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This week, an Edmonton judge invalidated Alberta's independence petition over failures to consult First Nations groups, while Israel was reported to have secretly built a military base in Iraq to support strikes on Iran.

Meanwhile, Trump rejected Iran's ceasefire proposal amid a deepening nuclear standoff, and the BBC revealed the US and Denmark have been quietly negotiating new military bases in Greenland.

Read more below ⤵️

1️⃣ 🇨🇦 Alberta independence petition thrown out over First Nations rights: An Edmonton judge invalidated a citizen-led petition — which had collected over 300,000 signatures — seeking a provincial independence referendum, ruling that Alberta failed its legal obligation to consult with four First Nations groups whose treaty rights would be affected. Both the separatist group and Premier Danielle Smith announced plans to appeal, leaving the referendum's future uncertain.

2️⃣ 🇷🇺 Russian ship carrying suspected nuclear reactors sank mysteriously off Spain: A CNN investigation found the Ursa Major, allegedly transporting two submarine nuclear reactors possibly bound for North Korea, sank off Spain in December 2024 after unexplained explosions, with a suspected Russian spy ship later triggering four additional blasts at the wreck site. The captain told investigators the cargo included reactor components, though whether they contained nuclear fuel remains unconfirmed.

3️⃣ 🇮🇱🇮🇶 Israel built secret desert base in Iraq to support Iran strikes: According to a Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials, Israel quietly established a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert in February to provide logistical support for its air campaign against Iran, housing special forces and search-and-rescue teams. Israeli troops launched strikes against Iraqi forces who came close to discovering the base in early March, killing one soldier — an attack Iraq initially attributed to the U.S.

4️⃣ 🇪🇺🇮🇱 EU unanimously sanctions Israeli settlers over West Bank violence: EU foreign ministers approved measures targeting individuals linked to attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank — the first unanimous retributive action against Israel since the Gaza conflict began — after Hungary's new government dropped its months-long veto. Several member states are already pushing for broader measures, including trade restrictions on settlement goods, while Israel's foreign minister rejected the sanctions as politically motivated.

5️⃣ 🇱🇻 Latvian PM resigns after drone incident triggers coalition collapse: Prime Minister Evika Silina stepped down after her left-leaning coalition partner, the Progressives Party, withdrew support following the government's handling of multiple suspected Ukrainian drones crossing into Latvian territory, including one that crashed at a fuel storage facility. Her resignation comes months ahead of October elections, with the president now tasked with appointing a new head of government.

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🇺🇸🇩🇰 US secretly negotiating new Greenland bases, BBC reveals

The US and Denmark have been holding regular, high-level negotiations to establish up to three new military bases in southern Greenland, with talks described as progressing in recent months, the BBC reports. 

The proposed facilities would concentrate on monitoring Russian and Chinese maritime movements through the GIUK Gap, with at least one base potentially located at a former US military site in Narsarsuaq. 

One source told the BBC that Washington has floated designating the new installations as American sovereign territory, though no formal agreement has been reached and the final base count may shift. 

The diplomatic effort is being led by State Department official Michael Needham, whose team has met Danish and Greenlandic counterparts at least five times since mid-January, while Trump's appointed special envoy to Greenland has not attended any of the substantive negotiations. 

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen acknowledged progress in the talks but reiterated that Greenland is "not for sale."

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1️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump rejects Iran's ceasefire proposal as nuclear standoff deepens: Iran submitted a peace proposal via Pakistani mediators — including demands for an immediate end to hostilities, lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, war damage compensation, and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz — which Trump swiftly dismissed as "totally unacceptable." Meanwhile, Netanyahu insisted Iran's enriched uranium stockpile must be eliminated before the conflict can be considered over, while Iran warned neighboring vessels of consequences for complying with U.S. sanctions.

2️⃣ 🦠 WHO confirms 10 hantavirus cases as outbreak remains contained: The WHO revised its global case count down to 10 — eight confirmed, two probable — after a previously flagged U.S. case tested negative, with three deaths recorded since the outbreak began aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. The agency maintained that global risk remains low, though warned additional cases may emerge given the virus's six-week incubation period as passengers return to their home countries.

3️⃣ 🇺🇸🇨🇳 Trump-Xi summit yields new relationship framework but few concrete deals: Trump's three-day Beijing visit was unexpectedly dominated by Taiwan, with Xi warning that U.S. mishandling of the issue could lead to open conflict — prompting Trump to signal he may reconsider a previously approved $11 billion arms package for Taipei. The two sides agreed to a broad framework of "strategic stability" and discussed the Iran war and trade, though Trump left without announcing any concrete agreements.

4️⃣ 🇹🇼🇨🇳 Taiwan pushes back after Trump warns against declaring independence: Following his Beijing summit, Trump signaled he was not seeking Taiwanese independence and had made "no commitment either way" on the island's status, prompting Taiwan's presidential office to reaffirm it is already a sovereign, independent nation with no need to make a formal declaration. 

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