The EU is set to indefinitely freeze more than $247 billion in Russian central bank assets today, clearing the path to use the money to keep Ukraine funded as the war grinds on. The move would end the precarious six-month renewal cycle — and reduce the chances of Kremlin-friendly countries like Hungary or Slovakia putting the funds back in Russia’s hands. The move would also secure Belgium’s backing for a plan to leverage the assets for a $193-billion loan to Kyiv. Meanwhile, Hungary calls it unlawful, and Russia is suing, and calling it theft. Euroclear, the Belgian bank that holds the assets, is also skeptical. But Brussels believes it’s necessary. Ukraine is on the hook for paying the money back, but only if Russia pays war damages. So if it passes, Europe is locking in long-term financial firepower for Ukraine, and some political leverage over Moscow.
US President Donald Trump is meeting with a new coalition of countries today to discuss efforts to export critical minerals needed for AI-infrastructure and military technology. The goal: countering China’s near-monopoly in the minerals’ supply chain, which it dominates thanks, in part, to its loose regulations. Beijing also recently tightened export controls of the minerals, which has pushed American companies to grab whatever mineral supplies are available outside of China. Called the “Pax Silica” declaration, the US initiative brings together countries like Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Israel. Some of America’s key allies are notably absent: Canada nor much of the EU were invited (with the exception of the Netherlands, who will attend).
Egypt and Iran are set to lock horns at next year’s FIFA World Cup, but it may be the battle off the field that will be more testy. The game will take place in Seattle on June 26 – the end of Pride Month – and the city has decided to include the game as part of its celebrations for the LGBTQ+ community. There’s just a few problems: neither the Egyptian nor Iranian authorities want these celebrations, and FIFA has previously quelled such actions. It seized rainbow flags from those entering stadiums at the last World Cup in Qatar and threatened to “sanction” players who wore “OneLove” armbands in protest against the Qatari government’s treatment of LGBTQ+ people. What’s more, the Trump administration declined to recognize Pride Month. Will Seattle engage in a David vs. Goliath battle, and try to hold the march anyway?
175: The number of people killed at an Iranian girls’ school in a strike on Feb. 28. Initial intelligence reports suggest that the US was to blame for the strike, per the New York Times, after the military used a now-defunct set of coordinates to deploy the hit.
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