Lebanon’s new cabinet. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a deal Saturday to form the country’s first full-fledged cabinet in over two years. Following pressure by donor countries, namely the United States, Hezbollah and its allies control less than one-third of seats; they are thus unable to single-handedly block decisions requiring two-thirds approval. The new government’s priorities include financial reforms, reconstruction, and implementing a UN resolution about stability on the border with Israel, Salam said.
Namibia mourns founding father. Sam Nujoma, who led Namibia’s fight for independence from South Africa and became its first president in 1990, died Saturday. Nujoma also fought apartheid in South Africa, whose current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, mourned him as an “extraordinary freedom fighter.” Nujoma held office for fifteen years, modifying the constitution in order to run for a third term and overseeing a clampdown on critical media. His party, the South West Africa People’s Organization, still rules Namibia.
Baltic states unplug from Russia. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania disconnected from Russia’s power grid on Saturday before plugging into a continental European energy grid. The European Union supported the transition, which was five years in the making, with $1.65 billion. The Baltic countries had sought energy independence from Russia even before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza corridor. Israeli forces began pulling back from the Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza, over the weekend. The move is part of the ongoing cease-fire and hostage release agreement, which saw three Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners freed Saturday. An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar yesterday for talks on the potential next phase of that deal, while Egypt said it will host a summit of Arab leaders this month regarding “new and dangerous developments in the Palestinian issue.”
DOGE roadblocks and ambitions. Judges temporarily blocked some actions propelled by U.S. special government employee Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in recent days. One judge curtailed DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department payments system, and another halted an order to put USAID staff on leave. Trump said in an excerpted interview that aired Sunday the team will next seek out “fraud” at the Education and Defense departments.
Ecuador’s election runoff. Center-right President Daniel Noboa and his left-wing challenger Luisa González will advance in Ecuador’s presidential election to a second round of voting on April 13. With around 96 percent of votes counted from yesterday’s first round, Noboa received 44.37 percent to González’s 43.86 percent. Noboa has overseen a crackdown on organized crime, while González pledged to increase social spending.
A tight victory for Kosovo’s Kurti. Kosovo’s ruling Vetëvendosje party won the most votes in yesterday’s legislative elections but will need coalition partners in order to govern, according to preliminary results. Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s outgoing administration was the first to finish a full term since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Kurti oversaw efforts to reduce ethnic Serbs’ autonomy in the north that caused tensions with Brussels and Washington.
China’s green subsidy pullback. The Chinese government is reducing subsidies for renewable energy such as solar and wind power, its top economic planning agency said. That comes after the country met its 2030 targets for wind and solar capacity nearly six years early. Officials did not give details of a new “market-based bidding” system for electricity payments but said it would affect projects completed after this June.
