WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
On March 17, the U.S. Justice Department announced the leadership team and membership of Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7), an initiative that will seek justice for the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel and address the ongoing threat posed by Hamas and its affiliates.
“The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win – and there will be consequences,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “As Attorney General, I have had the solemn honor of meeting with several families of U.S. citizens whose loved ones were kidnapped by Hamas on that dark day. This task force will strengthen the Department’s resolve to achieve justice for these families and their loved ones as we continue to fight antisemitism in all its forms.”
The Attorney General established JTF 10-7 on her first day in office, demonstrating the high priority the Justice Department is placing on honoring the memories of the approximately 1,200 people murdered by Hamas in the attack, including 47 U.S. citizens, and supporting the approximately 250 additional people that Hamas abducted, including 8 U.S. citizens.
JTF 10-7 will focus on targeting, charging, and securing for prosecution in the United States the direct perpetrators of the October 7 attack – the terrorists on the ground that day who murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians. JTF 10-7 will also assume responsibility for the pending charges against Hamas leadership relating to the October 7 attack and other acts of terrorism, and to bring those criminals to the United States to face justice for their reprehensible role in these atrocities. Finally, JTF 10-7 will investigate acts of terrorism and civil rights violations by individuals and entities providing support and financing to Hamas, related Iran proxies, and their affiliates, as well as acts of antisemitism by these groups.
“The victims of Hamas’s decades-long violent campaign of terrorism against Israel will always have the support of the U.S. government, and the Department will no longer permit illegal support of Hamas on our campuses and elsewhere in the homeland,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Antisemitic acts of terrorism – whether here or abroad – will never go unpunished. This task force represents our unyielding commitment to those who have suffered at the hands of these brutal terrorists.”
“The FBI is committed to establishing the Joint Task Force October 7 to continue the FBI’s investigative and victim assistance efforts related to the horrific acts of terror committed by Hamas,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Working with our federal and international partners, this task force is a collaborative initiative between agencies, and together we will work to accomplish our vital counterterrorism mission.”
JTF 10-7 will be led by a senior counterterrorism prosecutor from the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD), a senior FBI Special Agent as the Task Force Commander, and an FBI Intelligence Analyst as Deputy Task Force Commander, all under the supervision of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. JTF 10-7 will also include trial attorneys from NSD, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, and other detailees, with additional dedicated support from the Department’s Office of International Affairs.
JTF 10-7 will be supported by dedicated FBI agents, analysts, forensic accountants, data scientists, and linguists who are mostly co-located in Virginia. These professionals will contribute to JTF 10‑7’s expertise in investigating and prosecuting domestic and extraterritorial terrorism cases, including terrorism-financing matters, and serve as points of contact with the FBI’s Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell and Victim Services Division.
The FBI will coordinate with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies on JTF 10-7 activities, as well as foreign counterparts through the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Israel. FBI agents will be embedded with Israel’s National Bureau of Counter Terror Finance, which has already been a tremendous partner in the ongoing investigations.
These efforts will build on the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations into the perpetrators of these heinous acts and demonstrate the Department’s commitment to degrading and dismantling Hamas, holding Hamas supporters accountable, achieving justice for victims, and fighting terrorist-led antisemitism.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 3-18-2025
2025 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2025)
- Total Mass Shootings: 66
- Total Dead: 91
- Total Wounded: 241
- Shootings Per Day: 0.86
- Days Reached in Year 2025 as of March 18: 77
MIDDLE EAST
REGION CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. STRIKES
On March 17, the UN expressed concern over the continued threat posed to shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi attacks from their bases in Yemen as well as recent airstrikes by the United States which have left over 50 reportedly dead.
In a statement released to correspondents in New York, the UN denounced the Houthis’ targeting of merchant and commercial vessels in the key waterway which includes the Suez Canal and reported attacks against military vessels.
The UN is concerned about the continued threats by the Houthis to resume their attacks targeting merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, as well as about their reported attacks against military vessels in the area, calling for “full freedom of navigation.”
“We reiterate our concern at the launching of multiple strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen by the United States in recent days,” the statement continued.
“According to the Houthis, the airstrikes over the weekend resulted in 53 deaths and 101 injuries, reported from Sana’a City, Sa’ada and Al Baydah governorates, including reports of civilian casualties, and led to disruptions in the power supply in nearby localities.”
The Houthis who control large swathes of Yemen including the capital, began targeting Israeli-linked shipping in the waterway out of solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinian people, following the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Last week they said attacks would resume due to the continuing aid blockade of the enclave.
“Any additional escalation could exacerbate regional tensions, fuel cycles of retaliation that may further destabilize Yemen and the region and pose grave risks to the already dire humanitarian situation in the country,” the statement continued.
It emphasized that international law must be respected by all parties, including Security Council resolution 2768 (2025) related to Houthi attacks against merchant and commercial vessels.
UN Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, has been in close contact with Yemeni, regional and international stakeholders in recent days.
“He has called for utmost restraint and adherence to international humanitarian law, and he has pushed for a refocus on diplomacy to avoid uncontrollable destabilization in Yemen and in the region. Further contacts are held by his office on numerous levels,” said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.
Mr. Grundberg called for support from the international community so that UN-led mediation efforts can “deliver results.”
WORLD
AVIAN FLU WARNINGS GROW
The rapid spread of the highly infectious avian flu virus H5N1 has reached an “unprecedented” scale, wiping out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide and increasingly spilling over into mammals, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on March 17.
Briefing Member States in Rome, FAO officials called for urgent action to strengthen biosecurity, surveillance and rapid-response mechanisms to curb the outbreak.
FAO Deputy Director-General Godfrey Magwenzi stressed that the crisis threatens to have “serious impacts on food security and food supply in countries, including loss of valuable nutrition, rural jobs and income, shocks to local economies, and of course increasing costs to consumers.”
With millions relying on poultry for meat and eggs, the challenge is not only to contain the virus but also to protect food production systems.
The economic impact is also being felt worldwide. For example, egg prices reached a record high in the United States during February according to the US Consumer Price Index, with farmers forced to slaughter over 166 million birds so far in total as avian flu has spread – mostly egg-laying chickens.
So far this year more than 30 million birds in the US have been killed, according to news reports.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol underlined the need for a global, coordinated response, calling H5N1 a “transboundary” threat that no country can tackle alone.
To address the crisis, FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) have launched a ten-year Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza.
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. By working together, we can reduce the impact of avian influenza and protect both animal and human health – locally and globally,” Ms. Bechdol said.
Over the past four years, H5N1 has expanded to new regions, causing massive losses in domestic birds, disrupting food supplies and pushing poultry prices higher.
At least 300 new wild bird species have been affected since 2021, posing a serious threat to biodiversity.
FAO reaffirmed its commitment to global monitoring, data sharing and technical guidance to help countries contain the virus.
Ms. Bechdol also stressed the importance of private sector engagement, particularly in developing vaccines, diagnostics and high-quality animal health services.
The briefing also included a third call for funding proposals under the Pandemic Fund, hosted by the World Bank.
Over the past two years, FAO has co-led dozens of Pandemic Fund projects aimed at strengthening disease surveillance, early warning systems and health infrastructure to prevent future outbreaks.
UNITED KINGDOM
WELFARE TO WORK
On March 18, the U.K. announced a record £1 billion in employment support measures announced to help disabled and long-term sick people back into work.
The new measures are designed to ensure a welfare system that is fit for purpose and available for future generations – opening up employment opportunities, boosting economic growth and tackling the spiraling benefits bill, while also ensuring those who cannot work get the support they need as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
This will end years of inaction, which has led to one in eight young people not currently in work, education or training and 2.8 million people economically inactive due to long term sickness – one of the highest rates in the G7.
The number of people receiving one of the main types of health and disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments (PIP), has also risen rapidly and is becoming unsustainable.
Since the pandemic, the number of working-age people receiving PIP has more than doubled from 15,300 to 35,100 a month. The number of young people (16-24) receiving PIP per month has also skyrocketed from 2,967 to 7,857 a month. Over the next five years, if no action is taken, the number of working age people claiming PIP is expected to increase from 2 million in 2021 to 4.3 million, costing £34.1 billion annually.
All this has driven the spiraling health and disability benefits bill, forecast to reach £70 billion a year by the end of the decade, or more than £1 billion a week. This is equivalent to more than a third of the NHS budget, and more than three times as much as is spent on policing and keeping communities safe.
Speaking in Parliament, Liz Kendall announced a sweeping package of reforms to overhaul the system, so it better supports those who need it while tearing down barriers to work including:
- Ending reassessments for disabled people who will never be able to work and people with lifelong conditions to ensure they can live with dignity and security
- Scrapping the controversial Work Capability Assessment to end the dysfunctional process that drives people into dependency – delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment to reform or replace it
- Providing improved employment support backed by £1 billion – one of the biggest packages of employment support for sick and disabled people ever – including new tailored support conversations for people on health and disability benefits to break down barriers and unlock work
- Legislating to protect those on health and disability benefits from reassessment or losing their payments if they take a chance on work.
To ensure the welfare system is available for those with the greatest needs now and long into the future, the government has made bold decisions to improve its sustainability and protect those who need it most, including:
- Reintroducing reassessments for people on incapacity benefits who have the capability to work to ensure they have the right support and aren’t indefinitely written off.
- Targeting Personal Independence Payments for those with higher needs by changing the eligibility requirement to a minimum score of four on at least one of the daily living activities to receive the daily living element of the benefit, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria.
- Rebalancing payment levels in Universal Credit to improve the Standard Allowance. Raising it above inflation by 2029/30, adding £775 annually in cash terms.
- Consulting on delaying access to the health element of Universal Credit until someone is aged 22 and reinvesting savings into work support and training opportunities through the Youth Guarantee.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We inherited a fundamentally broken welfare system from the previous government. It does not work for the people it is supposed to support, businesses who need workers or taxpayers who foot the bill.
“This government will always protect the most severely disabled people to live with dignity. But we’re not prepared to stand back and do nothing while millions of people – especially young people – who have potential to work and live independent lives, instead become trapped out of work and abandoned by the system. It would be morally bankrupt to let their life chances waste away.
“When I talk about opportunity for all, I mean it. That’s why we are bringing forward the biggest changes to the welfare system in a generation and improving support for those who need it. Ensuring those who can work do work is not only right, but it will also improve living standards and drive growth, the number one priority in our Plan for Change.”
