Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for February 27th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
1. The Trump administration sets the stage for large-scale federal worker layoffs in a new memo
The U.S. government is facing a generational realignment as President Donald Trump directs federal agencies to develop plans for eliminating employee positions and consolidating programs.
Senior officials set the downsizing in motion on Wednesday with a memo that dramatically expands Trump’s efforts to scale back a workforce described as an impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now the Republican administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.
2. Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington to sign minerals deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing his country's mineral resources, Trump has said.
Zelenskyy has described the bilateral deal as preliminary, and said he wants further agreements which include US security guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.
3. NASA launches satellite on mission to detect water on the moon
A dishwasher-sized NASA satellite was launched into space from Florida on Wednesday to identify where water - a precious resource for lunar missions - resides on the moon's surface in places such as the permanently shadowed craters at its poles.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral carrying NASA's Lunar Trailblazer orbiter. The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin's space division. The satellite was a secondary payload onboard the rocket, with the primary payload being a lunar lander mission led by Intuitive Machines.
4. Hamas hands over four bodies of Israeli hostages to Red Cross, Israeli security source says
Hamas has handed over four bodies of Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza, an Israeli security source said early on Thursday.
5. Kazakhstan, China to boost traffic on TITR
Kazakhstan and China agreed to further develop and boost traffic volume along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, Kazinform learned from the Kazakh Transport Ministry.
China’s Urumqi hosted the 15th meeting of the Subcommittee on Transport Cooperation, as part of which Kazakhstan’s Transport Vice Minister Maksat Kaliyakparov and China's Deputy Minister of Transport, Li Yang held bilateral talks.
6. FBI says North Korea was responsible for $1.5 billion ByBit hack
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday that North Korea was responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange ByBit.
The agency said it refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as "TraderTraitor."
7. Canada deports more people, predominantly those rejected for refugee status
Canada deported more people last year to hit its highest annual level of removals in about a decade, overwhelmingly deporting people whose refugee claims were rejected, data obtained by Reuters showed.
By late November, Canada's removal numbers had reached their highest point since at least 2015, when the governing Liberals led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power. The government has also budgeted more money for deportations this year.
Saudi Arabia’s air defences have intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone over the Riyadh region, according to the Saudi-led coalition fight...
Police were deployed across Paris on Saturday, as a curfew was set to take effect in the Republique and Chât...
A drone strike hit a power station in northern Sudan early Sunday (1 November), sparking a fire and triggering loud explosions, witnesses said....
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
Police were deployed across Paris on Saturday, as a curfew was set to take effect in the Republique and Châtelet-Les Halles areas from 11pm Saturday until 6am Sunday (1 November).
A drone strike hit a power station in northern Sudan early Sunday (1 November), sparking a fire and triggering loud explosions, witnesses said.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education and living costs. Violence erupted in Frankfurt, where shops were looted and police reported Molotov cocktail attacks.
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, as a hostile group, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on Saturday (31 October), demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over perceived corruption allegations and dissatisfaction with the government over a lack of jobs and poor education standards.
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