Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Fatah official rejects Gaza technocratic committee, contradicts official PA stance Gaza talks hosted by Egypt stall as Hamas disarmament ‘remains only point of contention’ Zamir says strike in Iran was preparation for a heavier blow, will return to bombing if needed WSJ Editorial: Down Goes International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan AFPI’s Michael Faulkender and Robert Wilkie: Inside Trump’s economic war on Iran Kremlin says no plans for Putin-Trump call, no dates for U.S. envoys' Russia visit Israel strikes Lebanese city of Tyre as U.S.-brokered truce falters The Hill’s Charbel A. Antoun: Iran is turning Lebanon into a veto point — and we are letting it happen Iran targets US bases in Jordan and the Gulf after Trump orders strikes near Hormuz China’s Xi projects strength. His constant purges reveal insecurity. Taiwan test-fires U.S.-supplied missile launcher toward China What to know about the sea drone that rescued downed apache crewIn The News
Israel
Britain, Canada, France and Norway announced new coordinated sanctions on Tuesday against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. – Reuters
Benjamin Netanyahu will seek re-election this year, his party announced on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wasn’t sure if the Israeli prime minister would stand again. – Reuters
Hamas militants and police units in Gaza beat, maimed and publicly executed dozens of Palestinians during its war with Israel in acts amounting to war crimes, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday. – Associated Press
Discussions between Palestinian factions and mediators in Cairo aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war in Gaza have stalled over the pivotal question of disarming the territory and Hamas, Palestinian sources told AFP on Tuesday. – Agence France-Presse
France on Tuesday banned Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, from entering the country due to his support for the West Bank annexations that threaten a two-state solution. – Politico
Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub rejects the plan for a Palestinian technocratic committee to run the Gaza Strip, a position that contradicts the official stance of the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas. – Jerusalem Post
During a visit to Northern Command, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that the IDF’s recent airstrike in Iran was a precursor to a “much more significant and heavy” operation in comments to the press on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Everything has changed for Israel – particularly with Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria. Before October 7, Israel had no security zones and was hesitant to fight most of its enemies (especially Iran). However, the country had a decent, if not great, diplomatic reputation.. – Jerusalem Post
Taher al-Nunu, media advisor to the leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization, reported progress in the Cairo talks between representatives of Hamas and other Palestinian Arab factions. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: The court has no jurisdiction since Israel isn’t an ICC member state, but it invented a work-around to target Israel and would do the same to the U.S., which also isn’t a signatory. If President Trump doesn’t sanction the rogue court now, and thus allows it to survive in current form, he could find himself in the dock post-Presidency. The Khan scandal is sufficiently egregious to warrant bringing down the ICC. By clinging to anti-Israel lawfare even now, the court reveals the depth of its ideological commitment—and departure from legal norms. – Wall Street Journal
Yoni Michanie writes: Trump’s instincts on Iran have, in other contexts, been sound. His maximum pressure campaign rattled Tehran economically in ways that years of multilateral diplomacy could not. But pressure works only when the adversary believes the pressuring party is unified and resolute. When Iran looks at Washington and Jerusalem today, it does not see unity. It sees an opening. And it is moving through that opening with purpose. Israel’s deterrence has been purchased across 77 years at an extraordinary price – in wars fought, soldiers lost, and a nation perpetually mobilized for its own survival. It cannot be traded away at the negotiating table in exchange for a deal that may not hold and a ceasefire that already isn’t. Jerusalem has every right, and every strategic obligation, to act accordingly. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
The U.S. launched military strikes Tuesday against Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command. – Wall Street Journal
In the days before the latest flare-ups of violence in the Middle East, President Trump’s aides were negotiating with Tehran on four major elements of a nuclear agreement that U.S. officials contend would grind the program to a halt for 15 years or so. – New York Times
Washington and Tehran — both neither fully victorious nor completely defeated in the war — badly want a deal. But they also need something they can present as favorable to the hawks and hard-liners back home. – New York Times
Iran’s soccer federation on Tuesday said the United States has revoked its allocation of tickets for its World Cup group games, accusing the co-host of obstructing the attendance of Iranian supporters. – Agence France-Presse
The US must win its war against Iran strategically, not just militarily, said Dennis Richardson, a former Australian ambassador to Washington, as well as chief of the country’s defense and foreign affairs departments. – Bloomberg
The US military fired at an empty tanker for its suspected involvement in the Iranian oil trade this week as Washington continues to enforce a blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports. – Bloomberg
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that, despite the exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel, a deal to end the war in the Middle East could be reached “in two or three days.” – Politico
The Islamic Republic of Iran has accelerated its executions of dissidents and activists, with the true number of victims likely obscured by the regime’s internet censorship and blackout. Ever since the January uprisings against the regime, Tehran has enforced a bloody clampdown against its opponents. – Fox News
Editorial: President Donald Trump has repeatedly played down Iranian ceasefire violations for weeks, but it’s hard to do that when the regime shoots down an Army helicopter. It’s also a much needed reminder that Tehran’s negotiators are not seriously pursuing acceptable terms to end the war. Instead of haggling, Trump can keep ratcheting up the cost of conflict for Iran. One of his most effective tools is not kinetic: The blockade has already shrunk Iranian oil exports from 2.1 million barrels per day in February to just 64,000. Flinching now would squander so much of the president’s leverage. – Washington Post
Michael Faulkender and Robert Wilkie write: The military successes of Epic Fury seriously weakened Iran. But ending the regime’s nearly five decades of aggression against the American people and others around the world requires cutting off the financial networks on which that global terror infrastructure depends. Treasury must sustain its conviction that properly deployed, economic power profoundly complements traditional military and diplomatic tools. – Wall Street Journal
April Longley Alley writes: Facing uncertain military options, greater economic disruption and growing strains with his key regional partners, Trump is right to pursue a negotiated settlement. But any agreement must preserve the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation and avoid rewarding maritime coercion. If Iran wins direct financial concessions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz or imposes fees or tolls on it, groups like the Houthis will draw the obvious lesson: threatening global trade pays. – Washington Institute
Russia and Ukraine
Ukrainian drones hit a historic museum in Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea, local authorities said on Wednesday, as they reduced the number of nighttime trains in the face of intensifying air attacks. – Reuters
Russia’s navy has conducted military drills in the Baltic Sea, practising unguided missile launches, bombing runs and missile strikes, it said, as major U.S.-NATO exercises also took place in the region, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
Ukraine has signed a drone deal with Latvia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday as he met with Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs on the sidelines of a summit between Ukraine and Nordic and Baltic states in the Estonian capital Tallinn. – Reuters
There are currently no plans for a telephone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, adding that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to maintain contacts with both Russia and Ukraine. – Reuters
Bulgaria’s newly appointed defence minister, Dimitar Stoyanov, said on Tuesday his country would no longer provide arms to Ukraine and urged Moscow and Kyiv to sit down at the negotiating table to end the war, the BTA news agency reported. – Reuters
The European Union should target Russia’s ability to produce metals and refine oil in its next round of sanctions, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday. Kallas was speaking on a visit to Dublin shortly after the EU published its 21st package of sanctions designed to increase pressure on Russia over its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. – Politico
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Reform UK-run local authorities to fly the Ukrainian flag from their buildings again. The Ukrainian president warned that a refusal by Nigel Farage’s populist right-wing party to fly foreign flags is the type of “small mistake that can break a big friendship.” – Politico
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Nordic and Baltic leaders who were in Estonia for a regional summit Tuesday, a visit that comes amid friction over Ukrainian drones straying into the region in recent months. – Associated Press
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Ukraine has gained new leverage against Russia, arguing that Moscow’s renewed talk of negotiations comes as Kyiv has strengthened itself militarily, politically and diplomatically. – Fox News
Hezbollah
As Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs last March and residents fled in panic, one man found his opportunity. Amid the chaos, he slipped out of his imprisonment in a Hezbollah cell and made his way to the green hills overlooking the Lebanese capital. – Associated Press
Hezbollah is trying to prevent an Israeli ground maneuver deep inside Lebanese territory by hitting IDF soldiers with drones, according to a senior officer in the Air Force. – Jerusalem Post
On Tuesday, tensions were running high after a day of battle between Israel and Iran ended through American coercion, hoisting the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorist organization as a major regional player. US President Donald Trump was quick to pressure Israel and Iran to stop attacking each other – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
The ousted head of Turkey’s main opposition party on Tuesday urged lawmakers to resist what he called a bid to eliminate it, while its court-appointed new leader pledged at a rival meeting to “cleanse the party of dirt”, deepening an opposition crisis. – Reuters
The trade ministers of Turkey and Canada have agreed to launch exploratory discussions aimed at concluding a free trade agreement, according to a joint ministerial statement on Tuesday. – Reuters
Turkey, which will host the COP31 summit in the resort city of Antalya in November, said Tuesday the electrification goal would be a flagship priority of the conference, linking the push to soaring fossil fuel costs caused by the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. – Politico
Gonul Tol writes: Turkey’s defense industry is central to its ability to project power and shape the outcome of conflicts in the region, and Ankara will continue to invest heavily in domestic capabilities. Yet advancements in those capabilities still rely on U.S. and European technology, components, financing, and defense partnerships. Turkey’s economy and security remain firmly anchored to Europe and the United States, as has been true for decades. Erdogan sought to find an alternative by building a close relationship with Russia—but reality has now brought Turkey back. – Foreign Affairs
Jonathan Burchell writes: Ankara must also reinforce that cohesion does not require agreement on every operation. The Iran crisis and the Greenland episode have strained trust; restoring it requires renewed commitment to consultation, transparency, and respect for sovereignty within the alliance. If Ankara succeeds in operationalizing this bargain—keeping the Americans committed, the Europeans capable, and the Russians contained—NATO will remain not only relevant, but resilient. Unity is not an aspiration; it is the precondition for deterrence. – Foreign Affairs
Lebanon
Israeli airstrikes pummeled the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens more, in the latest sign that a new U.S.-brokered cease-fire has failed to take hold. – New York Times
The heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan with peace talks over the Middle East war dragging on. – Agence France-Presse
A gunman from Lebanon opened fire on Israeli troops at the border on Tuesday afternoon before they shot him dead, according to the Israel Defense Forces. No soldiers were injured. – Times of Israel
Egyptian political analyst Magdi Khalil, founder of the Middle East Freedom Forum, gave a sharp critique of Lebanon’s political collapse during his current affairs program on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
Bradley Martin and Liram Koblentz-Stenzler write: Paper guarantees of operational freedom will not contain a terrorist organization; they merely defer the next conflict to the advantage of an adversarial, soon-to-be nuclear Iran. President Trump can still succeed where previous administrations failed. Success will not be measured by the transient announcement of a ceasefire, but by whether Hezbollah’s military power is ultimately dismantled and whether Iran’s most important regional proxies are finally prevented from rebuilding once again. – The Hill
Charbel A. Antoun writes: If Iran succeeds in merging these tracks, Lebanon becomes a permanent veto point over nuclear progress. The 60-day window does not simply expire; it becomes hostage to a regional stability condition that neither Washington nor Tehran fully controls. The window could collapse not on the nuclear merits but on a Hezbollah-Israel exchange that neither party authorized. The deeper flaw of the memorandum is therefore not what it defers — enrichment, verification, sanctions — but what it assumes: that a bilateral agreement can be insulated from a multilateral theater. It cannot, and the actors who will ultimately decide whether this 60-day window survives are not the ones who signed it. – The Hill
Gulf States
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a U.S. base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia is on course to deliver more jet fuel to Europe this month than it did when the Strait of Hormuz was open, data from shipping trackers Kpler and Vortexa shows, underscoring the importance of Saudi’s bolstered exports via the Red Sea. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to next week’s G7 leaders’ summit, according to two government officials and two individuals from the private sector who have been briefed on the plans. – Politico
Middle East & North Africa
The European Union is betting that the future of its energy system lies under the North African sun. On Tuesday, the European Commission pledged €5 billion of EU money to renewables projects in North Africa and the Middle East, which could feed electricity back into Europe’s grid. – Politico
A cargo vessel reported being approached by a small craft carrying six armed people about 88 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Balhaf on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. – Jerusalem Post
Erfan Fard writes: The region is no longer simply confronting the consequences of another conflict with Iran. It is confronting the exhaustion of an entire regional order born in 1979, an order that transformed revolution into foreign policy, normalized confrontation as a governing principle, and converted instability into a mechanism of survival. Whether the Middle East can move beyond that model will ultimately determine not only the future of Iran, but the future equilibrium of the entire region. – Arutz Sheva
Korean Peninsula
The Chinese leader’s visit comes at a pivotal moment for both countries. China is seeking to reassert its influence as North Korea’s largest trading partner and closest ally, looking to counterbalance Mr. Kim’s recent drift toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. – New York Times
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up on Tuesday his first visit to North Korea in seven years, saying it had established a deeper, more comprehensive understanding yielding a clearer path for development of ties, the official Xinhua news agency said. – Reuters
The EU is looking for international friends at a time of rising global turmoil, and South Korea fits the bill — with a top-level meeting set for Wednesday to cement tech, defense and industrial ties. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet with Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa for over two hours — the first such summit in three years. – Politico
David W. Wang writes: Trump cannot force Kim to give up his nuclear weapons through sheer force of personality or economic pressure alone. Instead, it is a long game for the U.S. to play — betting that Kim Jong Un will eventually discover his regime’s greatest threat is not an invasion from the outside but a slow, inevitable dismantlement from within. – Washington Examiner
Olivia Vassalotti writes: Russia did not create the shadow fleet playbook. Instead, it scaled one whose effectiveness North Korea previously demonstrated. Without structural changes to registry incentives and enforcement, shadow fleets will continue to grow in scale and sophistication, while the effectiveness of sanctions remains limited. – War on the Rocks
China
To the outside world, Xi Jinping appears invincible, with leaders from across the globe jetting to China one after another. But within its borders, his never-ending political purges are betraying that confidence. – Wall Street Journal
Taiwan fired U.S. mobile missile launchers into the strategic waters directly facing China for the first time on Wednesday, sending a message of resolve to Beijing and Washington. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump’s warming with Xi Jinping of China, a leader he admires, has ignited anxieties in Washington and across Asia. After meeting with China’s top diplomat in Malaysia last summer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio uttered a line that made few waves at the time but would later help pave the way for an abrupt change. – New York TImes
Chinese coast guard ships operating around Taiwan in recent days have been “harassing” commercial shipping by asking them information about their point of origin and destination and claiming jurisdiction, Taiwan’s coast guard said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The Philippines urged China to remove a structure that has been placed on the Scarborough Shoal, saying it violates its obligations under a declaration on conduct in the region. – Reuters
Karishma Vaswani writes: Xi also has an opportunity to position China as the indispensable broker in any future talks between President Donald Trump and Kim, a prospect the US leader has repeatedly signaled that he’s interested in pursuing. There’s a chance for Xi to do this on the sidelines of APEC later this year, which China is hosting. Beijing’s influence isn’t just about managing an unpredictable neighbor. It’s about ensuring that any diplomatic breakthrough on the peninsula runs through China. – Bloomberg
Ely Ratner and Nick Danby write: The United States has navigated great-power rivalries before, but never by competing with one hand tied behind its back, leaving its adversary’s vulnerabilities largely untouched. China is squarely focused on this century-defining competition. It has grown more confident in testing the United States, punishing U.S. friends, and turning American dependencies into bargaining chips. Meeting that challenge requires a U.S. strategy that pairs domestic renewal with competitive leverage. Together, these reinforcing efforts will help Washington tilt the competition in the United States’ favor. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
At least 13 people were killed, including 11 children, after Pakistan’s military launched air strikes in three Afghan provinces, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Wednesday, in a renewal of a conflict that has killed hundreds this year. – Reuters
Afghan security officials dispersed a women’s rights protest in the western province of Herat on Tuesday that started after Taliban morality police detained women accused of violating mandatory dress rules, residents said. – Reuters
Cities and towns across Pakistan-administered Kashmir were brought to a standstill on Tuesday after protesters clashed with security forces ahead of a general strike called by a recently banned alliance of civil society groups. – Reuters
Previously sealed court documents are shedding light for the first time on the reasons behind the arrest of a senior Afghan diplomat in the United States. Raheem Peerzada, who also goes by the name Mohammed Rahim Wahidi, was detained by U.S. immigration officers on March 30, 2025, at Washington Dulles International Airport. – Politico
Asia
Philippine foreign minister Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Wednesday that she intends to meet ethnic groups from Myanmar in the coming days to learn about the situation and seek solutions. – Reuters
More than 5,500 Myanmar refugees living in camps along Thailand’s border have found jobs since Bangkok eased employment curbs last year, an approach that offers a regional example, a senior U.N. refugee official told Reuters. – Reuters
The Philippines intends to pursue talks on maritime borders with Japan despite opposition from Beijing, according to Manila’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro. – Bloomberg
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim agreed to further cooperation on defense and energy supplies, an alignment based on common concerns over China’s maritime claims and the economic disruptions from the Iran war. – Bloomberg
Baku has rejected recent reporting that Israel deployed elite military and intelligence units in Azerbaijan as part of a network of covert sites used to facilitate operations against Iran, calling the claim “entirely baseless” and saying it has never allowed its territory to be used for military operations, intelligence activities, or hostile purposes against another state. – Jerusalem Post
Howard Chua-Eoan writes: By the early 2000s, Japan’s collapsing birth rate had reduced the number of young people struggling for placement and advancement. As the crowds dispelled, so did a lot of the madness. A declining population alleviates pressure even as it brings its own problems — for example, the increased cost of caring for aging and less productive generations. And regardless, it does not give Beijing, Seoul and New Delhi a here-and-now solution. Young people will always be impatient. And that will be a test their governments will have to work hard to pass. – Bloomberg
Europe
The red alert came from a crisis control room buried under the Lithuanian capital. It sent the president, prime minister, mayor, school children and hundreds of thousands of other residents racing to underground shelters for cover from a fast approaching drone. – New York Times
Germany has pulled out of a plan to build a new European-made fighter jet with France and Spain, the German government said on Tuesday, most likely scuttling the project and dealing a blow to European efforts to rearm and become less dependent on American-made weaponry. – New York Times
Greece’s parliament approved legislation late on Tuesday to fast-track deportation of rejected asylum seekers and allow their transfer to “return hubs” outside the bloc once bilateral agreements are reached with third countries. – Reuters
Masked men burned families out of their homes in Belfast in a wave of anti-immigrant violence on Tuesday night after a Sudanese man was charged over a knife attack, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill said. – Reuters
Pope Leo’s visit to Spain’s Canary Islands, which have struggled to absorb a surge in irregular migration over the past decade, will focus attention on the treatment of migrants, local Catholic leaders said. – Reuters
Britain said on Tuesday that a law to crack down on proxies acting for states deemed to be hostile such as Iran was expected to come into force next month, as it steps up powers to counter what it says is a growing threat posed by such groups. – Reuters
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s administration has filed legislation to unlock funds the European Union had blocked over concerns about corruption and rule of law under former leader Viktor Orban. – Bloomberg
The UK Treasury continues to resist a push to speed up an increase in defense spending, just days out from unveiling the country’s long-delayed military investment plan. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The country could also reduce its dependence on imported labor through retraining and policies that keep older workers employed longer, to increase domestic workforce participation. As in the US and elsewhere, Switzerland’s immigrants are key contributors to its success story. The engineering, pharma, financial and research clusters that underpin Swiss prosperity depend on attracting the best and brightest from around the world. Whatever challenges the country faces, shutting down that pipeline isn’t the answer. – Bloomberg
Lionel Laurent writes: One positive step could be integrating this new breed of nimble drone startups into the established supply chains dominated by Europe’s biggest defense companies. This could be done via contracts that offer backing for largescale production and export partnerships. It’s an effort worth making. A century on from the wars dominated by fighter jets that led to the rise of Dassault and the companies that eventually made up Airbus, the new era of drones and AI warfare will require new industrial networks of its own. – Bloomberg
Africa
Kenyan police shot dead a protester as hundreds of people staged new demonstrations on Tuesday against a quarantine centre, opens new tab in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola, eye witnesses and a protest leader told Reuters. – Reuters
At least 12 people were killed and nine injured on Tuesday evening when gunmen opened fire at an informal settlement in Cleveland, east of Johannesburg, police said on Wednesday. – Reuters
South Africa plans to add to its automotive incentive programme minerals used in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries to boost local EV production and support related supply chains. – Reuters
A Tunisian court sentenced prominent journalist Khaoula Boukrim to four years in prison in absentia, she said on Tuesday, in a ruling critics say highlights a growing crackdown on critical voices and free speech under President Kais Saied. – Reuters
Nearly a month into one of the world’s largest ever Ebola outbreaks, medics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to secure basic equipment to stay safe and prevent further spread of the disease, according to more than a dozen doctors, humanitarian workers and public health officials. – Reuters
A Congolese military court has sentenced an army colonel to death for taking part in a conspiracy to murder two U.N. experts in central Congo nearly a decade ago, in a case that continues to raise questions about state involvement. – Reuters
Mozambique is pushing to restore direct budget support from the World Bank as part of a broader macroeconomic stabilisation drive, its finance minister said on Tuesday, as the country hosted simultaneous high-level visits from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. – Reuters
The IMF on Tuesday warned of risks surrounding Nigeria’s plan to borrow up to $5 billion through a derivatives agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank, saying such transactions are often opaque and complex. – Reuters
The US said it has killed about 200 Islamic State-linked fighters in Nigeria since operations began in the West African nation. – Bloomberg
The Americas
Peru’s roller coaster presidential election remains too close too call with conservative Keiko Fujimori losing some of her gains from earlier in the day amid a boost in local markets on Tuesday. – Reuters
Brazilian aviation regulator ANAC expects its U.S. counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration, to certify the Boeing 737 MAX 10 this year and will work quickly to validate the decision locally, agency head Tiago Faierstein told Reuters. – Reuters
Protesters in Bolivia demanding the resignation of conservative President Rodrigo Paz hurled firecrackers, stones and sticks at police who responded with tear gas on Monday, leading to dozens of arrests as road blockades continue to paralyze the Andean nation. – Associated Press
North America
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has captured global attention by championing the idea of an alliance of mid-level economic powers that would operate beyond President Donald Trump’s increasingly protectionist United States. – Reuters
Alberta is touting its abundant supply of cheap fossil fuels to entice tech companies to build data centers for the AI boom, a move that would undermine Canada’s plan to link new data center development with clean energy expansion. – Reuters
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday as the Trump administration continues to demand drastic reforms by the communist government in Havana. – Bloomberg
United States
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said retaliatory measures from Canada on U.S. products are a major hurdle thwarting talks between the two countries on a renewed trade pact. – Wall Street Journal
The House on Tuesday narrowly passed a $70 billion budget package, ending a four-month lapse in funding for immigration enforcement agencies and capping a fight that exposed tensions between President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. – Washington Post
The Trump administration has told the exiled Belarus opposition of a delay in its efforts to get President Alexander Lukashenko to free more political prisoners, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Reuters. – Reuters
NASA named three U.S. astronauts and an Italian astronaut on Tuesday to serve as the crew for its next Artemis mission, a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth’s orbit next year that will test moon landers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for the first time in space. – Reuters
The Trump administration has called on European nations to follow Washington’s lead and impose travel restrictions on people who have recently been in Central African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak, in hopes of avoiding the spread of the virus during the soccer World Cup, sources and officials said on Tuesday. – Reuters
A judge urged the Trump administration to back off its appeal of his order to fully refund $166 billion in tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court, saying it was unnecessary and would only create more delays for importers to get their money back. – Bloomberg
Senate Republican Leader John Thune urged President Donald Trump to nominate a permanent national intelligence director to expedite congressional renewal of US spy agencies’ broad electronic surveillance authority. – Bloomberg
Peter A. Garretson and Richard M. Harrison write: By next week, the Department of Defense and intelligence community should have an actionable plan to deal with this gargantuan problem — or at least the start of one. Congress needs to stand ready to resource it. Moreover, as we have recommended, it should catalyze investments in space traffic management models, commercial “what if” agreements, radiation remediation technology, radiation-hardened replenishment, and long-term investments in an in-space industrial base above the threat. Putting such a plan in place is a necessary start. But it will necessitate political will and resolute action on the part of the U.S. government. Otherwise, we risk being left in the dark. – The Hill
Paul J. Saunders writes: If the United States begins adapting to dealing with two dozen middle powers, which does not require fully transforming American diplomacy because the middle powers are themselves beginning long-term processes, it could build a new and different leadership role among them. This will be a tougher coalition management challenge for the United States, but it could produce a stronger coalition in areas where the group aligns well. If we fail, future presidents and Americans are likely to find themselves increasingly frustrated by mounting costs and complications and decreasing opportunities in the world outside US borders. – National Interest
Cybersecurity
The worldwide surge in demand for artificial intelligence is driving a wave of exports from China, keeping the world’s second-largest economy humming despite turmoil from the war in Iran. – Wall Street Journal
Tech firms in Britain will need to have plans to respond to surges in illegal content during crises such as the 2024 Southport riots which threaten public safety under strengthened rules set out by the regulator on Tuesday. – Reuters
Samsung Electronics is considering the construction of an advanced semiconductor packaging facility in the southwestern South Korean city of Gwangju, the Korea Economic Daily said on Tuesday. – Reuters
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to announce a ban on under-16s using social media within days after his position hardened following parents’ response to a government consultation. – Bloomberg
The European Commission ordered Meta on Tuesday to give competing artificial intelligence assistants free access to WhatsApp, a rare emergency intervention that will stay in force until it completes an antitrust investigation into the company. – Politico
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman warned that Israel’s cyber-preparedness gaps before and during the Israel-Hamas War amounted to a “comprehensive and significant warning,” according to a report published on Tuesday on the state’s readiness for cyber incidents and its wartime performance. – Jerusalem Post
Steven E. Koonin writes: The actors of greatest concern are state-sponsored programs outside any Western framework and the global community of open-source researchers. They are entirely beyond the reach of any executive order signed in Washington. The president’s instinct to pull the original order was correct. The challenge is to build on that decision by designing policy around who leads at the AI frontier, under what conditions of transparency, and with what resilience against misuse, rather than premised on controlling something that can’t be controlled. – Wall Street Journal
Catherine Thorbecke writes: Chinese citizens’ embrace of AI in the face of high youth unemployment may look contradictory to US eyes. Yet underlying it is a fear of being left behind — a palpable anxiety in both countries […] A DeepSeek senior researcher gave a rare warning last year that a mark of success for this AI revolution “is that it replaces the vast majority of human jobs.” The nation that “wins” the race might not be the one that automates the most jobs, but that figures out what comes afterward. China’s plan is flawed, but Washington’s is non-existent. – Bloomberg
Jacob Mchangama writes: Governments concerned with both can protect user privacy and encourage crowd-sourced fact checking and transparent platform design that empowers users rather than the platforms themselves. They can enforce existing laws against fraud, incitement, and child exploitation without building a new censorship infrastructure. They can, in short, take the 2012 resolution at its word by protecting human rights online instead of extending government control into the digital public square. – Foreign Affairs
Defense
The newest Patriot surface-to-air missiles can be fired in seconds, but take more than two years to build and cost around $4 million each. Despite that math, the U.S. and its allies can’t get enough of them. – Wall Street Journal
In the latest sign that unmanned vehicles are an increasingly pivotal part of a modern military, a drone boat rescued the two-person crew from the U.S. Apache helicopter gunship that went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command said. – New York Times
The Pentagon’s planned energy depot in the Philippines will be able to refuel the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyers and Combat Logistics Force ships, according to new documents. – USNI News
Mary Bridges writes: The shipbuilding industry did not have to die. Policymakers allowed it to collapse because the political consensus trusted the markets to sort everything out. The markets did their sorting, and China won. Reversing the decline will be expensive and time-consuming, but inaction—and the wrong actions—will cost even more. Seen in that light, the question has less to do with whether the United States can afford to create public shipyards—it’s more about whether it can afford not to. – Foreign Policy