LA RAZON (SPAIN): Los líderes europeos se han reunido este jueves en la capital comunitaria en una cumbre que puede suponer un nuevo impulso para que la UE entre en una nueva era de rearme, en la que el manto protector de Estados Unidos no puede ya darse por garantizado. Los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno han debatido por primera vez el plan esbozado por Von der Leyen este pasado martes y que pretende movilizar 800.000 millones de euros en los próximos años. Parece haber consenso en que esta propuesta va en la dirección correcta, pero aún muchos interrogantes. Entre ellos, el papel de la industria europea y si será posible que la financiación no sea tan solo a través de créditos reembolsables sino también con garantías a fondo perdido, como el paquete Next Generation EU para hacer frente a los estragos económicos de la pandemia. Contra todo pronóstico, la tradicionalmente austera Alemania no solo saluda esta propuesta y quiere ir más allá ampliando este periodo de computo. Aunque Berlín y La Haya han sido las dos capitales que durante estos meses se han negado a un nuevo paquete de deuda conjunta europea, Alemania ha dado un giro radical tras la victoria en las elecciones de Friedrich Merz, quien está dispuesto a impulsar un plan masivo de rearme y obra pública en su país.

IZVESTIA (RUSSIA): В ЕС утвердили план усиления обороны союза. План перевооружения Европы, утвержденный на экстренном саммите ЕС, предполагает выделение €800 млрд и потребует значительного увеличения налоговой нагрузки на страны объединения. Об этом “Известиям” заявили в Европарламенте. Сумма в четыре раза превышает годовой бюджет блока, поэтому в экспертном сообществе отмечают, что главам стран будет крайне тяжело объяснить населению, зачем такие суммы вкладываются не в социальную сферу и решение экономических проблем, а идут на ВПК и новую помощь Киеву. Основная идея документа состоит в том, что Европа должна взять заботы о своей безопасности в свои руки, а не полагаться на НАТО и США. Для этого предлагается выделить в ближайшие годы до €800 млрд. Большую часть на перевооружение — €650 млрд — пожертвуют страны-члены. С этой целью для них ослабят фискальные правила ЕС, что позволит отступить от установленной границы госдолга в размере 3% ВВП и увеличить расходы на оборону на 1,5%. Оставшиеся €150 млрд должны быть выделены в качестве кредитов ЕС.

LA LIBRE (BELGIUM): Jeudi soir, à Bruxelles, les Vingt-Sept ont tranché : l’Union européenne (UE) doit se réarmer. Certes, les dissensions n’ont pas disparu comme par enchantement. Certes encore, le processus de réarmement n’en est qu’à ses balbutiements. Mais les États membres ont tenu bon. “ReArm Europe” est voué à naître, avec ses 800 milliards d’euros – dont 150 de recours à l’emprunt garanti par le budget européen – et sa promesse d’une Europe qui ne tremble plus devant l’Histoire, mais l’écrit. L’Europe de la défense franchit une étape historique, avec l’approbation, par les Vingt-sept, d’un plan de financement de 800 milliards d’euros. Mis sous pression par le rapprochement entre les États-Unis et la Russie, les chefs d’État et de gouvernement de l’Union européenne s’engagent à investir massivement, et rapidement, dans la défense et à accroître leur aide à l’Ukraine.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (HONG KONG, CHINA): “Next-level urgency”: EU leaders spring into action as reality of US pivot to Russia hits. “A European-Russian war would be a catastrophe for China as well”, analyst says as Beijing looks for opportunities amid shifting geopolitics. In the cafes of Brussels, it has been heard more than ever in recent weeks, with various degrees of enthusiasm, as Europe faces what may be its greatest crisis of all: abandonment by the United States, which has provided the security blanket that has allowed widespread peace and prosperity since World War II. After months of denial, when it was hoped that returning US President Donald Trump would stand by Europe and Ukraine, the penny has now dropped – among even the most ardent of transatlanticists – that the bloc is on its own.

THE WASHINGTON POST (USA): Spooked by Trump and Putin, Europe rushes to rearm. It’s a “turning of the page” as European leaders try to fast-track plans to bolster their militaries — and ultimately curb reliance on the United States. The European Union’s leaders made a rallying cry Thursday to embark on a military buildup to a degree they haven’t done in decades, as they contend with the specter of rising Russian belligerence and faltering U.S. support. Along with Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump’s sudden redrawing of alliances and withdrawal of support for Kyiv are driving Europeans to fast-track plans to bolster their militaries, upgrade their arsenals — and, ultimately, to curb their dependence on the United States. E.U. leaders broadly agreed to move forward with plans intended to unlock hundreds of billions in extra defense spending in the coming years, but a military spending spree won’t be easy. Meanwhile, Germany is starting a big shift away from controls limiting borrowing, and France is floating the possibility of expanding its nuclear deterrent to cover its European allies.

THE GUARDIAN (GB): American severance may be averted, but Europe’s leaders must fear the worst. Head-spinning speed of events leaves EU adapting at pace while trying to infer Trump’s possible geo-strategic aims. With a mixture of regret, laced with incredulity, European leaders gathered in Brussels to marshal their forces for a power struggle not with Russia, but with the US. Even now, of course at the 11th hour, most of Europe hopes this coming battle of wills can be averted and the Trump administration can still be persuaded that forcing Ukraine to the negotiating table, disarmed and blinded, will not be the US’s long-term strategic interest.It has fallen to John Healey, the UK defence secretary; and Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, meeting their opposite numbers in Washington to see if there are any conditions in which the US will provide the backstop Europe insists it needs to send a reassurance force into Ukraine to protect a ceasefire. One European diplomat said: “We will know very soon if the US has set its face against helping Europe, and what its explanation is”. As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, put it in his patriotic address on Wednesday night: “I want to believe that the United States will remain at our side. But we must be ready if that is not the case”. In saying this, he caught the spirit of the Brussels summit, and the new mood in Germany being led by the chancellor-elect, Friedrich Merz.

LE FIGARO (FRANCE): Une nouvelle attaque. Le président américain Donald Trump a remis en cause jeudi l’engagement américain au sein de l’Otan, estimant que les États-Unis ne devaient pas venir au secours des pays qui, à ses yeux, ne dépensent pas assez pour leur propre défense. “S’ils ne paient pas, je ne vais pas les défendre”, a indiqué le président américain à des journalistes depuis la Maison-Blanche. Les pays membres de l’Organisation du traité de l’Atlantique nord “devraient payer plus”, a-t-il martelé. “Mon plus gros problème avec l’Otan (...) c’est que si les États-Unis avaient un problème et qu’on appelait la France ou d’autres pays que je ne nommerais pas en disant “on a un problème”, vous pensez qu’ils viendraient nous aider, comme ils sont censés le faire? Je n’en suis pas sûr... ” a également estimé le président républicain.

KOMMERSANT (RUSSIA): От президента Макрона ждут резкого увеличения расходов на оборону. Призыв президента Франции Эмманюэля Макрона к соотечественникам готовиться к отражению возможной агрессии против стран объединенной Европы нашел поддержку среди министров его правительства, и прежде всего министра обороны Себастьена Лекорню. Он тут же потребовал новых военных кораблей, самолетов, а главное — денег. В Москве слова французского лидера оценили как “крайне конфронтационные”, отметив, что это выступление главы государства, который думает не о мире, а о войне.

INDEPENDENT (GB): Russia warns Starmer’s peacekeeping troops plan would amount to “direct war”. Starmer rallies up to 20 countries to deploy troops in post-war Ukraine as Europe rearms – but Russia says “it can’t be allowed”. Russia has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for British troops to form part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, saying it would amount to direct involvement in the war. he prime minister, along with Emmanuel Macron, has been seeking to build a “coalition of the willing” to enforce any potential deal. But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said troops on its border would amount to the “direct, official and unveiled involvement of Nato members in the war against Russia”, adding: “It can’t be allowed”.

ARAB NEWS (SAUDI ARABIA): US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Thursday he is in discussions with Ukraine for a peace agreement framework to end hostilities with Russia and that a meeting is planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia. “We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians”, Witkoff told reporters at the White House. He said it would likely be in Riyadh or Jeddah. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will visit Saudi Arabia next Monday, a day before the planned talks there between senior Ukrainian and US officials.

THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA): Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are planning to meet next week to discuss the first steps of a deal that could seek an end to the war in Ukraine, after a week of U.S. moves casting doubt on its support for the country. Both President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine confirmed the meeting, which is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia. The planned meeting was announced just under a week after an Oval Office blowup between the two men in which Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Zelensky as ungrateful for U.S. support and threatened to abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Mr. Trump later paused all military aid to Ukraine. Since then, Mr. Zelensky has expressed regret in general terms over how that meeting went, and both sides have showed willingness to sign a deal in which the United States would share in revenue from Ukraine’s mineral resources.

VEDOMOSTI (RUSSIA): Советник Трампа Келлог: США должны перезагрузить отношения с Россией. Он подчеркнул, что дальнейшая изоляция больше не является жизнеспособной стратегией. Вашингтону необходимо пересмотреть и восстановить диалог с Россией, так как продолжение политики изоляции больше не является эффективным и устойчивым подходом на фоне продолжающегося конфликта на Украине, заявил советник президента США Дональда Трампа по Украине Кит Келлог. Келлог в ходе выступления в совете по международным отношениям (CFR) заметил, что украинский лидер Владимир Зеленский изначально рассматривал свое взаимодействие с Трампом как попытку добиться от Вашингтона обязательств по продолжению финансирования Украины, чтобы обеспечить ей преимущество над Россией.

THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN (JAPAN): The United States appears to be dismantling the very order it has long worked to establish. The precarious nature of the new Donald Trump administration has been shown. The essence of America has traditionally been its willingness to intervene militarily to defend democracy, belief in prosperity through free trade and efforts to save the world through international cooperation. Trump’s policies, however, run counter to all these principles. He has cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the aggressor in the Ukraine conflict, embraced protectionism that deepens global economic divides and turned his back on addressing global-scale issues.

THE CITIZEN (SOUTH AFRICA): Trump’s chaos strategy could make America loathed again. From tariffs to foreign policy shocks, Trump’s unpredictable moves may be reshaping the world—but at what cost to America’s global standing? The blundering onward progress of Donald Trump’s “Make America great again” (Maga) bulldozer would be comical were so much not at stake, not only in his own country, but also across the globe. Hardly was the ink dry on his 25% tariffs on neighbours Canada and Mexico this week when the US president was back-pedalling, saying he would suspend the measures on vehicles for 30 days. Perhaps someone with a better understanding of economics than him managed to explain that such taxes would hurt ordinary Americans through higher prices and job losses, and badly damage the US auto industry.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES (USA): With America’s NATO allies reeling from the Trump government’s apparent U-turn on U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, East Asian allies nervously are awaiting the administration’s full attention. President Trump gave strong hints about foreign and economic policy in his lengthy address to Congress on Tuesday night. One core message was that U.S. allies and partners must beef up defenses, and another was that unfair trade practices would be hammered with tariffs. Both messages put East Asia’s prosperous democracies on notice for big changes in relations with the U.S.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA): Russia is chasing a deal to keep its military bases in Syria. A lack of clarity from the Trump administration on Syria has left a void that Moscow is seeking to exploit. Days before the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Russia said the Syrian rebels advancing on Damascus were terrorists. Now, with those rebels in power, Moscow senses an opportunity to both expand its economic footprint in Syria and hold on to its military bases there. It is a surprising rapprochement. Russian leader Vladimir Putin was instrumental in preserving the Assad regime through a decadelong civil war. The bases Russia built along Syria’s coast enabled it to project power into the Mediterranean and Africa as well as hammering rebel targets, including positions held by Syria’s new rulers, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. After Assad fled the country, he sought refuge in Moscow.

ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (GB): Syria has imposed a curfew in the northwestern port town of Latakia and the port city of Tartous after fierce clashes between fighters linked to Syria’s ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and government forces, the state news agency said early on Friday. More than 70 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Syria in the fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday. It said earlier that fighting Thursday between government forces and Assad loyalists had killed 48 people in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages, saying they were "the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled" in December. The overall toll during this week’s unrest was not immediately clear.

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Trump defends direct US-Hamas talks as Israel seethes, attempts to sabotage them. US president says effort aimed at releasing Israeli hostages, but Witkoff admits US captives are priority and that Trump issued ultimatum after Hamas didn’t play ball in meeting. US President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his administration’s unprecedented direct negotiations with Hamas, saying they were being conducted for the benefit of Israel and in order to secure the release of Israeli hostages. “We are helping Israel in those discussions because we’re talking about Israeli hostages”, Trump told reporters while signing executive orders in the Oval Office. “We’re not doing anything in terms of Hamas. We’re not giving cash”, he continued. “You have to negotiate. There’s a difference between negotiating and paying. We want to get these people out”.

THE JERUSALEM POST (ISRAEL): Iran has “accelerated” a diplomatic campaign, its state media said on Thursday. This is the latest message from Iran, days after it appeared that President Masoud Pezeshkian had been strong-armed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step back from outreach to the US. It also comes days after a report said Russia might help mediate with Washington. Clearly, many things are in motion in Tehran. “The Islamic Republic has accelerated a diplomatic campaign in recent months to strengthen ties with neighbors as part of broader efforts to balance against the potential threats of an aggressive and uncompromising United States and an increasingly malign Israel”, Iran’s state media IRNA said. “The foreign policy of amicable relations with neighbors, which Iran has implemented to varying degrees of urgency and success over the last four decades, has taken on new significance for the country as a belligerent US”, the report added.

DAILY SABAH (TURKEY): President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye has pushed terrorism in Iraq and Syria away from its borders as it aims to create a lasting security environment in the region. Speaking at an iftar dinner with security forces in Ankara, Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye’s effective fight against terrorism, as he praised the work of security forces. President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye has always taken new and correct steps, saying, “Thanks to the operations of our security forces, terrorism within our borders is nearing its end”.

THE KOREA TIMES (SOUTH KOREA): A court ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released from custody Friday after accepting his request to cancel his arrest over his short-lived imposition of martial law. With his release, Yoon will be able to stand trial without physical detention. The Seoul Central District Court announced its decision about a month after Yoon’s legal team filed the cancellation request claiming the prosecution’s indictment of him on Jan. 26 was illegal as it came a day after his detention period had expired.

NIKKEI (JAPAN): Bangladesh capital Dhaka turns into city of protest. Ouster of PM Hasina triggers zeal for street demonstrations in megacity. From rickshaw drivers angry over new fines and businesses lashing out at tax hikes, to jobless teachers hitting the streets, Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka has become a city of protest. Rarely a day goes by without demonstrations breaking out in the teeming megalopolis of nearly 24 million, triggering traffic snarls and sometimes drawing the unwanted attention of police once loyal to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

THE TIMES OF INDIA: Pakistan has become the second-most terrorism-affected country, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2025 report. The rise in terrorist activity is linked to the influence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. In 2024, terrorism-related deaths increased by 45%, with Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being the worst-hit regions. Fatalities rose from 748 in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024, one of the sharpest increases globally, Geo News reported. The number of terrorist attacks also more than doubled, rising from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024. This marked the first time since the GTI’s inception that attacks exceeded 1,000 in a single year. The report links this surge to the growing influence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has exploited the situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power. The GTI report also places Pakistan’s terrorism crisis in a global context, noting that terrorism-related deaths worldwide increased by 11 per cent in 2024. Burkina Faso, Pakistan, and Syria recorded the highest number of deaths from terrorism. The Sahel region remained the epicentre of terrorism, accounting for over half of all global fatalities. The Islamic State (IS) remained the deadliest terrorist organisation, responsible for 1,805 deaths, primarily in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA): 5% growth target is both a scientific judgment and a progressive declaration. The third session of the 14th National People’s Congress convened in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attended the opening meeting. Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the meeting. The report comprehensively reviews 2024 work achievements, outlines government work tasks for 2025, and clearly sets the target of annual GDP growth at around 5%. From this morale-boosting report, people can see the steady progress of China’s economy over the past year and feel a firm confidence in the future.

EL UNIVERSAL (MEXICO): El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, otorgó una exención de un mes a sus nuevos y estrictos aranceles a las importaciones de México y Canadá para las automotrices estadounidenses, a la par que reclamó que trasladen su producción a Estados Unidos. No se descartan más exenciones. La exención se produce después de que Trump habló con los líderes de las tres grandes armadoras, Ford, General Motors y Stellantis, detalló Leavitt. Cuando se le preguntó por qué la exención de un mes, dijo primero que se debe a que el 2 de abril entrarán los aranceles “recíprocos” para igualar impuestos y subsidios que otros países cobran a las importaciones procedentes de EU.

THE TIMES (GB): Trump rows back on Mexico and Canada trade tariffs. Levies on exports to the US delayed for a month but Wall Street stocks still take a hit. President Trump executed another series of climbdowns on trade tariffs with Mexico and Canada within the space of 24 hours on Thursday night. He first gave a one-month reprieve from his 25% tax on most goods from Mexico after a conversation with President Sheinbaum. That extension followed him giving a one-month exemption on Wednesday for carmakers on his tariffs for Mexican and Canadian car imports. A few hours later Trump issued yet another amendment that also excludes duties on Canadian potash, a critical fertiliser for US farmers, but does not fully cover energy products from Canada, on which the president has imposed a separate 10% levy.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA): The US labour market likely kept on churning out jobs last month, economists say, but the outlook is cloudy and getting cloudier as the Trump administration wages trade wars, purges federal employees and seeks to deport millions of immigrants. When the Labour Department releases February jobs numbers Friday, they’re expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs. That’s far from spectacular but it’s solid, and it’s up from 143,000 in January. The unemployment rate is forecast to stay at a low 4%, according to economists surveyed by the data firm FactSet. “Despite rising concerns about the health of the economy, momentum remains positive”, Lydia Boussour, senior economist at the tax and consulting firm EY, wrote in a commentary. Billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of federal workers is not expected to have much impact on the February jobs numbers. The Labour Department conducted its survey of employers too early in the month for the Department of Government Efficiency layoffs to show up.

O GLOBO (BRASIL): O governo de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva anunciou nesta quinta-feira um conjunto de medidas para tentar conter a alta dos preços dos alimentos. A principal linha de ação é zerar o imposto de importação sobre diferentes produtos, como carne, café e açúcar, milho, óleo de cozinha e azeite. O presidente Lula tem pressa para reverter o aumento dos alimentos, considerado um dos principais motivos da queda vertiginosa da sua popularidade, que está no menor nível de seus três governos. Ele, contudo, não participou do anúncio nem esteve na reunião com os empresários do setor alimentício, que ocorreu logo antes da divulgação oficial do plano.

LA NACION (ARGENTINA): El lanzamiento del criptomeme $LIBRA se ha convertido en una bomba de profundidad para Javier Milei. Un explosivo parsimonioso, que ocasiona daños con el transcurso del tiempo. En los Estados Unidos se abrió una investigación muy amplia para determinar si en el lanzamiento de esa moneda hubo conductas fraudulentas. Sin embargo, los expertos sospechan que sería muy difícil que quienes fueron víctimas de la maniobra reciban una reparación económica.

THE JAKARTA POST (INDONESIA): The cooling weather phenomenon La Nina that emerged late last year is weak and likely to be brief, the UN said Thursday, dashing hopes it could help rein in soaring global temperatures. “The weak La Nina event that emerged in December 2024 is likely to be short-lived”, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization said in its latest update. There is currently a 60% probability that conditions will shift back to neutral between this month and May, it said, adding that chances increased to 70% between April and June. The WMO had last year voiced hope the return of La Nina would help lower temperatures slightly after months of global heat records fuelled in part by La Nina’s opposite number, the warming El Nino weather pattern, which gripped the planet for a year from June 2023.

FOLHA DE S.PAULO (BRASIL): Empresários nos EUA pagam até $5 milhões para jantar com presidente, diz site. Segundo o portal Wired, eventos em que há mais pessoas custam $1 milhões por convidado.

RENMIN RIBAO (CHINA): The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou province, set to become the world’s tallest bridge, is 95% complete, with installation of the bridge deck panels expected to finish by mid-March, a deputy to China’s top legislature said during the ongoing two sessions. Zhang Shenglin, a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, said the bridge’s main structure was completed in January, and engineers have overcome key technical challenges. The focus has now shifted to installing the deck, followed by anti-corrosion work on the main cables and infrastructure projects such as mechanical and electrical equipment. The bridge’s main span stretches 1,420 meters, with a height of 625 meters from deck to water — comparable to a 200-story building — surpassing the 565-meter-high Beipanjiang Bridge as the world’s tallest.