AnewZ Morning Brief - February 24th, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for February 24th, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1.Trump administration eliminating 1,600 USAID jobs in the US.

President Donald Trump’s administration said on Sunday it was placing all personnel at the foreign assistance agency USAID, except leaders and critical staff, on paid administrative leave and eliminating 1,600 positions in the United States.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has led an effort to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development, the main delivery mechanism for American foreign assistance and a critical tool of U.S. "soft power" for winning influence abroad.

"I regret to inform you that you are affected by a Reduction in Force action," said an email sent to one of the workers being fired that was reviewed by Reuters. Those who got the note will be let go from federal service effective April 24, the email said.

2. EU and Israel to discuss Gaza's future, regional politics.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will meet senior European officials in Brussels on Monday, reviving a dialogue with the European Union as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month's ceasefire deal.

Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022, with talks set to focus on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations and changing regional dynamics.

3.German election victor Merz plans pivot from US as coalition talks loom.

Friedrich Merz, set to become Germany's next chancellor after his opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the U.S. as he prepared to cobble together a government.

Merz, 69, faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.

Mainstream parties rule out working with the AfD which enjoyed the endorsement of prominent U.S. figures including Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and ally of President Donald Trump.

Merz, who has no previous experience in office, is set to become chancellor with Europe's largest economy ailing, its society split over migration and its security caught between a confrontational U.S. and an assertive Russia and China.

4. Musk's Starlink races with Chinese rivals to dominate satellite internet.

The billionaire's Starlink communications network is facing increasingly stiff challenges to its dominance of high-speed satellite internet, including from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

Shanghai-based SpaceSail in November signed an agreement to enter Brazil and announced it was in talks with over 30 countries. Two months later, it began work in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazakh embassy in Beijing.
 

5. Journalists from French colonial regions visit Azerbaijan.

A delegation of 12 media representatives from regions under French colonial rule has begun a two-day visit to Azerbaijan for special communication training and experience exchange with local media.

The visit also aims to explore cooperation in raising global awareness of colonialism's impact, highlighting Azerbaijan’s stance on supporting affected peoples and the international efforts of the Baku Initiative Group.

6. Pakistan's prime minister kicks off visit to Azerbaijan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commenced a two-day state visit to Azerbaijan on Monday, according to state-run Pakistan Television.

Arriving in Baku on Sunday evening, Sharif was joined by a high-ranking delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and other prominent Cabinet members.

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