Israel stopped aid from entering Gaza as uncertainty grew over the extension of a ceasefire with Hamas. Earlier Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said that Israel would accept a revised proposal to extend the initial 42-day truce, reportedly suggested by America. But Hamas said it wanted to move directly to the second-stage of the original deal, involving talks over a permanent end to the war.
Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, told the BBC that Britain would develop a plan with Ukraine, France and other allies to end the war with Russia, which they would then present to America. The comments came before a summit of European allies in London. Europe is scrambling to support Ukraine after a disastrous meeting between the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Donald Trump on Friday.
Iran’s parliament voted to force the economy minister, Abdolnaser Hemmati, from office. Critics blamed him for the recent depreciation of Iran’s currency, the rial. The move is a blow to the president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who admitted his hopes of restarting nuclear talks with America to loosen sanctions had faltered. Last month Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed the idea of such talks.
NEOS, an Austrian liberal party, approved a coalition deal with the centre-right ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ. The decision will finally allow the formation of a government in Austria some five months after an election in which the hard-right FPÖ claimed the most votes. Christian Stocker, the leader of the ÖVP, will probably be the next chancellor.
America’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said the country would impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday as planned. However, he added that Donald Trump was still determining the final size of any such levies. In February the president said he would delay the introduction of 25% tariffs on America’s neighbours by one month, after the countries’ leaders promised to bolster their border security.
The Adani Group is reportedly planning to revive its investments in America, despite the Indian conglomerate’s founder facing criminal charges in the country. In November Gautam Adani was accused of bribing Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar-power projects. According to the Financial Times, Mr Adani is hopeful that the charges will eventually be dropped, after Mr Trump halted enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Blue Ghost, a spacecraft belonging to Firefly Aerospace, an American firm, touched down safely on the Moon. It is just the second commercial mission to reach the surface. The craft, launched in collaboration with NASA, will explore the Sea of Crises, a big crater. In the coming days Intuitive Machines, another private space company, hopes to land a craft near the Moon’s south pole.
Word of the week: güero, a Spanish term used in Mexico and the United States to describe a white person, often affectionately. Read the full story.
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