Donald Trump fired General Charles “CQ” Brown as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and said he would replace people in five other senior positions, in an unprecedented shake-up of the Pentagon. Mr Trump is cracking down on those he blames for pushing diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The Pentagon was already braced for sweeping cuts to its budget and staff.
Hamas released six hostages in the final part of the first phase of its ceasefire agreement with Israel. In return Israel is expected to free 602 Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s army confirmed that a body repatriated on Friday was that of Shiri Bibas, another of those abducted on October 7th. The militant group had failed to return her remains on Thursday with those of her two young children.
The Vatican said that Pope Francis was in critical condition, after suffering a long asthma-like respiratory crisis on Saturday morning. He remains “alert”, but he is “in more pain” than in previous days. Francis was admitted to hospital on February 14th. The 88-year-old pontiff has pneumonia in both lungs, one of which was partly removed by surgeons when he was young.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said American and Russian officials would meet again within a fortnight to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. A first meeting took place—without Ukraine or its European allies—in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. On Friday Donald Trump said Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russia’s, Vladimir Putin, should “get together” to end the war. Mr Trump has been fiercely critical of Mr Zelensky in recent days, while making friendly overtures towards Mr Putin.
New Zealand said that the Chinese navy had fired live rounds in international waters near the country, having conducted a similar drill in the sea between New Zealand and Australia on Friday. Three Chinese naval vessels have been stationed near Australia’s shores since last week. New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said that his country was “shadowing and tracking” the fleet.
The Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group that has been fighting the national army for nearly two years, said it would on Saturday sign a charter with its allies to establish a government in territories under its control. The rebel government will not rule in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. The Sudanese Armed Forces are on the brink of retaking the city from the RSF.
In his annual letter to shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett defended the size of the investment firm’s cash and its equivalents: $334.2bn at the end of 2024, after cutting back on equities. Shareholders should “rest assured” that Berkshire would “never” prefer cash to “good businesses”. Operating profits jumped by 71% in the fourth quarter, to $14.5bn, buoyed partly by higher profits from insurance underwriting.
Word of the week: guang gun, a Chinese term meaning “bare branches”, used to describe unmarried men who are unable to continue their family line. Read the full story.
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