EU invests in South Africa. EU leaders announced more than $5 billion in investments in South Africa yesterday and said they would begin talks on new trade deals with Pretoria. Leaders from the two sides held their first bilateral summit in seven years. The slated European investments are in areas including renewable energy and vaccine production; they come after the Trump administration froze most U.S. aid to South Africa.
Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks. The foreign ministries of the two neighboring countries said they are ready to sign a peace deal to end their almost forty-year conflict. They have neared such a deal before but hit hang-ups over issues such as Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia change its constitution. The countries have agreed to resolve outstanding disputes, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister said, without specifying how; they are now scheduling a date and venue for the signing ceremony.
Belgium’s Huawei probe. Belgian police carried out raids as part of an investigation into alleged bribery to benefit Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Offices within the European Parliament are being investigated for potential collaboration. A Huawei spokesperson said the company “has a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption”; both the company and the European Parliament said they would cooperate with the probe.
Trump threatens alcohol tariffs. Trump said yesterday he would impose a 200 percent duty on EU alcoholic beverage imports if the bloc does not cancel its plans to impose a 50 percent tariff on U.S. whiskey. The EU duty is a reaction to Trump’s global aluminum and steel tariffs and is scheduled to take effect on April 1. It is part of a broader EU package that targets a variety of U.S. products, including bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
African troops to leave DRC. Thousands of troops from Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania that were stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) force will gradually withdraw, the SADC announced yesterday. Public opposition to the force has increased after seventeen peacekeepers were killed in January. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the withdrawal also made sense in light of plans for peace talks between the DRC and rebel groups.
Israel strikes Damascus. Israel struck a building in Damascus yesterday for the first time since Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa took over as interim president. Israel’s military said it targeted a headquarters for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad; the militant group denied using the building for such purposes. On the heels of recent violence in coastal western Syria, Sharaa yesterday signed into effect a temporary charter for a five-year transitional governance period. It was not immediately made public.
UN report on Gaza health facilities. A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Israel carried out “systematic” gender-based violence in Gaza, including by targeting fertility clinics and maternity wards, according to a report released yesterday. It was the first time a UN committee has said Israel committed “genocidal acts” under the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the accusations “baseless,” while Israel’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva said the commission had a “predetermined and biased political agenda.” The report comes amid uncertainty over the fate of the current Gaza cease-fire and as Israel conducts a new freeze on aid entering Gaza.
China, Russia back Iran’s nuclear stance. Senior officials from the three countries met in Beijing today and issued a joint statement calling for negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program and an end to U.S. sanctions on Iran. Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader last week proposing a choice between talks or facing U.S. military pressure, after which Iran’s president said he would not negotiate while being “threatened.” China and Russia today backed Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is “peaceful in nature.”
