Donald Trump said he would speak to Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in an attempt to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. Mr Trump said they would discuss “land”, “power plants” and “dividing up certain assets”. The American president revealed that “a lot of work” had been done over the weekend, but that an agreement was in the balance. Russia meanwhile said it wanted “ironclad” guarantees that Ukraine would be neutral in the future and would not join NATO.
America carried out more air strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, according to the Iran-backed militant group. The assault follows a wave of American strikes over the weekend, which killed at least 53 people. Donald Trump said that “hell will rain down” upon the Houthis if they do not halt attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
The Trump administration deported more than 250 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, mere hours after a federal judge temporarily forbade it from using an 18th-century law to do so. The White House said “a single judge in a single city” had “no lawful basis” to block the flight. The administration’s defiance marks a significant challenge to America’s system of checks and balances.
Retail sales in China grew by 4% in the first two months of 2025, compared with the same period last year. However, there was more depressing news on the country’s flagging housing sector. The price of new homes fell by 0.1% in February, and 4.8% year on year.
Mark Carney, Canada’s new prime minister, made a statement by making his first trip abroad to Paris instead of to Washington, DC. He will visit London on Monday evening. Mr Carney is aiming to strengthen European alliances after Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and questioned its sovereignty. His government is also reviewing the purchase of American-made F-35 fighter jets.
AstraZeneca said it would buy EsoBiotech, a Belgian firm, for up to $1bn. The British pharmaceutical giant wants to boost its cell-therapy capabilities to accelerate the development of cancer treatments. The deal, set to close by mid-2025, includes a $425m upfront payment. AstraZeneca will pay the rest only if drug-development and regulatory targets are achieved.
The World Organisation for Animal Health said that American officials have reported an outbreak of H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm in Mississippi, the first detected in America since 2017. That strain of the virus is thought to be more harmful to humans than H5N1, another form of bird flu that is already affecting American poultry and dairy cows. Authorities are culling infected flocks.
Figure of the day: 13m, the number of pints of Guinness stout consumed globally on St Patrick’s Day. Read the full story.
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has brought exceptional changes to American politics—with consequences for the rest of the world, too. Read The US in brief, a daily update of the domestic political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.