“NATO members Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel mines due to the military threat from their neighbour Russia, the four countries said on Tuesday. Quitting the 1997 treaty, which has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 nations but not by Russia, will allow Poland and the three Baltic countries to start stockpiling landmines again. ‘Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased,’ the countries’ defence ministers said in a joint statement.” (03/18/25)
“The Trump administration fired most of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace and sent its new leader into the Washington headquarters of the independent organization on Monday, in its latest effort targeting agencies tied to foreign assistance work. The remaining three members of the group’s board (Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Defense University President Peter Garvin) fired President and CEO George Moose on Friday, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press. An executive order that President Donald Trump signed last month targeted the organization, which was created by Congress over 40 years ago, and others for reductions. Current USIP employees said staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency entered the building despite protests that the institute is not part of the executive branch. USIP called the police, whose vehicles were outside the building Monday evening.” (03/18/25)
“Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, on Monday postponed a multicity tour to promote his forthcoming book, citing security concerns amid backlash to his decision to vote with Republicans for a stopgap spending bill to stave off a government shutdown. Mr. Schumer was scheduled to participate in promotional events in Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, as well as a few stops in California, for his new book, ‘Antisemitism in America: A Warning.’ Many Democratic activists, desperate for their leaders to stand up to President Trump, have been staging protests outside of Mr. Schumer’s Brooklyn home and calling for his resignation. Online, they have been organizing protests for every stop on his book tour.” (03/17/25)
“Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza, killing 326 people, Palestinian health authorities said on Tuesday, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas as Israel vowed to use force to free its remaining hostages in the strip. … Strikes in Gaza were reported in multiple locations. Officials from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said many of the dead were children. … In hospitals strained by 15 months of bombardment, piles of bodies in white plastic sheets smeared with blood could be seen stacked up as casualties were brought in. The Israeli military said it hit dozens of targets, and that the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and extend beyond airstrikes, raising the prospect that Israeli ground troops could resume fighting.” (03/18/25)
“The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs. The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fuelling higher food prices. Its spread to mammals, including dairy cows in the U.S., has raised concerns among governments about a risk of a new pandemic. The strain that has caused most damage to poultry in recent years and the death of one person in the U.S. is H5N1. But the H7N9 bird flu virus has proved to have a far higher death rate, killing nearly 40 per cent of the humans infected since it was first detected in 2013, the World Health Organization said.” (03/17/25)
“Lebanese and Syrian defense officials reached an agreement late Monday for a ceasefire to halt two days of clashes along the border, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported. … Lebanon’s president earlier Monday ordered troops to retaliate against the source of gunfire from the Syrian side of the border after more deadly fighting erupted overnight along the frontier. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that seven Lebanese citizens were killed and another 52 injured in the clashes, including a 4-year-old girl. The fighting happened after Syria’s interim government accused militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group of crossing into Syria on Saturday, abducting three soldiers and killing them on Lebanese soil.” (03/17/25)
“A midwife in Texas has been arrested and charged with performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without the appropriate license. Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, announced the arrest, which he said Monday happened earlier this month, after an investigation by his office. According to Paxton, the midwife, Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, is alleged to have owned and operated three health clinics in the northwest area of Houston. In a news release, Paxton accused Rojas of performing abortions in the clinics — which are banned by law in Texas — and of employing people who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals.” (03/17/25)
“Peru’s president has declared a state of emergency in the capital and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address a surge of violence amid widespread outcry a day after the killing of a popular singer. President Dina Boluarte’s government published a decree saying the state of emergency will last 30 days and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial order. Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. Police reported 459 killings from January 1 to March 16, and 1909 extortion reports in January alone. But outrage crested after the killing on Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10.” (03/18/25)
“Prince Harry’s immigration files must be made public by this Tuesday, a US court has ruled. Judge Carl Nichols ordered documents relating to the Duke of Sussex’s US visa application to be released as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The FOI request was brought by conservative US think-tank the Heritage Foundation, which alleges the duke may have concealed past drug use and that should have disqualified him from obtaining a US visa. … In February, President Donald Trump ruled out deporting Harry from the US, telling The New York Post: ‘I’ll leave him alone.’ He added: ‘He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.'” (03/17/25)
“Lithuanian authorities on Monday accused Russian military intelligence of being behind an arson attack at an IKEA store in the Lithuanian capital last year. The Lithuanian prosecutor’s office said it filed an indictment in the case of a person charged with the arson of the Ikea shopping center in Vilnius on May 9, 2024. It said the suspect was a minor at the time and acted ‘in the interests of the military structures and security services of the Russian Federation.’ The prosecutor general’s office said in a statement that the suspect and another person undertook during a secret meeting in Warsaw, the capital of neighboring Poland, to set fire to and blow up shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of 10,000 euros. The reward also included a BMW, the statement said.” (03/17/25)
