After a security summit in London, Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, said European allies would form a “coalition of the willing” to “guarantee peace” in Ukraine. He said Britain, France and other countries had agreed to develop a plan with Ukraine to end the fighting, which they would then show to America. He also announced a deal worth £1.6bn ($2bn) for Ukraine to buy missiles.
Other leaders at the summit called for further increases in defence spending. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that Europe needed to “urgently re-arm” and that EU leaders would discuss the matter at an emergency meeting on Thursday. Meanwhile NATO’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, suggested that more European countries would shortly announce rises in spending.
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 rate 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.
Britain’s privacy watchdog launched a “major investigation” into TikTok’s use of 13- to 17-year-olds’ data. The Information Commissioner’s Office will investigate whether the social-media app’s use of such information is exposing teenagers to increasing amounts of harmful material. It will also look into the age-verification processes of Reddit, an online forum, and Imgur, an image-sharing website.
Shares of Mixue Group, the owners of China’s biggest bubble-tea chain, jumped by up to 38% in Hong Kong after a heavily oversubscribed IPO worth HK$3.45bn ($444m). That boosted optimism over the prospects of Hong Kong’s IPO market, which is expected to double this year according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Shares of other Chinese bubble-tea companies listed in Hong Kong rose on Monday morning.
Iran’s parliament voted to force the economy minister, Abdolnaser Hemmati, from office. Critics blame 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.
“Anora”, a tale of strippers and oligarchs directed by Sean Baker, won five Oscars including those for Best Picture and Best Director at the 97th Academy Awards. Mikey Madison, the film’s lead, also secured the award for Best Actress. News and politics were mostly absent from the speeches—perhaps because Mr Trump’s return is making Hollywood nervous.
Figure of the day: 53, the number of people who became billionaires in 2023 by inheriting money, according to UBS, a bank. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.