Situation Reports

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not sign a critical minerals deal as planned after a tense Oval Office meeting, which Trump concluded by saying, "You either make a deal, or we are out. You don’t have the cards," The New York Times reported on Feb. 28.

Authorities in Singapore charged two Singaporeans and one Chinese national for allegedly defrauding U.S. tech company Nvidia Corp. by illicitly shipping its semiconductors to China, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 28.

Five diplomats with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said China was increasingly likely to agree to make the long unrealized South China Sea code of conduct legally binding, The Straits Times reported on Feb. 28.

In a joint op-ed published in Foreign Policy with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of "systematically" violating international law in Gaza and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to "take over" Gaza as "ethnic cleansing," Bloomberg reported on Feb. 27.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement on Feb. 27 stating that Mexican authorities released 29 individuals linked to drug cartels, including some high-ranking cartel members, into U.S. custody the same day, Reuters reported on Feb. 28.

The Ethiopian and Somali militaries reached an understanding aimed at strengthening security cooperation and regional stability following Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's visit to Mogadishu, Addis Standard reported on Feb. 27.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said he would not attend a cross-party talk that day or any future talks until acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed the third National Assembly-nominated justice to the Constitutional Court, Yonhap News Agency reported on Feb. 28.

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, leader Abdullah Ocalan's Feb. 27 call for the PKK to disarm and disband "is not related to us in Syria," Reuters reported the same day.

The Bangladeshi students who spearheaded the 2024 mass protests to remove former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina established a political party, the National Citizen Party, The Business Standard reported on Feb. 28.

Germany's center-right alliance between the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union began exploratory coalition talks with the center-left Social Democratic Party, Politico reported on Feb. 28.