World Briefing: February 27, 2025
A top White House official has proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network as Donald Trump moves to annex US’s northern neighbour. Peter Navarro, one of the US president’s closest advisers, is pushing for the US to remove Canada from the Five Eyes — which also includes the UK, Australia and New Zealand — according to people familiar with his efforts inside the administration. Trump has said he wants to annex Canada and has vowed to press ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on imports from the country when a one-month reprieve elapses on March 4. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will step down from office on March 9, was recently caught on an open mic warning that Trump’s ambition to absorb the US’s northern neighbour was a “real thing”. Navarro did not respond to requests for comment. After the FT’s article was first published, Navarro denied pushing the idea, which he said was “crazy stuff”. “We would never ever jeopardise our national security . . . with allies like Canada,” Navarro said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Trudeau’s office declined to comment.
There is nothing in the current U.S.-Ukraine deal on minerals on the table that points to security guarantees for Ukraine, an analyst quoted by France 24 said. President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet with Donald Trump on Friday to finalize the deal. That was the same conclusion I reached after a careful read of the agreement. To be blunt: it appears that the minerals agreement between US and Ukraine includes no firm security guarantees. According to wording of the text: “The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”
Hamas says it will hand over the bodies of four Israeli hostages from Gaza, with Israel releasing more than 600 Palestinian prisoners. It is the final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which is due to end on Saturday. The identities of the four bodies have not been confirmed, but Hamas says they are Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69 - they were all taken in the 7 October 2023 attacks. Israel had been due to release the 600 Palestinian prisoners at the weekend, but delayed it in protest at what it said were "humiliating" hostage handover ceremonies. Hamas has agreed to hand over the bodies tonight without any ceremony, Israel says. Israel says it is preparing to initially identify the four hostages' bodies at the Gaza border "as quickly as possible while being sensitive to the families" - BBC
The Washington Post's Opinion Section editor David Shipley resigned after owner Jeff Bezos mandated the section prioritize two topics, personal liberties and free markets, and not publish dissenting views in those areas. The changes will dramatically reshape The Post's opinion coverage, which has focused on a broad array of issues, especially politics and policy, for decades. "This is a significant shift, it won't be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision," Bezos wrote in a note to staff Wednesday. "We'll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction." The new announcement, following a controversial move by Bezos to kill presidential endorsements last year, shows how much Bezos is willing to assert his power to shape public opinion as the owner of one of the country's largest newspapers. The Post lost thousands of subscribers last year over Bezos' endorsement decision. Members of the Opinion Board resigned in protest. Bezos said the Post will cover other topics "but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others." Bezos' announcement quickly drew backlash from journalists online, including at The Post. "Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post's opinion section today — makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there," The Post's chief economics reporter Jeff Stein posted on X. "I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know." - Axios
A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015. The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread outbreak, Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Since it began last month, a rash of 124 cases has erupted across nine counties. The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The child wasn’t identified but was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn’t live in Lubbock County. “This is a big deal,” Dr. Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, said Wednesday at a news conference. “We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence.” - AP
