World roundup: February 24 2025

Stories from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Argentina, and elsewhere

TODAY IN HISTORY

February 24, 1525: In a battle outside the northern Italian city of Pavia, a besieging French army under King Francis I is so thoroughly defeated by a Habsburg relief force that Francis himself is taken prisoner. Francis’ capture led directly to the end of the 1521-1526 Italian War, which had begun over Charles V’s election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1520 and Pope Leo X’s decision to switch alliances from Francis to Charles, Leo having decided that the emperor would be a more useful partner in his spiritual battle against Martin Luther. Francis spent the rest of the war in captivity, first in Genoa and later in a series of Spanish cities, before he and Charles signed the Treaty of Madrid in 1526, ending the war on terms favorable to the Habsburgs.

German painter Rupert Heller’s c.1529 The Battle of Pavia (Wikimedia Commons)

February 24, 1739: An Iranian army led by Nader Shah defeats and forces the surrender of the Mughal army under Emperor Muhammad Shah at the Battle of Karnal. The Mughal surrender cleared Nader Shah’s path to Delhi, where his forces conducted a campaign of looting and slaughter that stands among the worst atrocities in human history.

MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

As expected, the European Union suspended a number of Syria-related sanctions on Monday, chiefly in the energy and transportation sectors. The bloc also eased banking sanctions somewhat, restoring links to five Syrian financial institutions, and relaxed “restrictions on the export of luxury goods to Syria for personal use.” European officials are hoping to influence the course of Syria’s political transition, which is supposed to begin with the opening of its “national dialogue” on Tuesday, by easing but not lifting these sanctions. That means they can easily be reimposed, but may also limit the economic impact of this move as European institutions may be reluctant to engage too deeply with a country that is still under serious sanctions threat.