Latest news for 23 April 2025

UNITED STATES

US floats recognising Crimea as Russian.

The US is reportedly pushing European and Ukrainian counterparts to accept a ‘final offer’ featuring US recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the withdrawal of sanctions, in exchange for a freezing of the frontlines. (WSJ)

Comment: That looks like a sweet deal for Putin, who already needs to freeze the conflict and replenish his lines anyway. It arguably reflects Trump’s waning patience with the whole peace process, which might’ve been Putin’s hope all along — the US leaving the chessboard doesn't mean the game stops.

VATICAN CITY

Pope’s funeral to be held Saturday.

Planned attendees include world leaders like Donald Trump, Brazil’s Lula da Silva, and Ukraine’s Zelensky. (Vatican News)

UNITED STATES

Musk to step back from government role.

Elon Musk has said he’ll significantly step back from his Trump advisory role, instead allocating more time to his EV-maker, Tesla. His announcement comes after another disappointing Tesla quarterly earnings update. (BBC)

COSTA RICA

San Jose grants US deportees 3-month permits.

Following a human rights lawsuit, Costa Rica’s new permits release US deportees from detention, though it’s unclear what their next move might be: hailing from various third countries, they have no work rights and many lack passports. (AP)

MYANMAR

Junta extends ceasefire.

The ruling military junta is citing earthquake relief in justifying its ceasefire with rival ethnic militias, though it kept attacking in the immediate quake aftermath, and there are reports it never fully stopped. (The Straits Times)

Comment: There’s long been criticism of the (in)effectiveness of the main regional bloc (ASEAN), so it’s interesting to see this ceasefire extension might be the result of rare junta talks spearheaded by Malaysia’s prime minister (ASEAN’s current chair).

SPAIN

Madrid accelerates 2% NATO target.

Spain, long NATO’s lowest defence spender but now the eurozone’s fastest-growing economy, is committing to hit NATO’s 2% spending target by the end of the year — that speeds up a goal it was only set to hit in 2029. Why? PM Sanchez is citing a "rapidly evolving geopolitical and economic context." (Politico EU)

INDIA

Kashmir terrorist attack kills 26+ tourists.

An offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (the Pakistan-based jihadist group) is claiming responsibility for the shooting at a resort in an Indian-controlled (and Pakistan-claimed) part of Kashmir. (CBS)

Comment: An Indian military response against targets in Pakistan now feels inevitable — and that’s a reminder how, while headlines focus on any risk of conflict between nuclear powers like the US, China, and/or Russia, a clash between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan could still be the more immediate risk.

GHANA

West African leaders gather after region splits.

Leaders from West Africa’s main regional bloc (the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS) are now in Ghana to figure out next steps, after the junta-led trio of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso all bailed earlier this year. (Africanews)

Comment: In case anyone needed a reminder of the link between trade and politics, one of the junta trio’s first moves was to slap a tariff on ECOWAS goods.