AnewZ Morning Brief - March 12th, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for March 12th, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1. US to resume security support to Ukraine as Kyiv says it is ready to accept ceasefire proposal

The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said it was ready to support Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the countries said in a joint statement.

After more than eight hours of talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would now take the offer to Russia, and the ball is in Moscow's court.

2. Yemen's Houthis to resume attacks on Israeli ships after Gaza aid deadline ended

The Houthis had launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

3. Greenland's pro-business opposition wins election amid Trump control pledge

Greenland's pro-business opposition Demokraatit party won Tuesday's closely watched parliamentary election, beating the incumbent left-wing coalition in a vote dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to take control of the island.

Demokraatit, which favours a slow approach to independence from Denmark, secured 29.9% of the votes with all ballots counted, up from 9.1% in 2021, ahead of the opposition Naleraq party, which favours rapid independence, at 24.5%.

4. US House Republicans pass stopgap bill to fund government

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a stopgap bill to keep federal agencies funded past Friday, averting a partial shutdown beginning this weekend even as President Donald Trump dramatically cuts the government.

The bill passed in a nearly party-line 217-213 vote, with one Republican voting no and one Democrat yes.

The continuing resolution, which largely keeps the government funded at its current level through September 30, would need to be passed by the Republican-majority Senate and signed by Trump into law by Friday to avoid a shutdown.

5. In rare meeting without U.S. ally, Western army chiefs meet to show Ukraine unity

More than 30 army chiefs among Washington's closest allies met in Paris on Tuesday without their U.S. counterparts, seeking to take on more responsibility over the Ukraine war given President Donald Trump's unpredictability and rapprochement with Moscow.

The closed-door gathering of 34 army chiefs, including NATO alliance and EU members as well as Japan and Australia, was a rare - and possibly unprecedented - convening without the U.S.

6. Pakistan insurgents take dozens of hostages in attack on train, police say

Separatist militants blew up a railway track and opened fire on a passenger train in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, taking dozens of hostages and battling security forces conducting a rescue operation, police and the insurgents said.

Police have not specified how many passengers were taken hostage in the remote mountainous area but the insurgents said they were holding 214 people, and have threatened to start executing them.

7. Trump halts plan for 50% steel and aluminium tariffs on Canada

Donald Trump has halted a plan to double US tariffs on Canadian steel and metal imports to 50%, just hours after first threatening them.

Tariffs of 25% are still going ahead and will take effect from the 12 March.

8. EU to impose counter tariffs on over $28 billion of US goods

The European Union will impose counter tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28.33 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium, the European Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.

The commission said it will end the current suspension of tariffs on U.S. products on April 1 and will also put forward a new package of countermeasures on U.S. goods by mid-April.

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