World roundup: February 28 2025

Stories from Israel-Palestine, Vietnam, Rwanda, and elsewhere

Ramadan Mubarak to those who are fasting!

TODAY IN HISTORY

February 28, 202 BCE: Former rebel leader Liu Bang is crowned Emperor Gaozu, ending the Chu-Han war and marking the start of the Han Dynasty. The Han ruled China until 220 CE, except for a brief interlude during the years 9-23 CE.

February 28, 1991: US President George H. W. Bush declares that Iraqi forces have withdrawn from Kuwait and announces a ceasefire. Bush’s announcement marked the end of the Gulf War but was only the start of the US obsession with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

According to Reuters, the Israeli government is lobbying the Trump administration to give the Syrian government its blessing to maintain the Russian military bases at Tartus and Hmeimim. This is apparently part of an overall Israeli plan “to keep Syria weak and decentralized” and to minimize Turkish influence over the new administration in Damascus. For as much as former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was a node in the Iranian-led “resistance axis” that has been the focus of Israeli military planning for many years now, he also largely kept the Syrian-Israeli (or rather Syrian-occupied Golan) border pretty quiet, and Israeli leaders are not as sure that an Islamist government reliant on Turkey—which is at least rhetorically hostile toward Israel—will be as easy to deal with.

It’s unclear how the Trump administration is responding to this lobbying. But given its general devotion to Israeli interests and Donald Trump’s personal affinity for Russia it seems reasonable to assume the administration will be amenable to the idea.