U.S.

Trump’s Tariffs

On February 3rd, President Donald Trump signed three executive orders imposing sweeping tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China. The orders would have placed a 10% tax on all Chinese imports, as well as a 25% tax on all Mexican and Canadian imports (with a few exceptions such as energy products). However, Mexico and Canada negotiated to have their respective tariffs delayed for 30 days. The tariffs that did go into effect prompted retaliation from China, which included tariffs on coal, crude oil, and natural gas, as well as an anti-monopoly investigation into Google. Mr. Trump said in his executive orders that the purpose of these tariffs was to stem the flow of illegal fentanyl into the U.S. Additionally, Mr. Trump signed another executive order on February 10th to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said in a statement that the tariffs “will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures”. Mr. Trump has directed his commerce secretary to recalculate global tariff rates in a move that could upend global trade. As of February 21st, these potential tariffs have yet to be implemented.

Prisoner Exchanges With Russia and Belarus

Russia and Belarus have freed three American prisoners in the last month after envoys visited Moscow and Minsk, the capitals of Russia and Belarus, respectively. Marc Fogel, a teacher designated as wrongfully detained and held in prison for over two years, was released on February 11th as part of an exchange with Russia. The New York Times reports that the Trump Administration released a Russian cybercriminal accused of using cryptocurrency to launder money as part of that same exchange. Six days later, Russia also released Kalob Byers Wayne, who was arrested for carrying marijuana on February 7th. Separately, Belarus released three prisoners, including an American who was not named. The other two prisoners were activist Alena Movshuk, and Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist with Radio Free Europe.

Europe

German Chancellor Calls Out Election Interference

After a speech Vice President JD Vance delivered at the Munich Security Conference on February 14th (which criticized Europe’s intolerance of people with “alternative viewpoint[s]”), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded with a speech of his own denouncing “outside observers…interfering with our democracy”. Mr. Vance’s speech included thinly veiled references to the Alternative for Germany (known by its German acronym “AfD”), a far-right anti-immigrant political party classified as “extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. This group had been banned from participating in the conference in accordance with the German government’s policy of keeping the AfD from becoming mainstream. In his response, Mr. Scholz said that it was impossible to reconcile “a commitment to ‘never again’ with support for the AfD”, referring to Germany’s “historic duty” to resist fascism.

Coalition Talks Fall Through in Austria

In the 2024 parliamentary elections, the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ, which shares many similarities with the AfD mentioned above) won the most seats in the Federal Assembly, but no party was able to secure a majority. In parliamentary democracies, this means that a coalition government would need to be formed of two or more parties which together would make up the majority. The most recent negotiations between the Austrian People’s Party (a center-right party known as the ÖVP) and the FPÖ failed, leaving Austria without a functioning government for four months. The Social Democrat party (SPÖ), a center-left party and the third largest party in the Federal Assembly after the FPÖ and the ÖVP, categorically refused to work with the FPÖ. Instead, SPÖ tried  to form a coalition with the ÖVP and other centrist parties, however, those negotiations fell apart in January. President Alexander Van der Bellen said that he would be holding discussions with politicians to determine the best path forward.

The Middle East

Gaza Ceasefire Endures Despite Multiple Challenges

On February 10th, Hamas, (the terrorist group that attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023) said that it would refuse to release hostages as part of the ceasefire deal (mentioned in the last edition) agreed to in January because of Israel’s supposed violations of the deal. Both sides have accused each other of defying the terms of the agreement. The move was widely seen as potentially imperiling the ceasefire and drew condemnation plus threats from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who threatened to “resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas”. Hamas relented just days before the hostages were scheduled to be released, confirming that the exchange would happen. However, the next prisoner swap, (the first time deceased hostages were returned to Israel) ended in shock when the Israeli military announced that one of the four bodies was not one of the hostages. The next day Hamas returned another body to Israel, which was identified by forensic experts as the missing hostage.

Asia

Maoist Guerillas Killed in India

Government forces in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh killed 31 members of the Naxalite movement, a group of leftist insurgents that began in the 1960s based on Communist ideology. Since then, it has led to the death of at least 12,000, although the threat it poses has been diminished in recent years. Two members of the police force were killed during the operations and “a large quantity of weapons and explosives” was seized, said India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah in a statement. He added that Naxalism would be “eradicated” by 2026.

Other News

• Several practice bombs were found buried underneath a playground in Wooler, U.K. while work was being done to renovate it. The city called in Brimstone Site Investigations, a bomb removal service, to survey the area. The company discovered over 175 10 lb bombs buried underneath the park.
• A stream that flows near the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, into the Río de la Plata turned red in early February, raising concerns that the unusual coloration may have been caused by industrial pollution.