March 18, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Israel resumed large-scale airstrikes across Gaza overnight, saying attacks would continue “with increasing severity” until Hamas agrees to extend Phase 1 of the Gaza cease-fire and continues to exchange hostages for prisoners. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 400 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli airstrikes. [more]
• Following Israel’s resumption of large-scale airstrikes in Gaza, reports cite senior Hamas officials as saying the Israeli action amounts to a “death sentence” for remaining Hamas-held hostages. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1118 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to speak today regarding a potential cease-fire in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that in addition to the war in Ukraine there are a “large number of questions” about normalizing relations between the U.S. and Russia. [more]
• Increased economic pressure on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine is expected to be among the main topics of discussion today when E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas meets with U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy and Defense Minister John Healey today in London. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has given the Trump administration until noon today to submit a sworn statement detailing the actions and timeline of the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members on Saturday despite Boasberg’s order blocking deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which President Trump invoked earlier Saturday. [more]

DOGE | George Moose, the now-former head of the congressionally funded independent nonprofit U.S. Institute of Peace, says legal action will be taken after Department of Government Efficiency workers, accompanied by police, entered the institute’s building yesterday despite protests that the institute is not part of the executive branch. [more]

TEXAS | Attorney General Ken Paxton announced yesterday that Texas has filed criminal charges for the first time under the state’s near-total abortion ban law, accusing a Houston-area midwife of providing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | Amidst ongoing U.S.-Canada trade tensions, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said yesterday that Tesla vehicles will no longer be eligible for her city’s financial incentives toward the purchase of electric vehicles for use as taxis or ride-shares. [more]

GLOBAL HIV | World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said yesterday that the U.S. foreign aid pause imposed by the Trump administration could “undo 20 years of progress” due to disruptions in HIV programs, leading to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths. [more]

EUROPEAN SECURITY | Citing increased Russian threats to front-line NATO nations, the defense ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia said in a joint statement today that they have recommended their countries withdraw from the 1999 Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of antipersonnel land mines. [more]

PERU | Peruvian President Dina Boluarte declared a 30-day state of emergency in the capital city of Lima yesterday amidst a surge in violence that has seen a reported 459 killings in the city since January 1. [more]

GERMANY | Amidst calls for increased defense and security spending, Germany’s lower house of parliament is scheduled to vote today on measures that would ease constitutionally enshrined borrowing rules to allow higher spending on security and set up a 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund. [more]

HONDURAS | Emergency officials say at least 12 people died yesterday evening in the crash of a Jetstream 32 aircraft off the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Reports say five people aboard the aircraft were rescued and one other person remains missing. [more]

SWITZERLAND | Swiss authorities say a small plane headed for Denmark crashed shortly after takeoff yesterday in Switzerland’s Graubuenden canton, killing all three people aboard the aircraft. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. [more]

SPAIN | Occupants of more than 350 homes near the southern Spain city of Malaga have been ordered to evacuate amidst flooding and continued flash flood risks brought on by heavy rains. [more]

SPACE | U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are headed back to Earth today after a nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station. The two were supposed to have been aboard the station for only a week, but their return was delayed due to issues with the Boeing spacecraft on which they went into orbit. [more]

GOLF | Rory McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun in a three-hole playoff yesterday to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The win was McIlroy’s 39th career victory. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1766, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act of 1765 after violent protests by American colonists, including a group known as the Sons of Liberty. [more history]