Daily World Briefing, Feb. 18

1st day of trilateral talks on Ukraine concludes, negotiations to continue

The first day of a new round of trilateral talks among Ukraine, the United States and Russia concluded here on Tuesday, with negotiations set to continue on Wednesday.

"After the joint session, we continued working in groups by areas. The discussions focused on practical issues and the mechanisms of possible solutions," Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, also Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary, wrote on social media platform X after the talks.

He added that the results of the first day of negotiations will be reported to the President of Ukraine.

Iran's FM hopes for "sustainable" solution after "constructive" talks with U.S.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday expressed hope that his country's nuclear talks with the United States would lead to a "sustainable and negotiated" solution serving all parties' interests.

"A new window of opportunity has opened, under which we had the second round of the negotiations with the United States earlier today here in Geneva. We are hopeful that the negotiations will lead to a sustainable and negotiated solution which can serve the interests of the relevant parties and the broader region," Araghchi said at the Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva a few hours after the talks, according to a statement of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

He emphasized that any sustainable agreement must ensure the full recognition of Iran's legitimate rights, deliver tangible benefits, and be safeguarded against unilateral actions that undermine trust and credibility.

U.S. military strikes 3 vessels in eastern Pacific, Caribbean, killing 11

The U.S. military struck three vessels in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday, killing 11 people, the U.S. Southern Command said Tuesday.

Four people were killed on the first vessel in the eastern Pacific, four on the second vessel in the eastern Pacific, and three on the third vessel in the Caribbean, the command said on X.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the command claimed.

Philippine ferry death toll climbs to 62

The confirmed death toll from the sinking of a passenger ferry off Basilan province in the southern Philippines has risen to 62 after divers recovered more bodies from the wreck, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday.

In a report, the PCG said search and rescue efforts are ongoing, while 17 passengers remain missing.

The ill-fated vessel, MV Trisha Kerstin 3, sank on Jan. 26 while en route from Zamboanga city to Jolo in Sulu. Technical divers have been conducting challenging deep-water retrieval operations, hampered by limited visibility and strong currents.

Arab, Islamic countries condemn Israeli decision to deepen control in West Bank

The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Tuesday jointly condemned Israel's decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as so-called "state land."

In a statement, the ministers denounced Israel's approval of land ownership registration and settlement procedures in large parts of the territory, saying the move is an illegal escalation to expand settlements and cement Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian land.

They said the measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.■