Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,132
These are the key events on day 1,132 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. These are the key events from Monday, March 31: Fighting Russian forces shelled a front-line settlement in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region, killing a 66-year-old woman and wounding five others. The number of people wounded in Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, has risen to three. Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had attacked energy facilities in Russia’s Bryansk region despite a joint moratorium on striking such infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 160,000 more Russians to be called up for military service by July 15. Nurse Kateryna, 24, who was evacuated from Ukraine’s eastern front-line city of Kostiantynivka, comforts her cat Abu at a transit centre in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine March 31, 2025 [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters] Diplomacy The Kremlin said Russia and the United States were working on ideas for a possible peace settlement in Ukraine and on building bilateral ties despite US President Donald Trump saying he was “p***** off” with Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to be punished for more than 183,000 alleged war crimes documented by Kyiv since Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago. The top diplomats from Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the European Union have pledged to redouble their aid to Ukraine and are considering new sanctions on Russia to force it to accept a ceasefire. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, who is in Moscow, said securing peace in Ukraine was “no pain, no gain” and that any ceasefire agreement had to be binding, fair and acceptable for all parties. Wang also welcomed Russia and the US taking the first steps to normalise relations, which he said would be “good for stabilising the balance of power between major powers and inspires optimism in a disappointing international situation”. Moldova has expelled Russian diplomats after accusing embassy staff of helping a convicted pro-Kremlin legislator escape being jailed over illegal political funding. Moscow has denied it sought to interfere in Moldovan politics. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Brussels on Wednesday to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting to discuss security priorities, including defence investment and peace negotiations in Ukraine. Military aid Advertisement Sweden said it would donate 16 billion kronor ($1.6bn) in new military aid to Ukraine, the largest such package from the Nordic country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said officials from the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine would meet in the coming days to build on “real momentum” in efforts to boost Kyiv’s security. A Russian Army 2S5 howitzer Giatsint-S fires towards Ukrainian positions in Ukraine [Screenshot from video distributed by Russian Defence Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, via AP] Adblock test (Why?)
China stages military drills off Taiwan in warning to ‘separatists’
China’s military has launched a new round of military exercises around Taiwan in its latest “warning” to Taipei’s democratic government. The People’s Liberation Army said on Tuesday that the drills served as a “powerful deterrent” to “separatist forces” advocating Taiwanese independence. The exercises are intended to test the “combat readiness” of China’s army, navy, air force, and rocket force and their ability to work together during a joint military operation, the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement. The drills will be carried out from multiple directions around Taiwan and focus on “sea and air combat readiness patrols, seizing comprehensive control, sea and land strikes, and blocking key areas and roads,” the Eastern Theater Command said. China considers Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, part of its territory and has pledged to take control of the island by force if necessary. Wen-ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told Al Jazeera that the military exercises seemed to be focused on containing and isolating Taiwan. Advertisement “One of the scenarios that analysts have always been concerned about is the prospect of the Chinese military launching a quarantine or an embargo against waterways near Taiwan and how that may enable the PLA to squeeze Taiwan and starve Taiwan and thereby force it into submission,” he said. “This time around, that very maneuver of quarantine of key passageways around Taiwan is one of the main items on the PLA to-do list.” Beijing’s Communist Party views Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party as “separatists”, and has increasingly staged military exercises in response to their activities. The latest round of military exercises follows a speech made by Lai last month when he called Beijing a “foreign hostile force” and laid out a 17-point plan to curtail its ongoing political infiltration, espionage, and influence operations in Taiwan. The PLA also took the unusual step of releasing multimedia along with the announcement, including a short animation depicting Lai as a “parasite poisoning Taiwan” and then held to a fire with a set of chopsticks. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office blasted Lai in a statement on Monday, and accused the president of stirring up “anti-China sentiment” and intensifying tension in the Taiwan Strait. Despite the uptick in military exercises, Sung told Al Jazeera that Lai’s “cross-strait policy towards China enjoys majority support in Taiwan” and Beijing’s response to his actions are seen as “regrettable.” The latest public opinion polling by the Taiwanese website My Formosa found that public trust in Lai and overall approval rose to 6.2 percent and 7 percent, respectively, following his “17 point speech.” Advertisement Trust in the president now stands at 56.7 percent with his approval rating at 55.6 percent, in the latest polls. The website linked the uptick to Lai’s speech rather than Taiwan’s tumultuous domestic politics. China last held a small round of military exercises near Taiwan in December after Lai visited Taiwan’s few diplomatic allies in the Pacific and transited through Hawaii and Guam, according to the Prospect Foundation, a Taiwan-based think tank. Larger drills were held in May and October 2024 to coincide with Lai’s inauguration and Taiwan’s national day. Beijing has stepped up its use of military drills since August 2022, when then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a historic trip to Taiwan as the highest-ranking US official to visit in 25 years. Adblock test (Why?)
Commercial LPG cylinders price reduced by Rs 41 from today; check new rates
Oil companies regularly revise LPG prices based on changes in global crude oil rates and other factors. The prices of domestic LPG cylinders, which are used for household cooking, remain unchanged in this revision.
Trump admin withholds millions from Planned Parenthood for civil rights and executive order violations: report
President Donald Trump‘s administration told several Planned Parenthood affiliates on Monday that it was withholding funding due to possible violations of civil rights laws, according to reports. Politico reported that tens of millions of dollars were being withheld from Planned Parenthood clinics that provide low-income Americans services like contraception, STI testing and other health services. On Monday, nine state affiliates of Planned Parenthood that receive money from the federal government through Title X, a family planning program, got notices saying their funding was being “temporarily withheld.” The publication said that the letter, which was provided by Planned Parenthood, pointed toward “possible violations” of Trump’s executive orders – like the banning of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs – and federal civil rights laws. PLANNED PARENTHOOD APPEARS TO SCRUB INSTAGRAM AS FEARS OF DOGE CUTS LOOM Another policy by Trump that the family planning program allegedly violated had to do with “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.” The Planned Parenthood chapters that received the letters were mostly in GOP-controlled states, the publication noted. The administration also pointed to evidence of violations by citing the mission statement from the clinic, as well as other documents that stress a “commitment to black communities.” The deputy director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Public Affairs, Amy Margolis, reportedly argued that those materials “paint a picture of Planned Parenthood” suggesting it is “engaged, across its affiliates, in widespread practices across hiring, operations, and patient treatment that unavoidably employ race in a negative manner.” FEDS GAVE $700M TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD DURING YEAR OF RECORD ABORTIONS The letter also accuses Planned Parenthood of encouraging illegal aliens to receive care. Planned Parenthood has 10 days to respond to the letter and provide evidence it plans to comply with the president’s executive orders. Once provided, the administration will determine whether to suspend or terminate the grants. Planned Parenthood and HHS did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter. In a social media post, Planned Parenthood wrote, “When we say, ‘Care no matter what,’ we mean it. Planned Parenthood health centers’ doors are open to everyone. Period. We’ve fought to protect your care for decades and won’t stop now.” In another post, Planned Parenthood directed its supporters to its website to submit a letter to Congress regarding the funding. NEW REPORT EXPOSES BOTCHED PROCEDURES, POOR CONDITIONS AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD ABORTION CLINICS “The Trump admin withholding Title X funds further strips health care from people across this country,” the post read. “We know what happens when Title X funding is taken away: cancer goes undetected, birth control access is severely reduced, and the STI crisis worsens. People will suffer.” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon reportedly told Politico that payments to 16 Title X providers were being withheld, including nine Planned Parenthood affiliates. The reasoning behind the withholding, Nixon explained, is “to ensure these entities are in full compliance with Federal law and applicable grant terms, and to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” He further noted that out of Title X’s over $200 million budget, $27.5 million was frozen and under review.
Trump administration reviews billions in Harvard contracts and grants
The administration of President Donald Trump has announced it will undertake a “comprehensive review” of federal contracts with Harvard University, as part of its crackdown on anti-Semitism in the United States. But critics fear the prestigious Ivy League university is the latest target in a purge of pro-Palestinian voices. On Monday, three departments under Trump’s control — the Department of Education, the General Services Administration and the Health and Human Services Department — issued a press release saying that $255.6m in Harvard contracts and $8.7bn in multi-year grants are slated to come under the microscope. “Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.” The announcement follows similar actions taken against another private Ivy League campus, Columbia University in New York, which saw millions in contracts revoked. Advertisement The Ivy League — and Columbia in particular — were an epicentre of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the US, after Israel launched a war against Gaza in October 2023. Student encampments on Columbia’s lawn in April and May 2024 inspired similar protests around the country, as campus activists denounced school ties to Israel and called for an end to human rights abuses in Gaza. Human rights groups and experts at the United Nations have accused Israel of using tactics consistent with genocide in the Palestinian territory. The organisers behind the campus protesters have largely rejected accusations of anti-Semitism, arguing that being critical of Israel’s government is not the same as spreading anti-Jewish hate. They have likened attempts to smear their protests as a form of censorship, designed to dampen free speech. But critics have accused the protesters of creating an unsafe learning environment. There have also been isolated reports of anti-Jewish attacks, including the alleged assault of one 24-year-old Columbia student who was hanging pro-Israel flyers in October 2023. Still, the protests have been, by and large, peaceful. And free-speech experts have denounced the Trump administration as blowing accusations of anti-Semitism out of proportion in order to exercise control over top universities. A list of demands In the case of Columbia University, the Trump administration stripped the school of $400m in grants and contracts on March 7, effective immediately. It accused Columbia of allowing “relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment” on its campus. Advertisement A week later, on March 13, the Trump administration issued a list of demands Columbia would need to comply with to earn back the $400m. They included banning face masks, ensuring law enforcement could arrest “agitators” on campus, and adopting a controversial definition of anti-Semitism that could include criticism of Israel. The Trump administration also called for the Department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies to be placed under the control of an external “receivership“. Critics denounced the measures as an attempt to corrode academic freedom. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) called the administration’s move “a blueprint to supercharge campus censorship”. “The letter goes far beyond what is appropriate for the government to mandate and will chill campus discourse,” the organisation wrote in a statement. “Civil rights investigations should not be handled through ad hoc directives from the government.” But the US has long been an ally of Israel’s since the country’s founding, and the Trump administration has backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing campaign in Gaza, even proposing that the US “take over” and “own” the Palestinian territory — turning it into a “riviera of the Middle East”. Critics said Trump’s proposal amounted to a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians who call Gaza home. On March 22, Columbia University agreed to comply with most of Trump’s demands. Law school speaks out The Trump administration touted those concessions as a victory in its news release announcing the review of Harvard’s federal contracts. Advertisement It also indicated that Harvard has signalled it would cooperate with Trump’s priorities. “We are pleased that Harvard is willing to engage with us on these goals,” Sean Keveney of the Health and Human Services Department said in the statement. But the announcement that Harvard was the next school to be singled out comes on the heels of an open letter from its law school, one of the oldest in the nation. More than 90 professors signed the document, which denounces actions taken to “punish people for lawfully speaking out on matters of public concern”. While the letter does not mention Trump or the pro-Palestinian protesters outright, its publication comes after students have been arrested for deportation as the result of their activism. The letter does, however, make note of attempts to “threaten law firms and legal clinics” for their legal work or prior government services — a reference to actions Trump has taken. Trump, for example, has issued executive orders punishing firms like San Francisco’s Perkins Coie LLP, which represented his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton, and he has fired career prosecutors at the Department of Justice. The Harvard Law professors warned this violates the constitutional right to free speech — and creates an atmosphere of fear. “Whatever we might each think about particular conduct under particular facts, we share a conviction that our Constitution, including its First Amendment, was designed to make dissent and debate possible without fear of government punishment,” the letter reads. Advertisement “Neither a law school nor a society can properly function amidst such fear.” Still, the Trump administration pledged “swift action” if Harvard failed to comply with its demands. “We mean business,” Secretary McMahon posted on social media. Adblock test (Why?)
House committee considering a cap on school voucher spending, increases to public school funding
The House Public Education Committee is slated to discuss priority legislation creating education savings accounts and determining how much state money public school districts receive.
Federal judge postpones DHS’s attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans
A U.S. District judge in San Francisco, California, on Monday granted a motion to postpone the Trump administration’s attempt to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, which was granted under a program implemented by the Biden administration. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced actions three days after being sworn into her role to strip nearly 350,000 Venezuelan nationals of their protection under the TPS program, which allows them to live and work temporarily in the U.S. By stripping the Venezuelans of their TPS status, the court said Noem is subjecting them to “possible imminent deportation” back to their country, which the State Department has categorized as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” country because of the “high risk of wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, [and] poor health infrastructure.” The action would reverse the Biden administration’s efforts to extend temporary protections of Venezuelan nations that have been in place since 2021. TRUMP ADMIN PULLING LEGAL STATUS FOR MORE THAN 530K MIGRANTS U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of the San Francisco Federal Court granted a postponement of Noem’s order on Monday, saying, “The Court finds that the Secretary’s action threatens to: inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.” Chen also said the government has failed to identify “any real countervailing harm” in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries. “Plaintiffs have also shown they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the Secretary are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus,” Chen wrote. “For these reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ request to postpone the challenged actions pending final adjudication of the merits of this case.” DHS’ KRISTI NOEM SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WILL RESUME CONSTRUCTION OF 7 MILES OF SOUTHERN BORDER Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment on the decision. The National TPS Alliance – an organization representing individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S. – and individuals from Venezuela who have TPS challenged the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Venezuelans in the U.S., argue that Noem’s action was unlawful and motivated by racial bias. Venezuelan migrants were allowed to fly directly to the U.S. after applying from abroad under a policy started during the Biden administration that was designed to open legal migration pathways, but President Donald Trump suspended the program when he returned to office in January. JUDGE GIVES MAHMOUD KHALIL LEGAL TEAM MORE TIME TO REVIEW IMMIGRATION CASE The Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela program, CHNV, allowed migrants and their immediate family members to fly into the U.S. if they had American sponsors. They could then remain in the country for two years under a temporary immigration status known as parole. The program first applied to Venezuelans before it was expanded to additional countries. Trump’s efforts to remove legal and illegal migrants from the U.S. since taking office in January as part of his immigration agenda have faced numerous legal obstacles. The Trump administration is also reportedly dismantling internal watchdogs for DHS, including its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigated allegations of abuse and discrimination within immigration enforcement, according to Bloomberg News. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
DHS ending participation in naturalization ceremonies in sanctuary jurisdictions
The Department of Homeland Security will no longer participate in naturalization ceremonies in state, county, and city venues in localities that have adopted sanctuary policies, which limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts. Leadership at U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) told employees at every field office in a Monday email that the agency will no longer participate in such events. “USCIS will not participate with these state/local entities for administrative ceremonies and instead will host the ceremonies at our offices, privately-owned venues, or other federally owned/operated spaces,” the directive states. “If an entity located in a sanctuary city requests to host a ceremony, we request that you politely decline the invitation.” BLUE STATE SANCTUARY LAWS ENABLED ILLEGAL ‘ABOLISH ICE’ ACTIVIST TO EVADE CAPTURE, SAYS LOCAL DA For example, if the city of Los Angeles wanted to host a naturalization ceremony at a library, museum or school, USCIS would not participate, meaning the event couldn’t be held. The ceremonies are the final step towards becoming a U.S. citizen, and is where the Oath of Allegiance is taken. A senior DHS official told Fox News that sanctuary policies put the public and law enforcement at risk. “Sanctuary policies are an insult to our Constitution, they endanger all levels of law enforcement, and they leave law-abiding American citizens around the country at the mercy of violent and dangerous criminal aliens,” the officials said. “America still welcomes those who come here legally and complete the naturalization process, USCIS will simply do those at locations where the rule of law is still respected.” The change won’t affect someone’s chance of becoming a naturalized American citizen, USCIS said. BLUE STATE LEADER SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT ‘PERFECT STORM’ OF DEM IMMIGRATION POLICIES DECIMATING PUBLIC SAFETY The Trump administration has targeted sanctuary cities as it presses ahead with its mass deportation efforts. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, often requesting assistance from local police and sheriffs to alert them to those ordered to be deported. The agency often asks local authorities to hold criminal illegal immigrants until federal officers take custody of the suspects. However, some jurisdictions ignore the requests and release the illegal immigrants back onto the streets. The Trump administration has suggested cutting federal funding to cities that adopt sanctuary policies, in an effort to wield the money as a tool against jurisdictions that get in the way of deportation efforts.
Ken Paxton wants Dallas school officials under oath on transgender athlete policy
Paxton’s office launched an investigation into the district’s policy after an administrator was caught on tape discussing a possible loophole in the state’s ban.
Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas.