The Israel Defence Forces announced a resumption of “focused” ground operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly around the Netzarim corridor, which cuts the territory in two. Palestinian health officials said that Israeli strikes had also killed 20 people, including a UN worker. On Tuesday a large Israeli aerial attack killed at least 400 people, shattering hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The central bank revised its projections for 2025, predicting that America’s economy would grow by just 1.7% (instead of the 2.1% it forecast in December) and that core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, would be 2.8% (instead of 2.5%).
During a phone call with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, agreed to a partial ceasefire—halting attacks on energy infrastructure—with Russia. Trump administration officials said that the American president proposed taking over Ukrainian energy facilities, including nuclear plants, for “protection”. On Tuesday Mr Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin; Russia’s president rejected the idea of an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
Police in Turkey arrested Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s mayor, days before he was set to be named as an opposition candidate to rival President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. State media reported the arrest was related to corruption and terrorism; Mr Imamoglu’s party called it a “coup”. The next presidential election is not scheduled until 2028, but the opposition hopes to force an early vote.
The European Commission charged Alphabet, Google’s parent company, for breaching the Digital Markets Act. The EU’s executive branch said Google’s search engine gave preference to Alphabet’s services and that its app marketplace limited competition. Separately, the commission told Apple to give other firms’ devices greater scope to connect to its systems. The move may anger the Trump administration, which favours lighter regulation of Big Tech.
Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to reopen one of their main border crossings after its closure for almost one month. A disagreement over Afghanistan’s construction of a border post at the Torkham crossing sparked the dispute, which led to several clashes between Pakistani and Taliban forces. Trade across the border has now resumed; people are expected to be allowed to cross later this week.
Malaysia’s government revived the search for what remains of MH370, a Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing in 2014 while carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Under a new agreement Ocean Infinity, an American firm, will search 15,000 square km (5,791 square miles) of the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysia will award the company $70m if the wreckage is recovered.
Figure of the day: $38trn, the amount held by American households and non-profit organisations in shares of listed firms. Read the full story here.
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