Morning Briefing: March 31, 2025

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday with, including Israel making a counter-offer to Hamas for a 50-day ceasefire, US President Donald Trump saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to back out of a rare earth deal and ASEAN urging all stakeholders in Myanmar to facilitate relief efforts following a devastating earthquake.

TOP STORIES

• Israel makes counter-offer to Hamas for 50-day ceasefire: Report

Israel has presented a counter-offer under which Hamas would release half of the live hostages and half of the dead hostages it is holding in Gaza in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire, Israel’s Channel 13 reported.

The proposal comes after Israel rejected a mediator-backed offer to release only five hostages, including Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli citizen, the report said.

Israeli estimates indicate that 59 captives remain in Gaza, including 24 who are alive. Meanwhile, Israel is holding more than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners under conditions that human rights organizations describe as harsh, citing reports of torture, mistreatment and medical neglect which have resulted in fatalities.

• Trump says Zelenskyy is trying to back out of rare earth deal

US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to back out of a critical minerals deal, warning him of serious consequences if he did.

"We made a deal on rare earths, and now he’s saying, ‘well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal,'" Trump said on Air Force One.

"He's trying to back out of the rare earth deal, and if he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems," he added.

• ASEAN urges all stakeholders in Myanmar to facilitate relief efforts after devastating earthquake

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the people of Myanmar and Thailand following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday.

Gathering at a Special Emergency Meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers via a videoconference, the Southeast Asian bloc released a statement agreeing “to strengthen relief and recovery efforts through the ASEAN Standby Arrangements and ASEAN Member States’ contribution.”

“The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) is also deploying the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ERAT) to support field-level operations and preparing the mobilization of ASEAN relief items through the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA),” the statement said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israel’s security cabinet approved a new settlement road near occupied East Jerusalem, paving the way for further Israeli construction in the contentious “E1” area.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it retrieved the bodies of 14 people in Rafah in southern Gaza following an Israeli airstrike about a week ago, including eight of its medics, five civil defense workers and a UN agency employee.
• US President Donald Trump declined to rule out seeking a third term in office, maintaining there are ways to get around restrictions in the US Constitution.
• US tech billionaire Elon Musk handed out $1 million checks at an event in Green Bay, Wisconsin, encouraging voters to back the conservative candidate in the state’s Supreme Court race, which he said could decide the “future of civilization.”
• Morocco's King Mohammed VI has granted clemency to 1,533 prisoners on the occasion of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
• US President Donald Trump is planning to travel to Saudi Arabia in May on his first foreign trip since returning to the White House, the Axios news website reported.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held phone calls with world leaders to discuss regional and global issues as well as to extend Eid greetings.
• Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
• US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with unprecedented bombing if it did not agree to engage with Washington in negotiations over its nuclear program, marking the most explicit warning of military action since he assumed office in January.

BUSINESS&ECONOMY

• UK’s Starmer discusses ‘economic prosperity deal’ with Trump

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed a UK-US “economic prosperity deal” with US President Donald Trump in a phone call.

“They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week,” said a statement from 10 Downing Street.

Trump announced last Wednesday that he would impose a 25% tariff on cars and car parts that were imported into the United States which he said would take effect on April 2, posing a threat to UK producers' largest single export market. But the UK has indicated that it will not retaliate.