News from February 26, 2025 at 2 PM

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that US President Donald Trump is eager to sign a rare-earth metals deal with Ukraine. Trump is set to meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Leavitt emphasized Trump's expectation for Zelensky to sign the deal, viewing it as a rightful return for American taxpayer support. In early February, Trump expressed interest in acquiring rare-earth metals from Ukraine, and Zelensky indicated his willingness to strike a deal. However, on February 14 in Munich, Kiev rejected the US aid plan that demanded Washington's right to 50% of Ukraine's rare-earth metals. Zelensky pointed out the lack of security guarantees in the proposed agreement. Kiev is working on a counterproposal. On February 21, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Zelensky would soon sign an agreement with Washington. Yet, sources in Zelensky's office noted the document is not finalized, and Zelensky himself said on February 23 that he does not want to sign, fearing it would burden Ukrainians for ten generations.

Hamas has stated that further talks with Israel regarding the Gaza ceasefire deal are contingent on the release of Palestinian prisoners as agreed. Israel announced on Sunday it was delaying the release of over 600 Palestinians in exchange for six living and four deceased hostages, accusing Hamas of repeated violations. A senior Hamas official warned that this decision puts the entire agreement in 'grave danger' and called on mediators, particularly the US, to pressure Israel. The first phase of the ceasefire deal and a temporary six-week truce are set to expire on Saturday, but indirect negotiations on the second phase have not yet commenced. UN Secretary General António Guterres cautioned that the ceasefire is 'precarious' and that a resumption of hostilities must be avoided at all costs. On Saturday, Hamas released six Israeli hostages. Israel had planned to free 620 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 10 hostages but suspended the release.

The Vatican has issued a medical update stating that Pope Francis's health has slightly improved, though he remains in a critical condition. On Sunday, the Pope was critically ill with respiratory and kidney issues. However, the Vatican now says that a minor kidney problem is no longer a concern. The Pope resumed some work on Monday and called the Priest of the Parish of Gaza to express his support. He is undergoing oxygen therapy, but doctors have not yet disclosed the prognosis. Despite still being in a critical state, the Pope is eating normally and can move, showing no signs of fever or sepsis. On Monday evening, cardinals in Rome, along with Vatican curia members, prayed for the Pope outside St Peter's Basilica.

A massive power outage struck Chile on Tuesday afternoon, plunging most of the country into darkness and affecting millions of people. Public transportation in some areas was disrupted, mobile phone services were interrupted, and nearly 300,000 students were unable to attend school. President Boric stated that 8 million households were affected, with 4.15 million gradually regaining power, and blamed the incident on the private company managing the grid. The government declared a state of emergency, imposed a curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM the next day, and deployed armed forces. By February 26th, 94% of the national grid had been restored. The Minister of the Interior attributed the outage to a disruption in a high-voltage transmission line in the central-northern region, ruling out cyber-attacks. The blackout impacted copper mining operations, affecting the global metal market, marking the largest such incident in 15 years.

On February 26 local time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russian and US representatives will hold talks in Istanbul, Turkey on February 27. The meeting will focus on issues related to the operations of the two countries' embassies. The talks aim to address matters concerning the functioning of the respective embassies. The news was reported by CCTV correspondent Xu Hongbo.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in the House of Commons an increase in defense spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP, aiming to reach this level by 2027, which translates to an additional £13.4 billion annually. To fund this, overseas aid will be cut from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP. Starmer stated the long-term goal is to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP. He also emphasized support for Ukraine, labeled Russia as a menace, and reaffirmed NATO's role as the bedrock of European security, calling for enhanced UK-US bilateral partnership and a new European defense alliance.

On the morning of February 25, a bridge under construction on the Sejong Expressway in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, collapsed, resulting in four deaths and six injuries. During the incident, five 50-meter-high concrete structures collapsed after being lifted by cranes. Among the deceased were two Chinese citizens, and five of the injured were severely wounded, including one Chinese citizen. The bridge connected two mountainous areas, with the bridge deck collapsing from a height of 50 meters. South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-moo ordered all available resources and personnel to be mobilized for the rescue. The main contractor, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, apologized for the accident and is cooperating with authorities to address site issues and investigate the cause.

On the 26th local time, the health department of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, announced that a military plane crashed in the city of Omdurman west of Khartoum on the evening of the 25th, resulting in 46 deaths, including military personnel and civilians. The plane crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from the Wadi Sayyidna military base, causing a massive explosion. It is reported that there were 4 crew members and several senior officers on board, and the crash may have been due to technical issues.

On February 25, 2025, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald Trump's tax-cut and border security agenda with a vote of 217-215, with Republican Representative Thomas Massie voting against and no Democrats supporting the measure. This move is a preliminary step towards extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts later this year. House Speaker Mike Johnson and second-ranking House Republican Steve Scalise spent hours persuading hesitant members. Trump himself contacted reluctant lawmakers to emphasize the importance of advancing the $4.5 trillion tax-cut plan, which also includes funding for deporting illegal migrants, tightening border security, energy deregulation, and military spending. Last week, Senate Republicans passed their own budget resolution as a backup plan. Both chambers need to pass the same budget resolution to enable Republicans to bypass Democratic opposition and the Senate filibuster later this year. The House budget aims to cut $2 trillion in spending over 10 years to fund Trump's agenda. The tax cuts sought by Trump would extend those passed during his first term, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Lawmakers also need to pass fiscal 2025 spending legislation by March 14 to avoid a government shutdown and will later need to address the federal government's self-imposed debt ceiling of $36 trillion.

According to reports from NBC and The New York Times, some Apple iPhone users have noticed that when they voice-input the English word 'Racist,' the automatic dictation feature briefly displays the word 'Trump.' This issue has sparked controversy, with Apple being accused of 'political bias.' An Apple spokesperson responded on the 25th, stating that the company is aware of the issue with its voice recognition model and is working to fix the bug. NBC reporters tested the issue and found it did not occur every time, and some users reported no similar problems.

Australian couple Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin experienced a traumatic incident on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha when a female passenger died beside them in the aisle. The cabin crew placed the covered corpse next to Mr. Ring for the remaining four hours of the flight, despite available empty seats, without offering him a move. Upon landing, medical staff and police boarded the plane. The couple, who had not been contacted or supported by Qatar Airways or Qantas, called for a protocol to ensure passenger care in such situations. Qatar Airways apologized for the distress and is contacting passengers.

The police in the northern Bosnian town of Brcko announced on Wednesday that a group of children were found and taken to safety on Tuesday. Three suspects were arrested on charges of human and child trafficking, as well as abusing and neglecting minors. The police did not disclose the intended purpose of the trafficking and declined to provide further details due to the involvement of minors. Local media reported that the group consisted of 31 minors, including babies.

Colombian police at the Cartagena airport arrested a 40-year-old Colombian man attempting to smuggle cocaine worth €10,000 hidden in a wig. Video footage released by the police showed an officer cutting open the wig to reveal dozens of meticulously sealed packets of cocaine. In a statement on February 24, police said 19 packets totaling 220g were found in the 'narco-wig'. The man was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, manufacturing, and possession, with two prior drug trafficking convictions. The bust prevented the sale of over 400 doses of cocaine, valued at more than €10,000. Cartagena police commander Brigadier-General Gelver Yecid Pena Araque stated that over 450 people have been arrested for drug trafficking in 2025, with more than 115kg of drugs seized.