India-Pakistan tensions. Tensions continue to run high following India’s strikes across Pakistan. Pakistan said it shot down twenty-five drones from India today, while India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks. Officials from countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Ireland worked to mediate; Pakistan’s foreign minister said that he welcomed U.S. efforts to de-escalate.
Israel-Syria talks. The two countries are involved in indirect talks to prevent tensions from “spiraling out of control,” Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said yesterday in Paris. Al-Sharaa met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he would pursue the progressive removal of European Union (EU) sanctions if Syria moved forward with reforms.
U.S. jet falls into Red Sea. A navy fighter jet worth $67 million fell into the Red Sea on Tuesday, after a system failed that usually allows it to park aboard an aircraft carrier. No one died in the incident. It was the second Navy fighter jet lost in the sea in less than two weeks: the previous one slid off the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Harry S. Truman when it was moving to reposition itself during Houthi fire, unnamed Defense Department officials told the New York Times.
South Africa’s growth strategy. President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled the second phase of a multiyear government program designed to boost economic growth yesterday. The government will allocate state-owned land in cities for affordable housing and launch programs to digitize certain administrative services, he said. The first phase had reformed the country’s work permit system. South Africa’s economy saw less than 1 percent average annual growth over the past decade.
Greece-Egypt meeting. Greece endorsed an Arab-backed plan for the postwar reconstruction of Gaza yesterday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Athens. The two countries also discussed cooperation on migration and on an underwater cable in which Egypt transfers solar and wind energy to Greece. Last year, the EU announced over $8 billion in funding for Egypt as it worked to stem northward migration.
Trump touts UK trade deal. The United States and United Kingdom (UK) have reached a “comprehensive” trade pact, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media this morning. The White House has said it will give more information in a press conference slated for 10 a.m. Today’s announcement will cover general terms of a deal, an unnamed UK official told Bloomberg; UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also due to speak today.
Reported U.S. spying on Greenland. Denmark summoned the U.S. ambassador in the country after the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Washington is increasing its spying on politicians in Denmark and Greenland. Senior U.S. intelligence officials instructed spying agencies to identify people in Denmark and Greenland who support U.S. goals for the Danish territory, the Journal said. A National Security Council spokesperson said the White House does not comment on intelligence matters.
Russia-Venezuela partnership. The countries signed a strategic partnership agreement yesterday during Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s trip to Moscow. They agreed on joint development of new oil and gas fields as well as to grow their oil trade; Venezuela’s oil sector is currently under U.S. sanctions. Venezuela followed China, Iran, and North Korea in signing strategic partnership deals with Russia since 2022.
Joseph Nye remembered. Prominent scholar and former U.S. foreign policy official Joseph Nye, who advised multiple presidents and created the term “soft power,” died at the age of eighty-eight. His many focuses included U.S.-Asia relations, nuclear diplomacy, and theorizing “complex interdependence.” Nye also served as dean of the Harvard Kennedy School and mentored generations of foreign policy specialists.
