Afghanistan – Pakistan
(RFE RL) Several explosions have rocked Kabul just hours after Afghanistan and Pakistan traded strikes on each other in their volatile mountain border region as days of escalating tensions boiled over with both sides claiming to have killed dozens of militants and security forces. Local sources told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that four locations were under attack in Afghanistan’s capital in the early hours of February 27, as well as a military base in the Kandahar region. Residents of Tirah Valley protest in July 2025, demanding that the government restore security in the restive area. – Explosions Rock Kabul After Pakistan And Afghanistan Trade Strikes In Volatile Border Region
Anthropic – Pentagon
(Maria Curi, Dave Lawler – Axios) Anthropic on Thursday said there has been “virtually no progress” on negotiations with the Pentagon, as CEO Dario Amodei said it could not accept what defense officials had labeled their final offer on AI safeguards. Why it matters: A deadline of Friday at 5:01pm is fast approaching for Anthropic to let the Pentagon use its model Claude as it sees fit or potentially face severe consequences. – Anthropic says Pentagon’s “final offer” is unacceptable
Cuba
(UN News) Cuba’s humanitarian situation is worsening as fuel shortages deepen nearly a month after Washington took measures to block oil supplies from entering the Caribbean nation, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday. Francisco Pichón cited growing risks to healthcare, water services and food distribution as the country’s energy reserves continue to fall. The UN’s top official in Cuba told a press briefing in New York via video link from Havana, there was “concern that the crisis could deepen”, with shortages creating “acute humanitarian risks” for vulnerable communities. – Humanitarian pressures grow as Cuba continues to struggle with energy shortages | UN News
Epstein files
(Kate Santaliz – Axios) Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified that she has no new information regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday. Why it matters: Bill and Hillary Clinton’s depositions on Thursday and Friday mark the first time a former first couple has appeared before a congressional panel under subpoena. – Hillary Clinton testifies she never met Epstein, accuses GOP of “cover-up”
Greece
(Nektaria Stamouli – Politico) A Greek court on Thursday sentenced four people, including two Israelis, to prison over a major wiretapping scandal involving the illegal use of spyware to target politicians, business leaders and journalists. The Greek spying affair, known as “Predatorgate,” erupted in 2022 when Nikos Androulakis, leader of the main opposition PASOK party and then a member of the European Parliament, discovered that illegal spyware known as Predator had been installed on his phone. The scandal is one of Europe’s most significant political crises involving the use of commercial hacking software. Spain, Hungary and Poland have faced similar controversies, with spyware such as Pegasus and Candiru found on the phones of politicians and activists. The European Parliament launched a formal inquiry into the use of such tools in 2022. – Greek court sentences Predator spyware gang – POLITICO
Hungary
(Oleksiy Sorokin – The Kyiv Indendent) On Feb. 26, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was feeling adventurous, sending two letters — one to Brussels, another one to Kyiv — with a set of demands. The intended target audience for both, however, were not EU and Ukrainian officials, but the domestic population soon heading to the polls. “Viktor Orban’s ominous post is not an open letter to a foreign head of state, but rather a campaign message targeting a domestic audience,” Daniel Hegedüs, deputy director at the Institute for European Politics (IEP), told the Kyiv Independent. – Orban’s election campaign strategy — blackmail EU, Ukraine over Russian oil and hope for a fight
Lebanon – IMEC
(Al Arabiya) Top Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, this week discussed the possibility of Beirut joining the US-led India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Aoun’s office released a photo following his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron’s special envoy for IMEC. According to the presidency, the talks focused on the corridor’s objectives of enhancing commercial connectivity, infrastructure, energy cooperation, and digital linkages between India, regional countries, and Europe. The discussions also addressed efforts to diversify trade routes and strengthen economic resilience amid shifting geopolitical dynamics. – Lebanon expresses interest in joining US-led IMEC
Lebanon – Israel
(Al Arabiya) Israeli military strikes in eastern Lebanon killed a Syrian teenager on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry reported, while the Israeli army said it had struck eight compounds belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force unit. “Israeli enemy airstrikes on the Bekaa this evening resulted, according to an initial toll, in the killing of a 16-year-old Syrian boy and the injury of another person,” the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement. The Israeli military said it struck eight compounds belonging to the Radwan Force, an elite fighting unit of Hezbollah. – Lebanon reports teenager killed as Israeli army says struck Hezbollah compounds
Mediterranean Migration Route
(Hanne Cokelaere – Politico) The start of this year has been the deadliest on record for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, according to a report from the International Organization for Migration. At least 606 people died in the Mediterranean Sea between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24, an “unprecedented number” for the first months of a year, said the report, published Thursday. The real number may be considerably higher, as there are reports of “hundreds more missing at sea” that have yet to be verified, with 23 bodies having already washed up on Italian and Libyan coasts over the past two weeks, the U.N. agency said. – UN agency reports ‘unprecedented’ death toll on Mediterranean migration route – POLITICO
Palestine
(UN News) The UN rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday highlighted the “human-made disaster” across the Occupied Palestinian Territory stemming from Israel’s disregard for human rights norms and serious violations also committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. Citing a new report from his office (OHCHR) covering the 12 months to 31 October 2025, High Commissioner Türk said that Israel had “continued attacks on residential buildings and makeshift tents, destroying entire neighbourhoods”. “Mass civilian deaths” resulted from the Israeli attacks, the UN rights chief noted, with more than 25,500 Palestinians killed in the space of one year, and more than 68,800 injured. – Palestine: UN rights chief highlights suffering, atrocity crimes ‘that remain unpunished’ | UN News
Russia – Sweden
(Polina Moroziuk – The Kyiv Independent) The Swedish Armed Forces jammed a suspected Russian drone as it approached France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle while the ship was docked in Malmö during NATO exercises, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported Feb. 26. The warship has been visiting the southern Swedish port as part of the Orion-26 multinational exercises, bringing NATO naval forces to the Baltic Sea region amid heightened regional tensions. SVT reported that the drone was launched from a nearby Russian vessel and moved toward the carrier before Swedish forces detected it and activated electronic countermeasures. – Swedish military jams suspected Russian drone near French nuclear aircraft carrier
Russia – Ukraine
(Ray Furlong – RFRE RL) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is counting on a future trilateral meeting with the United States and Russia to take place in early March after Ukrainian and US negotiating teams wrapped up the latest round of peace talks in Switzerland. Zelenskyy said in a video address on Telegram after the February 26 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, that “there is more readiness for the next trilateral format. “Most likely, the next meeting will be in the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi,” he said. Urging the finalization of what Ukrainian and US negotiators had “achieved” in drafting security guarantees for Ukraine — widely seen as a key issue in ending the fighting sparked by Russia’s four-year-old invasion of its neighbor — Zelenskyy also called for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. – Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Counts On Next Talks With US, Russia in March, Urges Meeting With Putin
(Oleg Sukhov – The Kyiv Independent) Prosecutors, the police, and employees of the Security Service (SBU) have conducted surveillance of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (NABU) actions in the Midas operation, NABU Chief Semen Kryvonos said on Feb. 26. At the same time, similar information on the NABU’s activities has been leaked to suspects in the Midas operation — the biggest corruption case during Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency. Nine suspects have been charged in the Midas operation — an investigation into corruption at state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom and in the defense industry. These include Timur Mindich, a close associate of the president, ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. – Prosecutors, police, SBU suspected of illegal surveillance to obstruct Ukraine’s biggest graft case
(Polina Moroziuk – The Kyiv Independent) Ukraine has detected a Russian FPV (first-person-view) drone for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, which managed to reach Kharkiv via a fiber-optic cable, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said on Feb. 25. Fiber-optic drones, which are not affected by electronic warfare, were first deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield in 2024, with their use significantly expanding on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides in 2025. FPV drones, which normally fly up to 10-20 kilometers (6-12 miles), can extend their range by tens of kilometers when linked to fiber-optic cables. Kharkiv, home to roughly 1.3 million people, lies just over 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian-occupied territories. – Russian FPV drone on fiber optic cable reaches Kharkiv for 1st time since start of full-scale invasion, prosecutor’s office says
Sudan
(UN News) Nearly three years of war in Sudan have been marked by killings, rape and other violations, with risk of genocidal violence spreading, the UN Human Rights Council heard on Thursday. The brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was the focus of debate as the Geneva-based Council holds its first session of the year. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk delivered remarks alongside Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan established by the Council in October 2023. – Human Rights Council hears of ongoing risk of further genocidal violence in Sudan | UN News
Ukraine
(Luca Léry Moffat – The Kyiv Independent) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the final seal of approval for an $8.1 billion loan to Ukraine, with more lenient terms for the war-torn country than initially planned. The fund’s executive board signed off on the new program in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 26, the IMF announced in a press release. Ukraine, which relies on continued injections of foreign cash to keep its finances afloat, will receive financial support from the fund in tranches through 2029, with the first payment arriving as an immediate disbursement of $1.5 billion. The Washington-based lender and Kyiv had initially agreed to a more stringent version of the program in November 2025, requiring Ukraine to adopt or table legislation on a series of unpopular taxes to unlock the program. – Ukraine secures $8.1 billion IMF lifeline as funding gaps loom
US
(Marc Caputo, Rebecca Falconer – Axios) The Federal Aviation Administration prohibited flights in a Texas region near the border with Mexico after the Defense Department accidentally shot down a border patrol drone on Thursday, an administration official told Axios. The big picture: Per an FAA notice, the agency issued airspace restrictions “for Special Security Reasons” after the Pentagon shot down the drone in the area around Fort Hancock, just over 50 miles southeast of El Paso — the scene of a similar airspace closure earlier this month. – Texas airspace shut after Pentagon shoots down border patrol drone
(Andrew Solender – Axios) The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is coming under fire from an unlikely adversary: Outsider Democratic congressional candidates. Why it matters: It’s a rare moment of internal party infighting spilling out into public view, with candidates raging that the House Democratic campaign arm picked favorites by endorsing a dozen candidates earlier this week. – House Democrats’ campaign arm faces angry revolt from candidates
(Holly Otterbein – Axios) New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had what he called a “productive” meeting with President Trump on Thursday, charming the president with a mocked-up tabloid newspaper featuring his likeness. Why it matters: Mamdani and Trump have developed an unexpected, made-for-TV relationship despite their vast political differences. – Mamdani charms Trump over housing, gets ICE detainee released
US – Iran
(Barak Ravid – Axios) The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East briefed President Trump on Thursday about the options for military action against Iran, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the meeting. Why it matters: This was the first time the commander of the U.S. military Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper briefed Trump since the beginning of the crisis with Iran last December. – Top U.S. commander in the Middle East briefs Trump on Iran military options
(Al Arabiya) The Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit is ready to participate if President Donald Trump decides to launch strikes on Iran, according to US officials and analysts. The drone unit is known as Task Force Scorpion and evolved from an experimental US military drone unit. It’s now ready for operations, US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in an emailed statement. – Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit ready for Iran strikes
US – Syria
(Al Arabiya) The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now President Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who had a strategic partnership with China. – Washington presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecom systems
US – Syrian Immigrants
(Al Arabiya) President Donald Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene in its effort to strip deportation protections from about 6,000 Syrians living in the United States. The Justice Department in an emergency request asked the Supreme Court to lift a judge’s November decision that blocked the administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Syrians while litigation challenging the move continues. – Trump asks US Supreme Court to end protections for Syrian immigrants
