global economy already stressed over trade: a $400 billion deluge of Chinese goods looking for new markets. – Wall Street Journal
China’s commerce ministry has said that China and the European Union have agreed to restart negotiations on electric-vehicle tariffs, coming hot on the heels of Trump’s announcement of more tariffs. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. and Chinese military officials met in Shanghai for a series of meetings which the U.S. military said on Thursday were focused on reducing unsafe actions by Chinese military ships and planes. – Reuters
China has detained three Philippine nationals on suspicion of spying, the government and state media reported, as the countries’ relations deteriorate. – Associated Press
David Ignatius writes: They met for trade talks last weekend with China, and Beijing says the three countries will coordinate their response to new U.S. tariffs. Everything everywhere all at once. That’s a useful shorthand description of Trump’s global economic and security policy makeover. The president is so impatient for change that he might not see the biggest event that’s taking place on the global stage: Russia and China are playing the Trump card. – Washington Post
Toshi Yoshihara and Casey Nicastro write: They will need to reckon with the emerging global and nuclear dimensions of Chinese military power and the likely demands on American statecraft. And they will have to anticipate how China might combine and sequence its A2/AD, ASW, global power projection, and theater-level nuclear capabilities to pose simultaneous challenges to the United States and frontline states in the Indo-Pacific should deterrence fail in the coming decade. – National Interest
South Asia
For years, Myanmar’s army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has been treated like a pariah on the global stage. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has made few overseas trips, other than to Russia and China, since he seized power in a coup in 2021. – New York Times
India said on Thursday it was studying the impact of the 27% tariff slapped by the U.S. on its imports and vowed to push for a trade deal this year, signalling a conciliatory tone despite failing to get relief from President Donald Trump’s trade policy. – Reuters
Bangladeshi garment exporter Shahidullah Azim woke up on Thursday to the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump slapping a 37% tariff on his country’s exports, endangering an apparel hub already reeling from domestic political upheaval. – Reuters
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher will arrive in earthquake devastated Myanmar on Friday, said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as he appealed for more international funding and rapid, unimpeded aid access in the country. – Reuters
Extreme heat and heavy rain in Myanmar could cause disease outbreaks among earthquake survivors camping in the open, global aid bodies warned on Thursday, complicating rescue efforts made difficult by a civil war, as the death toll surpassed 3,000. – Reuters
India’s prime minister met with the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday, the Bangladesh government’s press office said, their first meeting since the ouster of Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina last year. – Reuters
Sushant Singh writes: By kicking the can down the road, New Delhi runs the risk of effectively acquiescing to Beijing’s dominance in the region. Whether India can develop a more robust and comprehensive strategy to address China’s rise or whether it will continue to navigate under China’s shadow remains a pressing question. But the answer does not lie in India yielding its strategic interests to a pretense of normalcy in bilateral ties with China. The Chinese leadership’s message has been clear: Beijing doesn’t blink. Neither should New Delhi. – Foreign Policy
Asia
U.S. President Trump’s latest tariffs have taken aim at some of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, threatening to disrupt trade in places such as Vietnam that are a key part of global supply chains. – Wall Street Journal
After being smacked with double-digit percentage tariffs by a key ally, Japan finds itself with few retaliatory options. Since President Trump began threatening broad tariffs in January, Japan has pursued a conciliatory strategy, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledging in February to boost U.S. investment to $1 trillion. – New York Times
Singapore’s trade minister said the wealthy financial hub was disappointed that the U.S. had imposed a 10% tariff on its exports despite it having a free-trade agreement and running a trade deficit with the United States. – Reuters
A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel that ran aground and sank off the coast of Samoa last year was doomed by several errors, a government inquiry found on Friday, highlighting inadequate training of crew and poor leadership. – Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to the US to meet with President Donald Trump “as soon as possible” in the event he wins a May 3 election, saying his officials have already been in contact with their American counterparts following Washington’s tariff announcement. – Bloomberg
Thailand and India signed a strategic partnership, vowing to cooperate on defense and accelerate a key infrastructure project that’s set to link the world’s most-populous nation with neighboring Southeast Asia. – Bloomberg
Australian military leaders are scrambling to cobble together fresh air defense capabilities, as China’s missile arsenal is growing and Beijing’s warships have started showing up in Australasia. – Defense News
Europe
The eurozone economy has never been far from recession over the three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices surging. It may finally be tipped over the edge by a fresh blow from another direction, as the Trump administration targets its exports. – Wall Street Journal
European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation, said four people with knowledge of the plans, a move that is likely to ratchet up tensions with the United States by targeting one of President Trump’s closest advisers. – New York Times
The European Union, taken as a whole, is America’s biggest trading partner. That makes President Trump’s fresh tariffs especially painful for the 27-nation bloc — but also gives it a uniquely large amount of economic weight to throw around in response. – New York Times
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for European companies to suspend planned investment in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on American imports. – Reuters
France or Britain should take the lead in engaging with Russia about Ukraine as part of European efforts to support Kyiv, Finland’s president Alexander Stubb said on Thursday. – Reuters
The Bulgarian government, led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday, launched over its foreign policy, BTA news agency reported. The no-confidence motion, initiated by the Vazrazhdane party and backed by lawmakers from Velichie and MECh, failed to secure the necessary majority. – Reuters
Spain on Thursday was one of the few major economies to offer up a concrete solution to help weather the impact of new U.S. tariffs, offering its companies a financial package of loans and direct aid worth 14.1 billion euros ($15.66 billion). – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump will buckle under pressure from Germany and Europe in an escalating trade war, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday. – Reuters
Thousands marched through Slovakia’s capital on Thursday before a planned rally in front of parliament to condemn draft legislation that critics consider detrimental for many nongovernmental organizations. – Associated Press
Editorial: The U.S. has wisely declined to sign up for the Ottawa convention in part because land mines are essential to America’s defense of South Korea. But the larger picture is that Europe is becoming less stable precisely as the Trump Administration is threatening to skip town. The Finns get it, as the kids say. America’s right move now is to propose its own defense investment that reflects the world’s threats and not some fantasy about peace in our time. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: The attempt to sideline a leading candidate for the presidency, as these columns have marked, is shaping up as a test for the health of France’s democracy. The French, it would seem, would benefit from heeding the advice of Monsieur Guaino, who urges his countrymen to “look at what’s happening in the United States: When the justice system comes into violent conflict with politics or society, it’s the justice system that loses.” – New York Sun
Andrzej Sadecki writes: Budapest can be expected to continue holding back the rest of Europe’s desire for a more assertive stance towards China, thus exacerbating the rift between Brussels and Washington, and it will seek to prolong its strategic balancing for as long as possible. Even so, there are clear risks that the Orbán government will one day be forced to choose between its friends. – Centre for European Policy Analysis
Africa
A group of white Afrikaners was so opposed to majority Black rule when apartheid ended some three decades ago that they carved out a separatist enclave, the only town in South Africa where all residents, including menial workers, are white. – Reuters
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni arrived in neighbouring South Sudan on Thursday, in the highest level mission there since clashes and the detention of the vice president triggered regional fears of a return to civil war. – Reuters
The United States is in talks to invest billions of dollars in mineral-rich Congo and wants to help end a conflict raging in the country’s east, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa said during a visit on Thursday. – Reuters
President Donald Trump has moved to impose sweeping tariffs on most goods imported to the United States, including from African countries that benefit from a U.S. flagship trade programme for the continent. – Reuters
Senegal’s parliament has approved revisions to an amnesty law covering 2021-24 protests, paving the way for possible prosecutions over the deaths of dozens of protesters. – Reuters
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they downed an Antonov military plane belonging to the Sudanese army on Thursday in northern Darfur. The RSF published a video that they said showed the plane wreckage. Reuters could not immediately verify the images. – Reuters
The United Nations on Thursday condemned reports by local rights groups of extrajudicial killings taking place in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, which the Sudanese military recaptured last month. – Associated Press
The Americas
Argentina’s Senate rejected two Supreme Court justice nominees proposed by President Javier Milei, in a setback for the libertarian leader, who accused lawmakers of politicizing the vote. – Reuters
The United Nations on Thursday named 54 officials from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government who it said are responsible for serious human rights violations and crimes, in what was described as a “tightly coordinated system of repression.” – Reuters
Sweeping U.S. tariffs could prove relatively advantageous for Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, despite President Donald Trump’s move to impose a 10% levy on its exports to the United States, economists said on Thursday. – Reuters
Two of Venezuela’s central bank directors have left their posts after President Nicolás Maduro made comments about incorporating a large volume of gold into international reserves, raising concerns over the use of unregulated mines to bolster the country’s coffers. – Bloomberg
North America
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says President Trump’s tariff order “will rupture” the global economy and increases the risk that the U.S. will fall into a recession. – Wall Street Journal
Canada will match President Trump’s auto tariffs with 25% tariffs of its own on U.S. vehicles that are not compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday. – Wall Street Journal
Over three decades, free trade transformed North America. Mexico became a world-class carmaker. American consumers got cheap, abundant goods, from refrigerators to year-round strawberries. As commerce exploded, production lines zigzagged across the continent. – Washington Post
Two main architects of protests that gridlocked Canada’s capital for weeks were found guilty on Thursday in one of the last legal cases stemming from the demonstrations that convulsed the country and disrupted billions of dollars in trade with the United States. – New York Times
Mexico’s “cool-headed” approach to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive has paid off in preferential treatment in his sweeping tariff announcement this week and a close working relationship with his trade team, Mexico’s deputy economy secretary told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
The leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council tried to allay surging alarm among Haitians over rampant gang violence by acknowledging Thursday that the country has “become hell for everyone” and promising new measures to stop the bloodshed. – Associated Press
United States
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said NATO allies should spend up to 5% of their economic output on defense, a goal he said wouldn’t need to be met immediately and would require greater American spending, too. – Wall Street Journal
A Michigan couple, Christy and Paul Akeo, who were arrested last month in Cancun, Mexico, over a payments dispute with a resort company, have been freed and were on a plane home, U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle is advising him against a call with Vladimir Putin until the Russian president commits to a full ceasefire with Ukraine, NBC News reported on Thursday, citing administration officials. – Reuters
Editorial: None of these trade provisions empowers Mr. Trump to impose tariffs on all imports from all countries based on an arbitrary formula. Section 122 lets a President impose tariffs of up to 15% in response to trade deficits, but Congress must approve them after 150 days. Someone should sue to block his abuse of power. […] As with that decision, Mr. Trump is acting with little understanding about the damage his tariffs will cause. The “disturbance” might not be as little as he imagines. – Wall Street Journal
Liel Leibovitz writes: Yet holding conflicting values in conversation doesn’t mean accepting that all is true and everything is permitted. “The quest for truth lies at the very heart of Western civilization, and we abandon it at our great peril,” Mr. Cohen tells me. “The moral teachings and miraculous survival of the Jews remind the world that the deepest truths endure, that hope is never lost and that the renewal of civilization is always possible.” Indeed, in one Jewish prep school in Manhattan, renewal happens every day. – Wall Street Journal
Douglas Murray writes: And, as Khalil and his friends have made clear, Israel is only the first country in their sights. But it is by no means the last. These groups hate America more than anything. That is why they use this country, abuse this country, spit on this country, say they want to destroy this country and burn the American flag at any opportunity they get. This is a civilizational moment. And I believe Israel shows how we can win it. – New York Post
Cybersecurity
Hackers targeting Australia’s major pension funds in a series of coordinated attacks have stolen savings from some members at the biggest fund, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, and compromised more than 20,000 accounts. – Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would consider a deal for TikTok where China agrees to approve the sale of the short video app owned by Byte Dance in exchange for relief from U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. – Reuters
Beijing’s ambitions in space pose “an incredible threat,” targeting satellites as first to be shot down in any conflict between the US and China, the head of the US Space Force warned Thursday. – Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. has pulled back on data center projects around the world, suggesting the company is taking a harder look at its plans to build the server farms powering artificial intelligence and the cloud. – Bloomberg
Ivanti customers are confronting another string of attacks linked to an actively exploited vulnerability in the company’s VPN products. Mandiant said a nation-state backed espionage group linked to China has been exploiting the critical vulnerability, CVE-2025-22457, since mid-March. – Cyberscoop
Ukraine recorded at least three cyberattacks in March targeting government agencies and critical infrastructure with new spying malware. – The Record
Ransomware gangs and Russian government hackers are increasingly turning to an old tactic called “fast flux” to hide the location of infrastructure used in cyberattacks. – The Record
Defense
The Pentagon’s deliberations about restructuring parts of the U.S. military, including potentially giving up the United States’ role as the head of NATO forces in Europe and merging commands, could pose challenges, the top U.S. general in Europe cautioned on Thursday. – Reuters
The Pentagon’s inspector general will conduct an investigation of the Signal group chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Trump administration officials discussed details of an impending attack on Houthi militants in Yemen. – Bloomberg
The Defense Innovation Unit on Thursday launched a new marketplace designed to connect technology firms with vetted advanced manufacturing companies whose production approaches could bring speed, scale and security to the U.S. defense industrial base. – Defense News
Wilson Beaver and Anna Gustafson write: The case for expanding MDTFs in the Indo-Pacific is clear. Their rapid development, operational successes, and unique ability to counter China’s A2/AD strategy make them indispensable in securing the region. As the administration continues to form Indo-Pacific alliances, the United States should prioritize stationing the next two MDTFs directly in-theater, ensuring that America’s deterrence posture remains strong in the face of an increasingly assertive China. – National Interest