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428: Ukraine Will Agree to a 30 Day Ceasefire with Russia - US to Restart Military Aid and Intel Sharing + Iranian President to President Trump: "Do Whatever the Hell You Want" + Latest US Budget News + More
For review:1. Ukraine Will Agree to a 30 Day Ceasefire with Russia - US to Restart Military Aid and Intel Sharing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "We'll take this offer now to the Russians. And we hope that they'll say yes, that they'll say yes to peace. The President's objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end, and I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate." 2. Iranian President to President Trump: "Do Whatever the Hell You Want." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that his country would not negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program while being threatened.3. Israel and Lebanon agreed on Tuesday to open negotiations to delineate the border between the two countries, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Jerusalem and Beirut negotiated a maritime boundary in 2022 — but the two countries have yet to adopt an official land border. 4. Israeli journalists tour IDF posts atop Mount Hermon, on Syrian side of border. The IDF has established nine military posts inside Syrian territory, including two atop Mount Hermon. Three IDF brigades, under the 210th Bashan Regional Division, are deployed to the area. 5. Latest US Budget News: The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to pass a six-month funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of the week. The measure now heads to the US Senate, where its fate is uncertain.
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427: Iran Supreme Leader Not Interested in Talks with "Bullying" Countries + Russian Forces Advance in Kursk Region + Iran - Russia - China Naval Drills in Indian Ocean + More
For review:1. Iran Supreme Leader Not Interested in Talks with "Bullying" Countries. Iran's Supreme leader has criticized "bullying" countries in an apparent response to US President Donald Trump's letter demanding negotiations over its nuclear program.2. Israel on Sunday prepared to send a delegation to Doha for further talks on the Gaza truce.3. Israel’s Energy Minister on Sunday instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to immediately cut off the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, in an apparent bid to pile pressure on Hamas, where 24 hostages presumed to be alive, and the bodies of 35 more, are still held.4. Russian Forces Advance in Kursk Region. Russian forces on Sunday recaptured three more settlements in Russia's western Kursk region, the Defence Ministry said (Russian), as part of an operation to evict Ukrainian troops holding chunks of territory seven months after a cross-border incursion.5. Norway will more than double its aid to Ukraine in 2025 to bring the annual total to $7.8 billion, Prime Minister Jonas Store announced Thursday.6. France on Friday began handing over military bases in Senegal, as part of a withdrawal of troops from the west African nation where it has had a presence since 1960. The withdrawal follows the departure of French forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Ivory Coast in recent years.7. Iran - Russia - China Naval Drills in Indian Ocean. The drills “will begin on Tuesday in the port of Chabahar,” located in southeast Iran on the Gulf of Oman, the Tasnim news agency said, without specifying their duration. Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka will attend as observers.8. The U.S. military’s classified mini-space shuttle- the X-37B- returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days. The space plane blasted into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.
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17:39
426: President Trump Sends Letter to Iran Supreme Leader + US & Ukraine to Discuss Peace in Saudi Arabia + France - Germany - Italy - UK - Support Arab Rebuild Plan for Gaza + More
For review:1. President Trump Sends Letter to Iran Supreme Leader. US President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and sent a letter to its leadership this week suggesting talks with the Islamic Republic.2. New Syrian government consolidating security against Pro-Assad forces in the Alawite Minority. A Syria war monitor reported on Saturday that over 530 civilians from the Alawite minority had been killed in recent days by security forces, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad. The civilian deaths bring the overall toll to 745 people, including 93 members of the new government’s security forces and 120 pro-Assad fighters.3. France - Germany - Italy - UK - Support Arab Rebuild Plan for Gaza. “The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,” the ministers said in a joint statement. 4. US & Ukraine to Discuss Peace in Saudi Arabia. From Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: "Next Monday, I have a visit planned to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the Crown Prince. After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. "Ukraine is most interested in peace." 5. Singapore announced a 12.4% defense budget hike on 03 March, with major new equipment on order. The FY2025 defense budget is slated to reach US $17.4 billion. 6. USAF Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototypes (two variants) receive series designations: General Atomics designation: YFQ-42A; & Anduril designation: YFQ-44A. (Y = Prototype; F = Fighter; & Q = Drone.)7. US Army selects Textron Ripsaw M3 as promising Robotic Combat Vehicle prototype for development.
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18:59
425: US Pauses Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine + New IDF Chief of Staff: 2025 - A Year of War + US Unfreezes $95 Million Aid Package to Lebanese Armed Forces + More
For review:1. New IDF Chief of Staff: 2025 - A Year of War. New IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir stated that 2025 would be “a year of war” with a focus on the Gaza Strip and Iran.2. US Unfreezes $95 Million Aid Package to Lebanese Armed Forces.3. US Pauses Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine. Comments from top Trump administration officials suggest the decision is part of the broader negotiations between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, and that intelligence could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon. CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the suspension a “pause".4. Denmark picked Norwegian ammunition maker Nammo to restart a shuttered ammo plant for production of small- and large-caliber ammunition, the country’s defense ministry said. Nammo will produce 155 mm and 120 mm shells at the Elling plant, as well as 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm caliber cartridges.5. As development continues, the USAF is fielding inquiries on Foreign Military Sales for new MH-139 Grey Wolf Helicopter. The MH-139 Fleet is primarily tasked with supporting nuclear security, as well as ferrying VIPs in the Washington, DC-area.
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18:02
424: Arab Leaders Adopt Egypt's Gaza Reconstruction Plan + Ukraine President Proposes Partial Ceasefire + EU Ready to Spend $843 Billion to Rearm Europe + Lockheed Out of Navy's F/A XX Competition + More
For review:1. Arab Leaders Adopt Egypt's Gaza Reconstruction Plan. The Egyptian plan, called “Early Recovery, Reconstruction, Development of Gaza,” is based on “preserving the rights, dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people, and on the horizon of a two-state solution.” 2. Ukraine President Proposes Partial Ceasefire. Ukraine is proposing to Russia a “truce in the sky” – that is, a halt to mutual long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure and, above all, against their respective energy industries. 3. EU Ready to Spend $843 Billion to Rearm Europe. Unveiling the plan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was blunt, saying, “We are in an era of rearmament. And Europe is ready to massively boost its defense spending.” “This is Europe’s moment, and we must live up to it,” she added. 4. During an address to a Joint session of Congress, President Trump announced the creation of a shipbuilding office in the White House centered on revitalizing the nation’s commercial and naval shipbuilding industry. 5. 20 Additional Missile Silos emplaced at Fort Greely, AK. Boeing has finished building 20 x new silos for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System at Fort Greely, Alaska, growing the number of interceptors that can be emplaced there from 40 to 60. 6. Lockheed Martin Out of Navy's F/A XX Competition- leaving Northrop Grumman and Boeing in the running to replace the F/A-18 and E/A-18 with a new air superiority fighter.
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