Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
PA’s Abbas: Payments to terrorists will continue ‘even if we have one cent left’ Expanding West Bank campaign, Israel sends tanks for first time in decades JPost Editorial: Evil neighbors like Hamas cannot be tolerated George Washington University’s Lorenzo Vidino: How the DOJ can disrupt Hamas Ukraine’s Zelensky wants better terms on minerals deal demanded by Trump WSJ Editorial: A brief history of broken Russian promises to Ukraine Hezbollah uses Nasrallah funeral to show it is still alive See how Xi and Putin are ramping up joint military drills Trump’s Ukraine shift unsettles U.S. allies in Asia Conservative Friedrich Merz wins German election UN Security Council calls on Rwanda to pull troops from Congo WSJ’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady: Trump favors the bad neighborsIn The News
Israel
Israel said it is temporarily withholding the release of any Palestinian prisoners until Hamas stops staging “ceremonies that humiliate our hostages,” throwing into question the future of the Gaza cease-fire. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and create a real estate “riviera” on the eastern Mediterranean has spurred a regional scramble for an alternative, with Arab leaders working on a proposal that aims to pump billions of dollars in reconstruction money into the enclave, according to people familiar with the planning. – Washington Post
Hamas freed six more Israeli hostages in Gaza on Saturday, but Israel said it would further delay the release of about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees over what it called violations by Hamas, including handover ceremonies that it said humiliated hostages. – Washington Post
A body that Hamas turned over to the Red Cross on Friday has been confirmed as that of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother whose capture with her two young sons during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack became a symbol of the country’s anguish. – New York Times
Israel announced on Sunday that it was expanding its weekslong military operation against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank and had deployed tanks in the territory’s north for the first time in two decades. – New York Times
President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to the Middle East this week, he said on Sunday, to push for the extension of a fragile Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. – Reuters
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will meet senior European officials in Brussels on Monday, reviving a dialogue with the European Union as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s ceasefire deal. – Reuters
The White House said on Sunday that it supports Israel’s decision to delay releasing 600 Palestinian prisoners, citing the “barbaric treatment” of Israeli hostages by Hamas. – Reuters
A third mass polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza on Saturday, AFP journalists reported, to deliver the first dose to nearly 600,000 children across the Palestinian territory. – Agence France-Presse
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowed to continue paying terrorists and their families “even if we have only one cent left,” despite reports earlier this month that he had stopped the PA’s “martyr payments.” – Jewish Insider
The Israel Defense Forces raised its alert and readiness level along the Gaza border on Sunday, the military said in a statement, while at the same time it ended all remaining restrictions on civilian activity along the northern border with Lebanon. – Times of Israel
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve the assassination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar on October 1, 2023, six days before the terror group invaded southern Israel and started the Gaza war, but Netanyahu ignored the request, according to a Saturday report. – Times of Israel
Former hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who is reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, along with a “personality disorder” and other conditions, is struggling to communicate after his Saturday release, his father revealed. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: Hamas’s cruelty no longer surprises us – we know it all too well. But what we do hope is that the organization’s recent grotesqueries will, at the very least, open the eyes of some around the world to reality: that when people chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they are not calling for justice, but encouraging a baby-killing organization to continue slaughtering innocents – like Shiri Bibas and her two small sons. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: “This incident should be treated like a mega-attack,” Gantz warned. Israel must act accordingly. A powerful, unambiguous response is not just necessary for deterrence – it is the only way to ensure that such an attack never comes close to succeeding again. The survival of Israel depends on unwavering vigilance and a willingness to confront evil head on. Iran and its proxies must understand that their attempts to terrorize Israeli civilians will lead not to fear, but to their own destruction. – Jerusalem Post
Lorenzo Vidino writes: If Hamas-linked charities are guilty of financial violations, it’s easier to prosecute them for these activities than for support for terrorism, which they are adept at hiding. Making the Internal Revenue Service an active part of the new joint task force should therefore be a priority. Authorities at the state and local levels can also be useful partners in these efforts. The Joint Task Force October 7 should focus on improving interagency coordination, hiring more personnel and prosecuting the kinds of crimes most likely to lead to success. These steps are key to tackling a terrorist organization that has wreaked havoc on the Western world. – Wall Street Journal
Beth Bailey writes: The group’s staunchest supporters, who gathered worldwide to celebrate the glut of death on Oct. 7, will not be swayed by the brief moment of honesty. But for the onlookers who have unquestioningly swallowed endless anti-Israel propaganda churned out by Hamas, worldwide media, and international organizations, this is a time for self-reflection. The dehumanization of slaughtered innocents on display Thursday is the desired outcome of slogans such as “resistance by any means necessary” and “long live the intifada,” which have been chanted through our streets and on our campuses over the past 16 months. – Washington Examiner
Iran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Iran on Tuesday to discuss Syrian developments with his Iranian counterpart, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday. – Reuters
In a soon-to-be-published article in Middle East Quarterly magazine, Colin Winston, a 30-year veteran of the CIA and former head of research at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), lays out a succinct case for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. – Jerusalem Post
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf conveyed greetings from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, invited Aoun for an official visit to Tehran and congratulated him on his appointment. Ghalibaf stressed Iran’s willingness to work with Arab and Islamic nations to help rebuild areas damaged in strikes in Lebanon. – Ynet
Russia & Ukraine
The U.S. and Ukraine pushed divergent messages over the weekend, with Kyiv pressing for better terms to the mineral-rights deal sought by President Trump, while Washington urged Ukraine to swiftly accept the proposal already on the table. – Wall Street Journal
The diplomatic rift between the Trump administration and Ukraine over Russia’s invasion escalated Saturday after the U.S. pushed to kill a United Nations resolution that Ukraine had crafted with European support marking the war’s third anniversary. Instead, the U.S. submitted its own draft resolution. – Wall Street Journal
The war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, and that President Trump says he’s determined to end by opening talks with the Kremlin, isn’t just about territorial gains or global power projection. It is, fundamentally, a struggle over historical memory. – Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Sunday for a meeting with President Donald Trump as the United States continues to push a deal for access to his country’s minerals, and said he would step down if it would bring peace to Ukraine or in exchange for NATO membership — sequences of events that remain unlikely. – Washington Post
President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on Sunday against demands from the Trump administration for billions in Ukrainian natural resources and for holding peace talks that exclude Ukraine, while announcing plans for a major summit of European leaders on Monday. – New York TImes
After the fall of Communism, Russia ushered in capitalism by selling off billions of dollars in state assets. Now, 30 years later, the Russian government is stepping up a wartime campaign to do the opposite: seizing private businesses, this time in the name of national security. – New York Times
Kremlin officials are dangling the prospect of lucrative investment deals for American energy companies, apparently seeking to convince President Trump that large economic gains could come from siding with Moscow in ending the war in Ukraine and scrapping economic sanctions on Russia. – New York TImes
EU foreign ministers on Monday approved a 16th package of sanctions against Russia, two diplomats said. Diplomats last week said the sanctions would include a ban on primary aluminium imports, the sale of gaming consoles and the listing of 73 shadow fleet vessels. – Reuters
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday appointed Kirill Dmitriev, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, as a special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation. – Reuters
Preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Saturday. It marked a clear departure from Western efforts to isolate Moscow over its war in Ukraine. – Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the US dropped its demand for Kyiv to commit to paying $500 billion as part of talks to give Washington a cut of the country’s mineral wealth. – Bloomberg
Editorial: Now Mr. Putin says he’s open to a peace deal. But the view in Ukraine is summed up by Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv. “Russia observes two kinds of agreements: one that’s backed by power, or one that it’s in Russia’s interests,” he says. “Unfortunately, Ukraine” on its own “does not qualify for either of these.” When Ukrainians say they want credible security guarantees from Europe and the U.S., this is why. They know that another “cease-fire,” a Minsk III, would merely give Mr. Putin a respite to refinance his war machine after sanctions ease, rearm, and invade again later. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: They are consoling themselves by saying that the new president needs time or “some space,” or that his petulant posts are not policy, or that the means are justified by some aspect of the administration’s blitzkrieg that they agree with. Or they have simply been cowed by Mr. Trump’s certain retaliation against any who defy him. But for the president of the United States to dismiss the appalling sacrifices of the Ukrainians as their own fault, to belittle Ukraine’s president, to make deals without Ukrainian or NATO involvement, and to indulge in his admiration of the tyrant in the Kremlin goes far beyond any behavior that Americans should tolerate. – New York Times
Editorial: Russia has insisted such a peacekeeping force is unacceptable, so Trump will soon face a choice. Either he can walk away from peace efforts, or he can follow through on his threat to impose massive new sanctions on Russia and its trading partners to force Putin to negotiate sensibly. If Trump can secure rights to Ukrainian minerals in the bargain, so much the better. However, he should consider the history books that have yet to be written. Will they tell of a U.S. president who squandered a chance for peace and scandalized the nation’s moral and strategic authority? Or will they tell of a U.S. president who put personal animus aside and used pressure and inducements on all parties to secure the most important peace deal of the 21st century? – Washington Examiner
Hezbollah
Three months after Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire, the damage inflicted by Israel’s armed forces on the Iran-backed Shiite group is becoming clear: Its military has been severely degraded and its finances are strained to the point that it is struggling to meet its commitments to followers. – Wall Street Journal
As hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sunday, its current chief vowed to continue fighting Israel as the group projected its power despite an Israeli offensive that has left it weakened and in disarray. – Wall Street Journal
As Hezbollah prepares to hold an elaborate funeral Sunday for its slain leader Hasan Nasrallah, the group he led for more than 30 years is struggling with a looming financial crisis after traditional supply lines of money from Iran have been severed. – Washington Post
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said, as the country prepared for the mass funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. – Times of Israel
The IDF on Sunday revealed footage of its September 27 airstrike on Beirut that killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several other top officials in the terror group. – Times of Israel
Neville Teller writes: Hezbollah appears to retain significant military and political power in Lebanon, and the dispersed Israeli inhabitants of the Israel-Lebanon border region are still unable to return to their homes. […] Many of the evacuated families, fearing a renewal of the violence, are reluctant to return home. Surveys indicate that nearly half of the displaced families are reluctant to go back under the current circumstances. With the fears and concerns of the displaced inhabitants of the North in mind, Israel is certainly right to exercise the utmost caution before deciding it is safe to leave Lebanon for good. – Jerusalem Post
Afghanistan
Banned from school by the Taliban, Afghan women fear that President Donald Trump’s suspension of foreign assistance will deny them a last chance at an education. – Washington Post
A British couple in their 70s who run education programs in Afghanistan have lost contact with their family after being detained by the Taliban early this month, their children say. – Associated Press
An Afghan women’s radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted their suspension over alleged cooperation with an overseas TV channel. – Associated Press
Syria
The father and son were part of a group of Syrian and American Jews who arrived in Damascus this month, escorted by armed forces of the new government led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the U.S.-designated terrorist group whose rebel coalition toppled the despotic Assad dynasty in December. – Wall Street Journal
Just days after a coalition of Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad in early December, Israel invaded border villages in Syria in what it described as temporary measures to protect its own security. – New York Times
Syria’s new authorities will hold a national dialogue conference starting on February 25 to discuss a new path for the nation after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, two members of its preparatory committee said on Sunday. – Reuters
Israel on Sunday said it will not tolerate presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in southern Syria, nor any other forces affiliated with the country’s new rulers, and demanded the territory be demilitarized. – Reuters
Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria have begun providing oil from local fields they manage to the central government in Damascus, Syrian oil ministry spokesman Ahmed Suleiman told Reuters on Saturday. – Reuters
Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa met China’s ambassador to Damascus in the first public engagement between the two countries since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, Syrian state media said on Friday. – Reuters
Marwan Muasher writes: Success in Syria has the potential to finally break the cycle of protest and repression and set the region on a more pluralistic and prosperous course. A return to authoritarianism will only delay the inevitable lesson that all Arab leaders should have learned after 2010 and that Syria’s in particular should have learned when they brought down Assad—that rulers ignore the demands of the people at their own peril. – Foreign Affairs
Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities have agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, Kurdistan’s regional government said in statement on Sunday. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, eight sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. – Reuters
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani has received an invitation to visit Iraq with the date to be determined later after consultations on the agenda, Syria’s state news agency SANA said on Friday. – Reuters
Turkey
Turkey has launched an investigation into anyone responsible for creating and spreading manipulative and misleading news that caused unusual price and volume fluctuations in Istanbul’s stock market, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkey on Monday to discuss his country’s recent talks with U.S. officials on ending the war in Ukraine, and how Ankara can contribute to the process, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Sunday. – Reuters
Noa Lazimi writes: One potential pressure point would be reinstating high tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports, a measure Trump previously implemented. Given Turkey’s fragile economic recovery from a prolonged financial crisis, such a move could serve as a significant leverage tool. Additionally, Israel and the US must closely monitor Turkey’s evolving relationship with Iran. Despite their historic rivalry, particularly in light of the recent weakening of the Shi’ite axis in Syria, Ankara and Tehran have demonstrated their ability to set aside differences and collaborate when mutual interests align. – Jerusalem Post
Egypt
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabei said on Sunday that 47 ships have been rerouted from Cape of Good Hope to Suez Canal since the start of February. – Reuters
Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has received an invitation from Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to attend an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo on March 4, the Syrian presidency said in a statement on Sunday. – Reuters
Micah Avni writes: Egypt’s government may talk about “sovereignty” and “self-defense,” but a multi-division deployment on our border has only one real target in mind. The longer we pretend otherwise, the worse the inevitable reckoning. It’s time to end the delusion that a signed agreement alone can protect us. Israel’s safety depends on our willingness to enforce clear red lines. The choice is stark: either reassert the treaty’s limits and deter further encroachment, or wait for a sudden crisis that no piece of paper can prevent. We have the means, and the obligation, to uphold security for our citizens and future generations. The question is whether we still have the will. – Jerusalem Post
Arabian Peninsula
Qatar’s government has signed a five-year deal with AI data company Scale AI to deploy AI-powered tools and training in a push to improve government services in the Gulf Arab state, a senior Scale AI executive told Reuters on Sunday. – Reuters
Singapore-based Olam Group (OLAG.SI) on Monday said it will sell a 44.58% stake in its agricultural products business Olam Agri for $1.78 billion to state-owned Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC). – Reuters
Amine Ayoub writes: Qatar’s success in infiltrating US education is a direct consequence of negligence at multiple levels. The government has failed to enforce stricter regulations on foreign funding in universities, allowing billions to flow in unchecked. Academic institutions, enticed by lucrative financial incentives, have willingly compromised their intellectual independence. Meanwhile, the public remains largely unaware of the extent to which foreign influence has shaped discourse in American education. The battle against foreign infiltration in academia will not be won solely through legislative measures; it requires public awareness and institutional courage to resist the allure of easy funding at the cost of national integrity. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
Arab leaders discussed on Friday the joint efforts supporting “the Palestinian cause” and Gaza developments, during an informal meeting in Riyadh attended by Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said. – Reuters
Tunisian President Kais Saied on Saturday called for the law governing the central bank to be amended, raising concerns the lender will lose its independence and of direct government intervention in monetary policy. – Reuters
Yemen’s Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone this week, but did not hit either, two U.S. officials told Reuters. – Reuters
Korean Peninsula
The United Nations bans member states from hiring North Korean workers because its Security Council says Mr. Kim’s government uses them to raise funds for its nuclear weapons program. But Mr. Kim sends tens of thousands of his people abroad to earn cash and other benefits for his regime. – New York Times
North Korea’s defence ministry said on Saturday “military provocations” by the United States and its allies were becoming more “pronounced” under the current Trump administration, according to state media. – Reuters
North Korea is providing 50% of Russia’s ammunition needs at the front in its war against Ukraine, Kyiv’s military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said on Sunday. – Reuters
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
China
Chinese navy vessels carrying out exercises off Australia’s eastern coast drew complaints and concern on Friday after the ships said they would be performing live-fire drills, in the latest example of the Chinese military’s ability to operate increasingly far from home. – Wall Street Journal
The militaries of China and Russia, America’s top two global adversaries, are working together as never before in their long partnership, probing the defenses of the U.S. and its allies. The message to America from the growing partnership is that, if drawn into a military conflict, U.S. forces could find themselves confronting both countries. – Wall Street Journal
A former Chinese aerospace defence executive has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party for corruption, China’s anti-graft watchdog said on Monday, part of a sweeping anti-corruption purge across China’s military-industrial complex. – Reuters
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters will touch down in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit as relations between the two countries are strained after Chinese Navy vessels conducted live firing exercises in the Tasman Sea. – Reuters
China defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Sunday that Australian complaints over recent Chinese live-fire naval drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand were “hyped up” and “inconsistent with the facts”. – Reuters
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday that directs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to restrict Chinese investments in strategic areas, a White House official said. – Reuters
The Trump administration is proposing fees on the use of China’s commercial ships it says could help counter the country’s maritime dominance. The Office of the US Trade Representative outlined a plan for fees on Chinese-built ships that transport traded goods as well as mandates requiring a portion of US products to be moved on American vessels. – Bloomberg
Karishma Vaswani writes: China’s consistent behavior of putting its claims above international law and beyond accountability harms smaller states, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, which has historically been part of America’s strategic theater. Washington never signed up to UNCLOS, despite being supportive of most of its provisions. China has argued this means it has moral authority over the US, and can provide leadership in this vital arena. It’s given Beijing more power too: allowing it to appoint a judge to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Where the US failed to step in, China filled the power vacuum. – Bloomberg
Zack Cooper writes: The U.S. military needs leaders who are willing to acknowledge that reform is necessary and assume the accompanying political risks. After all, this is a unique opportunity. China has shifted to power projection at exactly the wrong technological moment. The United States need not abandon power projection entirely, but its force mix must adapt with the times. In this way, the U.S. military can swim with the tide, even as China swims against it. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
It began last week with a social media post from Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, listing foreign grants it said it had canceled. Buried in the middle was a reference to “$21M for voter turnout in India.” It was soon front-page news in New Delhi. Prominent members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which has long made unfounded allegations of foreign influence in national elections — seized on it as evidence of a nefarious U.S. plot. – New York Times
Bangladeshi students, who were at the forefront of last year’s protests that ousted then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, are set to launch a political party this week, two sources with direct knowledge of the development said. – Reuters
India’s financial crime fighting agency has fined British broadcaster BBC 314,510 pounds ($397,980) for alleged foreign exchange violations in the South Asian nation, three government sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will meet in New Delhi on Monday to restart talks on a UK-India trade deal, the British government said on Sunday. – Reuters
India on Saturday appointed its former central bank chief Shaktikanta Das as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s principal secretary, according to a government notice. – Reuters
With no passengers and no planes, Pakistan’s newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery. Entirely financed by China to the tune of $240 million, it’s anyone’s guess when New Gwadar International Airport will open for business. – Associated Press
Asia
Taiwan this month was in the headlines, an event remarkable for its infrequency. In truth, there should never be a moment when we don’t fixate on this disputed island—independent in every way save for the absence of formal, de jure sovereignty—that’s separated by no more than a narrow strait from a snarling, revanchist China. – Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration’s rush toward peace talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine has rattled some officials in Asia and raised concerns over the U.S. commitment to the region’s security. – Wall Street Journal
Asia is home to seven countries that run the biggest trade surpluses with the United States, Mr. Trump’s go-to yardstick. It has some of the biggest exporters of goods that Mr. Trump promised to tax, like Japanese and South Korean cars, Taiwanese chips, and Indian drugs. – New York Times
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday he would visit the United States this week to meet with U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent for talks, including about tariffs. – Reuters
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has started a working visit to Indonesia and Malaysia on Monday to discuss security and defence issues, Russian news agencies reported. – Reuters
The Philippines shares a common cause with Japan of opposing any unilateral attempt to reshape the global order, its defence minister said on Monday. Gilberto Teodoro was speaking alongside his visiting Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, who said the regional security environment had becoming increasingly severe. – Reuters
Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen defence ties in the face of an “increasingly severe” security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday. – Reuters
Myanmar and its close ally Russia signed a memorandum on investment cooperation in a special economic zone in Dawei, including construction of a port and an oil refinery, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Sunday. – Reuters
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, two ex-Soviet Central Asian states, said on Friday that they had resolved a decades-old border dispute that had sparked clashes between different ethnic groups that had killed over a hundred people. – Reuters
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines on Sunday after holding combat drills with Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. – Associated Press
Europe
Friedrich Merz is the clear winner of the German election. The question now for the conservative leader is how fast and with whom he can cobble together a government—and whether the U.S. will seek to influence the process. – Wall Street Journal
Britain and France are developing a plan to deploy up to 30,000 European peacekeepers in Ukraine if Moscow and Kyiv reach a cease-fire deal, European officials say. – Wall Street Journal
The teenager accused in a stabbing attack at a Berlin Holocaust memorial on Friday is a Syrian refugee who apparently wanted to kill Jews, prosecutors said Saturday. – Washington Post
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine put intense pressure on Central European countries to rethink their approach to energy. But breaking with Russian gas has been difficult for Austria, which until recently was one of a handful of European countries to keep importing the fuel by pipeline. – New York Times
Several thousand supporters of Bulgaria’s ultra-nationalist Revival party scuffled with police on Saturday while trying to storm the building of a European Union mission during a protest against the country’s plans to adopt the euro next year. – Reuters
The three biggest centrist parties in Austria’s parliament on signalled on Saturday they were on the verge of agreeing a coalition government, almost five months after an election won by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which is now sidelined. – Reuters
Swedish and Finnish police are investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, and Sweden’s coast guard has deployed a vessel to the area where multiple seabed cables have been damaged in recent months. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said that he intends to tell U.S. counterpart Donald Trump that it’s in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to “be weak” in the face of Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid U.S.-led negotiations to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine. – Associated Press
The leaders of the 27 European Union countries will have an emergency summit on March 6 about next steps for Ukraine and Europe’s security. – Associated Press
Hungary will be the one to decide whether Ukraine is able to achieve its hopes of joining the European Union in the future, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Saturday in an escalation of his adversarial posture toward Hungary’s war-ravaged neighbor. – Associated Press
Sinn Fein, Ireland’s largest opposition party, said Friday that it will skip a traditional St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House in protest of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to oust Gaza’s residents and rebuild the Strip as a “Riviera of the Middle East.” – Agence France-Presse
Poland is paying for and will continue to finance Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system, according to Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski. – Bloomberg
The UK will announce a fresh set of sanctions against Russia on Monday, aimed at reducing revenues for Moscow three years after it invaded Ukraine. – Bloomberg
James Kirchick writes: From West Germany’s controversial rearmament in the early 1950s to the deployment of American Pershing missiles on German soil three decades later and the rallying of support for Ukraine today, the possibility of the European Union’s most populous country’s adopting a position of strategic neutrality, of “equidistance” between America and Russia, has been a perennial concern. For the United States to put its considerable clout behind a German political party whose leaders minimize Nazi crimes, portray their country as a victim of scheming outsiders and parrot talking points from the Russian Foreign Ministry would be a blunder of historic, and potentially catastrophic, proportions. – New York Times
Jeremiah Poff writes: The Trump administration, simply put, is putting into practice what many believed the end of the Cold War was truly supposed to represent: an end to the Cold War security posture and a return to the responsibility of Europe’s security in the hands of the very wealthy European countries that had long benefited from the U.S.’s military presence. Perhaps right on cue, Hegseth delivered the message that Europe had long dreaded: “Now is the time to invest, because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever.” The message from the Trump administration is abundantly clear: The Cold War has long been over in name, and it is now over in practice too. America’s security posture in Europe will never be the same again. – Washington Examiner
Jean-Luc Demarty and Anthony Gardner write: Perhaps a repeat of that performance is possible. And perhaps there is a way for the EU to offer some concessions, including on auto tariffs. Even better would be a serious discussion about how the U.S. and EU can win together by opening their markets and focusing on the real threat, which comes from China. But if you’re sitting in a Wild West saloon where your erstwhile partner believes that might makes right, it might seem better to have a loaded pistol on the table — and to show that the chamber is full of bullets. – The Hill
Africa
In his first interview since an armed group backed by Rwanda seized swaths of his country’s territory this year, Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, offered the United States and Europe a stake in his country’s vast mineral wealth, a sector currently dominated by China. – New York Times
The Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s military in the country’s calamitous civil war, signed a political charter with its allies late Saturday that aimed to establish a parallel Sudanese government in areas under their control. – New York Times
Crowds of Congolese police officers who switched to the M23 rebel group sang and clapped in occupied Bukavu city on Saturday, preparing for retraining under the authority of the Rwandan-backed rebels who are intent on showing they plan to stick around and govern. – Reuters
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
Democratic Republic of Congo has freed an opposition leader and the president’s former right-hand man, Jean-Marc Kabund, his lawyer said on Friday, ending his imprisonment on charges including contempt of the head of state. – Reuters
Burundi is facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian situation as more than 40,000 people have fled there in two weeks to escape fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. said on Friday. – Reuters
The United Nations Security Council on Friday called on Rwanda’s military to stop supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and immediately withdraw all troops from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” – 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
Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was charged with treason on Friday in an escalation of legal troubles stemming from allegations he plotted to remove the country’s long-time leader by force. – Associated Press
The Americas
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice issued an order Friday evening to suspend the social media platform Rumble, a popular venue among American conservatives, deepening the Brazilian judiciary’s ongoing dispute with social media outlets owned by allies of President Donald Trump over the limits of freedom of expression in an era of deep political division. – Washington Post
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of migrants from around the world crossed the treacherous Darién Gap jungle, many of them stopping in temporary shelters in Panama and Costa Rica on their way to the United States. – Washington Post
Goldman Sachs said on Friday a proposed 10% U.S. oil tariff could cost foreign producers $10 billion per year, as Canadian and Latin American heavy crudes remain reliant on U.S. refiners due to limited alternative buyers and processing capabilities. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will tap his Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha to be the next health minister by early next week, replacing Nisia Trindade, CNN Brasil reported on Friday. – Reuters
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing a corruption probe into his promotion of a meme coin, which is a highly speculative form of cryptocurrency that’s surged in popularity after President Donald Trump and his wife launched tokens of their own. – Associated Press
Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Saturday urged an enthusiastic crowd of U.S. conservatives to keep supporting measures to shrink the size of their government, saying his methods are similar to those undertaken by President Donald Trump and close ally Elon Musk. – Associated Press
Arturo Mcfields writes: Although “pragmatic” voices are urging Trump to lift sanctions, reach a deal and coexist with the tyrant, the truth is that dictatorships understand only pressure and punishment. A bad agreement now does not eliminate the crisis — it only postpones and worsens it. Today more than ever, more pressure is required against the tyrant and greater international support is needed for those freedom fighters opposing the regime. The people have already done their part; it is up to the international community to do the same. This is no time to throw in the towel. – The Hill
North America
Canadian officials used to think President Trump was joking during his first term when he mused in private meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about annexing Canada. All it took was a wild hockey showdown between the two countries to show that Canada is taking the threat very seriously. – Wall Street Journal
A Kenyan police officer was killed in Haiti on Sunday in an operation that was part of the international effort to help combat gang violence and restore order to the Caribbean nation, officials said. – New York Times
Ezra Levant writes: That would be the deal of the century: a political deal, a trade deal, a business deal and even a real-estate deal. The oil sands are big enough to maintain doubled production for at least the next 50 years. At today’s prices, purchasing Canada’s 170-billion-barrel oil reserves would be a nearly $13 trillion deal, offering huge benefits for both the U.S. and Canada. No doubt Mr. Trump would tie these benefits to Canada’s promising to rejuvenate its military—something else Mr. Trudeau would hate. Don’t be fooled: Mr. Trudeau loves the tariffs. Mr. Trump should flip the script and negotiate a multigenerational trade deal to secure U.S. energy independence forever. – Wall Street Journal
Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes: Meantime, Mr. Trump continues to treat Canada as if it’s the greatest threat to U.S. stability since the Soviet Union. And that’s fine by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which is rising in the polls ahead of an election it appeared certain to lose. As Canadians circle the wagons, the Liberals are the biggest beneficiary of Mr. Trump’s juvenile attacks on Canadian sovereignty and trade. A tariff war will harm Canada and he thinks he’s funny calling it a state. But under Trump foreign policy, progressives and dictators, from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, may get the last laugh. – Wall Street Journal
United States
President Trump announced he had named conservative commentator and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI, putting a political appointee, rather than a career agent, in the No. 2 job for the first time in the bureau’s 117 year history. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump has America’s wind-energy industry at a standstill. Developers are delaying some projects and writing down the value of investments. Plans are hanging in limbo. During his campaign, Trump directed fierce criticism to offshore wind projects, which he promised to “end on day one.” His first wave of executive orders included a pause for federal permits and leasing for wind projects on land and at sea. – Wall Street Journal
Trump administration appointees running the main United States aid agency have in recent days fired hundreds of employees who help manage responses to urgent humanitarian crises around the world, according to two U.S. officials and four recent employees of the agency. – New York Times
People fleeing violent religious persecution are normally eligible for asylum. But they have been caught in the Trump administration’s deportation push as the president tries to fulfill a campaign pledge to close the southern border. – New York Times
A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for one of the Trump administration’s remaining steps in its dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, allowing it to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. – Associated Press
Thomas J. Baker writes: Mass purges won’t fix the FBI. In response to the unease stirred by such rumors, the acting deputy attorney general pledged that only those employees “who acted with corrupt or partisan intent” should worry. In his confirmation testimony, Mr. Patel promised that there will be “no political retribution” and that “no one will be terminated for case assignment.” That’s the right approach. Cultural changes are much harder to achieve than organizational changes. The new director should drop the slogan “an intelligence-driven” organization and adopt “an organization guided by the Constitution.” The FBI can become a guarantor of the Bill of Rights, not a threat to it. – Wall Street Journal
Rahm Emanuel writes: Putin and Xi must be delighted. As Washington alienates its allies and squanders 80 years of international credibility, Trump is helping Russia and China achieve their explicit mission of replacing the United States as the world’s preeminent superpower. Moscow’s goal has long been to break up the North Atlantic alliance. Who would have thought that an American president would do its dirty work? – Washington Post
David A. Merkel writes: American leadership is critical to our prosperity and a stable world order, something Ronald Reagan understood. He could also recognize a bad deal, criticizing advocacy for a treaty negotiated by the Carter administration as “cloaking weakness in the suit of virtue.” President Trump should build on the foreign policy success of his first term and join with Kyiv and NATO to achieve a big beautiful deal that preserves the sovereignty and security of Ukraine and does not reward Russia and its partners. – The Hill
Thomas Wright writes: If it backs Ukraine in negotiations and uses the leverage available to it, the Trump administration could secure the Israel model for Ukraine—the construction of a powerful future force with the ability to strike Russian territory if it were attacked, backed by a promise of indirect U.S. support in the event of a new war. This deal would not be perfect, as it leaves Ukraine without external security guarantees. Although there may have been a pathway to NATO, along the lines of the Norway model, under a Democratic administration, such an outcome is clearly not acceptable to President Trump. (It could still be taken up by a different U.S. administration in the future.) The Israel model provides a viable pathway to a free and independent Ukraine with the ability to defend itself and deter future attack. And over time, it may serve as a stepping stone to a more durable and just peace – Foreign Affairs
Cybersecurity
OpenAI has removed accounts of users from China and North Korea who the artificial intelligence company believes were using its technology for malicious purposes including surveillance and opinion-influence operations, the ChatGPT maker said on Friday. – Reuters
Apple (AAPL.O) is scrapping its most advanced security encryption feature for cloud data in Britain, the company said on Friday, an unprecedented response to government demands for access to user data. – Reuters
The United States is falling “increasingly behind” its adversaries in cyberspace, a former Cyber Command and National Security Agency boss said Saturday. – Cyberscoop
An order to block Department of Government Efficiency representatives from Treasury Department payment systems was extended Friday night by a federal judge, who called the Elon Musk surrogates’ approach “chaotic and haphazard.” – Fedscoop
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
The pro-Ukraine hacking group Cyber Alliance has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on CarMoney, a Russian microfinance company linked to the former wife of President Vladimir Putin. – The Record
Germany’s security services warned on Friday that fake videos circulating online purporting to reveal ballot manipulation in the country’s upcoming federal elections were part of a Russian information operation. – The Record
Bhaskar Chakravorti writes: The most powerful people in the United States are obsessed with spending more on artificial intelligence (AI). Besides Greenland and Gaza, President Donald Trump has signaled that he wants total dominance of the technology. Elon Musk wants OpenAI, a leading player, for himself. And OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is aiming for artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which mimics all human capabilities—and he’s pushing for “exponentially increasing investment” to get there. – Foreign Policy
Defense
President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led by his defense secretary to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. – Associated Press
Officials at the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency have begun nudging Defense Department managers to utilize idling DARPA cybersecurity tools meant to preempt hacks and accidents in critical programs. – Defense News
The Pentagon announced Friday it will fire 5,400 civilian employees next week — and potentially tens of thousands more — as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s ongoing effort to slash personnel and spending throughout the federal government. – Military.com
Editorial: Whether Brown’s firing will be an isolated one, or the beginning of a “wholesale purge of generals,” remains unknown, Susan Glasser said. “Trump has made it very clear that he wants people who are loyal to him personally and not to the office, not to the Constitution,” she continued. Trump’s agenda “really suggests a politicization of the nonpartisan leadership of America’s armed forces if generals are being replaced on the basis of perceived political loyalty to the president.” Meanwhile, Trump has also aligned with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine and has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the conflict. Panelists discussed what’s behind the president’s pivot toward Putin. – The Atlantic
Rep. Pat Harrigan writes: Third, we must mass-produce our low-cost, high-impact capabilities that construct the foundation of both conventional and future asymmetric warfare. This includes energetics and explosives, munitions, artillery, surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles, rocket motors, and jet engines. We must fund new technologies and software at the speed of innovation and invest heavily in the military’s organic capability to produce small drones at a significant scale. A general rule: Unless it achieves strategic dominance, if the cost to produce our capability exceeds what our enemies spend to produce their threat, we shouldn’t buy it. Follow this rule, and we’ll drive innovation, increase competition, and cut costs and Trump will keep us out of war with China. Ending global conflict? That could be a bonus. – Washington Examiner
Long War
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday a knife attack that killed one and injured three in eastern France on Saturday was “Islamist terrorism”, after France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office confirmed it was investigating the case. – Reuters
Four people were in custody Sunday after a deadly stabbing in eastern France that authorities linked to Islamic extremism, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office. – Associated Press
The Australian government should repatriate, monitor and investigate any crimes committed by a member of Islamic State who was wounded in the extremist group’s final battle, according to multiple security and international law experts. – The Guardian
Seventy Christians have been beheaded with machetes or large knives, according to multiple groups that monitor terrorism and persecution, by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – and yet the world remains mostly silent. – Fox News
Bruce Hoffman, David Brannan, and Jacob Ware write: This means taking the threat of terrorist attacks seriously, thinking innovatively, and dedicating resources that address the recommendations of security professionals about personal, physical, and digital security. […] Additional, privately funded and staffed firefighting capabilities may be needed in certain critically vulnerable locations. Defensive tactics, techniques, and procedures along with enhanced training to respond to swarming attacks and drone attacks are desperately needed given the absence of such protocols, technologies, and legal authorities. Finally, enhanced cooperation, coordination, and information sharing between the public and private sectors coupled with greater security awareness are essential to prevent future tragedies such as the one in New Orleans that kicked off 2025. – War on the Rocks