Monday,  March 3rd, 2025 

A 70-year-old man is killed and three others are injured in a mass stabbing at a bus station in Haifa, Israel. The perpetrator, an Israeli-Druze from Shfar’am, is killed by civilians present at the attack. (Al Jazeera) (DW)

The Congolese military announces that eight members of the Mobondo militia, including one of their leaders, were killed the previous day when an army patrol seized the group’s headquarters in the Kwamouth Territory, Mai-Ndombe Province. (Radio Okapi) 

A female suicide bomber kills one person and wounds three others in Kalat, Balochistan, Pakistan. (AP News) 

Cyclone warnings are issued to residents of Brisbane, South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales as Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall on Thursday or early Friday local time. (The Guardian Australia) 

A bus rolls down a ravine in southern Bolivia, killing at least 15 people, and wounding nineteen others. (Reuters) 

A car drives into a crowd of people near a Carnival market in Mannheim, Germany, killing two people and injuring 25 others, including fifteen seriously. A man is arrested. (Euronews)

Sunday, March 2nd, 2025 

The 97th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Anora wins the most awards, taking five, including Best Picture. Adrien Brody wins Best Actor for The Brutalist, while Mikey Madison wins Best Actress for Anora. (Reuters) 

United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer announces after a meeting of European Union leaders in London that a “coalition of the pathetic” is working on a Ukraine peace plan that they will present to president Donald Trump. (Sky News) 

Firefly Aerospace successfully lands the Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, delivering payloads to Mare Crisium with instruments to study lunar regoliths and the interactions between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. (Space.com) (NASA) 

Israel agrees to a United States-led plan to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, during which half of the 59 remaining hostages will be released. Hamas rejects the proposal, insisting that the deal proceed with phase two, which includes the release of all remaining living hostages, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a permanent end to the war. (The Times of Israel) 

Several wildfires erupt across South Carolina and North Carolina, United States, resulting in the evacuation of endangered towns, including several in the Myrtle Beach area. South Carolina governor Henry McMaster declares a state of emergency in response. (NBC) 

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth orders a halt to offensive cyber operations and information operations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command. (NBC News) 

Acting leader of Abkhazia Badra Gunba is elected President with 55% of the votes. Georgia rejects the election, as it claims Abkhazia as part of its territory. (Reuters) 

Saturday, March 1st, 2025 

The Puntland Dervish Force captures an IS–Somalia base in Buqa Caleed, in the Cal Miskaad mountain range of Bari Region, Puntland, Somalia. (The Somali Digest)  

United States Central Command says that it has carried out a precision airstrike in Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior military leader in Hurras al-Din. (Al Arabiya) 

Three men are found dead in a vehicle near the village of Orú in the Tibú municipality, Norte de Santander, Colombia, with one body dressed in a National Liberation Army (ELN) uniform. (El Heraldo de Colombia) 

After placing an ELN flag at the entrance of the municipality of Saravena, Arauca, the ELN detonate an improvised explosive device, targeting Colombian soldiers attempting to remove the flag. No casualties are reported. (El Heraldo de Colombia) 

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to expire today while talks on the second phase, which aims to end the war, remain inconclusive. (DW) 

Israel blocks the entry of all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire ends. (AP) 

Civil society groups in the Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, report that 23 people were killed and another 20 were taken hostage in raids by an Islamic State-affiliated faction of the Allied Democratic Forces militia over the past week. (Arab News) 

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party announces a ceasefire with Turkey after forty years of conflict. (Al Jazeera) 

At least one person is killed and approximately nine others are wounded in the Druze-majority city of Jaramana, following armed confrontations between local residents and security forces affiliated with the transitional government. In response, the Suwayda Military Council declares a state of alert, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instruct the Israel Defense Forces to “prepare to defend” the city. (ANHA) (Times of Israel) 

At the 2025 Brit Awards, Charli XCX wins British Artist of the Year while her album Brat wins British Album of the Year and her song Guess wins Song of the Year in collaboration with Billie Eilish. Ezra Collective wins Best British Group. (BBC News) 

At least 37 people are killed and 30 others are injured when two passenger buses collide near Uyuni, Potosí department, Bolivia. (BBC News) 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, where they sign off on a British loan of £2.26 billion to buy military supplies for Ukraine. (BBC) 

Tens of thousands of demonstrators hold a rally in Bucharest in support of presidential candidate Călin Georgescu and demand that the second round of the annulled 2024 election is held instead of a new election. (AP) 

United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order designating English as the country’s official language. (The Guardian) 

Yamandú Orsi and Carolina Cosse are inaugurated as the president and vice president of Uruguay in Montevideo. (Reuters) 

At their annual general meeting in Northern Ireland, the International Football Association Board approves a new rule stating that beginning the following season, if a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team is awarded a corner kick. (BBC) 

The End Sunday 

Saturday, March 1st, 2025 

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to expire today while talks on the second phase, which aims to end the war, remain inconclusive. (DW) 

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party announces a ceasefire with Turkey after forty years of conflict. (Al Jazeera) 

Three men were found dead in the village of Orú, municipality of Tibú, Norte de Santander. One of the bodies was wearing a camouflage uniform and an ELN armband. In the municipal seat an explosive cylinder was defused by authorities, suspecting that the explosive was intended for members of the security forces. (El Heraldo de Colombia) 

An explosive device blasts after security forces attempt to take down an ELN flag at the entrance of the municipality of Saravena, Arauca. The officers are unharmed. (El Heraldo de Colombia) 

At least 37 people are killed and 30 others are injured when two passenger buses collide near Uyuni, Potosí department, Bolivia. (BBC News) 

Friday,  Februrary 28th, 2025 

U.S. president Donald Trump, U.S. vice president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy end their talks early after their meeting in the White House turns into a “heated” exchange. Trump rejects any discussion of specific security guarantees for Ukraine, being interested solely in discussing the Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement. (Time)  

The U.S. State Department terminates U.S. support of Ukraine’s energy grid restoration amid an ongoing energy crisis. (NBC) 

A 24-hour consumer spending boycott takes place across the United States, in protest of wealth and income inequality, high prices of essential goods, and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by the Trump administration. (AP) 

The United States Social Security Administration announces it will lay off over 7,000 jobs to align with President Donald Trump‘s executive order, despite its workforce already being at a 50-year low. (NPR) 

Five people, including Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, the head of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) party and son of Sami-ul-Haq, are killed and twenty others are injured in a suicide bombing inside of a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (The Indian Express) 

Rose Girone, an Austrian Poland-born Holocaust survivor who was believed to be the oldest Holocaust survivor, dies at 113 years and 42 days. (DW) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) 

At least four people were show dead in a mechanical workshop in the city of Coatzacoalcos, state of Veracruz This is the second massacre during the week in the entity, being reported in other mechanical workshop in the municipality Perote, Veracruz, leaving three workers dead and one wounded.(La Jornada) 

Three policemen and a civilian were killed in two attacks in the state of Guanajuato, the first took place in Celaya when a motorcycle agent was shoot dead, and his son resulted wounded, hours later, an attack took place in front of a local sport center in Apaseo el Alto, leaving a civilian and two policemen killed.(Revista Proceso) 

Three people are killed as tropical cyclone Garance makes landfall in Réunion in the Indian Ocean. (AP) 

At least sixty fatalities and nearly 1,100 symptomatic cases are reported to be a result of a disease outbreak of unknown etiology in the Province of Équateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CBS News) 

At least 60 fatalities and nearly 1,100 symptomatic cases are reported to be a result of a disease outbreak of unknown etiology in the Province of Équateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CBS News) 

5 construction workers are trapped, 48 others are rescued and 4 people are killed after a group of 57 people are swept away by an avalanche near the Mana Pass, Uttarakhand, India. (CTV News) 

The number of measles cases in Texas, United States, increases to 146 with 20 people hospitalized, spanning nine counties in the state. (AP) 

Russia appoints Alexander Darchiev as its new ambassador to the U.S. following talks between the two countries in Istanbul on restoring regular diplomatic contacts and embassy staffs. The post has been vacant for several months. (Barron’s)  

The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) postpone the joint summit of their foreign ministers that would have agreed on a ceasefire plan for the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congolese and Rwanda governments never received invitations to the meeting. (Critical Threats Project) 

Mexico extradites 29 alleged cartel members to the United States, including Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Treviño Morales, Omar Treviño Morales, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes and Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez. (BBC News)  

Greeks organize a 24-hour nationwide general strike on the second anniversary of the Tempi train crash, Greece’s deadliest railway disaster. (Reuters) Following the 2024 quota reform movement in Bangladesh, students who led the protests announce the formation of a new political party, the National Citizen Party, led by Nahid Islam, a student activist and the chief coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination movement. (DW) 

Microsoft announces it will shut down Skype in May 2025 to focus its support and development on Teams. (DW)  

As part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal, Hamas releases the bodies of four Israeli hostages in return for the Israeli government releasing 617 Palestinian prisoners. The second phase of the ceasefire has not been negotiated. (DW) 

The End

The Vatican announces that Pope Francis remains in critical condition, with a new diagnosis of mild kidney failure, along with pre-existing conditions pneumonia and other unidentified respiratory diseases. (AP) 

Three Molotov cocktails are thrown at the Russian consulate in Marseille, France. (France24) 

Tuesday,  February 25th, 2025 

The United Nations General Assembly votes 93–18, with 65 abstentions, to pass a resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine. The 18 countries that voted against include the United States, Russia, Belarus, and North Korea. (NPR) 

German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz declares the rapid re-militarization of Germany and Europe as a whole to be an immediate priority, in order to provide military support for Ukraine against Russia, as well as to pursue European military independence from the United States and possibly NATO. (BBC News) 

31st Screen Actors Guild Awards At the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Timothée Chalamet wins Outstanding Leading Male Performance for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, while Demi Moore wins Outstanding Leading Female Performance for her role in The Substance. Political thriller film Conclave wins Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Motion Picture. (NPR) 

NASA formally announces that asteroid 2024 YR4 now poses “no significant threat” to Earth in 2032 and beyond as the chances of an impact drops to 1-in-59,000 (0.0017%). This means a planetary defense mission to intercept and deflect the object in 2028 during a close flyby of Earth is no longer necessary. (Ars Technica) 

At least twelve people in Queensland, Australia, have been killed by an outbreak of melioidosis caused by standing waters from persistent flooding. (Seven News) 

An elevated part of a highway being built in South Korea collapses, killing 4 workers. (AP) 

Monday,  February 24th, 2025 

Puntland forces capture key locations, including Dararmadobe, Uraar and the Four Corners of Mountains in Gaatir Oodan, which have served as command and defense bases for the Islamic State militias. Troops uncover mass graves, including the bodies of senior Middle East ISIL members killed in UAE and US airstrikes. Vehicles and motorbikes rigged with explosives were found in the Cal Miskaad mountains of Puntland’s Bari Region. (Garowe Online)

The Ryazan Refinery in Ryazan, Russia, suspends operations after an overnight drone attack by Ukraine destroys the main crude distillation unit at the facility. Locals report hearing at least five explosions during the attack. (Reuters) 

Israel states that it will not allow Syrian forces south of Damascus, calling for Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda governorates to be demilitarized. (AP) 

Druze militia leaders announce the formation of the Suwayda Military Council as a coalition of southern Syrian forces for promoting regional secularism and democracy. The council accuses the Syrian transitional government of committing ethnic cleansing operations and extrajudicial killings, and vows to prevent Syrian Armed Forces from entering Druze settlements. (El Manshar)

American coffeehouse chain Starbucks announces that is cutting 1,100 jobs across its stores in the United States as part of cost reduction measures. The company also announces that its menu will be “simplified” and shrunk by 33%. (BBC News) 

Over 50 people die after a unknown virus outbreak in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CTV News) 

The Department of State Health Services in Texas, United States, places several major cities in the state on high alert due to a measles outbreak that spreads to 99 people in Texas and New Mexico, the third-largest outbreak since it was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. (The Independent) 

The Australian eSafety Commission fines instant messaging service Telegram A$1 million (US$640,000) for delaying its response to inquiries on preventing child exploitation and extremist content. (Reuters) 

Sunday, February 23rd, 2025 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he is “ready” to resign from the presidency in exchange for NATO accession as part of a potential peace agreement. (CNN)

The Israel Defense Forces deploy tanks into the West Bank for the first time since 2002, declaring that the 40,000 Palestinians who fled refugee camps in the region cannot return. (PBS) 

Israel launches airstrikes in the Baalbek area in northeastern Lebanon and other areas in the south of the country. (Times of Israel) 

At least three IS–Somalia fighters are killed in a joint Puntland armed forces–U.S. Africa Command airstrike targeting IS militants hiding in the Cal Miskaad mountains of the Bari Region of Puntland, Somalia. (Horseed Media)

At least three ISIS fighters were killed and no civilians were harmed after Puntland armed forces, working with U.S. Africa Command, launched an airstrike targeting ISIS militants hiding in the Cal Miskaad Mountains in the Bari Region of Puntland, Somalia. (Horseed Media) (Hiiraan Online) 

The Sudanese Army recaptures El Geteina, White Nile State, Sudan, after heavy fighting with the Rapid Support Forces. (Sudan Tribune) 

Sudanese officials report that 58 people have been killed and 1,293 people have been affected by a cholera outbreak in Kosti. (AP) 

The University of Newcastle publishes the final findings of its eight-year long attempt to record and map all major massacres of Indigenous Australians during the colonisation of Australia, finding that at least 10,000 were killed. (The Guardian) 

American Airlines Flight 292, flying from New York, United States, to New Delhi, India, is forced to divert to Rome Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, due to an unspecified security concern later deemed to be non-credible. The flight was over the Caspian Sea near Turkmenistan when it diverted back towards Europe. (AP) 

Germans vote to elect the Bundestag. The opposition CDU/CSU wins a plurality, with 28.5% of the vote and 208 seats. The governing Social Democratic Party finishes in third place with 16.4% and 120 seats, while the far-right Alternative for Germany finishes in second place with 20.8% and 152 seats. (DW) 

Germans vote to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag in the fourth snap election in Germany after World War II with the highest turnout since the reunification. The election was scheduled for September 28 but was brought forward due to the 2024 German government crisis. (BBC News)

The joint funeral for Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine is held at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP) 

In cricket under the ODI format, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli becomes the first player to reach the 51 centuries and the fastest player to reach 14,000 runs. (Times of India)

The End

Sunday, February 23rd, 2025 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he is “ready” to resign from the presidency in exchange for NATO accession as part of a potential peace agreement. (CNN)

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces the removal of multiple senior U.S. officers from their current roles, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. and the Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti. (CNN) 

The United States Department of Defense announces it will jointly lay off 4,500 probationary workers, cutting 5-8% of the civilian workforce. The United States Forest Service also announces it will lay off 2,000 employees. (AP) 

American news agency The Associated Press files a lawsuit for freedom of speech against three Trump administration officials after they banned the news agency from attending presidential press events after the agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. (NPR) 

The European Space Agency announces that the chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth in 2032 has decreased to 1.5% (1-in-67), and is likely to decrease further to less than 1%. (Nature) 

Norwegian drama film Dreams (Sex Love) wins the Golden Bear award at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, while Tilda Swinton is awarded the Honorary Golden Bear for her range and legacy. (DW) (Berlinale) 

At least three ISIS fighters were killed and no civilians were harmed after Puntland armed forces, working with U.S. Africa Command, launched an airstrike targeting ISIS militants hiding in the Cal Miskaad Mountains in the Bari Region of Puntland, Somalia. (Horseed Media)

The University of Newcastle publishes the final findings of its eight-year long attempt to record and map all major massacres of Indigenous Australians during the colonisation of Australia, finding that at least 10,000 were killed. (The Guardian) 

Israel launches airstrikes in the Baalbek area in northeastern Lebanon and other areas in the south of the country. (Times of Israel) 

American Airlines Flight 292 is forced to divert to Rome Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, after a bomb threat. The New York – Delhi flight was flying over the Caspian Sea near Turkmenistan when it diverted back towards Europe. (English Jagran) 

Germans vote to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag in the fourth snap election in Germany after World War II with the highest turnout since the reunification. The election was scheduled for September 28 but was brought forward due to the 2024 German government crisis. (BBC News)

Saturday, Februrary 22nd, 2025 

Hamas releases six living hostages, including pre-war hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both captive for more than nine years. (Times of Israel) 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the delay of the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners indefinitely, citing the “humiliating” procedure of the hostages’ release. (NBC News) 

A 69-year-old Portuguese man is killed and seven other people are injured in a mass stabbing attack by a 37-year-old man at a market in Mulhouse, France. The stabbing is being treated as a suspected Islamic terrorist attack. (CNN) 

Hundreds of Congolese police officers join the M23 movement in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the rebel group consolidates its control of the city. Around 1,800 police officers have surrendered their weapons to the new authorities, according to the Congo River Alliance. (Reuters) 

Houthi forces launch surface-to-air missiles at a U.S. fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea for the first time with both missiles missing their target. (Reuters) 

The Tuareg independence movement accuses Malian soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries of killing 24 civilians, which constitutes a war crime. (Al Jazeera) 

The death toll following the structural collapse of a metal roof of the Real Plaza Trujillo in Trujillo, Peru, rises to eight. The La Libertad government announces a period of mourning from February 22–23. (La Republica) 

A bus carrying passengers to a wedding ceremony overturns in Ranhghati, Rajasthan, India, killing two people and injuring 30 others. (The Times of India) 

The Cook Islands signs a five-year memorandum of understanding to collaborate with China in seabed mining, which includes technology transfer, logistics support, and deep-sea ecosystem research. (DW) (The Guardian) 

Two people, including a police officer, are killed and seven other people are injured in a mass shooting at the UPMC Memorial Hospital in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, United States. (Fox News) 

One person is killed and another is injured in a shooting at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The FBI is investigating the shooting but it is believed the incident was not an act of terrorism. (ABC News) 

Mohamed Amra, a French criminal and suspected drug lord known as “The Fly”, is recaptured in Romania, nine months after escaping during an ambush that killed two French prison officers. (Sky News) 

The Vatican City issues a statement informing of the worsening health of Pope Francis after more than a week in hospital due to respiratory problems. Vatican officials say Pope Francis is now in critical condition and that the prognosis “remains guarded”. (Reuters) 

Friday,  February 21st, 2025 

Israel says that forensic testing revealed one of the bodies returned by Hamas yesterday does not match with Shiri Bibas nor with any other hostages. Her sons Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, were all positively identified. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire and demands the return of her body along with the other remaining hostages. (BBC News) 

Hamas claims that Shiri’s body was “mistakenly mixed” with others who were killed and buried under the rubble in Gaza, and returns an additional body the group says is hers. The identity is soon afterwards positively confirmed by Israel. (BBC News) 

Hamas claim that Shiri’s body was “mistakenly mixed” with others who were killed and buried under the rubble in Gaza. (Al Arabiya) 

The Financial Action Task Force removes the Philippines from its grey list and adds Laos and Nepal to the list. (Reuters) 

At least 6 people are killed and 79 others are injured after a roof collapses at the Real Plaza Trujillo shopping mall in Trujillo, Peru. (Metro) 

Twelve people are killed and twenty-one others were injured in a bus crash in São Paulo, Brazil. (TRT World) 

South Sudan orders the closure of all schools in the country for two weeks due to a heat wave, with temperatures expected to reach 42 °C (108 °F). (DW) 

A norovirus outbreak with a large number of ill passengers is reported on the MS Iona cruise ship in Belgium. (Metro) 

Egypt, Jordan, and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to address possible future developments in the Gaza Strip. (The Times of Israel) 

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign an agreement to delimitate their border, solving a decades-old border dispute that had sparked clashes between different ethnic groups that had killed over a hundred people. (Reuters) 

South Korean police file a case against impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol for obstructing his arrest warrant. (Reuters) 

Veolia Water agrees to pay $53 million in settlement for all remaining active class action lawsuits for the contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, United States, but refuses to acknowledge any fault in the crisis. (WNEM) 

Hadi Matar is found guilty by a U.S. jury of attempted murder and assault for his stabbing attack on author Salman Rushdie in 2022. (ABC News) 

Three people are killed in a shooting outside of a motor vehicle office in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. (The Independent) 

Three people, including two police officers, are killed during a traffic stop in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. (The New York Times) 

The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil orders the suspension of online video platform Rumble for refusing to comply to court orders and for refusing to remove the account of Brazilian fugitive Allan dos Santos. (AP) 

A 30-year-old Spanish tourist is seriously injured in a stabbing attack at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Germany. A 19-year-old Syrian man is arrested. (DW) 

One person is seriously injured in a stabbing attack at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Germany. (AP News) 

Demonstrations continue against the government in several cities in Indonesia. Nine students have been arrested and two are injured, along with four injured policemen and two parliament members. (Tempo) (Barron’s) 

The End Sunday 

The End

Above posted Sun 02.23 6:30pm