Morning Briefing: March 24, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday with, including Ukraine saying it held “productive” talks with a US delegation in Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin saying that upcoming talks between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia on the potential resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative will be “difficult,” and South Korea’s Constitutional Court dismissing the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, allowing him to resume his role as acting president.

TOP STORIES

• Ukraine says it had ‘productive’ talks with US in Saudi Arabia

Ukraine held “productive” talks with a US delegation in Saudi Arabia, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

“We have concluded our meeting with the American team. The discussion was productive and focused — we addressed key points, including energy,” Umerov wrote on X.

He reiterated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s goal of securing a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine, emphasizing its broader significance for European stability.

• Kremlin says upcoming Russia-US talks on resuming Black Sea grain deal will be ‘difficult’

The Kremlin said that upcoming talks between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia on the potential resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative will be “difficult.”

Delegations from Washington and Moscow will hold a new round of bilateral talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, during which Russia said they will “work out the prospects for the possible implementation of the well-known initiative concerning the safety of navigation in the Black Sea,” in reference to the grain deal.

The grain deal, signed in July 2022 in Istanbul by Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine, was aimed at resuming grain exports from Ukrainian ports halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022.

• South Korean Premier Han reinstated as acting president as top court dismisses impeachment

South Korea’s Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, allowing him to resume his role as acting president amid ongoing political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s suspension.

The court’s 5-1 ruling overturned the National Assembly’s decision to impeach Han, who had been accused of playing a role in Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Two justices voted to reject the impeachment motion entirely.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• US airstrikes hit a residential building in the Yemeni capital Sanaa amid reports of fatalities, the Houthi group said.
• US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will not step down, despite calls for his resignation over his vote to advance a Republican-drafted funding bill.
• At least two Palestinians were killed and several others injured when the Israeli army shelled a hospital in southern Gaza, said Gaza’s Health Ministry.
• Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney set April 28 for a federal election, and with the threats of US annexation and tariffs, it may be the most important in Canada’s history.
• The Sudanese army claimed new military gains in central Khartoum amid fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
• Six police officers have been killed in an attack by suspected al-Shabaab terrorists on a National Police Reservists camp in northeastern Kenya, officials said.
• Relations between Beijing and Washington are at an important juncture, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told US Senator Steve Daines and some American businesspeople amid tariff wars between the two countries.
• China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi held wide-ranging talks in Tokyo to boost ties with Japan.
• The US has lifted a $10 million reward offer for information leading to the arrest of Taliban-led interim Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, an Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson said.
  
• Ukraine’s national railway company reported that a technical failure put the company’s online services out of order.
• Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to separate and legalize 13 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, said far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
• Thousands of Palestinians began to flee their areas in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after an Israeli evacuation order.
• Israeli airstrikes on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza have killed at least 23 Palestinians and wounded dozens, targeting homes and refugee tents, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
  

SPORTS

• Igor Tudor becomes new coach of Italian Serie A club Juventus

Juventus sacked head coach Thiago Motta and appointed Igor Tudor as his replacement.

"Igor Tudor is the new Head Coach of the Men’s First Team. Welcome, Igor! Juventus thanks Thiago Motta for his work, passion and dedication during his time with the club," Juventus said on X.

Motta's team suffered a 4-0 defeat to Atalanta in a Serie A match on March 9, followed by a 3-0 loss to Fiorentina in the next league match on March 16, which led to his dismissal.

• Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix, Round 2 of F1 season

McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix, the second round of the Formula 1 2025 championship.

The race took place on the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Shanghai International Circuit and consisted of 56 laps.

Piastri won the race starting from pole position and leading from start to finish in one hour, 30 minutes and 55.026 seconds.