Hostage Deal Inches Closer

Israel and Hamas are inching toward a new deal that would free some of the roughly 130 hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a weekslong pause in the war, now in its fifth month, as the AP reports.

North Korean Factories Making Arms for Russia are Operating at Full Capacity

North Korea’s munitions factories are “operating at full capacity” to produce weapons and shells for Russia, according to South Korea’s defense minister, as CNN reports.

Navalny Funeral Planned for Friday

Aleksei Navalny will be buried on Friday after a funeral service in Moscow that will be open to the public, his family and aides said on Wednesday, while warning that the authorities could try to prevent people from attending or force the service to be called off, as the NYT reports.

Executive Education

Wondering how you can build an effective network in Washington? Join CSIS experts March 18-21, 2024, at CSIS for "Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People," to examine Washington’s complicated policy landscape and learn how to invest in the relationships and build the coalitions needed for success. Register here by March 4.

Audio Briefs

CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers, and commentaries—in their own words.

Listen here: "Green Industrial Policy: A Holistic Approach" with CSIS's Ilaria Mazzocco.

In That Number

10,000

North Korea’s munitions factories are “operating at full capacity” to produce weapons and shells for Russia, and in a fact sheet released Friday, the U.S. State Department said North Korea has delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions or related materials to Russia since September.
Source: CNN

Critical Quote

“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter. So, I stand before you today…to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”

—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

iDeas Lab

LNG exports have grown considerably and will likely exceed consumption by domestic sectors. Future exports could surpass consumption in the power sector as the largest destination for domestic production. Read the full analysis here.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Jose Colon/Anadolu/Getty Images.) A view of a damaged administrative government building from the shelling in the city center after the Russian army fired four ballistic missiles at different buildings in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on February 28, 2024.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics hosts a discussion on China's economy and a potential economic crisis.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development discusses Russia’s religious persecution in Ukraine.

Earlier, at 11:00 a.m., the Wilson Center hosts Ecuador’s interior minister, Mónica Palencia, to discuss Ecuador’s security strategy.

Video

Earlier this month, CSIS's Jon B. Alterman testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the Houthi threat to Middle East stability and shipping in the region. See what he told Congress, in about two minutes.

Podcasts

Chris Miller, author of Chip War: the Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, joins the podcast to discuss Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo's CHIPS Act announcement and how the semiconductor landscape has changed since Chip War was published.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

If you drive around Los Angeles listing to Joe Walsh, you get instant smiles all around.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.