Sunday, 9 March 2025

France to use interest from frozen Russian assets to finance arms for Ukraine. — 9 March 2025 (LINK)

Russia is advancing in Kursk, threatening Ukraine's sole territorial bargaining counter. — 9 March 2025 (LINK)

New treatment kills several types of common cancer cells — helping millions worldwide. — 9 March 2025 (LINK)

— Scientists have uncovered a promising way to fight prostate cancer by targeting a single enzyme, PI5P4Ka, that can trigger cancer cell death.

Saturday, 8 March 2025

Over 600 killed in Syria as security forces battle pro-Assad fighters. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

France, Germany, Italy and UK back Arab plan for Gaza reconstruction. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

Russian forces attacked Dobropillya with missiles, rockets, and drones, damaging eight multi-storey buildings overnight on Friday, killing at least 11 people and injuring over 30. According to city authorities, an administrative building and 30 cars were also damaged. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

Panama releases dozens of detained deportees from US into limbo following human rights criticism. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

GOP funding patch boosts defence and deportations, cuts other programmes. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

Russia's arms exports are going bust as foreign buyers bolt and the Ukraine war chews through its weapons. — 9 March 2025 (LINK)

US executes man by firing squad for first time in 15 years. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

— The man, Brad Sigmon, 67, was shot dead by three volunteer prison employees at 6:08 p.m. (2308 GMT) at the Broad River Correctional Institution in the state capital Columbia, prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said.

— Sigmon had been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2001 after a plan to kidnap their daughter went wrong. He had planned to kill his girlfriend and himself after taking her on a romantic weekend.

— The Supreme Court rejected his last-minute appeal to avoid the execution and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster denied his appeal for clemency. Sigmon chose execution by firing squad over lethal injection and the electric chair. His lawyer Gerald King said he had been forced to make an "abjectly cruel" decision about how he would die. "Unless he elected lethal injection or the firing squad, he would die in South Carolina's ancient electric chair, which would burn and cook him alive," King said. "But the alternative is just as monstrous," he said. "If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September."

— Most executions in the US are carried out by lethal injection. The last firing squad execution was in Utah in 2010. Three other states — Idaho, Mississippi and Oklahoma — also authorize the use of firing squads. Six people have already been executed in the US this year after 25 were killed last year. Half of all US states have either banned or put a moratorium on executions.

A non-crypto person's guide to the 'bitcoin strategic reserve'. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

— Under Trump's executive order, the United States would essentially consolidate all the bitcoin it has seized through criminal and civil forfeitures and hold it as a reserve asset — similar to the way gold and petroleum are stockpiled. The argument for a reserve is basically that there's a (very small) chance that the Federal Reserve could completely mismanage the dollar.

— In short, it's computer code. It's not a tangible thing you can hold in your hand — if you own bitcoin, you store it in a digital wallet protected by a long password that you can never lose, lest you end up like one of the many early adopters who are sitting on millions worth of crypto they can't access. (It's one of the many criticisms of the product — there is no customer service line, no authority you can appeal to, if you commit the offense of being human.) Despite the name cryptocurrency, you can't buy much with it. (Unless you're on the dark web — don't ask me where that is — and looking for illicit substances.) The most compelling case for bitcoin use, if you can stomach the volatility, is using it as a store of value — a kind of "digital gold." This is especially appealing to people who live in countries with weak currencies. Proponents of the digital gold theory note that despite wild swings in bitcoin's price on a given day or week, bitcoin has gone up more than 1,000% over the past five years.

President Trump lied about auditing Fort Knox, like he did with releasing Epstein files. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

FIFA plans to launch its cryptocurrency. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

Friday, 7 March 2025

Trump threatens new sanctions and tariffs on Russia to force peace talks. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

— This is the first time since taking office that Trump has issued a public threat against Russia.

Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement, in effort to dismantle union protections: no TSA fastlane? — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Crypto prices fall as US strategic reserve plan disappoints traders: bitcoin reserve based on assets forfeited to authorities. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Hamas threatens to kill all hostages if Israeli attacks resume: Trump threatened Hamas, ordering them to release all hostages, dead or alive, or it is "over for you" in a post Wednesday on Truth Social. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Reuters: United States quits board of UN climate damage fund dedicated to help poor and vulnerable countries cope with climate-change-fueled disasters, letter shows. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

— Since January 1, it has stopped the participation of U.S. climate scientists in global assessments, pulled out of funding deals that help countries reduce their coal use, as well as again removed the country from the Paris Climate Agreement. According to U.N. statistics, wealthy countries pledged $741 millions to the fund as of January 23. The United States contributed $17.5 million. It's unclear whether it will honour this pledge.

America's butterflies are disappearing at a 'catastrophic' rate. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

DOGE staffers reportedly draw hefty salaries funded by taxpayers while Elon Musk pushes for 'wasteful' spending cuts. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fade after jobs data; stocks head for worst week since September. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

200 evacuated at site of WW2 bomb after Eurostar cancels all Paris trains, to resume Saturday. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

US executes man by firing squad for first time in 15 years. — 8 March 2025 (LINK)

— The man, Brad Sigmon, 67, was shot dead by three volunteer prison employees at 6:08 p.m. (2308 GMT) at the Broad River Correctional Institution in the state capital Columbia, prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said.

— Sigmon had been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2001 after a plan to kidnap their daughter went wrong. He had planned to kill his girlfriend and himself after taking her on a romantic weekend.

— The Supreme Court rejected his last-minute appeal to avoid the execution and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster denied his appeal for clemency. Sigmon chose execution by firing squad over lethal injection and the electric chair. His lawyer Gerald King said he had been forced to make an "abjectly cruel" decision about how he would die. "Unless he elected lethal injection or the firing squad, he would die in South Carolina's ancient electric chair, which would burn and cook him alive," King said. "But the alternative is just as monstrous," he said. "If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September."

— Most executions in the US are carried out by lethal injection. The last firing squad execution was in Utah in 2010. Three other states — Idaho, Mississippi and Oklahoma — also authorize the use of firing squads. Six people have already been executed in the US this year after 25 were killed last year. Half of all US states have either banned or put a moratorium on executions.

Gene Hackman died from Alzheimer’s & severe heart disease after his wife died several days before from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, spread mainly by rodents’ feces. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

— A February 27 autopsy of Gene Hackman reveals the 95-year-old Oscar winner died of a combination of “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” and severe heart disease, the New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner announced. There was evidence that he hadn’t eaten for a number of days. Ms. Arakawa is assumed to have died on or around February 11, officials said.

Buffy Sainte-Marie returns Canadian Polaris and Junos music awards following revelations of her U.S. identity. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

— In a statement, CARAS, Junos Awards’ governing body, explained the decision: "This decision is not a reflection of Ms. Sainte-Marie’s artistic contributions but ensures that CARAS celebrates and honours artists who meet the criteria. While this decision aligns with longstanding criteria, we acknowledge the impact it may have. Buffy Sainte-Marie has been a strong supporter and advocate for Canadian music, and we acknowledge the past contributions she has made to our organization. However, CARAS’ mandate is to educate, develop, celebrate, and honour Canadian artists. Maintaining the integrity of this process is essential to ensuring the organization continues to fulfill its purpose."

Russia violated ceasefire agreements in Ukraine 25 times since 2014: the history. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Thursday, 6 March 2025

Israel hails cancellation of 'biased' Geneva Conventions meeting in Switzerland on Palestinians. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

UN slashes support for Rohingya refugees in Indonesia due to U.S. cuts, sources say. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

— The U.N. says about 2,800 Rohingya refugees live in Indonesia. Reuters reported on 5 March that the World Food Programme would halve rations to more than a million Rohingya living in Bangladesh, which hosts the world's largest refugee settlement, to $6 per month.

Trump to revoke legal status for 240,000 Ukrainians as US steps up deportations. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Top Trump allies hold secret talks with Zelenskyy's Ukrainian opponents. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

EU sidelines Hungary to pledge support for Ukraine; reaches consensus on $867 billion defence boost. — 7 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump signs executive order establishing U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump hits pause on Canada and Mexico tariffs — again: imports that comply with the USMCA trade agreement won't be hit with new tariffs this month. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

— About 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports are covered by the trade agreement, according to a White House official. — (LINK)

Dow slides more than 200 points as traders await more clarity on Canada and Mexico tariffs. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Tesla shares tumbled 5.6% in trading on March 6 and are down 45% from their December peak, giving up 96% of a post-election bump. Just since Trump took office and Musk began wielding power they have lost 38% of their overall value. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Starlink's French rival, Eutelsat, up over 600% since Trump halted Ukraine aid, now in talks with EU to replace Elon Musk's satellite internet service in Ukraine. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

France will keep providing military intelligence to Ukraine as the US freezes vital information. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump admits Musk is head of DOGE: During his address before Congress Tuesday, Donald Trump lauded Elon Musk as the head of DOGE, contradicting previous White House claims. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

US plans to close European consulates and cut state department workforce. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

US House censures Democrat Al Green for protesting Trump's speech. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

SpaceX rocket explodes, raining debris from sky for second time. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

Alibaba launches DeepSeek rival QwQ-32B, sending stock surging by 8%. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

— Alibaba touted its new model, QwQ-32B, in an online statement as delivering "exceptional performance, almost entirely surpassing OpenAI-o1-mini and rivaling the strongest open-source reasoning model, DeepSeek-R1." OpenAI-o1-mini is the American company's cost-efficient reasoning model released last year.

— The release of Alibaba's new AI model comes a day after the launch of a "general AI agent" called Manus by another company. A video on the website dedicated to Manus says the software can carry out complex, multi-step tasks such as screening resumés and creating a website. According to Reuters, Manus is the creation of Chinese company Monica. The video also says the AI agent is more advanced than a chatbot because it doesn't only generate ideas but delivers tangible results, such as producing a report recommending properties to buy based on specific criteria.

Right Side Broadcasting Network, the White House's favoured outlet of reporter Brian Glenn (the one who scolded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit, and the manfriend of Marjorie Taylor Greene), took payments of $192K for covering Trump. — 6 March 2025 (LINK)

— Glenn acknowledged the payments in a brief interview, describing them as "production" costs.

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Polish official warns of international crisis if US cuts Ukraine from Starlink. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

Economist Peter Schiff accuses Trump of manipulating BTC, ETH, ADA, XRP prices, claims crypto reserve is inflationary. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

— Trump surprised everyone on Monday by announcing that a U.S. crypto reserve would include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. As a result, Bitcoin and Ethereum jumped 10% in price, while XRP and Solana jumped around 20%.

— Schiff initially supported a Bitcoin reserve if it excluded Ripple's XRP, but he backpedaled on this comment and rejected the reserve treasury altogether. He now claims that Bitcoin supporters engaged in fraudulent behaviour by spreading false information about the currency online and benefiting from short-term market conditions.

— Schiff further states that the posts were carefully timed to benefit people who knew about the event in advance. The people he alludes to could be members of Trump's family and politicians who are aware of the announcement, possibly buying cryptocurrencies like XRP in advance, only to sell them at a market high.

US stocks rally on Trump's tariff exemption for autos. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

Canadian stores pull U.S. liquor from shelves as Trump's tariffs take effect. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

EPFL scientists and others have identified previously unknown neural modules in the brain that control movement and adapt during skill learning. Their findings challenge long-held ideas about how the brain organizes movement. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

— These modules change and adapt as skills are learned, providing a new framework for understanding how the brain refines motor control.

World’s first "biological computer" runs AI models on actual human brain cells. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Trump to announce Bitcoin reserve strategy at White House Crypto Summit on 7 March: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. — 5 March 2025 (LINK)

BBC: Six takeaways from Trump's big speech: longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record.Trump was heckled by Democrats and he goaded them in turn during the rowdy primetime address. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

— Tariffs: *There'll be a little disturbance, but we're okay with that. It won't be much."

— Trump added that reciprocal tariffs tailored to US trading partners would "kick in" on 2 April.

— Earlier in the day, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business that Trump could announce a trade deal with Mexico and Canada as soon as Wednesday.

— Ukraine's president said he was now ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" to end the war and "come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer". "I appreciate that he sent this letter," Trump told lawmakers. Trump was reportedly hoping to announce during his speech to Congress that the deal had finally been sealed. But it did not materialize.

— Repeating his desire for the US to acquire Greenland, he vowed "we're going to get it — one way or the other". And he said his administration would "reclaim" the Panama Canal.

— Liberia, Mali, Mozambique and Uganda were all places unfairly benefiting from US aid, he said. But his most pointed remark was about Lesotho, which he said was a country "nobody has ever heard of" despite receiving $8m (£6.2m) to promote LGBT rights.

— Many Democratic women arrived in the House chamber wearing pink pantsuits in protest. Dozens from their party — some of them wearing the words "Resist" printed on the backs of their shirts — exited the chamber during the speech. "There is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy," Trump said, appearing to revel in the partisan rancour.

— Trump pledged to voters that he would beat inflation on his return to office and he used the speech to say his focus would be to reduce the cost of energy, by opening up the country to new oil and gas drilling.

'Extremely dishonest': CNN fact-checker nails Trump on 13 'flat false' claims. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump halt of arms aid to Ukraine 'painful, but not fatal', Kyiv says. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

The Zelenskyy clothing issue. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

US firm, asset management giant BlackRock, agrees to buy HongKong-owned Panama Canal ports at centre of Trump fury. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

IRS drafting plans to slash as much as half of its 90,000-person workforce leaving agency 'dysfunctional', AP sources say. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

U.S. egg prices: a new Food & Water Watch report details how "corporations use the worsening bird flu crisis to jack up egg prices, even as their own factory farms fuel the spread of disease.". — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

— FWW found that "egg prices were already rising before the current [avian flu] outbreak hit U.S. commercial poultry flocks in February 2022, and have never returned to pre-outbreak levels. Egg price spikes hit regions that were bird flu-free until recently. The U.S. Southeast remained free of bird flu in its table egg flocks until January 2025, and actually increased egg production in 2022 and 2023 over 2021 levels. Nevertheless, retail egg prices in the Southeast rose alongside January 2023's national price spikes."

Millions in COVID relief funds went to shadowy companies registered at a Wyoming storefront that hundreds of thousands of firms used as an address. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

The 'political landscape' of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is in increasing turmoil. A deep divide has emerged between the Kandahari group led by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and the Haqqani Group led by Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

Arab leaders endorse $53bn plan to rebuild Gaza as alternative to Trump idea: Proposal focuses on emergency relief and long-term economic development under Palestinian Authority administration. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

— The prospect of the PA governing Gaza remains far from certain, however, with Israel having ruled out any future role for the body, and Trump having closed the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) liaison office in Washington during his first term while stepping up support for Israel.

— In a 112-page document, the Egyptian government presented colourful AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens and community centres, with plans for a commercial harbour, a technology hub, beach hotels and an airport.

Gravity from entropy: A radical new approach to unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity: also opens the door to new interpretations of dark matter. — 4 March 2025 (LINK)

Monday, 3 March 2025

Richard Gowan, U.N. director at the International Crisis Group: Trump is trying to remake the United Nations. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

— Trump believes the United Nations should refocus on its "founding purpose" of preserving international peace and security. It is not clear what the administration's appeal to the U.N.'s original ideals means in policy terms. The administration has emphasized what it does not like about the U.N., quitting or defunding multilateral arrangements on issues ranging from health to human rights.

Dow drops nearly 650 points on worries about Trump's latest tariffs. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

China, Canada And Mexico retaliation as Trump's tariffs go into effect. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

— Beijing announced 10-15% increases in import duties on several key American agricultural and food products and expanded export controls on 15 U.S. firms. China's finance ministry said an additional 15% tariff will be imposed on U.S. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton imports, while U.S. soybeans, sorghum, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits and vegetables and dairy imports will face an additional 10% levy — both of which will go into effect on March 10. In a separate announcement, China's ministry of commerce announced it was expanding its export controls on dual use items — which can be used for both civilian and military purposes — to target several U.S. defence contractors, including Leidos, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems.

— Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his country will respond to Trump's tariffs with 25% retaliatory duties against $107 billion of American goods.Trudeau said tariffs on $20.7 billion worth of goods will go into effect immediately and tariffs on the remaining $86.3 billion American products will go into effect in 21 days — and both will remain in place "until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn".

— Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said "composure, serenity, and patience" was needed and her country has a "Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan D" in place, without offering much detail about the contingency plans.

DOGE cuts hit Social Security With 7,000 layoffs and regional office closures, reducing its workforce by more than 12 percent — reducing offices from 10 to 4. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

DOGE laid off workers who were protecting infrastructure from foreign hackers. — 3 March 2025 (LINK: limited)

DOGE just keeps deleting its 'savings': another $4 billion was pulled off the "wall of receipts". — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

— The agency changed or removed more than 40% of the more than 1,000 contracts it claimed to have canceled over the previous week, according to the New York Times. Included in that overnight alteration was the outright removal of five of the seven largest contracts it claimed to have cut.

— The most recent examples of the agency's revisions included a $1.9 billion contract for IRS tech support that, while DOGE took credit for it, had actually been canceled in November by the Biden administration. A $133 million contract from USAID work in Libya was also canceled the year prior and had nothing to do with DOGE. And a $149 million contract that was supposedly for administrative assistants at the Department of Health and Human Services but linked to a completely different contract with a completely different company and a completely different amount also got trashed from the savings list, per the Times.

— According to the New York Times reporting, DOGE's initial claims of saving $16 billion last week have already shrunk to under $9 billion with the updates—and that's taking the agency at its word that all the other contracts it cut are in fact correct. Pair that with NPR's research that $46.5 billion of the agency's first $55 billion of savings reported had no specifically documented source, and you start to wonder just how much of the whole operation is accomplishing anything.

Target takes a hit: $12.4 billion wiped out in market share as consequences for the company’s choice to abandon its diversity, equity and inclusion policies: audio. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

The Justice Department on 28 February quietly took revenge on prosecutors who'd worked to hold Trump's allies accountable. — 3 March 2025 (LINK)

— The head of the Washington, DC, US attorney's office demoted seven high-ranking prosecutors on Friday, Reuters reports, moving them to entry-level positions in a bid to force them to quit. Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed new head of the DC office, claimed the moves reflected a shift in priorities and a focus on local crime in DC.

ClimateAction: Major outcomes of COP16-2 UN Biodiversity Conference: (CBD LINK) — 3 March 2025 (Summary LINK)

— Parties adopted a Strategy for Resource Mobilization, identifying important guidance, mechanisms, and institutions needed to scale up resource from all sources, for the implementation of the GBF. The strategy will look to "close the biodiversity finance gap and achieve the target of mobilizing at least 200 million dollars a year by 2030, including $20bn a year in international flows by 2025".

— Parties failed to decide on establishing a replacement for the GBF Fund, but a roadmap was agreed to review this, with a final decision due at COP18 in 2028.

— Parties adopted a thorough framework for planning, monitoring, reporting and review (PMRR) of the GBF, deemed essential for measuring and tracking progress against the 23 targets and four goals.

— Parties also made important decisions on how progress of the GBF will be reviewed at COP17 in Armenia, as part of the Global Stocktake. This included agreement on "the way in which commitments from actors other than national governments can be included in the PMRR Mechanism — including commitments from youth, women, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society, the private sector and sub-national governments".

— Lastly, parties agreed to develop the processes with which the Convention cooperates and articulates with "stakeholders, Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and other organizations" such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This built on a key theme that arose in Cali: protecting biodiversity goes hand in hand with addressing other global challenges and achieving sustainable development goals.

Sunday, 2 March 2025

Israel's halt of Gaza aid 'alarming' — UNOCHA head Thomas Fletcher: "International humanitarian law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid." — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

Swiss National Bank chief snubs Bitcoin, says it's too volatile and risky for reserves. — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump names cryptocurrencies in strategic reserve, sending prices up: Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Cardano. — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

Four-year-old dies from Ebola amid new outbreak in Uganda. The latest Ebola outbreak, the sixth in Uganda, was declared at the end of January. — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

C++ creator calls for help to defend programming language from 'serious attacks': shunned by cybersecurity agencies and technical experts in recent years for its memory safety shortcomings. — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

— C and C++ are built around manual memory management, which can result in memory safety errors, such as out of bounds reads and writes, though both languages can be written and combined with tools and libraries to help minimize that risk. These sorts of bugs, when they do crop up, represent the majority of vulnerabilities in large codebases.

Saturday, 1 March 2025

British Prime Minister Starmer gives Zelenksy 'full backing,' including $2.8 billion accelerated loan: "will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets." — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

Zelensky, in Fox News interview, reacts to Trump confrontation. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

— Asked whether he thinks he owed Trump an apology, Zelensky did not give one. But he did say that he regretted the exchange, which ended with Trump ordering him to leave the White House and with a minerals deal unsigned.

Trump signs executive order making English the official language of the U.S.: rescinds a policy issued by former President Bill Clinton requiring agencies to provide assistance programs for people with limited English proficiency. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

NPR: DOGE's savings page fixed old mistakes — and added new ones: we found $2bn vs $55bn claimed. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

— DOGE's savings page launched with a topline claim of $55 billion saved, with "receipts" that accounted for about $16.5 billion in contract cancellations. But an NPR review found the documented savings were grossly overstated, including with an apparent $8 billion typo, the misleading inclusion of procurement methods that act as lines of credit and billions of dollars in contracts that were not actually terminated. By matching DOGE's claims with federal contract data, that NPR analysis found estimated savings of only about $2 billion — a fraction of what the receipts claimed or the higher, unverifiable claim of $55 billion overall.

Kurdish militant group PKK declares a ceasefire in 40-year insurgency in Turkey. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

Four-year-old dies from Ebola amid new outbreak in Uganda. The latest Ebola outbreak, the sixth in Uganda, was declared at the end of January. — 2 March 2025 (LINK)

First phase of Israel-Hamas ceasefire ends with no deal. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

— Hamas says no Gaza ceasefire talks on the second phase are happening as it rejects "Israel's formulation" to extend the first stage.

US judge declares Trump's firing of watchdog agency head illegal. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

USAID cuts: 20 projects that have closed. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

Pope has coffee, rests after setback in recovery from a bronchial spasm requiring further ventilation. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)

Study uncovers source of Mars' redness: 'rust' — a key indicator the planet (maybe) once had life. — 1 March 2025 (LINK)