Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Hamas returns 4 bodies without the mother of the Bibas children, Israel says With Gaza rule at stake, Palestinian forces struggle to make their case Three empty buses explode in Israel in suspected terrorist attack WSJ Editorial: Hamas’s coffin parade in Gaza Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024 in ‘horrifying escalation,’ rights groups say Russia wants to erase Ukraine's future—and its past Russia and Belarus will hold a joint military drill in September Zelenskiy says talks with US envoy 'restore hope' for strong agreement South Korea police say building case against Yoon for obstructing arrest Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy party moves to disband US sanctions Rwandan minister, militant over DRC conflict Bloomberg Editorial: ‘Iron Dome’ should be built from the ground upIn The News
Israel
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, said he and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, are discussing bringing together real-estate executives to come up with a plan to rebuild Gaza. – Wall Street Journal
Hamas released four bodies Thursday that it said were hostages, including the remains of a mother and her two young children, members of the Bibas family, whose story came to symbolize the brutality of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. – Washington Post
Three empty buses in central Israel exploded late Thursday night in what officials said was a suspected terrorist attack, prompting the Israeli military to deploy three additional battalions to reinforce a weeks-long operation in the increasingly restive occupied West Bank. – Washington Post
The Palestinian Authority recently took a high-stakes gamble in this restive city, launching a major military operation aimed at clipping the wings of militant groups that had grown in influence and audacity. – Washington Post
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to carry out an “intensive” operation in the West Bank after explosions on buses close to Tel Aviv on Thursday, in what Netanyahu’s office described as an attempted mass attack. – Reuters
The United Nations rights chief said on Thursday the parading of the bodies of hostages in Gaza was abhorrent and flew in the face of international law. – Reuters
The Bank of Israel is expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting next week after inflation spiked in January, although analysts believe a rate cut is possible in the coming months should price pressures ease. – Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as agreed. – Reuters
Oded Lifshitz, the hostage whose body was returned on Thursday to Israel, was a veteran journalist, long-time defender of Palestinian rights, and a founder of the kibbutz where he lived and was abducted. – Agence France Presse
Amnesty International claimed that the return of Ariel and Kfir’s bodies from Hamas captivity on Thursday served as a “heartbreaking reminder of the urgent need to immediately release all civilian hostages & Palestinians arbitrarily detained.” – Jerusalem Post
Israel will continue with Saturday’s upcoming hostage release as planned, the IDF told Israeli media. This comes after the IDF announced the results of the forensic investigation which found that one of the hostages remains on Thursday morning was not Shiri Bibas. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: In any case, President Trump has made clear that the U.S. will back its ally against the killers in Gaza. Mr. Trump threatened that hell would break loose if Hamas didn’t release all of the hostages by last Saturday. That didn’t happen. “I told Bibi, ‘You do whatever you want,’” Mr. Trump said Sunday. “Because, you know, my statement was, ‘They got to come back now.’” – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: No wonder a majority of Israelis back President Trump’s suggestion that Gaza’s population be evacuated en masse after the war, with no right of return. No one has the obvious means and will to impose that particular answer, but the world can count on Hamas to keep making the extent of the problem as painfully obvious as possible: Expect it to make Saturday’s planned release of six more live hostages, and next week’s handover of more remains, every bit as appalling. – New York Post
Bernard-Henri Lévy writes: Once, children were gassed as they descended from the trains. Hamas waited. Damn those who try to drag us into the false game of moral equivalency. These two breaths cut short, this double death of innocence, is Hamas’s abomination alone—and it is unforgivable. – Wall Street Journal
Andrea Peyser writes: Hamas showed the world exactly who they are. They are monsters who kill children and use their coffins as props. The have committed unspeakable crimes and must be hunted down, by any means necessary. Our patience is gone. If it takes sending the people of Gaza elsewhere, to live in the countries that supported these terrorists, so be it. There can be no more little children slaughtered to the sound of cheers. Never again. – New York Post
Michael Starr writes: Human rights activists likely remained silent on Thursday morning because they believed bringing attention to people celebrating dead babies would “manufacture consent” among the international community to take a hard stance against Hamas and its ilk. […] As surely as Gazan terrorist groups are the ones who ultimately bear responsibility for the deaths of the four hostages, so too are human rights organizations responsible for putting human rights in a coffin next to them. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he will travel to Washington to try to convince President Donald Trump that his interests were in line with European allies and that showing any weakness to Russia’s Vladimir Putin would make it harder to deal with China and Iran. – Reuters
Iran executed at least 975 people last year in a “horrifying escalation” of its use of capital punishment, two human rights groups said on Thursday. – Agence France Presse
A high-ranking general of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said that a third large-scale missile attack on Israel in time will wipe out the country and destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa. – Iran International
Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah praised Iran for its support of allied armed groups in the region, calling it a crucial factor in their military operations against Israel. – Iran International
Colby Connelly writes: So long as US sanctions on investment in the Iranian energy sector remain in place, Tehran’s gas woes are only likely to worsen. This effectively means that the potential for facilitating investment in the gas sector and/or renewables as incentive for some form of US-Iran diplomatic arrangement will remain available for the foreseeable future, provided Tehran does not find a workable alternative in the meantime. Overall, an expanded focus on addressing Iranian energy issues is warranted in any such future engagement, especially as an alternative to the high-stakes option of providing sanctions relief on oil exports. – Middle East Institute
Russia & Ukraine
Last July, Russian occupation authorities in the Ukrainian city of Luhansk used a crane and dump truck to remove a monument to the victims of the Holodomor, the state-engineered famine that the Kremlin unleashed in 1932-33 to subdue the restless Ukrainian countryside. – Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration is stepping up its push for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand mineral rights worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S., after Zelensky’s initial rejection of the demand fueled President Trump’s escalating broadsides against Ukraine’s leader. – Wall Street Journal
It was a novel Ukrainian spy plot, inspired by what Israeli intelligence had pulled off with exploding wireless devices and Hezbollah militants: Hide tiny bombs in the goggles that Russian soldiers use to control drones. Donate those goggles to the Russian military, under the guise of humanitarian aid. Then wait for the explosions. – New York Times
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pledged on Thursday that Ukraine was ready to work quickly to produce a strong agreement on investments and security with the United States, saying a meeting with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg “restores hope” for success. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was a “legitimate” leader and that, unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin, he had taken office through a free election process. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss a wide range of topics, including relations with the U.S. and the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday. – Reuters
The U.S. is refusing to co-sponsor a draft U.N. resolution marking three years since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that backs Ukraine’s territorial integrity and again demands Russia withdraw its troops, three diplomatic sources told Reuters, in a potential stark shift by Ukraine’s most powerful Western ally. – Reuters
The head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, Kyrylo Budanov, believes a ceasefire in the war with Russia could happen this year. – Reuters
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the idea of a possible new prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States was on the agenda after Moscow and Washington agreed to start work on restoring relations at all levels. – Reuters
The Kremlin offered Donald Trump support in his standoff with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accusing the Ukrainian president of making “inadmissible” remarks about world leaders as a Russian official said he was stunned by how fast the U.S stance had shifted. – Reuters
The Kremlin said on Thursday that any plan to send European troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission would be unacceptable for Russia and that it was monitoring such proposals with concern. – Reuters
A possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday. – Reuters
Russia and Belarus will hold a joint military exercise in September, officials said Thursday, part of efforts by the two neighbors and allies to expand their military ties amid the fighting in Ukraine. – Associated Press
The US signaled that sanctions relief for Russia could be on the table in talks over the war in Ukraine as President Donald Trump rushes toward a deal to end the three-year conflict. – Bloomberg
Editorial: That ocean, though, has been sailed by various factions. In the years before World War II, it was kvelled over by the isolationists who sought to keep America out of the brewing conflict — until the Japanese sprang upon Pearl Harbor. It was Senator Vandenberg who explained early in the Cold War that it was wise to defend our allies overseas because “we are the final target, though other independent peoples are in nearer jeopardy.” – New York Sun
James Stavridis writes: The “least worst” deal outlined above is far from perfect, but given the situations in Washington, Moscow and the battlefields of Ukraine, it may be the best possible outcome. The biggest question may not be whether Putin would accept it, but whether Trump and his advisers will work to achieve it. – Bloomberg
Syria
Creating an inclusive government in Syria in coming weeks will help determine whether Western sanctions are lifted as the country rebuilds after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, the U.N. special envoy to Syria said Thursday. – Associated Press
This month, northeast Syria’s remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the IS attack on over 30 villages along the Khabur river. On Feb. 23, 2015, dozens of Christians were killed or wounded and over 200 were taken hostage. Churches were blown up, and thousands of people fled. – Associated Press
A first responders group said some unexploded ordnance blew up inside a home in northwestern Syria on Thursday, killing four people, including two women and a child. – Associated Press
Aaron Y. Zelin and Soner Cagaptay write: In return, President Trump and President Erdogan should demand that Damascus do the following: Establish a truly inclusive approach toward drafting the new constitution and governing. Continue to prevent jihadists from using Syrian territory to plan external attacks. Continue to go after remnants of the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and Iranian networks involved in smuggling Captagon and weapons. Work with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to destroy the remainder of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons infrastructure. – Washington Institute
Lebanon
Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by the Iran-backed group after a bruising war with Israel. – Agence France Presse
Israel said Friday it struck crossings on the Lebanon-Syria border used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons, with a Syria war monitor reporting an unspecified number of people wounded in the attack. – Agence France Presse
A French court on Thursday postponed a much-awaited decision on freeing pro-Palestinian Lebanese terrorist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, jailed 40 years ago for the 1982 killings of an Israeli and US diplomat. – Agence France Presse
Saudi Arabia
President Trump, using the power of the presidency to intervene in global sports diplomacy, on Thursday deepened his efforts to broker an elusive agreement involving the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league that could ultimately benefit his family’s golf courses. – New York Times
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has long angled to play a leading role on the world stage, was at the diplomatic center this week of two of the globe’s most pressing crises. – New York Times
Saudi Arabian healthcare group SMC Hospitals has hired banks for a potential initial public offering (IPO) on the local bourse, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. – Reuters
Middle East & North Africa
A Tunisian judge on Thursday released prominent journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, a critic of President Kais Saied, his lawyer told Reuters, a move the opposition hopes will lead to the release of other jailed opposition and media figures. – Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party submitted to parliament on Thursday a climate change-related bill envisaging the establishment of a carbon market board and an emissions trading system, or ETS. – Reuters
As dawn broke over central Iraq, teenage sisters Dalia and Rukaya Ghali were loading heavy bricks, forced out of school and into a hazardous job to support their family. – Agence France Presse
The new United Nations envoy to Libya pledged on Thursday to “spare no effort in achieving peace and stability” in the divided country, said the UN Support Mission in Libya. – Agence France Presse
Schools and businesses in Om Laarayes, a major Tunisian mining town, shut down Thursday as a general strike protested deteriorating infrastructure, days after a deadly road accident. – Agence France Presse
Korean Peninsula
South Korean police are formally building a case against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over accusations he obstructed the execution of an arrest warrant, a police spokesperson said on Friday. – Reuters
South Korean officials have requested an exemption from U.S. reciprocal, steel and aluminium tariffs during their visit this week to Washington, the industry ministry said in a statement on Friday. – Reuters
The blind cruelty of one of South Korea’s former leftist presidents and the rash arrogance of its recently impeached conservative president have been on display in separate courtrooms here. – New York Sun
China
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has purged dozens of military commanders in his latest bid to wipe out corruption and disloyalty—a scourge he blames on a weakening of ideological zeal and moral rectitude. – Wall Street Journal
Legal warnings posted on the door of a private, for-profit hospital in eastern China tracked its descent into financial failure. – New York Times
China came out in support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, at a G20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday, while U.S. allies rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. – Reuters
China’s military said it warned and drove away three Philippine aircraft that “illegally intruded” into the airspace near the Spratly Islands on Thursday. – Reuters
Hong Kong’s Democratic Party said late on Thursday it would start preparations to disband and wind up its affairs after a meeting of its leadership, amid a years-long national security crackdown in the China-ruled city. – Reuters
China has been “doing its best” to push for negotiations with the European Union over its tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, a commerce ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, almost four months after the punitive import curbs took effect. – Reuters
South Asia
Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O)Google is close to deciding on locations in its key market of India where it will open its first physical retail stores outside the United States, three sources familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
A group of 200 Chinese nationals plucked from scam centres in Myanmar crossed into Thailand and were flown home on Thursday, as part of a multinational effort to repatriate hundreds caught up in massive internet fraud schemes, a senior Thai minister said. – Reuters
Andy Mukherjee writes: New models may get EV penetration up to American or European levels of 10% to 25%, but to follow China’s 45% lead, subsidies or tax rebates won’t be enough. India needs fast trains. Modi’s party has promised three high-speed rail lines — in east, north and south — in addition to the one in western India. Even if the the 74-year-old leader is unable to bring them to fruition in his political career, he should get them started. – Bloomberg
Asia
A group of Chinese navy vessels, including a formidable warship, sailing legally in the Tasman Sea have raised alarm in Australia and New Zealand because they were in unusually southern waters and on an undeclared mission. – New York Times
Thousands of students staged ‘Dark Indonesia’ protests in cities across the country on Thursday against budget cuts and other policies of President Prabowo Subianto, fearing they will undermine social support systems and their futures. – Reuters
A further reduction in Thailand’s policy interest rate would support inflation and improve the debt-servicing capacity of borrowers, the International Monetary Fund said. – Reuters
When President Donald Trump sat down to lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month, talk turned quickly to how Tokyo could help realise a decades-old proposal to unlock gas in Alaska and ship it to U.S. allies in Asia. – Reuters
Indonesian investigators on Thursday arrested a senior politician from the only opposition party in parliament in a long-running bribery case connected to a parliamentary appointment, the country’s anti-graft agency chief said. – Reuters
The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN plans to hold a summit with the United States so its member countries can present their views on planned U.S. tariffs, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister said on Thursday. – Reuters
Support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration for Taiwan remains “very strong” and Taiwan is looking at more purchases from the country, including LNG, to help balance trade, a senior Taiwan security official said on Thursday. – Reuters
U.S. security ally Australia, which has provided A$1.5 billion in support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, said on Thursday that Moscow was the aggressor in the conflict and it must be resolved on Kyiv’s terms. – Reuters
The Philippines and New Zealand may sign an agreement in the second quarter that will allow the nations to conduct military drills in each other’s territories. – Bloomberg
BBC News announced the closure of its offices in Azerbaijan after the government suspended the UK broadcaster’s operations in the Caspian Sea nation. – Bloomberg
Europe
Elon Musk has shown no qualms about weighing in on this weekend’s German election. Since endorsing the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party — declaring on Dec. 20 that “only the AfD can save Germany” — the billionaire White House appointee has posted about the party and its leader more than 70 times on his social media site X, promoting the AfD to his 218 million followers. – Washington Post
Hours later, though, Mr. Rubio sought to reassure nervous European allies that the talks did not represent an abrupt departure from American policies, as many feared. – New York Times
In his first term, President Trump episodically threatened to pull out of NATO, removing the United States as the linchpin of the most successful military alliance in modern times. In his second term, he is trying a different approach: hollowing it out from within. – New York Times
Friedrich Merz, the man favored to be Germany’s next chancellor after elections on Sunday, is a conservative businessman who has never been a government minister and was forced out of party leadership years ago for challenging Angela Merkel. – New York Times
France’s top administrative court has upheld a decision to shut down popular TV channel C8 for repeated failures to respect human rights and protect minors, causing an outcry among some right-wing politicians who alleged an assault on free speech. – Reuters
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that interactions between the United States and Russia showed Moscow had not given up its territorial goals in Ukraine, and that appeasing it would send a dangerous signal. – Reuters
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Thursday he saw no appetite from Russia for peace with Ukraine after listening to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov talk at a closed-door meeting of the top G20 diplomats in South Africa. – Reuters
Greenland’s ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party said it will not rush an independence vote through after a March 11 general election, cautioning about possible economic and welfare implications. – Reuters
Austria’s two biggest centrist parties are moving quickly towards a coalition deal without the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) after it failed to form a government, party officials said on Thursday. – Reuters
Italian authorities opened a terrorism investigation into explosions last weekend that damaged an oil tanker off northern Italy, in the latest of four such incidents in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas in the past month, the chief prosecutor of the city of Genoa said on Thursday. – Reuters
Lionel Laurent writes: Now’s the time to grasp the nettle and explain to voters the benefits of acting sooner, when costs are manageable, than later, when they might not be. It may be that the continent has to invent a new political structure all over again to fix glaring gaps in strategic foresight and executive action. Anything to avoid Europe becoming a global afterthought — or an infinite jest. – Bloomberg
Keith Naughton writes: Since the American electorate is generally disinterested in foreign policy and the fiscal burden was easily absorbed, Europe could shortchange defense and play its games on trade and security cooperation. But those days are over. The U.S. doesn’t really need Europe, and at least half its electorate has become alienated from Europe. The free ride is over, and the Europeans’ low state is their responsibility and theirs alone. – The Hill
Africa
With the United States’ top diplomat boycotting, foreign ministers from some of the world’s largest economies rallied together at a Group of 20 meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday and sought to push back against what they saw as President Trump’s attempt to upend the global order. – New York Times
The Congolese army called on deserters to rejoin their units on Thursday, as rogue soldiers fired guns and looted parts of the eastern town of Lubero after fleeing nearby clashes with advancing Rwandan-backed rebels. – Reuters
France said on Thursday it would keep 80 military personnel in Ivory Coast largely for training purposes, as it handed over control of a military base in the commercial capital amid a scaling back of its forces across West and Central Africa. – Reuters
A commission in military junta-led Niger has recommended a minimum five-year transition to democratic rule following national discussions, officials said. – Reuters
More than a dozen Kenyan security officials pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the 2022 murders of two Indians and a Kenyan, a high-profile case that was among several incidents that triggered the disbandment of a notorious police unit. – Reuters
The United States on Thursday said it was imposing sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). – Reuters
Somalia said on Thursday its army and allied clan militias have fought off coordinated raids on villages by the Islamist al Shabaab armed group in the country’s south, killing more than 130 attackers. – Reuters
The International Monetary Fund is visiting Mozambique and has pledged its continued support, Mission Chief Pablo Lopez Murphy said. – Bloomberg
Justice Malala writes: It’s time to dial down the arrogance. South Africa, which chairs and hosts the G20 summit this year, needs the coalition to continue. Having gotten to the brink with this damaging budget fiasco, the two parties may be ready for a more realistic and sober approach. We shouldn’t write off the GNU just yet. – Bloomberg
The Americas
The Trump administration on Thursday cut protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States, putting them on track to be targeted for deportation this summer, according to government documents and an official with the Department of Homeland Security. – New York Times
Costa Rica’s government received its first group of mostly Asian migrants deported from the United States on Thursday, part of a deal with Washington to temporarily house up to 200 deportees from other nations. – Reuters
Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday he has instructed the country’s foreign minister to reject talk of Chinese influence over the Panama Canal in a meeting with the head of the U.S. Southern Command. – Reuters
Several Venezuelans and three immigrant rights groups have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over its decision to end temporary protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States. – Reuters
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he would request that the United Nations assumes funding for the structural and logistical expenses of a multinational force in Haiti that is struggling to fight violent gangs. – Associated Press
Venezuela said it received a flight of its nationals that it says were “unfairly” taken to the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after being deported from the US. – Bloomberg
Argentina’s senate voted on Thursday to suspend primary elections for this year’s midterm vote, handing President Javier Milei a welcome political victory as he navigates a cryptocurrency scandal engulfing his administration. – Bloomberg
North America
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stressed in a call on Thursday that any talks to end the war with Russia must include Kyiv at the negotiating table, the prime minister’s office said. – Reuters
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday she will propose a constitutional reform aimed at further protecting Mexico’s national sovereignty, after the U.S. designated various Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. – Reuters
Canada is designating seven Latin American criminal organizations as terrorist entities under the country’s Criminal Code, giving Canadian law enforcement another tool in the fight against fentanyl trafficking, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Thursday. – Associated Press
United States
The United States is opposing calling Russia the aggressor in the war with Ukraine in a Group of 7 statement being drafted to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, three senior officials from countries involved said on Thursday. – New York Times
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday launched forceful attacks on Romania’s decision to cancel its presidential election in December. – Reuters
U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said on Thursday there is “no appetite” for another funding bill for Ukraine, a day after President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a “dictator” and warned he must move quickly to secure peace with Russia or risk losing his country. – Reuters
U.S. Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump’s negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and said that an end to Russia-Ukraine conflict was near. – Reuters
The U.S. State Department has changed references to China on its website, emphasising the trade deficit in an expanded section on economic ties, while dropping talk of working with allies and assistance to China on cultural and environmental issues. – Reuters
Brantly Womack writes: A transactional revolution in American foreign policy is likely to lead to a global cascade of races to the bottom in terms of security, reducing risks and economic welfare. The unseen hand of individual advantage requires a visible body of common expectations, and that will be the revolution’s first victim. – The Hill
Cybersecurity
Huawei’s founder told Xi Jinping at a meeting the Chinese president held with private sector entrepreneurs that concerns China had about a lack of homegrown chips or operating systems had eased, Chinese state media reported. – Reuters
President Donald Trump is meeting with Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook at the White House on Thursday, according to a person familiar with their plans. – Bloomberg
Salt Typhoon gained initial access to Cisco devices as part of the Chinese nation-state threat group’s sweeping attacks on U.S. telecom networks, the company confirmed Thursday in a threat intelligence report. – Cyberscoop
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may already have access to sensitive tax and medical data stored at the IRS and Social Security Administration (SSA), which jointly retain disability diagnoses, child adoption information, exceptionally detailed financial data and individuals’ immigration status, experts say. – The Record
A previously unknown hacking group has been spotted targeting European healthcare organizations using spyware linked to Chinese state-backed hackers and a new ransomware strain, researchers said. – The Record
Defense
The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted an aerial exercise involving at least one U.S. B-1B bomber and multiple fighter jets in the allies’ first joint air force drill of President Donald Trump’s second term. – Associated Press
Pentagon leadership ordered all defense agencies and components to comprehensively review their existing contracts for consulting services to determine which are “non-essential” — and could therefore be considered for termination in the near future, according to a new memorandum. – Defensescoop
Editorial: The faster the system can identify threats and guide interceptors to their targets, the safer Americans will be. Finally, the US should be as transparent as possible about its plans and, as distant as the prospect looks now, should remain open to arms controls talks with China and Russia. Less offense from its rivals would unquestionably be America’s best — and cheapest — defense. – Bloomberg