Support force for Ukraine. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed away from a previous proposal to put boots on the ground to secure peace in Ukraine, instead favoring air and seaborne military support at a meeting yesterday. The gathering near London featured military planners from thirty-one countries that support Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to host a Paris meeting of European leaders that includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next Thursday. Separately, Zelenskyy pushed back yesterday against Trump’s comments that U.S. control of Ukrainian power plants was on the table.
Hamas rocket attacks. Hamas fired rockets at Israel yesterday in its first attack since Israel broke a bilateral truce on Tuesday. The group’s military wing said it was retaliating for Israel’s strikes in recent days, which have killed more than five hundred people since Tuesday, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israeli military forces said they intercepted one rocket and two others fell in open terrain. Today, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that if Hamas does not release the hostages it is still holding, “it will lose more and more land that will be added to Israel.”
Trump’s critical minerals order. Trump invoked the emergency powers of the Defense Production Act to instruct agencies to prepare for a ramp up in critical minerals production. Today, the United States sources many critical minerals from China. Trump’s executive order empowered the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to issue new loans for critical minerals production and instructed agencies to expedite permitting. Separately, Trump said a minerals deal with Ukraine would be signed “very shortly.”
Musk’s access to China war planning. The U.S. Department of Defense made preparations to brief Elon Musk today on its operational plans for a potential war with China, two unnamed U.S. officials told the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Musk is not in the military chain of command. He runs Pentagon contractors and has extensive business interests in China; his Department of Government Efficiency is considering how to carry out promised spending cuts at the Pentagon. Trump wrote on social media that “China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote the meeting would be about “innovation, efficiencies, and smarter production.”
EU delays retaliatory tariffs. The European Union (EU) will hold off on a package of duties designed to respond to U.S. aluminum and steel tariffs, a spokesperson said. The bloc’s first round of retaliatory duties were due to take effect on March 31. Its trade commissioner said yesterday that he learned the Trump administration preferred to negotiate on trade after April 2, when it is due to announce a more sweeping round of tariffs on global trade partners. Plans for the EU retaliation package currently include a 50 percent tax on U.S. whiskey imports, which Trump said would prompt a 200 percent U.S. tariff on European alcohol in response.
A milestone for the IOC. Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry was elected the first woman and the first African president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday. She earned a majority of votes in the first round of an election that was expected to go to multiple rounds of voting. She pledged to promote equal opportunities for women “at all levels” of the Olympic movement.
X sues India. The social media firm formerly known as Twitter has sued the Indian government, alleging that a portal which allowed authorities to issue mass content takedown orders amounted to censorship and violated India’s constitution. The lawsuit was filed early this month and was made public yesterday. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology did not immediately comment when asked about the matter by the Washington Post. India has discreetly negotiated with big U.S. tech firms in the past over content takedowns, the Post reported. The new lawsuit comes as Washington and New Delhi are discussing a potential trade deal.
Sudanese army advances. The army announced that it took control of the presidential palace in Khartoum and ministry buildings from rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF took over much of Khartoum early in the war, which began in April 2023. The RSF said it remained in the area of the palace. The army has made gains on the RSF in recent weeks, though the RSF has solidified its control in the country’s west and worked to set up parallel governance in areas it does control.
