👋 Kia ora!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where new Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 400, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to hold a call to discuss a Ukraine ceasefire, and today’s quiz question comes from a Bulgarian soccer club. Meanwhile, Claudia Vallentin in Die Zeit guides you through your perfect daily coffee intake.
[*Māori]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Decision Day” headlines German daily Frankfurter Rundschau ahead of the German parliament’s upcoming vote on a financial package that would take the breaks off of defense spending increases. This comes as the U.S. is signaling unwillingness to be a reliable ally in European defense, and Russia makes gains both diplomatically and militarily in its invasion of Ukraine. The legislation in the Bundestag has the support from many of the centrist parties, but some members, particularly from the more extreme parties, are less convinced, prompting questions about whether or not it would make it past the necessary two-thirds threshold.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israel strikes Gaza, killing more than 400 and breaking its ceasefire with Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in Gaza in response to the Palestinian militant group’s refusal to release Oct. 7 hostages held there and its rejection of proposals to extend the ceasefire. This is the largest wave of airstrikes in Gaza since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• Trump to hold call with Putin. U.S. President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in an attempt to convince his counterpart to accept a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine and move toward a more permanent end to the three-year conflict. The Trump administration is considering recognizing Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory. Read more: Even If It's A No From Putin, Trump May Choose To Take It As A Yes
• Lebanon and Syria agree to ceasefire after two days of border clashes. Lebanon’s president on Monday had ordered troops to retaliate against the source of gunfire from the Syrian side of the border after more deadly fighting erupted overnight along the frontier, killing a reported seven Lebanese citizens and injuring another 52. The fighting happened after Syria’s interim government accused militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group of crossing into Syria on Saturday. The agreement stipulates “enhanced coordination and cooperation between the two sides,” the Syrian Ministry of Defense said.
• Peru declares state of emergency in Lima amid a spate of violence and criminality. President Dina Boluarte’s government published a decree saying that the state of emergency will last 30 days, and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial order. Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months.
• German parliament to vote on historic spending surge. Germany's lower house of parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on a massive surge in borrowing that could boost Europe's largest economy and stimulate growth across the region. This comes amid trade tensions with its top partner, the United States. The conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD), who are in talks to form a centrist coalition after last month's election, want to create a 500 billion euro ($546.05 billion) fund for infrastructure and to ease constitutional rules to allow higher spending on security.
• French police evict hundreds of migrants occupying Paris theater. French police evicted more than 400 migrants, including many unaccompanied minors, on Tuesday who had been squatting inside the Gaite Lyrique theatre in central Paris for more than three months as part of their demand for shelter. Officers began their operation shortly before 6 a.m. at the theater, where hundreds of demonstrators had gathered to protest against the eviction.
• News Quiz! A soccer club in Bulgaria's top division issued an apology after holding a minute of silence. Why?
A. The player being mourned is still alive
B. The club’s mascot started dancing
C. Supporters broke into anti-government chants
D. The minute of silence was only 17 seconds long
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$2.35 billion
Women’s professional sports are expected to generate more than $2.35 billion globally in 2025, up from $1.88 billion in 2024, according to Deloitte. The firm’s projection comes after women’s sports passed the $1 billion mark for the first time last year, and is expected to grow 240% over the next four years. Driving the surge are top sports like basketball and soccer, with major sporting events like the Rugby World Cup in England and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇾🇪 Donald Trump has launched his most significant military operation since taking office, ordering airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis. At the same time, he is directly threatening Iran while also offering a nuclear compromise — a dual approach that keeps the possibility of war on the table.
— FRANCE INTER
💥 Any future conflict with Israel will not resemble the 20th-century wars — those highly controlled, limited conflicts that lasted only days or weeks. Wars then followed rules of engagement because they were overseen by the two superpowers of the Cold War.
— AL-MANASSA
☕ Coffee can be good for you, and not just for waking you up. A series of recent scientific studies show drinking a good brew can prevent heart disease and dementia and help you live longer. But the roast, preparation, and timing are all important.
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“If you found out you went to work today and were going to be stuck in your office for the next nine months, you might have a panic attack.”
— Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said that the two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station for months showed “incredible resilience” in the face of their mission being extended due to technical issues with their return vehicle. The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, left the ISS this morning aboard a SpaceX capsule headed back to earth after their days-long trip became a nine-month endeavor to get them home.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Jacob Shropshire
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Quiz Answer: A. A professional soccer club in Bulgaria was forced to apologize after mourning a player who was, in fact, not dead. The Arda Kardzhali club held a minute of silence in remembrance of its former player Petko Ganchev ahead of their game against Levski Sofia — with players from both teams lined up on either side of the halfway line, linking arms and bowing their heads before kick-off. Upon realizing their mistake, the club posted on its Facebook page that it had “received wrong information”, adding "We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda."