Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
UK suspends trade talks with Israel over new Gaza offensive WSJ Editorial: Humanitarian aid returns to Gaza—and Hamas Iran faces U.S. without Plan B as nuclear red lines collide New intelligence suggests Israel is preparing possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, US officials say Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU as US wavers CNAS’ Andrea Kendall-Taylor: The war in Ukraine is not as far away as Trump thinks U.S. eased Syria sanctions over fears of imminent collapse, Rubio says North Korean defectors urge the UN to hold the country’s leader accountable for rights abuses Pentagon chief orders 'comprehensive review' into 2021 US Afghanistan withdrawal CEPA’s Maciej Bukowski: Poland’s electoral map moves rightward Venezuela frees U.S. Air Force veteran in overture to Trump Trump selects $175 billion Golden Dome defense shield design, appoints leaderIn The News
Israel
Mounting pressure from Israel’s allies including the U.S. to wrap up the war in Gaza is confronting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a dilemma: end the conflict and risk the collapse of his government, or plow on and sacrifice international support. – Wall Street Journal
Britain on Tuesday paused free trade talks with Israel, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers as its foreign minister condemned a “monstrous” military escalation in Gaza. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it agreed with Israel to allow delivery of urgent humanitarian aid from the Gulf country to Gaza, the state news agency WAM reported. – Reuters
A U.S.-backed organization aims to start work in the Gaza Strip by the end of May overseeing a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave, but the United Nations says the plan is not impartial or neutral, and it won’t be involved. – Reuters
The parents of Vyacheslav (Vladi) Golev, a security guard who was murdered at a checkpoint, submitted a unilateral request on Tuesday to seize funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA). – Jerusalem Post
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir revealed on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had offered him the position of foreign minister, but he declined. – Jerusalem Post
Yarden Bibas revealed that during his captivity in Gaza, he asked former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to allow him to stay with his best friend, David Cunio, he told N12 in an interview aired on Tuesday, a day before Cunio’s 35th birthday. – Jerusalem Post
Hamas is refusing to agree to a deal based on the Witkoff proposal, despite Israel’s agreement to the deal, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday evening. – Jerusalem Post
Matan Zangauker, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for more than a year and a half, is reportedly suffering from severe physical and psychological deterioration, according to information revealed by his family on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a situational assessment in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, after which he called on the Israeli public to “support and unite around our IDF soldiers” in order to achieve the goals of the war. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday evening that after a week of “intensive” hostage talks in Doha, high-level members of Israel’s negotiating team have been recalled to Israel, while a number of working-level representatives will remain in the Qatari capital. – Times of Israel
The Israeli military is prepared to capture more territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not agree to release the remaining hostages it is keeping in captivity, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned in a video statement on Tuesday. – Times of Israel
The US is “pleased” by Israel’s decision to lift its 78-day blockade on humanitarian assistance for Gaza but recognizes that the small handful of trucks that have entered the Strip so far are insufficient, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. – Times of Israel
Authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of two Israeli citizens suspected of conducting intelligence-gathering missions on behalf of Iran in the town of Kfar Ahim — where Defense Minister Israel Katz resides — in what officials say is the most recent case in a widening Iranian espionage campaign inside Israel. – Times of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced their intention to demolish the home of Samer Mohammed Ahmed Hussein, the terrorist who opened fire on an Israeli bus at the Gitti Avisar Junction, near Ariel in Samaria on November 29, 2024. – Arutz Sheva
Police are investigating two incidents Tuesday involving suspicious powder-filled envelopes sent to government ministers within a few hours. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: The U.N. complaint is that the new aid mechanism won’t initially reach every part of Gaza. Maybe so, but the answer is to help it get started and scale up, not to resign oneself to aiding Hamas’s war effort. More than 90 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. Ceasing to supply the terrorists is the least that humanitarians can do toward the goal of peace. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: Trump’s desire for peace is laudable, but his apparent ingratiating approach to Arab nations is not. Nor is his eagerness for a quick peace deal in Gaza, for it undermines Israel’s priority of achieving a lasting victory over Hamas by destroying its military capabilities. Every effort must be taken to ensure that civilian casualties are reduced. But the United States must never fall under the mistaken assumption that anyone other than Hamas is responsible for the suffering of innocents in Gaza. They could end this all tomorrow by returning every hostage and surrendering. Israel has every right to press forward until then. – Washington Examiner
Editorial: The proof in the pudding that the warnings by the three countries were misguided and damaging was the immediate reaction by the terrorist group, which “welcomed the joint statement issued by the leaders of Britain, France, and Canada, rejecting the policy of siege and starvation pursued by the occupation government against our people in the Gaza Strip, and the Zionist plans aimed at genocide and displacement […]Perhaps when terrorists who committed the worst massacre of the century agree with you, it is time to recalibrate your beliefs. – Jerusalem Post
Ehud Yaari writes: Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza was designed with significant pauses in mind to allow for phased implementation of a deal. Thus, U.S. officials could enlist Arab governments to publicly support deportation arrangements even amid the new fighting, pressuring all parties to speed up the bargaining process. If successful, such efforts could soon produce a framework of agreed principles and a viable ceasefire, enabling the parties to launch the initial stages of a broader postwar deal. – Washington Institute
Iran
British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Tuesday a Panama-flagged and UAE-linked products tanker was reportedly interdicted approximately 51 nautical miles northwest of the Iranian port of Bandar-e jesk. – Reuters
While rising U.S.-Iran tensions over Tehran’s uranium enrichment jeopardize nuclear talks, three Iranian sources said on Tuesday that the clerical leadership lacks a clear fallback plan if efforts to resolve a decades-long dispute collapse. – Reuters
A man charged over a fatal shooting at Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, was executed on Wednesday, Iran’s judiciary news outlet Mizan said. – Reuters
Iran’s parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties including closer defence cooperation. – Reuters
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN. – CNN
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed Monday the relief in Tehran when it confirmed that Israel was not behind the helicopter crash last year that killed then-Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and several members of his entourage. – Times of Israel
The Islamic Republic is reportedly prepared to snub proposed nuclear talks this weekend, as a widening gap between Washington and Tehran threatens to end nuclear diplomacy. Is President Trump’s threat that “something bad” will happen next on the Iranian horizon? – New York Sun
Ahmad Obali writes: For decades, Azerbaijan’s kin in Iran have endured cultural erasure and persecution. Iran is vulnerable, reeling from the collapse of its Syrian puppet, Bashar al-Assad, and the severe degradation of Hezbollah following its recent conflict with Israel. A wave of internal dissent is the last thing the regime can afford. Azerbaijan and its other strategic levers offer a way to impose costs, offering a rare opportunity to squeeze Iran at a moment of acute fragility. – National Interest
Russia and Ukraine
The Trump administration has devised plans to spend up to $250 million earmarked for foreign assistance to fund instead the removal and return of people from active conflict zones, including 700,000 Ukrainian and Haitian migrants who fled to the United States amid extreme, ongoing violence back home, according to draft internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. – Washington Post
Ukraine will ask the EU next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, as U.S. President Donald Trump has backed off from tightening sanctions. – Reuters
Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had to decide whether or not it would cooperate in discussing a memorandum ahead of a potential future peace accord that Moscow has discussed with the United States. – Reuters
A Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military shooting range killed six servicemen and wounded at least 10 more during training on Tuesday, Ukraine’s national guard said on Wednesday, adding that the commander of the unit had been suspended. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the western Kursk region for the first time since Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month. – Reuters
Russia has released a Greek-owned oil tanker which was detained in Russian waters on Sunday after leaving an Estonian port, and the vessel has resumed its journey towards the Dutch port of Rotterdam, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
The EU and Britain announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday without waiting for Washington to join them, a day after President Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin brought about neither a ceasefire in Ukraine nor fresh U.S. sanctions. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a possible prisoner exchange involving nine people from each side during a phone call on Monday, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. – Reuters
President Donald Trump thinks Russia will likely walk away from Ukraine peace talks if the US threatens more sanctions, according to his top diplomat, supporting the White House’s decision not to pressure Moscow despite its resistance to a ceasefire – Bloomberg
Editorial: The strategic stakes are large for Mr. Trump and the U.S. Anyone who thinks Ukraine is some quarrel in a far away country should note the satellite images recently showing that Mr. Putin is reinforcing military bases on Russia’s border with Finland. The Russian may lack the military to confront NATO—for now—but he will capitalize on a victory in Ukraine by probing for vulnerabilities across Europe. – Wall Street Journal
Andrea Kendall-Taylor writes: Mr. Putin expects Russia will again find itself in opposition to the United States. That means Moscow will look to exploit this moment to make gains that would be difficult for a future U.S. president to reverse, like a subjugated Ukraine and undermining the credibility of NATO’s commitment to collective defense. The war in Ukraine may be being fought across an ocean, but if the Trump administration chooses not to invest in resisting Russia now, Americans will pay a greater cost down the line. – New York Times
James Stavridis writes: Smaller recent exercises have revealed infrastructure problems — particularly with highways, bridges and rail lines — that NATO has been working to remedy, especially in the newer Eastern European members. So much of war depends on getting the right troops, transportation and ordnance together at the point of attack. A new Reforger could demonstrate that vital ability — right in front of Vladimir Putin’s nose. – Bloomberg
Marc Champion writes: Ukraine’s defense can and should viewed as a catalyst to accelerate European security, not a hurdle. It takes an optimist to think the continent’s leaders will look beyond parochial debates to make that happen, but no more so than to believe that Ukrainians would be able to defeat Russia’s initial assault on Kyiv in February 2022. – Bloomberg
Collin Meisel and Mathew Burrows write: Russia’s economy has and will continue to face strains. Amid these strains, we can expect some analysts to continue to make dire predictions, arguing that Russian economic collapse is imminent. It is also plausible that Russia’s economy will continue to muddle through, with faster economic growth than much of Western Europe over the next few years. If so, the Russian military menace is unlikely to disappear any time soon. – War on the Rocks
Wally Adeyemo and David Shimer write: The war in Ukraine is at an inflection point: U.S. support for Kyiv is receding; Moscow is continuing its invasion, with the help of Beijing, Pyongyang, and Tehran; and Putin is betting that his position will improve with time. European countries can shift these dynamics, provide Ukraine with a lasting source of support, and persuade Putin to engage in meaningful negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that Ukraine “has no cards” in peace talks. But with Russia’s sovereign assets, Europe holds a card of its own. Now is the time to play it. – Foreign Affairs
Syria
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Syria was potentially weeks away from a return to full-scale civil war, a scenario the U.S. was seeking to avert when it abruptly reversed course last week on easing sanctions on Damascus. – Wall Street Journal
Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75% of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, threatening the food security of millions of people. – Reuters
The European Union will lift sanctions on Syria’s economy but keep those in place targeting the former Assad regime, the EU’s top diplomat announced Tuesday. – Associated Press
Turkey
Turkey is in talks with Canada’s Candu Energy and other companies regarding plans to build its second and third nuclear power plants, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said. – Reuters
U.S. oil producer Continental Resources estimates there is a shale oil reserve of 6.1 billion barrels in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir Basin, the Turkish energy minister said. – Reuters
The US and Turkey are committed to increasing cooperation and coordination on stability and security in Syria, as stated in a joint statement from both countries on Tuesday night. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
Qatar dismissed concerns about its offer to give U.S. President Donald Trump a Boeing plane, saying it was not trying to buy influence, a day after a bill was introduced in the Senate to prevent a foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One. – Reuters
Iraqi Kurdistan announced deals worth $110 billion over their lifetime with U.S. firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros on Tuesday, drawing swift opposition from Baghdad’s oil ministry which deemed them “null and void”. – Reuters
Qatar’s North Field East natural gas expansion project will begin production in mid-2026, QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi said in a statement on Tuesday. – Reuters
An Egyptian national who helped smuggle thousands of migrants into Europe from north Africa was on Tuesday jailed for 25 years in a London court. – Reuters
A member of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ delegation to Beirut told AFP on Tuesday that he will discuss the issue of weapons in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps during a three-day visit to the country this week. – Agence France-Presse
Korean Peninsula
South Korea pledged on Wednesday more support measures for key export industries such as biopharmaceuticals and autos, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs weigh on the trade-reliant economy. – Reuters
Eunju Kim, who escaped starvation in North Korea in 1999, was sent back from China and fled a second time, told the United Nations on Tuesday that the country’s leader must be held accountable for gross human rights violations. – Associated Press
The latest United States intelligence assessment indicates that nuclear-armed North Korea has strengthened its capabilities to conduct prolonged operations in defense of its territory. – Newsweek
South Korea’s first mass-produced KF-21 fighter aircraft has entered its final assembly phase, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced. – Janes
China
China will give an additional $500 million to the World Health Organization over five years, an official told the World Health Assembly on Tuesday, as the U.N. agency seeks extra funding to offset the expected loss of its top donor, the United States. – Reuters
China said it could take legal action against any individual or organisation assisting or implementing U.S. measures that advise companies against using advanced semiconductors from China. – Reuters
China welcomes and supports efforts by Pakistan and India to handle their differences through dialogue and to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. – Reuters
China’s CMOC Group, the world’s top cobalt mining company, called on Democratic Republic of Congo last week to lift a ban on exports of the battery metal, which is currently due to expire next month, three sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency said. – Reuters
China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to the European Union’s “unreasonable” sanctions on Chinese firms, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. – Reuters
China is concerned about a U.S. project to build the Golden Dome missile defence shield and urged Washington to abandon its development and deployment，a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Oriana Skylar Mastro and Brandon Yoder write: For many in Washington, deterrence has come to mean projecting an uncompromising and even hostile posture toward China. But such gestures do not meaningfully augment Taiwan’s security. Instead, the United States should invest quietly in its military readiness and capabilities, speak carefully, and maintain economic resilience and even some interdependence. The dilemma of deterrence—the fact that it can so easily slide into provocation or procrastination—necessitates such a tightrope approach. And if there’s one place where striking the right balance could pay enormous dividends, it’s Taiwan. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
Four children were killed in a blast targeting an army school bus in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province, a government official said on Wednesday. – Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “comprehensive review” on Tuesday of the United States’ chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, an evacuation operation in which 13 U.S. service members and 150 Afghans were killed at Kabul’s airport in an Islamic State bombing. – Reuters
Pakistan said on Wednesday it had agreed to deepen trade and investment with China, days after the end of a deadly conflict with India that Beijing urged should be resolved through dialogue. – Reuters
Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir will be promoted to the rank of field marshal, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, the first time in almost 60 years that a general has been elevated to the role. – Reuters
Asia
Coast Guard vessels of the Philippines and the United States have taken part for the first time in joint maritime exercises with naval and air force units in the contested South China Sea, Manila’s armed forces said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Tuesday he expects any bilateral meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on exchange rates to be based on their shared view that excessive currency volatility was undesirable. – Reuters
Infrastructure and energy are among issues France’s President Emmanuel Macron is expected to discuss with Vietnam’s leaders next week during a state visit to the former colony when dozens of deals may be signed, officials said. – Reuters
Vietnam’s Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien met officials of U.S. firms such as Excelerate Energy, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Google during a trip to Washington for tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, state media said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Europe
The European Union approved a new package of sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, targeting covert oil exports, days after the top E.U. official announced plans for a further set of even tougher restrictions. – New York Times
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Tuesday that Pope Leo had confirmed during a phone call with her his willingness to host in the Vatican the next round of negotiations to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. – Reuters
Britain announced wide-ranging new sanctions targeting Russia’s military, energy and financial sectors on Tuesday, ramping up pressure on Moscow in coordination with the European Union, which announced parallel measures. – Reuters
Over 80 editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition calling for the scrapping of legislation in Hungary that aims to restrict foreign-funded media and rights groups, a step critics say is meant to stifle criticism of the government. – Reuters
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not really being interested in peace in Ukraine, saying he was only playing for time in talks with the United States. – Reuters
Hungary’s parliament approved a bill on Tuesday that will start the country’s year-long withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court, which Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government said has become “political”. – Reuters
Polish authorities have indicted a man charged with planning to help Russian foreign intelligence services prepare a possible attempt to assassinate Ukraine’s president, prosecutors said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The European Union will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers. – Reuters
British anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon on Tuesday won a bid to trim his 18-month sentence for contempt of court, meaning he will be released from jail within a week. – Reuters
Poland’s two presidential hopefuls, who are seeking to broaden their appeal ahead of a June 1 run-off vote, received lists of demands on Tuesday from two far-right politicians who gained the support of more than a fifth of voters in Sunday’s first round. – Reuters
A series of closely fought elections, the war in Gaza and deepening political polarisation helped drive the number of politically motivated crimes in Germany to a record high last year, with an especially sharp growth in far-right violence. – Reuters
The European Union agreed Tuesday to provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet, accusing it of promoting a news agenda with a liberal bias. – Associated Press
Germany has offered to take the lead on joint European Union projects regarding air defense, land and marine systems, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Tuesday, as the bloc ramps up its own military deterrent to Russian aggression. – Bloomberg
Poland’s far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen has set out his conditions for endorsing one of the two candidates in a presidential election runoff on June 1 that include ruling out Ukraine’s membership in NATO. – Bloomberg
Spain will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the European Union and the Arab world in Madrid on May 25 as it seeks to ramp up diplomatic pressure on Israel to halt its latest offensive in Gaza. – Bloomberg
The Netherlands estimates it will need to boost defense spending by as much as €19 billion ($21.4 billion) a year to meet the expected new target for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. – Bloomberg
Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday approved leaving the International Criminal Court, which it calls “politically motivated,” becoming the third country after Burundi and the Philippines to take such a step. – Agence France Presse
Russia’s detention of a Greek-owned ship that departed from Estonia – days after Estonian forces tried to intercept a Russia-bound tanker – signals Moscow’s willingness to deploy military power more overtly to protect its shadow-fleet, a vital pillar of its war economy, experts say. – Defense News
Maciej Filip Bukowski writes: Poland’s presidential race is no longer simply a contest between right and center-left. The second round on June 1 will decide more than who holds the presidency. It will measure whether Polish democracy can still hold its institutional line against the pull of radicalization and fragmentation — key issues for European NATO, where Poland is a key defense player, and for the EU. What remains to be seen is whether the institutions of the republic, and the electorate at large, will draw a clear line between principled conservatism and the abyss that lies beyond. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Africa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa heads to the White House on Wednesday on a perilous mission to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to make deals with his country rather than scold and punish it as he has done since the start of his second term. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to raise several issues in a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, including seeking an exemption for U.S. companies from laws requiring equity ownership by disadvantaged groups, a White House official told Reuters. – Reuters
Tanzanian authorities arrested and later deported human rights activists from Kenya and Uganda who had travelled to Dar es Salaam to observe a hearing in the treason case against detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu, advocacy groups said. – Reuters
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to not let a group of migrants being flown to South Sudan leave the custody of U.S. immigration authorities after saying they appeared to have been deported in violation of a court order. – Reuters
Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday passed an amended law that permits military tribunals to try civilians, prompting protests from the opposition who said the move violated a Supreme Court ruling in January that banned such trials. – Reuters
Sudan said the United Arab Emirates was responsible for an attack on Port Sudan this month, accusing the Gulf state for the first time of direct military intervention in a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. – Reuters
Sudan’s military on Tuesday said it took full control of the Greater Khartoum region after a long-running battle against remnants of a paramilitary group in the region’s west and south. – Associated Press
Joel B. Pollak writes: Ramaphosa told reporters earlier Tuesday that he wants “a really good trade deal” with Trump, but as Breitbart News has noted, South Africa is not offering compromises on any issue Trump has flagged. – Breitbart
The Americas
Venezuela released an imprisoned U.S. Air Force veteran to American officials, a move Caracas hopes could improve bilateral relations and encourage the Trump administration to allow Western oil companies to continue operating. – Wall Street Journal
The registration window for candidates hoping to compete for Bolivia’s presidency in its August election expired on Tuesday, drawing a line under ex-President Evo Morales’ attempt at a fourth presidential term. – Reuters
El Salvador’s Congress passed a law on Tuesday that levies a 30% tax on transactions from foreign donors to local organizations in a crackdown on “foreign agents” that critics say will boost state control over non-governmental organizations. – Reuters
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial democracies will try to agree on policies to restore global growth and stability, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday, acknowledging that tensions over new U.S. tariffs would continue. – Reuters
Two top aides of Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada were shot dead after being ambushed by gunmen on a motorbike in a daytime attack in the city center on Tuesday. – Reuters
United States
Top military officials from the U.S. and its main Asia-Pacific allies warned that the threat of Chinese aggression is rising, pressuring Washington to find ways to work with partners in a region where American resources are greatly stretched. – Wall Street Journal
After three years of intensive negotiations, the World Health Organization on Tuesday adopted the world’s first agreement on how to cooperate and respond to future pandemics — without the support of the United States. – Washington Post
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Democrat Andrew Cuomo, a leading candidate for mayor of New York City, over Republican allegations that he lied to Congress about what he did as New York governor during the coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the number of visas he has revoked was probably in the thousands, adding that he believed there was still more to do. – Reuters
A top adviser to Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, acknowledged in a March 24 email that the Venezuelan government may not have specifically directed the activities of a gang that the Trump administration has used to justify fast-tracking deportations of immigrants, but argued that a link between Caracas and the gang was “common sense.” – Reuters
Cybersecurity
A Massachusetts college student has agreed to plead guilty to hacking cloud-based education software provider PowerSchool and stealing data pertaining to millions of students and teachers that hackers used to extort the company and school districts into paying ransoms. – Reuters
U.S. Department of Justice has opened a probe into a recent breach at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, the company said on Monday. – Reuters
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declined to provide specifics on what would be removed from the nation’s leading cybersecurity agency in light of the Trump administration’s proposed $491 million budget cut to the organization. – The Record
The government of Alabama says it has wrapped up the response to a cyberattack on state systems that was first identified about 10 days ago, and it won’t be offering further details about the nature of the incident. – The Record
Access to several major Russian state services was disrupted on Tuesday, reportedly due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack “originating from abroad.” – The Record
The Dutch government has approved a law criminalizing a broader range of espionage activities, including digital espionage, in an effort to protect national security, critical infrastructure and sensitive technologies. – The Record
Defense
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had selected a design for the $175-billion Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force general to head the ambitious program aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia. – Reuters
President Donald Trump vowed that a “Golden Dome” missile-defense shield should be “fully operational” by the end of his term, saying it would be able to protect the US from threats including ballistic missiles, hypersonics and advanced cruise missiles. – Bloomberg
Making a Qatar-gifted Boeing 747 secure enough to serve as a presidential aircraft will require “significant modifications,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Tuesday. – Defense News
General Atomics announced Monday that ground testing of its YFQ-42A began earlier this month, and the collaborative combat aircraft is expected to have its first flight this summer. – Defense News
The Marines are sticking with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, even as costs may rise following the Army’s decision to halt the program. – Defense News
Military casualty care in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars aimed to fly wounded troops to a hospital within “the golden hour.” But such quick medevacs are unrealistic in the vast Pacific. – Defense One
The Marines will practice Corps-level command and control, 21st-century foraging and air assault in a projection into the first island chain during an upcoming exercise in the Philippines. – USNI News