Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, met European leaders in Paris. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, and Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, said that Europe should maintain sanctions on Russia. They also reiterated their willingness to deploy a European “reassurance force” in Ukraine after a peace deal. Earlier France pledged €2bn ($2.2bn) in defence aid.
Several countries criticised Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on all cars and some automobile parts imported to America. Germany said that it would “not give in” to Mr Trump’s threats; Japan said that “every option” would be considered in retaliation to the move. Mr Trump said the levies on cars would come into effect on April 3rd, and those on parts a month later.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in northern Gaza for a second consecutive day to protest against Hamas. A senior official from the militant group suggested there were “suspicious political agendas” behind the rallies. Meanwhile Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, threatened to seize territory in Gaza should Hamas refuse to release the remaining Israeli hostages it holds.
Turkey dismissed international condemnation of the jailing of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officials said Western countries should view Mr Imamoglu’s detention with “common sense”; Mr Imamoglu’s party calls the allegations against him politically motivated. Nearly 1,900 people have been arrested in protests across Turkey following his arrest last week.
Robert F. Kennedy junior, America’s health secretary, announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would reduce its full-time staff from 82,000 to 62,000. Roughly half would be dismissed; the rest had already decided to leave the department after Donald Trump returned to the presidency. Mr Kennedy, long critical of HHS before his appointment, said that the decision would “streamline” the agency.
Israel’s parliament passed a law giving politicians greater control over judicial appointments. It takes effect after the next election, expected in late 2026. The law reshapes the nine-member committee that selects judges, to include ministers and representatives from the opposition. Critics say it undermines judicial independence and protects Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, who is on trial for corruption.
Profits at Chinese industrial firms declined by 0.3% year on year in the first two months of 2025, reinforcing fears about the country’s economy. Industrial firms are defined as those with an annual revenue of at least 20m yuan ($2.8m). Chinese businesses have struggled since the pandemic and the escalating trade war is doing little to enhance their prospects.
Figure of the day: $350m, the price of one of the latest extreme-ultraviolet lithography machines made by ASML, a Dutch firm. Read the full story.
Donald Trump has begun his second term at a blistering pace. Keep up with his executive orders, legal challenges against them and what Americans think about it all on our presidential tracker.