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Europe
Hungary
Mar 19, 2025 Hungary has passed a law banning Pride parades. The new law allows authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify and punish participants after the fact. PM Viktor Orbán's government promotes itself as a supporter of traditional family values and defender of Christian civilization against what it calls 'gender madness.' It is claiming the regulations are intended to safeguard children. The new law is making it a crime to organize or join events that violate the country's child protection law. The law forbids any depiction or promotion of homosexuality to minors. Attending a Pride parade in Hungary could now lead to a fine of 200,000 Hungarian forints (roughly $550). After the law's passage, several thousand protesters gathered outside Hungary's parliament chanting anti-government slogans and later blocked traffic on Margaret Bridge over the Danube River. (Source: NewsBytes – India)
Italy
19.03.2025 Italy's deputy premier criticizes European Commission's ReArm Europe plan, calling it absurd amid the peace talks between the US and Russia to end the Ukraine war. "While the US and Russia talk about peace, does it seem normal to you that some people in Brussels want to spend money on war?' speaking to reporters in Brussels, Salvini said. "The EU was created to guarantee peace, not to fuel new wars,' he added. Salvini also noted that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had a mandate to "defend the Italian national interest" and that the European Commission's President der Leyen's plan did not fall within this. "The goal is to stop the weapons that are killing right now, both on the Ukrainian front and on the Russian front," he said. 'The €800 billion ($868 billion) worth ReArm plan, announced by der Leyen, seeks to strengthen Europe’s military capabilities by boosting defense spending, focusing on joint defense production, investing in the defense industry, and reducing dependence on non-EU suppliers. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
19 March 2025 Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says trying to make ReArm plan more sustainable:'Only based on debt, better guarantees on private investments”. Meloni said today the government is trying to make European Commission President der Leyen's ReArm Europe plan more sustainable as it is nearly entirely based on the national debt of States, addressing the Lower House after a debate on her communications ahead of this week's EU Council. We are making other proposals, because it helps us deduct expenses, while on the other hand a priority must be to favour private investments on this issue. she said. "With Economy Minister Giorgetti we have drafted a proposal that follows Invest EU, with European guarantees for private investments and we try to make this plan more sustainable”, noted the premier. (Source: ANSA - Italy)
European Commission
19.03.2025 "450 million European Union citizens should not have to depend on 340 million Americans to defend ourselves against 140 million Russians who cannot defeat 38 million Ukrainians", says Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defense and Space in a press conference in Brussels. 'If Europe wants to avoid war, Europe must get ready for war', he added. The European Commission today announced a comprehensive set of proposals, known as a white paper. Central to the plan is the creation of a more integrated European defense market. 'The European Commission will raise up to €150 billion on the capital markets', providing long-maturity loans to EU member states for strategic defense investments. 'A key element of the white paper is its recognition of Ukraine’s importance in Europe’s defense strategy'. 'The plan includes additional support to Ukraine, such as ammunition, air defense systems, and military training'. 'One of the aspects of the new defense proposals is the commitment to increasing defense spending among EU member states'. 'EU members are encouraged to aim for 3.5% of GDP for defense expenditure'. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Russia
19/03/2025 Russia and Ukraine today announced they had each swapped 175 prisoners of war. Russia's Defence Ministry said earlier today it had released an additional 22 severely wounded Ukraine captives “as a goodwill gesture". Since the start of the Russian invasion, more than 4,000 Ukrainian captives, including civilians and foreigners, have been released. (Source: France 24 "with AP")
March 19, 2025 Russia launched a series of drone strikes that struck civilian areas overnight and damaged a hospital in Ukraine following a phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin during which the Russian leader refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire. Mr. Trump had said that Putin agreed during the call to immediately halt attacks on all energy and infrastructure in Ukraine. According to the Russian government's readout of the leaders' phone call, Putin reiterated that for a full ceasefire, Moscow would require a complete cutoff of all military and intelligence support for Kyiv from the U.S. and its Western partners. Those terms were not mentioned by the White House yesterday. Shortly after Mr. Trump and Putin wrapped up their lengthy phone call, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions. Several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including a direct drone strike on a hospital in Sumy and attacks on cities in Donetsk region. Emergency services did not report any casualties. Russian drones were also reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier today that its air defenses had intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions - the border provinces of Kursk and Bryansk and the nearby regions of Oryol and Tula. Authorities in the Krasnodar region bordering the Crimean Peninsula reported that a drone attack there had started a fire at an oil depot. Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy spoke by phone for roughly an hour today morning, with the U.S. leader describing the call as very good. "Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track," he said in a statement on Truth Social. (Source: CBS News / AP = U.S.)
United Kingdom
March 19, 2025 ' 'Britain’s former ambassador to Russia on how Trump can avoid ’falling into the Kremlin’s trap’. There is no prospect of peeling Russia off from China. ’Russia fully respecting a cease-fire are effectively nil, and there is no prospect of Putin’s fundamental aims changing’. An angry, bitter, malevolent Russian leadership is waiting for its chance to redraw the post-Cold War settlement in Europe. Putin’s earlier response to Trump’s proposal of a temporary 30-day cease-fire was that any agreement would need to address the “underlying causes” of the conflict. According to Putin, the conflict is about his belief that Ukraine is not a country but an 'anti-Russian project' of the West. This is about Putin’s idea of Russia itself: an imperial Great Power, of which Ukraine is a part. In his view, Ukraine must be prevented from becoming a Western-leaning democracy. The conflict is about calling a halt to NATO enlargement. This is about correcting a consequence of the end of the Cold War: the freedom of nations in Central and Eastern Europe to choose their own destinies. Russian officials mean that Russia has a veto over other countries’ security arrangements, while others have no such veto over Russia. Another, overarching factor: geopolitical rivalry with the United States, and resentment of Russia’s diminished standing after the Cold War. Putin’s diatribe at the 2007 Munich Security Conference was against U.S. unilateralism. In 2018, during Trump’s first presidency, his anger was directed at the U.S. withdrawal 16 years earlier from the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and the prospect of growing U.S. strategic advantage. In 2021, just before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin demanded that NATO should withdraw forces to where they stood in 1997, and that Washington should withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe. So, what is at stake in a negotiation in 2025? The key negotiations are between the United States and Russia; the United States and Ukraine; and within the NATO alliance over how to support Ukraine and how to assure its own security. There is no evidence that any of Putin’s goals have changed. He wants to declare victory in his “special military operation”; to decouple the United States from Europe; to assert hegemony over Central and Eastern Europe; to reclaim Russia’s Great Power status; to remove sanctions; to regain legitimacy; and to cut the United States down to size. Both Trump and Putin prefer bilateral deal making over the heads of lesser powers. It is not entirely clear what Trump wants to achieve. To end a conflict in Europe? To transfer costs and risks to the Europeans? To normalize relations with Russia? To peel Russia and China apart? There is no prospect of Russia changing its fundamental aims; no prospect of Russia agreeing to meaningful Western security guarantees for Ukraine; and no basis for trusting any undertakings from Moscow. ' 'Ukraine’s security relies on deterring Russia, not cooperating with it; so does Europe’s security' '. The choice is whether to deter further Russian aggression, at high cost and risk, or deal with the consequences of failing to do so, at much higher cost and risk. The central idea of Trump’s approach is that Ukraine should trade land for peace. Without security guarantees, it will simply buy time for Russia to rearm. That leaves some big questions for NATO. The U.K., Europe, and Canada will need to develop their own defense capabilities, including autonomous capabilities that are not reliant on the United States. Putin’s response to Trump’s proposed cease-fire demonstrates that Putin thinks he’s negotiating from a position of strength. Putin is almost certainly counting on Trump’s impatience for a deal - and his impatience with both Ukraine and his NATO allies - working to Russia’s advantage. Putin’s position has been greatly strengthened by ’two grave mistakes’ by Trump. The first is the heavy pressure the United States has applied to President Zelensky without putting corresponding pressure on Putin. The second is Trump’s willingness to take steps toward normalization of U.S. relations with Russia, without requiring Putin to address the causes of the breakdown in relations. This is exactly what Putin wants: to demonstrate that Russia’s interests must be taken into account and that Russia cannot be isolated. Trump’s approach to negotiating with Putin is an open invitation to Putin to put forward maximalist demands and wait for others to meet them. Putin has already obtained major concessions in particular, statements by the Trump administration taking NATO membership and restoration of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders off the table, and questioning Zelensky’s legitimacy. What would put Russia under real pressure and increase the chances of a lasting cease-fire? ' 'It requires creating conditions in which Russia’s position inevitably weakens over time: strengthening Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself; increasing economic pressure on Russia (bearing down on Russian oil sales receipts and tightening sanctions implementation, for example); and a concerted NATO response to the threat Russia presents to its security. Russia will only contemplate a genuine cease-fire if all the alternatives are worse - and will worsen further over time' '. Don’t let the Kremlin control the timing or substance of negotiations. Don’t let the Kremlin change the subject, set its own agenda, or create false equivalence. Don’t agree to measures that have the purpose of destabilizing Ukraine. Don’t let ambition to do deals with a strongman damage the alliances that are democracies’ greatest asset in containing threats to our interests. Do plan for what happens after a cease-fire: Russia will certainly seek to undermine Ukraine’s stability, decouple it from its allies, and evade any obligations Russia has taken on ' '. (Source: Foreign Policy - U.S.)
by Bristow, the president of Hughes Hall college at Cambridge University. He was the U.K. ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020 and to Afghanistan from June to November 2021
Africa
South Africa
19 March 2025 President of the SA Chamber of Commerce in the US, Diamond says the US embassy in Pretoria has been handed 67,042 registrations of interest lodged mostly by Afrikaners who shown interest in relocating to the US, taking up US President Trump's refugee offer. Trump's executive order was issued on February 7. The inquiries were particularly from those who identified as Afrikaners between the ages of 25 and 45 and with an average of two to three dependents. Many of them cited concerns over land 'reform' and their perceived treatment in the country. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa)
North America
United States
Mar 19, 2025 President Trump and President Zelenskyy said today that they had a constructive call about moving toward a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, with the White House suggesting that the U.S. take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the U.S could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.” according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Rubio and national security adviser Waltz that described the call as “fantastic.” Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.” During the call, Zelenskyy requested additional Patriot defense missile systems. Rubio and Waltz said Trump “agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe.” Zelenskyy’s call with Trump comes as Trump has made clear that quickly ending the war is a top priority for the start of his new administration. Trump has repeatedly complained about the cost of the conflict - the U.S. has sent Ukraine more than $180 billion in military and economic aid since the start of the war. The call between Trump and Zelenskyy came a day after the U.S. leader held similar talks with Russian counterpart Putin. According to the Kremlin, Putin made clear to Trump during that call that there must be a cessation of foreign military aide and intelligence sharing as part of any deal. Waltz said on social media that he and his Russian counterpart, Ushakov, agreed today that their teams would meet soon in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, “to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia.” It was not immediately clear who would be part of the delegations. /Source: The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a television network based in Arlington, Virginia / The Associated Press = U.S./
March 19, 2025 Trump is the 'ultimate' dealmaker - U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Ret. Lt. Gen. Kellogg weighs in on President Trump's peace talks for the Russia-Ukraine war. /Video/ (Source: Fox News)
Mar 19, 2025 Will the Dollar continue to fall? Late last year, following Trump’s election victory, the US dollar was steadily rising, reflecting widespread expectations of relatively robust US economic growth, additional fiscal stimulus, and new or somewhat higher tariffs that supposedly would strengthen the dollar further. Instead, the dollar has been declining sharply. Warning signs in the US economy are flashing red. Most other countries are urgently looking for ways to reduce their economies’ dependence on Trump’s America. Many forecasters saw tariffs as pro-dollar and unlikely to be overly disruptive to the US economy, despite being a net negative for US consumers. Some of Trump’s closest economic advisers have spoken openly about the need for other currencies to be stronger. That is why they have been pushing some new version of the famous 1985 Plaza Accord, whereby Japan and Germany agreed to strengthen their own currencies against the dollar to placate the United States. The so-called Mar-a-Lago Accord is supposed to do the same. The Trump administration is focused on US manufacturing and its own definition of competitiveness, neither of which offers much basis for expecting a persistently strengthening dollar. The usual counter-argument is that tariffs are needed because the dollar’s strengthening cannot be stopped. America boasts deep, liquid financial markets and cutting-edge technology, it is preeminent in security matters and superior to its peers in terms of overall growth. If the dollar’s relative weakness in 2025 is merely a price correction, these fashionable arguments will likely re-appear and carry it upward again. And yet, there are cyclical, structural, and even systemic factors that may make continued dollar weakening more likely. On the cyclical front, recent high-frequency data point to a near-term softening of the US economy, with the closely watched Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow tracker forecasting negative growth for the first quarter of this year. The latest business and consumer confidence surveys also give cause for concern. Even people outside of the financial industry are becoming more unsettled about future inflation. The latest University of Michigan five-year inflation expectations survey shows a rise to 3.9% – the highest in more than 30 years. (The actual calculation is somehow more biased toward Democrats). Other countries are not simply standing still. Policymakers in many countries – especially in Europe, but also in China – recognize that they must make changes to reduce their economies’ dependence on the US. All these developments in the US and globally can account for the dollar’s recent decline. If Trump persists with tariffs and they do raise US inflation and create knock-on effects in the real economy, the longer-term equilibrium value of the dollar is likely to be less than it might have been. This, too, would warrant an adjustment in the price of the greenback – and perhaps a rather large one, if Trump keeps doubling down on his current approach. That brings us to the systemic dimension. Why the dollar’s strength has persisted for so long? Some are arguing that its value goes hand in hand with US power as a security guarantor and the dominant player in the post-World War II multilateral institutions. If the US is now abandoning these roles, others will be forced to stand up for themselves, and the dollar’s unquestioned dominance could finally come to an end. (Source: Project Syndicate, website – Headquarters Prague, Czech Republic)
by O’Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former UK Treasury minister.
19/03/2025 US State Department confirms program tracking abducted Ukrainian children halted. President Trump promised today to help Ukraine get back thousands of children allegedly abducted to Russia. (Source: France 24)
March 19, 2025 President Trump was signing an executive order directing the National Archives to publish files related to the assassinations of JFK, Senator Kennedy and civil rights icon King Jr. Kennedy was shot dead while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Over 63,000 pages of what has been dubbed as "JFK files" has been released. Reports suggest that the Chicago mob bosses saw it necessary to 'take care of Kennedy'. Another document showed that the mafia bosses possibly conspired with CIA agents and Cubans who were opposed to Castro and Kennedy. A CIA memo is showing one official, Joannides funnelling $25,000 to Cuban rebels fighting the Castro regime. This Cuban group was linked to Oswald who shot Kennedy. Ballistic reports and witness testimonies point at the possibility of a second shooter in the grassy knoll ahead of Kennedy's motorcade. A clique within the CIA facilitated the JFK assassination. Underhill, a CIA agent, was found dead months after he alleged that the spy agency was responsible for Kennedy's killing. (Source: The Week - India)
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