Ukraine agreed in principle to an American proposal for an “immediate” 30-day ceasefire with Russia following talks in Saudi Arabia. In return, America said it would “immediately” unblock the flow of American weapons and intelligence to the country. An interim pause in the fighting will begin if Russia agrees. “The ball is now in their court,” said Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state.
The White House said that 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada and all other trading partners would go into effect on Wednesday. Mr Trump promised earlier on Tuesday to double the levies on Canada to 50%, responding to a threat (later reversed) from Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, to implement a 25% surcharge on American-bound electricity.
Russian strikes killed six people, including two children, in Donetsk, a region in eastern Ukraine. Earlier Ukraine launched an attack on Moscow, aiming at least 91 drones at the Russian capital, with hundreds fired at other regions. Authorities said the strikes killed three people. Russia claimed to have downed 337 of the drones.
Armed militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, close to the border with Iran, took more than 450 train passengers hostage, according to local officials. The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist militant group, claimed the attack and warned of “severe consequences” for any rescue attempts. Local police said that at least three people, including the driver, have been injured.
Israeli air strikes killed at least four people in central Gaza, according to Palestinian officials; Israel’s armed forces said the strikes targeted terrorists “engaged in suspicious activity”. Negotiators are struggling to make progress in talks to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the first phase of which officially expired this month. Separately, Israeli troops killed four people in the West Bank.
Meanwhile Israel agreed to start border negotiations with Lebanon and said it would release five Lebanese prisoners detained by its military during its war with Hizbullah. Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Lebanon following a fragile ceasefire agreement in November, though it still maintains a presence. America, which will mediate talks, said “remaining disputed points” would be among the issues discussed.
Nissan’s boss, Uchida Makoto, will step down on April 1st. The shakeup at the Japanese carmaker comes less than a month after the collapse of merger talks with Honda, a rival firm. The merger would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker by sales. Nissan has been floundering: it reported a 78% drop in operating profits in the three months to December.
Figure of the day: 1trn yuan ($140bn), the size of the venture-capital fund that China’s government wants to set up for tech-focused investment. Read the full story.
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