March 5, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Arab League leaders meeting in Cairo yesterday endorsed a $53 billion Egyptian plan for post-war Gaza that would see its roughly 2 million Palestinians remain in the territory during a years-long rebuilding process. U.S. and Israeli officials characterized the plan as unworkable and reiterated their support for a proposal by President Donald Trump to depopulate the Palestinian enclave and rebuild it as a resort destination. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1105 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that his country is prepared to begin cease-fire talks to end the fighting with Russia and indicated his willingness to work toward a mineral rights agreement with the United States. The letter came just a day after the U.S. announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine – a move widely condemned by the U.S.’ European allies. [more]
• In an interview yesterday, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe said the U.S. has paused all intelligence support to Ukraine amidst ongoing efforts to pressure Kyiv to move forward with cease-fire and peace initiatives. [more]

U.S. AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL | President Donald Trump announced yesterday that Muhammed Sharifullah, a suspected senior planner of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has been taken into custody and is being brought to the United States to face charges. Reports say Sharifullah was arrested late last month on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan by Pakistani authorities. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | U.S. stock markets fell sharply for a second day in a row yesterday following the imposition of new tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China. Mexico joined Canada and China in announcing retaliatory tariffs, while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico could be announced as early as today. [more]

U.S. JUDICIAL THREATS | Reuters cites interviews with numerous federal judges as revealing that U.S. Marshals have warned judges of unusually high threat levels amidst legal challenges to the policies and directives of the Trump administration and rulings that supporters of the Trump actions see as standing in the way of policy implementations. [more]

U.S. TRANSGENDER | Baltimore-based U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson yesterday extended a nationwide block on enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive orders that halt funding for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19 while a lawsuit challenging the orders plays out in court. [more]

U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | The Associated Press cites unnamed government sources as saying the Trump administration is drafting plans to cut the Internal Revenue Service’s 90,000-person workforce by as much as 50% through a combination of layoffs, attrition, and incentivized buyouts. [more]

LOUISIANA | Reports cite Trump administration sources as saying the Justice Department is planning to drop a federal lawsuit against synthetic rubber manufacturer Denka that was accused under the Biden administration of worsening cancer risks for residents in a majority-Black community near the company’s plant in LaPlace, Louisiana. [more]

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS | In his speech before a joint session of Congress last night, President Donald Trump reiterated many of his campaign themes and touted what he sees as the accomplishments of the first weeks of his second term in office. Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trump’s speech. [full Trump speech transcript] [full Slotkin response transcript] [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say 18 people were killed, and more than 40 others were injured, yesterday when a militant group linked with the Pakistani Taliban carried out suicide bombings and assaulted a military base in the city of Bannu. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Philippine military officials say the wreckage of an FA-50 fighter jet that lost communication during a combat mission yesterday has been located and that the bodies of its two pilots were found near the wreckage. The cause of the jet’s crash remains under investigation. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Residents are preparing today for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred along Australia’s eastern coast. The storm, which is expected to be the first in 51 years to make landfall near the city of Brisbane, is forecast to arrive late Thursday or early Friday. [more]

CHINA | The annual parliamentary session of China’s National People’s Congress opened today with announcements of higher defense spending, continued efforts toward an annual economic growth rate of about 5%, a focus on increasing domestic consumption, and investments in artificial intelligence research and development. [more]

GERMANY | Reports say the political parties hoping to form Germany's next coalition government have agreed to create a new 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund and to ease restrictions on government borrowing as part of plans to revive Europe's largest economy. [more]

BASKETBALL | In a 136-115 win over New Orleans last night, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 total career points. [more]

FOOTBALL | The Philadelphia Eagles have reportedly signed running back Saquon Barkley to a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. [more]

ARCHITECTURE | Liu Jiakun of China has been named the winner of the annual Pritzker Architecture Prize – the field’s highest honor. In an interview with the Associated Press, Liu, 68, said that “the task of architects is to provide a better living environment for human beings...But if it is just like that, it cannot be called architecture. (So) you have to provide poetry.” [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1946, in a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill popularized the term “Iron Curtain”—describing the separation of the Soviet Union and its eastern and central European allies from Western nations. [more history]