Egyik 19

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Asia

Yemen
09:43-9 April 2025  The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities. Al-Eryani told that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden." US President Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15. In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah. (Source: Asharq Al-Awsat – Headquarters London, United Kingdom, owned by a member of Saudi royal family.)

Caribbean

Dominican Republic
Thursday 10 April 2025  Death toll hits 184 two days after the roof came crashing down on some 300 people enjoying a live music show at the Jet Set nightclub. The nightclub was packed with musicians, retired Major League Baseball players and government officials for a concert by Pérez, known as the “loudest voice in merengue”, on Tuesday night, when the entire roof collapsed. 145 people had been rescued. Search and rescue work would now transition to recovery of the bodies as any hopes of finding survivors had faded, exhausted. "All rescue agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly. Our prayers are with the affected families”, President Abinader said on X. (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)

North America

Canada
09 April, 2025  On 1 February, President Trump issued an Executive Order imposing a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products and a 25% tariff on all other Canadian products. These tariffs were set to take effect on 4 February. After reaching an agreement with Canada on border enforcement, President Trump announced that the tariffs would be suspended for 30 days. Canada committed to implementing a $1.3 billion border security plan and launching a Canada-US Joint Strike Force on organised crime, among other measures. On 4 March, the suspension ended and the tariffs came into force. On the same day, Canada imposed an additional 25% tariff on $30 billion worth of US goods. Canada also lodged a request for consultations with the US before the WTO. Canada raised the same Article I:1 and II:1(a) and (b) GATT legal arguments as China but also alleged that President Trump’s measures fail to “provide, to the extent possible, for a de minimis shipment value or dutiable amount for which customs duties and taxes will not be collected”. Canada additionally claims that the measures breach Article V:3 GATT as the measures “at issue apply a customs duty to goods in transit.” Canada also claims that its request is a matter of urgency on the basis that the tariffs apply to agricultural “perishable goods.” In such cases, a WTO panel is required to issue its report within three months, instead of the usual six months. Prompted by concerns raised by US car manufacturers whose supply chains stretch across North America, on 6 March, the US exempted products that satisfy the ‘rules of origin’ requirements under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), covering a significant proportion of Canadian imports. This did not affect Canada’s retaliatory measures, nor its WTO action. On 14 March, the US responded to Canada’s request for consultations on the same basis as its response to China. On 12 March the US imposed a 25% tariff on aluminium and steel products from all sources. Canada was lodging another request for consultations, repeating the same arguments in its other request. On 20 March, the EU submitted a request to join Canada’s consultations, citing its “substantial trade interest” in the dispute given that the US steel and aluminium tariffs also affect a total of €26 billion of EU exports. In its response, the US reiterated the claim that the measures taken relate to issues of national security. As of 9 April, the US has yet to respond to the EU’s consultation request. A 25% tariff on imports of automobiles came into effect on 2 April (and will come into effect on certain automobile parts no later than 3 May). These tariffs are additional to the current tariffs that the US already charges on imports of automobiles and automobile parts - the US’ most-favoured nation tariff on automobiles is 2.5%. The tariffs that Trump separately announced on China, Canada and Mexico in February and March are payable in addition to this tariff. The Section 301 tariffs that were announced under the Biden administration on electric vehicles and lithium-ion vehicle batteries from China will also need to be added on top of this additional 25% tariff. These tariffs are origin-neutral, and the basis for these tariffs is that protecting the US automobile industry is vital to national security. On 3 April Canada requested WTO consultations with the US, raising the same Article I:1 and II:1(a) and (b) GATT legal arguments included in its previous requests. In addition, Canada alleges that the tariffs are inconsistent with Article VIII:3 GATT as the measures “impose substantial penalties for minor breaches of customs regulations or procedural requirements.” /Source: Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) - Headquarters London, United Kingdom/

United States
April 10, 2025  Speaking in the Oval Office yesterday, U.S. President Trump said was not concerned about the economic conflict with China escalating further, calling Chinese President Xi "one of the very smart people of the world." He has dismissed concerns of his trade war with China escalating beyond the exchange of ’eye-watering tariffs’. I don't think he would allow that to happen, Trump said. The U.S. is far more powerful than people understand, he added. ’We have weaponry that nobody has any idea what it is and it is the most powerful weapons in the world that we have.’ So nobody is going to do that, Trump told reporters. (Source: Miami Herald - U.S.)

April 9, 2025  The military use of space is evolving quickly, necessitating not only new capabilities but also creating entirely new missions, securing greater funding. The chief of space operations (CSO) noted in April 2025 that “overly restrictive space policy and outdated ways of thinking” are holding back U.S. military space power. The Space Force has proposed establishing a new command, called Space Futures Command, to assess the long-term capabilities required to maintain the U.S. edge in space. New capabilities are important, but so are new missions. The military use of space is in such an early stage that no one has perhaps quite figured out all the military space missions and functions themselves. During congressional testimony on April 3, 2025, the CSO directly spoke about this, suggesting there might be a need for a “process by which we will evaluate new missions”. There are already several new missions on the horizon. The Golden Dome initiative, specifically missile intercept from space, is one such mission. Space sensing will play a critical role in Golden Dome, as it does today in the U.S. early warning architecture, with satellites used to detect and track missile launches. But Golden Dome is a paradigm shift because it includes the deployment of space-based missile interceptors, potentially orbiting Earth somewhere between 300 kilometers and 500 kilometers in altitude, designed to counter ballistic missiles during the boost phase of their trajectories when they pass through space, opening the door to a new chapter in how the U.S. military uses space for space control. Space-based missile interceptors can perform both space control roles: the counterspace mission, stopping adversaries from using space for their own operations. and the counter-counterspace mission, to defeat counterspace weapons employed by an adversary, protecting and defending U.S. space assets. Space mobility and orbital global strike would also be two other entirely new military space missions, not just new capabilities. For years, U.S. Transportation Command, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and the Defense Innovation Unit have been working on developments that would fit into a space mobility mission. Since 2022, AFRL has been budgeted to pursue the rocket cargo program, which aims to move goods and material from one point on Earth to another using suborbital rocket flights. Commercial reusable rockets, including Blue Origin’s New Shepard and SpaceX’s Falcon 9, testify to the feasibility of this concept. The ability to deliver cargo (or possibly in the future soldiers) anywhere in the world in less than 90 minutes, it would have value when speed is key. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission, SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner capsules, and Varda’s return vehicle, among others, offer recent examples of existing capabilities that lay the groundwork for another variation of space mobility, one involving orbital flight and reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. Supplies in orbit for later delivery (i.e., warehousing in space), could reduce delivery times still further than what is possible using rocket cargo. Since March 2023, the Air Force has funded work at four companies to look at this concept, which has been called orbital cargo drop. ’A vehicle in orbit that is capable of surviving reentry could deliver weapons’. This was most recently tested by China in 2021, designed to deliver a warhead to its target using low Earth orbit. This is a type of system the U.S. military has not pursued. Orbital global strike, a space-to-Earth fires concept of a capability based on satellite constellation, with each satellite having some type of space-to-Earth weapon. Today, an intercontinental ballistic missile is on average the fastest way to deliver a munition to the other side of the globe, capable of reaching its target in about 30 minutes. For a weapon of an orbital global strike, the time to reach the target could be as fast as a projectile falling from orbit to the ground at Mach 10, a time measured in mere minutes. Weapons launched from satellites in orbit could include solid projectiles) or drones or air-breathing missiles that deploy from reentry vehicles. ’Orbital global strike could be used for strategic purposes, meaning to target an adversary’s war-making and other infrastructure, or tactical purposes in direct support to armed forces in combat’.’Creating an orbital global strike mission would be akin to the evolution of air power from mainly a tool of reconnaissance to one oriented around long-range bombardment’. The same technology that produced commercial satellite constellations hints at the possibility of ’an orbital global strike network consisting of a similar number of satellites’.  (Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies - U.S.)
by Swope, the deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the CSIS.

April 9, 2025  Might someone have stolen the gold reserves from Fort Knox, Kentucky, the fortress that holds the government’s gold bars? At least a dozen times since mid-February, President Trump and his billionaire adviser Musk keep fanning flames of Fort Knox gold conspiracy theory - rumor about America’s gold reserves - that the Fort Knox gold might be gone. In 2017, Trump’s treasury secretary at the time, Mnuchin, visited the Kentucky fortress and came away satisfied. Trump’s current treasury secretary, Bessent, told in February: “All the gold is present and accounted for.” No visit has materialized in the nearly two months since then, and it’s not clear why. ’The gold theft rumors have come in several varieties, all without evidence, among them that European bankers took the gold or that the Rockefeller banking family did’. The U.S. Mint says Fort Knox holds about 147.3 million ounces of gold currently, or about half the Treasury’s total gold reserves. That’s worth about $450 billion at the current market price. Formally known as the U.S. Bullion Depository, the gold reserve site is next to the Army base Fort Knox. It was built in 1936, and President Roosevelt was the only visitor until the tour for media and members of Congress in 1974. The gold reserve used to have a practical purpose: to allow foreign governments to swap their dollars for gold. But President Nixon ended the practice in 1971. Now, its value is mainly symbolic of U.S. wealth, and other countries, such as China, have recently sought to build up their own reserves. The Treasury Department’s nonpartisan inspector general audits the gold every year, said Thorson, a former inspector general who’s now retired. He said that he sent teams of about three people every year and that he went personally once in 2011. On Feb. 15, Zero Hedge posted a suggestion on X and tagged Musk directly. “It would be great if @elonmusk could take a look inside Fort Knox just to make sure the 4,580 tons of US gold is there. Last time anyone looked was 50 years ago in 1974,” the account posted. It had 3.3 million views as of Friday. “Surely it’s reviewed at least every year?” Musk responded to the post. X’s owner, Musk, has 218 million listed followers. Google Trends data shows that after the interaction, web searches for the term “Fort Knox” hit their highest level since Google began collecting data in 2004 and kept rising for several days. On Feb. 17, Musk posted on X about the gold: “Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.” He spoke about it on Rogan’s podcast and at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, often mixing the conspiracy theory with attempts at humor. Musk reiterated his intention to inspect the goal as recently as March 30 at a town hall-style event in Wisconsin. “We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there, because maybe somebody stole the gold, tons of gold,” Trump said. ’There is no evidence that any gold is missing, and there’s no indication that Musk or Trump has taken any concrete steps toward visiting Fort Knox’. Questioning the gold as having been ‘lost’ or ‘stolen’ is part of a series of actions that undermine confidence in America, said Klein, who served in the Obama Treasury Department. Paul, the former congressman wants Trump and Musk to perform lab tests known as assays to determine the exact composition of the gold bars. The price of gold soared to record highs in recent days amid concerns about Trump’s trade wars before they fell again along with other asset prices since last week’s tariff announcement. And the longer the visit doesn’t happen, the more useful the rumors become for anyone who benefits from them. “If the intent is to undermine the financial system, you don’t actually want anyone to go there and look,” said Schafer, of the German Marshall Fund. (Source: NBC News - U.S.)

09 April, 2025  On 2 April, President Trump announced a global baseline 10% tariff on all imports into the US (effective from 5 April) and a range of additional ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on numerous countries and the EU (effective from 9 April). These reciprocal tariffs – which will be payable in addition to tariffs that the US currently levies – range from 10% (the minimum baseline) to 73%. According to the administration, these tariffs are calculated by reference to the size of that country’s trade deficit with the US. All countries will face steeper tariff rates, including China which was hit with a 34% tariff (but the total tariff rate on China has since risen to 125%), while the EU will face an additional 20% tariff on top of the tariffs the US already imposes on the EU. These reciprocal tariffs have been paused for 90-days for all countries, other than China. The 10% baseline tariff will continue to apply to most countries during the 90-day period. No additional tariffs were announced on Mexico and Canada. The ‘reciprocal’ tariffs apply to all products, but exclusions exist for certain medical items (including pharmaceuticals), as well as agricultural and technology items (including semiconductor chips) and certain raw materials. President Trump has indicated that the US will soon impose tariffs on semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals. The ‘reciprocal’ tariffs also do not apply to automobiles and automobile parts, as well as steel and aluminium products, which remain subject to the specific tariff rates for these products. /Source: Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) - Headquarters London, United Kingdom/

4/9/2025  FBI Director Patel was removed as the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an arm of the U.S. Justice Department, and replaced by U.S. Army Secretary Driscol, who will continue to serve as Army Secretary while he also oversees the ATF. Patel was sworn in as ATF's acting director in late February, just a few days after he was also sworn in as FBI Director. Senior Justice Department officials are weighing whether to merge the ATF with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as part of an effort to cut costs. (Source: MSN - U.S. / Reuters - United Kingdom)

8 April 2025  The Trump administration is finding justifications to revoke student visas. Students at over 50 universities across the US reported that their student visas were canceled around April 4. They were impacted at several major institutions in California - UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Stanford – and at Arizona State University, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Tennessee, among others. Some students report having their visa revoked over a speeding ticket. This recent wave of visa revocations has also renewed alarm about the State Department's "Catch and Revoke" program. The approach uses AI to scour the social media of visa holders, determining whether they show support for US-designated terrorist groups such as Hamas. Last month, FM Rubio said at a press conference that he had revoked the visas of over 300 international students, specifically for pro-Palestine protest activity. „Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa," Rubio said in Guyana on March 27. (Source: allAfrica - a website which operates from offices in Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington, D.C.)

April 8, 2025  The Trump administration plans to fine migrants under deportation orders up to $998 a day if they fail to leave the United States and to seize their property if they do not pay. The Trump administration plans to apply the penalties retroactively for up to five years. Trump turns to rarely used 1996 law that was enforced for the first time in 2018, to fine and potentially seize migrant assets. Immigrants in the U.S. illegally should use a mobile app formerly known as CBP One - rebranded as CBP Home under Trump - to "self deport and leave the country now." The White House has pressed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to handle the issue of penalties, property seizures for migrants who don't pay, and the sale of their assets. The Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture division could be another option for the seizures. The planned fines target the roughly 1.4 million migrants who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge. The immigration advocacy group FWD.us estimates that some 10 million migrants with no legal status or temporary protections are living with U.S. citizens or permanent residents in what are known as 'mixed status households.' (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

Apr 08, 2025  In Silicon Valley, tech giants rely heavily on H1B visas to employ thousands of workers and immigrant tech community is confronting growing challenges. Amazon tops the list of big tech companies in terms of H1B approvals, followed by Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple. Tesla, under CEO Musk’s leadership, approved 1,767 H1B visas in the fiscal year ending September 2024. Each year, around 65,000 H1B visas are granted through a lottery system, with India leading the list of recipients, followed by China and Canada. The debate over H1B visas has brought to light a growing division within Trump’s coalition, with tech leaders pushing for more immigrant talent while others advocate for stricter immigration measures. Experts warn that limiting visas for immigrant tech workers could undermine the industry's ability to compete with China. Amidst the Trump administration’s stricter immigration policies, leading tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft are advising their H-1B and green card visa holders to refrain from international travel. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)

(Tuesday), 08 April, 2025  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his second visit to Washington in the first 10 weeks of Trump's second term. On the agenda was Netanyahu's determination to reverse Trump's newly imposed tariffs, and discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions, Gaza, and Syria. Trump said that he would be meeting with the Iranians on Saturday and dealing with them directly, possibly a major step following years of cautious indirect talks. "Maybe a deal is going to be made. That would be great," Trump told reporters. "Don't forget, we help Israel a lot. You know, we give Israel $4 billion a year. That's a lot," Trump said. Trump repeatedly said that Israel should have never "given up" Gaza in its land-for-peace deal. He suggested a post-war plan of beachside resorts administered by the US. He then invited Netanyahu to answer a reporter's question about an "immigration plan" to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. His answer seemed to differ from Trump's plan for beachfront development, suggesting that Palestinians in Gaza would return after a period of post-war reconstruction. (Source: The New Arab - based in London, United Kingdom, owned ba a Qatari company)

Apr 07, 2025  The Trump administration has placed the staff of the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman on a 60-day administrative leave. The office, which was known for its independence from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), assisted around 30,000 people annually. The March 21 move by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could be a step toward dismantling the independent immigration oversight body. The move also affected the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties - which is required to exist by law - and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman. The removal of the neutral watchdog could lead to unchecked administrative power over immigration matters. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)

Saturday 05 April 2025  The U.S. Agency for Global Media ended RFE/RL satellite contracts on Thursday, possibly impeding the broadcasting of Russian-language programs. Around 40 stations in Europe that broadcast RFE’s live Russian programs use satellites. 'RFE/RL reports in almost 30 languages and reaches about 47 million people weekly in 23 countries, such as Russia, Hungary, and Afghanistan.' (Source: Independent - United Kingdom)

Fri, Apr 4 2025  President Trump says Fed Chair Powell should cut interest rates and ‘stop playing politics’. (Source: CNBC - U.S.)

4 April 2025  The Trump administration has fired General Haugh, the head of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, after a meeting between President Trump and ’far-right’ activist Loomer yesterday. She posted on X that Gen Haugh and his deputy, Noble, 'have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired." At least three other officials at the White House National Security Council (NSC) were fired: Walsh, a director for intelligence; Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs; and Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Apr 04, 2025  Yesterday the US President levied a 26% tariff on India, 34% on China, 46% on Vietnam, and 10% on the UK. The EU has been slapped with a 20% tariff, while 49% has been levied on Cambodia. Imports from South Korea will attract 25% tariffs. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)

NATO

03.04.2025  At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, US underlined 'NATO members should spend up to 5% of GDP on defense'. 'Ground war in the heart of Europe is a reminder that hard power is still necessary as deterrent,' said Secretary of State Rubio. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

United Nations

05 April 2025  New thinking is needed on disarmament. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) race needs to slow down and IT firms should instead be focusing on the bigger picture to ensure that the technology is not misused on the battlefield, UN disarmament experts and leaders of ‘big tech’ companies have insisted, speaking at the recent Global Conference on AI Security and Ethics hosted by UNIDIR in Geneva. AI has already created a security dilemma for governments and militaries around the world. The dual-use nature of AI technologies – where they can be used in civilian and military settings alike – means that developers could lose touch with the realities of battlefield conditions, where their programming could cost lives, warned Valli, Head of Public Affairs at Comand AI. The tools are still in their infancy but have long fuelled fears that they could be used to make life-or-death decisions in a war setting, removing the need for human decision-making and responsibility. Hence the growing calls for regulation, to ensure that mistakes are avoided that could lead to disastrous consequences. “We see these systems fail all the time,” said Sully, CEO of the London-based company Advai, adding that the technologies remain “very unrobust”. “So, making them go wrong is not as difficult as people sometimes think,” he noted. (Source: The United Nations Office at Geneva)

Global

09 April, 2025  China, Canada, and the EU have responded to the tariffs which President Trump has imposed by commencing dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO). For other WTO members, the WTO remains an important part of the international architecture for free trade. The US’s commitment to WTO rules and the WTO as an institution is not what it once was. The US has even stopped paying into the WTO budget. The future? After 60 days of WTO consultations, complainant countries can request a WTO panel. These dates fall on 6 April – for China in respect of the 20% tariff on Chinese goods; 3 May – for Canada in respect of the 25% tariffs on Canadian goods (and 10% on Canadian energy goods and potash); 12 May – for Canada in respect of the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium products; 3 June – for Canada in respect of the 25% tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts; 4 June – for China in respect of the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on Chinese goods. "It is to be expected that the US will avoid a negative WTO panel ruling being formally adopted, which it can do by ‘appealing into the void’. This is now possible because there are currently no Appellate Body members, due to the US having blocked all appointments since 2019. However, some WTO Members, including the EU, have adopted legislation permitting them to retaliate against unsuccessful respondent WTO members in such circumstances. It would further be expected that the EU, at least, would retaliate against the US should it be successful in any WTO proceedings. This is not however necessarily the case for other WTO members, including China and Canada". /Source: Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) - Headquarters London, United Kingdom/

April 9, 2025 10:10 AM CET U.S.  President Trump said overnight that global leaders are willing to do anything to make a trade deal with him as American tariffs come into force. “They are dying to make a deal. 'Please, please sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything sir,' he imitated a begging foreign leader during a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner in Washington. Tariffs announced by Trump on April 2 which took effect today morning include massive 104 percent duties on Chinese goods, while dozens of other nations, plus the European Union, will face tariffs ranging from 11 percent to 50 percent. Asian stocks collapsed today morning as the new tariffs kicked in with key markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped over 5 percent, while the broader TOPIX index fell by 4.6 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 4.3 percent and Taiwan's market plunged more than 5.7 percent. Speaking at the event yesterday night, Trump also announced plans for additional tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. We’re going to tariff our pharmaceuticals and once we do that they’re going to come rushing back into our country because we’re the big market, he said. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

April 8, 2025 11:59 PM GMT+2  The United States said today that 104% duties on imports from China will take effect shortly after midnight in response to countertariffs Beijing announced last week. China has vowed to fight to the end. U.S. stocks dropped today for a fourth straight trading day since Trump's tariffs announcement last week. S&P 500 companies have lost $5.8 trillion in stock market value since Trump's tariff announcement last Wednesday, the deepest four-day loss since the benchmark was created in the 1950s. "We've had talks with many, many countries, over 70, they all want to come in. Our problem is, can't see that many that fast," Trump said at a White House event, where he signed executive orders aimed at boosting coal production. "Right now, we've received the instruction to prioritize our allies and our trading partners like Japan and Korea and others," White House economic adviser Hassett said. Trump's tailor-made approach to negotiations with individual countries could take into account foreign and military aid as well as economic factors, White House spokeswoman Leavitt said. Trump's lead trade negotiator, Greer, told Congress that his office is trying to work quickly but is not facing a particular deadline. Global oil prices steadied after falling to four-year lows. European pharma companies, fearful of the tariff fallout, warned the president of the European Commission, der Leyen, in a meeting that Trump's tariffs would expedite the industry's shift away from Europe and toward the United States. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

07/04/2025 - 09:09 US  President Trump refused to back down on sweeping tariffs. China retaliated. Many fear the escalating trade war could spark a global recession.    Stock markets:    Asia:    China hammered the United States with its own hefty tariffs, ramping up a trade war that many fear could spark a recession. Equities collapsed. Wave of selling as investors fled to the hills. Hong Kong's loss of 12 percent its worst in more than 16 years; Taipei tanked more than nine percent; Tokyo more than seven percent.    Europe:    European shares plunge to 16-month low. Frankfurt slumping as much as 10 percent; Paris diving more than six percent; London sliding nearly six percent; Amsterdam and Oslo: losses of more than five percent; Milan down over three percent. (Source: France 24)

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Europe

France
(31 March 2025 13:14 CEST)  French court today barred Le Pen from seeking public office for five years, with immediate effect, for ’embezzlement’. Although she can appeal the verdict, such a move won’t suspend her ineligibility - which could rule her out of the 2027 presidential race. As the judge went into greater detail with the verdict, saying Le Pen’s party had illegally used European Parliament money for its own benefit, “Incredible,” she whispered at one point. The judge said Le Pen and other co-defendants didn't enrich themselves personally. Le Pen and 24 other officials from the National Rally were accused of having used money intended for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The judge also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like her, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers. Le Pen and her co-defendants face up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal, which would lead to another trial. The court also convicted 12 other people who served as parliamentary aides for Le Pen and what is now the National Rally party, formerly the National Front. Le Pen, 56, was runner-up to President Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party’s electoral support has grown in recent years. Prosecutors requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility for Le Pen. She said she felt they were only interested in preventing her from running for president. “There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election,” she told the panel of three judges. (Source: Africanews, located in Lyon, France)

(Monday), 31/03/2025 - 04:20 CEST  French ’far-right’ leader Le Pen faces a pivotal moment today as a court decides her fate in an embezzlement case, potentially barring her from the 2027 presidential race. Le Pen, head of the ’far-right’ National Rally (RN), her party and two dozen party figures are accused of diverting over 3 million euros of European Parliament funds to pay France-based staff. The defendants say the money was used legitimately and the allegations define too narrowly what a parliamentary assistant does. Prosecutors have asked that Le Pen face an immediate five-year ban from public office if found guilty, regardless of any appeal process, using a so-called provisional execution measure. Judges can adopt, modify or ignore the prosecutors' request. The party has called the trial a witch hunt. The leader transformed the RN into the biggest single party in France's parliament. Le Pen, 56, a three-time presidential contender is a front-runner in polls ahead of the 2027 vote. Her political fate is in court's hands. Le Pen’s removal from the race would intensify debate about how judges police politics. The National Rally, which sees her as a leading contender, has denounced the trial as politically motivated, since Le Pen, the main opposition leader would be prevented from running by the judges. Le Pen accuses prosecutors of seeking her political death, alleging a plot to keep the RN from power. "With provisional execution, the judges have the power of life or death over our movement," Le Pen said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, published on Saturday. Senior RN figures do not expect Le Pen to be barred. Her protege, 29-year-old party president Bardella, will take her place if she is, they say. Prosecutors and a judge involved in the trial have received online death threats, part of a growing international backlash against judges seeking to rein in political wrongdoing. ’Far-right’ expert and political scientist Camus said a five-year ban could anger Le Pen's supporters. RN voters are quite prone to thinking they are victims of the 'elite', he said. "An immediate ineligibility verdict could reinforce this sentiment of being ostracised." (Source: France 24 "with Reuters" - United Kingdom)

European Union

March  31, 2025  EU received 4.3 million immigrants in 2023 from non-EU countries. This figure does not include asylum seekers and/or refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection. Additionally, 1.5 million people migrated between EU countries. Compared with 2022, the number of people who immigrated to the EU decreased by 17.9%, down from 5.3 million. The number of people migrating between EU countries remained stable at 1.5 million. There was an estimated 10 immigrants from non-EU countries per 1,000 residents in the EU in 2023. Relative to the size of the resident population, Malta recorded the highest rate of immigration from EU and non-EU countries in 2023 (76 immigrants per 1,000 residents), followed by Cyprus (43) and Luxembourg (40). By contrast, Slovakia registered the lowest rate of immigration, with 1 immigrant per 1,000 residents, followed by France (6) and Italy (7). The highest proportions of immigrants from countries outside the EU were recorded in Czechia (89.2%), Lithuania (88.9%) and Ireland (87.2%). (Source: EU Reporter, based in Brussels, Belgium)

See also: Statistics Explained article on Migration to and from the EU - Data extracted in March 2025 (Source:Eurostat):

Russia
(31 March 2025)  Russia’s next spring conscription campaign begins on April 1. Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 100,001 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 11,628 mobilized soldiers. (Source: Conflict Intelligence Team – Headquarters Tbilisi, Georgia)

Asia

Israel
March 31, 2025  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his corruption trial abruptly today to give evidence in a separate investigation into possible ties between his aides and Qatar. Two suspects in the investigation, dubbed "Qatar-gate" in Israel, had been arrested earlier today. Israel's public broadcaster Kan said Netanyahu was not a suspect and would provide testimony at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu, who is on trial over a separate series of corruption charges which he denies, has rejected the accusations regarding his aides and Qatar as "fake news" and a politically motivated campaign against him. A Qatari official also dismissed the accusations as part of a "smear campaign" against Qatar. Qatar is not defined by Israel as an enemy state but is home to some Hamas leaders. Along with Egypt, it has been mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group for a ceasefire in Gaza. According to recent investigations by Kan and the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, the aides are suspected of having orchestrated or been involved in a campaign to improve Qatar's image abroad. They deny any wrongdoing. Earlier today, Netanyahu named a new chief to take over Israel's domestic intelligence agency after a bitter standoff with the current head who has been presiding over the Qatar investigation, together with police. Netanyahu tapped a former commander of Israel's navy, Sharvit, to replace Shin Bet head Bar, who remains in office pending a Supreme Court decision over legal challenges to his dismissal. Government moves to dismiss Bar, have provoked street protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Netanyahu said he had lost his confidence in Bar over the October 7, 2023, security failure. The Supreme Court has frozen Bar's dismissal and is due to hear petitions against it on April 8. Netanyahu's Likud party said today that the investigation, today's arrests, were part of a plot to halt Bar's dismissal and oust the prime minister. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
(Monday), March 31, 2025  U.S. President Trump said yesterday that Zelensky is trying to back out of a minerals deal with the United States. On Friday, Zelensky said that Ukraine would not accept any minerals deal that threatens its future accession to the European Union. “He's trying to back out of the rare earth deal and if he does that he’s got some problems, big, big problems,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He added that Zelensky ’wants Ukraine to be a member of NATO, but he's never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that.” Publicly, Trump has only referred to rare earth metals when discussing the deal. Media reports last week indicated that he has been pushing for an agreement that would give Washington vast control over Kyiv’s critical energy and mineral resources via a joint investment fund. During the same exchange with reporters, Trump addressed a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, saying there is a psychological deadline for Moscow to reach an agreement. For now, he said he believes Russian President Putin "wants to make a deal." (Source: Meduza - based in Riga, Latvia / Reuters - United Kingdom)

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Europe

Greenland
(Sunday, March 30, 2025)  On Thursday, four of the five parties elected to Greenland's parliament earlier this month have agreed to form a coalition that will have 23 of 31 seats in the legislature. The following day, Danish King Frederik X posted on Facebook: " There should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connectedness to the people of Greenland are intact." Hundreds of protesters demonstrated yesterday outside the U.S. Embassy in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Usha, the vice president's wife, who was originally scheduled to attend the Greenland's national dogsled race opted out when her husband decided to join the trip and visit the military base instead, reducing the likelihood that they would cross paths with Greenlanders. Danish FM Rasmussen, in his video, reminded viewers of the 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. Since 1945, the American military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations on the island, he said, to the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest with some 200 soldiers today. The 1951 agreement "offers ample opportunity for the United States to have a much stronger military presence in Greenland," he said. "If that is what you wish, then let us discuss it." Rasmussen added that Denmark has increased its own investment into Arctic defense. In January, Denmark announced 14.6 billion Danish kroner (US$2.1 billion) in financial commitments for Arctic security covering three new naval vessels, long-range drones and satellites. (Source: NPR – U.S.)

Russia
30 March 2025  A ceasefire in Ukraine may not come into effect this year, top Kremlin official Karasin, a former ambassador to the UK, who led Russia's negotiating team with the US earlier this month, has warned. He said that the talks had not led to "any radical breakthrough yet, but the opportunities are there". (Source: LBC - United Kingdom)

Ukraine
30.03.25  Zelensky predicted that Russia could experience a decisive setback in the war. 'Putin will die soon,' calling it a 'fact' as per a report by the Mirror. Zelensky went on to add, ‘…it will come to an end,' while pleading with the United States to stay strong and continue the pressure on Moscow to stop its aggression. (Source: The Telegraph - India)

Asia

Iran
(Sunday), March 30, 2025  Iran's president said today that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, offering Tehran's first response to a letter President Trump sent to the country's supreme leader. Trump's letter came as both Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels of 60% purity - something only done by atomic-armed nations. Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue the bomb. A report in February, by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium. Pezeshkian had left open talks up until Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei came down hard on Trump in February and warned talks ’are not intelligent, wise or honorable’ with his administration. The Iranian president then immediately toughened his own remarks on the U.S. The last time Trump tried to send a letter to Khamenei, through the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019, the supreme leader mocked the effort. Trump's letter arrived in Tehran on March 12. He offered little detail on what he exactly told the supreme leader. Iran's reluctance to deal with Trump likely also takes root in his ordering the attack that killed Iranian Gen. Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020. The U.S. has said Iran plotted to assassinate Trump over that prior to his election this November, something Tehran denied though officials have threatened him. Now, as the U.S. conducts intense airstrikes targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen, the risk of military action targeting Iran's nuclear program remains on the table. President Pezeshkian said Iran's response, delivered via the sultanate of Oman, left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington. Such talks have made no progress since Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Trump said before Pezeshkian's comments he was considering military action and secondary tariffs if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, published an article last week that included listing U.S. bases in the Middle East as possible targets of attack. The list included Camp Thunder Cove on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where the U.S. is basing stealth B-2 bombers likely being used in Yemen. The Americans themselves know how vulnerable they are, warned Iranian parliament speaker Qalibaf on Friday. ’If they violate Iran's sovereignty, it will be like a spark in a gunpowder depot, setting the entire region ablaze. In such a scenario, their bases and their allies will not be safe.’ Tehran's two recent direct attacks on Israel with ballistic missiles and drones caused negligible damage, while Israel responded by destroying Iranian air defense systems. (Source: NPR / The Associated Press = U.S.)

Israel
30 March, 2025  As Israel resumed its war on the Gaza Strip, scores of brigade and battalion commanders said they were seeing an increased number of reservists saying they would not serve, due to Israel shattering the ceasefire deal with Gaza and failing to free captives held in the enclave. The army has also noted a marked decrease in reservists’ motivation, while scores of commanders and soldiers are reportedly exhausted after having to serve for hundreds of days in the past year. There was also a rise in ’gray refusals’, due to health, financial or family reasons, but in fact the decision stems from moral or political reasons. Some of the reasons include fear of the government ignoring rulings of the High Court of Justice, the government’s decision to oust Shin Bet chief Bar and the intention to remove the attorney general. Reserve units are now being forced to take reservists from other units not currently engaged in combat. (Source: The New Arab - based in London, United Kingdom, owned by a Qatari company)

Yemen
2025-03-30  Today, Yemen’s Houthi group's military spokesperson reported that a Dhu al-Fiqar ballistic missile had successfully targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. In a separate attack, Houthi forces reportedly engaged US warships in the Red Sea, striking the USS Harry S. Truman three times within 24 hours using ballistic missiles, drones, and naval units. Yesterday, Houthi-affiliated media reported 13 US airstrikes on northern Yemen’s Saada province. Houthi officials estimate that at least 60 people have been killed since the US-led military campaign began on March 15. (Source: Shafaq News - Iraq)

North America

United States
Mar 30 2025  A confidential Pentagon document - a leaked memo from Defense Secretary Hegseth - focuses on deterring China's seizure of Taiwan and bolstering defense measures on U.S. soil. The interim guidance spans nine pages and bears striking resemblances to a more extensive report set for 2024 by the Heritage Foundation, involved with Project 2025, with several sections appearing almost verbatim when compared by The Washington Post. In the document, Trump insists that U.S. forces must be "ready to defend American interests wherever they might be threatened in our hemisphere, from Greenland, to the Panama Canal, to Cape Horn." The document underscores the importance of increased defense contributions from European nations, stating that this "will also ensure NATO can reliably deter or defeat Russian aggression even if deterrence fails and the United States is already engaged in, or must withhold forces to deter, a primary conflict in another region.' The United States, the guidance suggests, will provide nuclear deterrence against Russia but will only commit forces that are not essential for homeland security or missions related to China. (Source: The Mirror - United Kingdom)

March 30, 2025  'In Trump’s dragnet'. On March 14 the Republican-led Congress approved a $9.9 billion budget for immigration enforcement, an increase of about $500 million. Over the past two months, the president has been doing just what he promised during his campaign: assaulting every aspect of the US immigration system. (Source: The New York Review of Books - U.S.)

Oceania

Tonga
(Sunday), 30 March 2025 6:48 pm  In the early hours of Monday (local time) a 7.1-magnitude earthquake occurred about 100 kilometres northeast of Tonga’s main island. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert, warning that hazardous waves could affect coastlines within 300 kilometres of the epicentre. (Source: Outlook - India)

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Europe

France
29/03/2025  The American embassy in Paris asked French companies holding US government contracts to guarantee their compliance with an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. The letters included an attached questionnaire asking firms to certify that they "do not practice programmes to promote diversity, equity and inclusion", or DEI. The questionnaire added that such programmes "infringe on applicable federal anti-discrimination laws" in the United States, where Trump signed an order banning federal DEI programmes the day he returned to office for his second term as president. "We inform you that Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-based Opportunities, signed by President Trump, applies to all suppliers and service providers of the US Government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate," reads the letter. As published in the press, the letter was not on a US embassy letterhead. In that format, it's not an official communication, much less a diplomatic one. Economy Minister Lombard's office said the letter reflects the values of the new US government. 'They are not ours,' it said and the minister will remind his US counterparts of that. (Source: France 24 "with AFP - France and Reuters" - United Kingdom)

Greenland
(29 March 2025)  "We need to wake up from a failed, 40-year consensus that said that we could ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they expand their ambitions," Vance told US troops at America's Pituffik military base. "We can't just bury our head in the sand - or, in Greenland, bury our head in the snow - and pretend that the Chinese are not interested in this very large landmass." On his visit, Vance mentioned Greenland's aspirations for independence, and implied that America's real intention was not a sudden annexation of the island, but something far more patient and long-term. "Our message is very simple, yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self-determination. We hope that they choose to partner with the United States, because we're the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security." Under its new government, and with overwhelming public support, Greenland is beginning a slow, very cautious move towards full independence from Denmark. A recent poll showed just 6% of the population support the idea of being part of the US. Washington was cancelling a planned cultural tour by Vance's wife, Usha, to Nuuk and another town in the face of planned local protests. There are still large reserves of goodwill towards the US here, and a keen interest in doing more business with American companies. A slower, more respectful, behind-the-scenes sort of engagement would, surely, make more sense. On the security front, a 74-year-old treaty with Denmark permitting the US to increase its military presence in Greenland at any time – from new bases to submarine harbours - should surely take care of Washington's concerns about countering the threat from China, just as it did during the Cold War years. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

29.03.2025  US President Trump posted a documentary-style video on X yesterday, calling for renewed unity between the US and the island amid what he described as rising threats from Russia and China. The video, which came alongside US Vice Vance’s visit to Greenland, narrated over historical footage, cited World War II cooperation. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
03/29/2025  United States and Russia in search of paradise lost. Russians love to mirror themselves directly in the Americans. (Source: AsiaNews, an official press agency of the Catholic Church's Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME). Headquarters Rome, Italy)
by Caprio

Asia

Myanmar
March 29, 2025  The aftermath of the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand
/Photo(s)/ (Source: NPR - U.S.)

Pakistan
Saturday, 29 March 2025  'The World Has Failed' Pakistani Christians
(Source: Newsmax - U.S.)

North America

United States
Sat 29 Mar 2025  The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and promise to carry out mass deportations has already led to a surge in the detention population. The network of remote immigration detention centres stretch between Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, known as “Detention Alley” – where 14 of the country’s 20 largest detention centres are clustered. Louisiana now holds the second largest number of detained immigrants, behind only Texas. Almost 7,000 people were held as of February 2025 at nine facilities in Louisiana, all operated by private companies. Almost 50% of immigrants currently detained by Ice had no criminal record. (Source: The Guardian - United Kingdom)

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Europe

Hungary
28/03/2025  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the first national leader to react to the EU Commission's advice for people to prepare a 72-hour survival kit for emergency situations. The EU wants every member state to develop a 72-hour survival kit for citizens to face any new crisis that might emerge. Viktor Orbán denounced those plans in his weekly address on national radio. He said he does not think that Europe is threatened by war from outside, as no one would attack a NATO country. Orbán added that if someone is making war preparations, that means they are preparing for war actions. „I see that Brussels is preparing for war’, he said. Brussels wants to continue the current war by supporting Ukraine. According to Orbán, the emergency kits proposal is preparation for a deeper involvement in the war. He recalled that Hungary did not deliver any weapons to Ukraine and will not send any troops in the future. "Now this seems funny, that Brussels then sends a message to all European families to keep enough food with them for 72 hours, but if you look behind it, you are rather horrified to see what is on these people's minds’. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

Germany
28.03.2025  According to German intelligence agency BND, Russia 'could develop capacity to wage large-scale conventional warfare by end of this decade', public broadcasters report According to financial data in the assessment, Russia's military spending would reach approximately €120 billion ($130 billion) by 2025, 'with plans to recruit up to 1.5 million additional soldiers by 2026'. The report's leak to the media coincides with NATO discussions about increasing defense budgets and military aid commitments to Ukraine. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
(28 March 2025)  Putin has suggested that Ukraine should temporarily be placed under UN control to elect what he called a more "competent" government. Moscow says the current Ukrainian authorities are illegitimate as Zelensky has stayed in power beyond the end of his term and is therefore not a valid negotiating partner. Putin said that this proposal was only one of many options, but pointed out that there were international precedents for UN control such as East Timor and parts of the former Yugoslavia. At the same meeting, the Russian leader said that Moscow had the "strategic initiative" all along the front line in the war and "there are reasons to believe that we can finish off" Ukrainian forces. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

28 March 2025  Putin, aboard a new nuclear submarine during a visit to an Arctic naval base, yesterday claimed Russian forces have the "strategic initiative" along the Ukrainian front line and had reason to believe his army would "finish them off". He previously issued a stark warning to Nato countries, declaring that Russia is ready to protect its land in the arctic if Trump goes ahead with his plan to purchase Greenland. "It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration, nothing of the kind," Putin said. He added that the US had previously drawn up plans to take Greenland in the nineteenth century, but these were abandoned. "As for Greenland, I think that this is an issue that concerns two states and has nothing to do with us". "However, we are concerned by the fact that the Nato countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold for possible conflicts." (Source: LBC - United Kingdom)

28.03.25 Russian President Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under temporary administration to allow for new elections and the signature of key accords to reach a settlement in the war. "In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the U.N, the United States, European countries and our partners," he was quoted as saying in talks with seamen at the port, during a visit to the northern port of Murmansk. "Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative," Putin said. "We are gradually - perhaps not as quickly as some might like - but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set out at the beginning of this operation," the agencies quoted him as saying. Putin praised the efforts in seeking a solution from the BRICS grouping it promotes as an alternative to traditional alliances - singling out China and India for praise. He said Russia was ready to cooperate with many countries, including North Korea, to help end the war. "In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States sincerely wants an end to the conflict for a number of reasons," the agencies quoted Putin as saying. Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine's future. The Trump administration has proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine. France and Britain tried to expand support for a foreign "reassurance force" in the event of a truce with Russia, although Moscow rejects any presence of foreign troops in Ukraine. Putin said Russia was also ready to work with Europe, but adding that Europe "conducts itself in inconsistent fashion". „I hope that we won't make any mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners", he said. (Source: Telegraph India / Reuters - United Kingdom)

Friday 28 March 2025   Russian President Putin, speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks broadcast early today, suggests putting Ukraine under U.N.-sponsored external governance as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement. “Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine,” he said, adding that it would allow the country to “hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty.” Putin reaffirmed his claim that Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. He added that such external governance is just “one of the options.” (Source: Independent - United Kingdom / The Associated Press - U.S.)

Ukraine
Friday 28 March 2025  Trump’s new mineral deal forces Ukraine to choose between becoming a US or Russian colony. The latest US offer to trade Ukraine’s minerals for back pay is nothing short of a colonial protection racket. On top of that it demands that the US, under Delaware law, controls most of Ukraine’s industrial output and much of its transport and communications system. Ukrainian parliamentarians told it would stand no chance of ratification by Ukraine’s legislature. It completely ignores international law and the Ukrainian constitution and Ukrainian law, said Morezkho, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee. He said that he hoped the Trump scheme was a negotiating tactic and did not reflect an ultimatum to withhold military and intelligence aid, as the US has threatened, if Kyiv does not sign the contract. Ukraine’s mineral and agricultural wealth have been seen by Russian colonialists as an essential part of Russian regional dominance. The Trump administration clearly now sees vast rewards for American business if it can trade the commanding heights of the Ukrainian economy for back payment on war donations and a long-term non-military US presence. The minerals deal takes the form of a business contract under US law which has no jurisdiction in Ukraine. It sets out that Ukraine and the US would split the royalties from oil, gas, and all minerals. The profits would be paid to the US, in dollars, and put into a joint investment fund which would be run by Americans holding three of five seats on the governing board. It further demands that the US contribution to Ukraine’s war effort be paid back immediately. The truth is closer to $130bn’. The US deal covers all infrastructure used for the exploitation of mineral products – trains, roads, airports, ports, pipelines, processing plants and refineries - and gives America veto power over the sale of resources to other nations or entities. Recent estimates by the Kiel Institute suggest that the US supplies about 30 per cent of Ukraine’s military equipment and ammunition. Intelligence support from the US has been, and will continue to be, critical. It’s a near hopeless effort for Ukrainian politicians to avoid antagonising Trump’s administration. Ukraine has signed up to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Black Sea, and on attacks against energy sectors in Ukraine and Russia. The Kremlin has refused the proposal and demanded the lifting of some banking sanctions – which the European Union has refused. The demand to give the US control over Ukraine’s economy, forever, without even security guarantees, reveals ’how little the Trump administration understands the country’, said Yasko, another member of the Ukrainian parliament. She said the American deal was certain to be rejected because it conjured up memories of the Holodomor, when the Kremlin ordered the expropriation of grain from Ukraine to Russia, killing and starving more than three million Ukrainians to death in the early 1930s. We shouldn’t ever allow anyone to have full control over our soil, she warned. (Source: Independent - United Kingdom)
(by Kiley)

United Kingdom
28.03.2025  Confidential military documents found scattered on a city street in Newcastle, spilling out of a black bin bag on March 16. They contained details such as soldiers’ ranks, email addresses, shift patterns, weapon issue information, material related to accessing weapons storage and an intruder detection system, linked to British Army regiments and barracks at Catterick Garrison. A document, marked “official – sensitive,” contained details that, according to government guidelines, could pose a ’threat to life’ if exposed. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

India
28 March 2025  On March 17, India’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the western state of Gujarat said it had arrested two people linked to Surat-based pharmaceutical companies for allegedly exporting illicit fentanyl precursors to Mexico and Guatemala. India has been identified as an emerging player in the illicit fentanyl trade, according to a new U.S. intelligence report. Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid up to 100 times stronger than morphine, is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S. (Source: Outlook - India)

Lebanon
28/03/2025  The Israeli military said today it was striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, hours after missiles were fired from Lebanese territory into Israel. Shortly before the strike, Israel's army issued an evacuation order to residents of Hadath in Beirut's southern suburbs. The military told them to leave the area around 'Hezbollah facilities' immediately. The order came as Lebanese President Aoun - making his first trip to a Western nation - began talks in Paris on Friday with French President Macron to discuss economic reforms and efforts to stabilise the country. (Source: France 24 "with" Reuters - United Kingdom, AFP - France and AP - U.S. )

Myanmar
March 28, 2025 / 7:34 AM  The main tremor, which occurred at around 12:20 local time, struck close to the Irrawaddy River in Sagaing Region, just west of Mandalay, a city of more than 1.7 million, followed 11 minutes later by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock 20 miles away to the south in Mandalay Region. Two further 4.6 shocks were recorded minutes apart an hour later. All the quakes were along the Sagaing Fault, a major 750-mile north-south fault that runs virtually the entire length of Myanmar, of a population of 57 million. The office of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a post on X that airports, hospitals, and transport had been placed on standby. The quake also rocked China's Yunan Province. The main shock registered at a magnitude of 7.9, according to their instruments. (Source: UPI - U.S.)

(March 28, 2025) 17:25  The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit north-west of the city of Sagaing, Myanmar. At the 1,000-bed Naypyitaw hospital – a ‘mass casualty area’ - the wounded are being treated in the street outside. /Photo(s)/ (Source: The Straits Times – Singapore -/ Reuters – United Kingdom)

Mar 28, 2025 17:08 IST  1,000-bed Myanmar hospital sees rows of injured lay outside after earthquake. /Photo(s)/ (Source: India Today / Agence France-Presse)

(March 28, 2025 12:19 CET)  7.7 magnitude earthquake jolts Myanmar, struck near central Myanmar’s Mandalay city today morning at 11.50 am local time. An aftershock, measuring 6.4 struck, at 12.02 pm. The devastating quake destroyed the major Naypyidaw hospital, lot of heritage sites including Mandalay Royal Palace and many other historical landmarks, homes, apartment buildings, airport, Sagaing Ava Bridge. /Video *, photo(s) **/ (Source: Scroll - India / X - U.S.)
* 1 100 000 views
** 192 views; 119 100 views.

Nepal
Mar 28, 2025  Curfew was imposed in Kathmandu after pro-monarchy protests demanding restoration of Hindu kingdom turned violent, leading to arson and clashes with police. Security forces used tear gas. Nepal abolished its 240-year-old monarchy in 2008 through a parliamentary declaration, transitioning into a secular, federal democratic republic. However, monarchists have been demanding its restoration, especially after former King Gyanendra called for public support in a video message on Democracy Day (February 19). On March 9, pro-monarchy activists held a rally in support of Gyanendra, who had returned to Kathmandu after visiting religious sites. Meanwhile, thousands of anti-monarchy protesters, led by the Socialist Front, gathered at Bhrikutimandap, chanting slogans like 'Long live the republic,' "Punish the corrupt," and 'Down with monarchy.' Political parties such as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and CPN-Unified Socialist backed the demonstration. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)

Thailand
(March 28, 2025) 17:25  Quake - the under-construction 30-storey skyscraper building collapsing in the Chatuchak district, Bangkok, Thailand. /Video * / (Source: The Straits Times – Singapore -/ X – U.S.); Photo(s) / (The Straits Times – Singapore -/ AFP - France, Reuters - United Kingdom, …)
* 6 200 000 views /

(March 28, 2025 12:19 CET)  A 30-storey under-construction skyscraper collapses * and a roooftop infinity pool turns into a waterfall ** in Bangkok, about 1,000 km away from Mandalay, Myanmar where a 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted. /Video(s)/ (Source: Scroll - India / X - U.S.)
* 928 000 views
** 95 500 views

North America

United States
03-28-2025  White House Press Secretary Leavitt says "spiritual warfare" is real and has seen ’evil forces’ at work against President Trump. At the age of 27, White House Press Secretary Leavitt approaches the podium with confidence and a smile. She has proved to be unflappable, her approach is no-nonsense and fearless. How she draws that strength immediately before each briefing? "I think that team prayer before is just a moment to be silent and still and ask God for confidence and the ability to articulate my words, knowledge, prayer, protection, and it is a nice moment to reset. It's the last thing I do before I go out there, and then it just gives me the confidence to do a briefing," she says. Growing up in New Hampshire, "I think that value of hard work and determination and drive was instilled in me in a very young age, just by watching my parents work so hard to earn a living," Leavitt says. Catholic education instilled discipline and shaped who she is today. „It could be difficult for someone who doesn't have faith but with faith, all things are possible." Sports played a role as well. She excelled on her high school softball team and received a scholarship from Saint Anselm college in Manchester. She ran for Congress in 2022 and lost the general election. „So God knew what He was doing, I believe, and you just have to trust the process and trust that he's working in your life, and stay grounded in your faith throughout the way." "The game of softball in sports prepared me for the game of politics, no doubt about it," Leavitt says. "Discipline, hard work, teamwork and also competing against yourself to be the best that you can in athletics, I think, has prepared me especially for this job now. Every day is a new game in this job." Leavitt pulls one off each day in her high-level role that includes being a full-time mom to an eight-month-old baby boy. "It's certainly challenging. I think every working mother understands the demands. And no matter where you are, what you're doing, there is a sense of guilt," she says. "But I spend every second that I possibly can with my son when I'm home on weekends and evenings. I try to make it home for bedtime as much as I can throughout the week." Which doesn't leave too much time for sleep. "Actually, it's usually about five to six hours a night is what I'm doing, which is all we need. As President Trump says, when you love your job and you love your life, you don't need to sleep much." How does Karoline define Karoline? "I hope people just view me as a hard worker who wants to get the job done and a good mother, and good at my job”. She leans on that faith inside the briefing room as questions come fast and furious from all directions. Leavitt says she's ready for what's coming. "Oftentimes, the questions are predictable." With liberal reporters everywhere in the press briefing room, it begs the question: Is political journalism dead in America today? "I think there are true journalists out there that still exist," she says. "They are few and far between. I think many people in the briefing room here are trying out for their next big show...so I think the media has had to take a look in the mirror, especially after President Trump's resounding victory on November 5th, and the American public sent a very strong message to the anti-Trump media that we don't listen to you." Legacy media often still push back. New York Times Reporter Baker has complained that outlets are losing direct access to the president if they print something the White House doesn't like. "That is utter fallacy and completely ridiculous,” Leavitt says. “We have expanded the pool to new voices, independent journalists, podcasters, social media content creators, while continuing to invite legacy media outlets like the one Baker works for". In the middle of these ongoing battles, this administration is also facing rogue judges it sees as trying to stop the Trump agenda. Leavitt labels them part of the ’resistance movement.’ "Almost every single one of them is a registered Democrat, has been involved in Democrat campaigns or causes, have donated to Democrat candidates. Some of them have even put their anti-Trump bias on social media. They have not been shy about their hatred for this president and his policies, and they are abusing their judicial power." She also sees a much larger fight taking place: the one between good and evil. "I certainly believe in spiritual warfare. And I think I saw it firsthand, especially throughout the campaign trail with President Trump. And I think there certainly were evil forces. And I think that the president was saved by the grace of God on July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he's in this moment for a reason." /Source: Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) - U.S./
By Brody, an Emmy Award-winning news journalist with more than two decades of experience, the Chief Political Analyst for CBN News.

Friday 28 March 2025  In his executive order, President Trump said the Smithsonian used to be seen as "a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement". But in recent years, it said, it has 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centred ideology'. He accused it of advancing narratives that portray American and Western values as 'inherently harmful and oppressive'. Vice President Vance will be in charge of removing 'improper ideology' from all areas of the institution, which receives 62% of its funding from the federal government. Mr Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and replaced board members with political loyalists. The Smithsonian describes itself on its website as "the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums, 14 education and research centres", established in 1846 by the US Congress. It also manages the National Zoo in Washington. (Source: Sky News – United Kingdom)

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Russia
24.03.2025  The Kremlin today said that both Russia and the US want to reach a settlement about the Ukraine war, as delegations from Moscow and Washington are holding a new round of bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia. Kremlin spokesman Peskov noted that the agenda of the talks is the issue of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as all other topics related to the grain deal’s revival was proposed by US President Trump and that Putin gave his consent to this. He also said that Putin has not changed his order for Russian forces not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities. 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. On July 17, 2023, Russia withdrew from the deal, saying that the Russian part of the agreement had not been implemented. It sought the loosening of banking restrictions and the ability to ship its fertilizer before returning to the agreement. (Source: Anadolu Agency – Turkey)

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Europe

Germany
Sun March 23, 2025  Europeans, for the first time in decades, are focusing on their own military might. As the Trump administration continues to pursue a deal to end the war in Ukraine, Germany is unlocking billions to supercharge its military. The Bundeswehr have been the victim of years of underinvestment – but that is set to change. Germany has just passed a major reform to its constitutional debt brake, unlocking billions of euros in funding. "Over a 10-year period", with Germany spending 3.5% of GDP, it could amount to €600 billion ($652 billion). In Berlin, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 kickstarted the period known in German as the Zeitenwende (turning point). In effect, it was the beginning of the effort to step up military spending once again. Only as recently as 2024 did Germany meet the NATO threshold of 2% spending on defense - marking the first time in more than 30 years. Olaf Scholz, the now-outgoing chancellor, established a one-off €100 billion fund for “comprehensive investment” into the Bundeswehr. To do so, Scholz had to amend the Basic Law – essentially, the country’s constitution. The change could unlock hundreds of billions of dollars of debt just on military spending. The implementation of the policy has been lackluster. A report released last week by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Högl, suggested the work to be done was significant. It outlined that the Bundeswehr didn’t meet recruitment targets, had an aging fighting force, with barracks and basic infrastructure lacking. In 2018, Germany committed to boosting its standing forces to 203,000 by 2025. The target date that was later revised to 2031. Since the mid-1960s, Germany’s standing army size has declined dramatically to over 500,000 to just over 180,000 in 2024. Högl said that the current Bundeswehr fighting force is 181,174 personnel. Germany officially put conscription into abeyance in 2011. I think some kind of obligatory service has to be in place to increase the numbers in the way we want to see it, German Brig. Gen. Hammerstein said. The Högl report also highlighted the serving age of the army, saying servicemen and women are getting older and older. The average age in 2019 was 32.4, but has now increased to 34. A bill attached said €67 billion were required for infrastructure projects, and described barracks and properties as still in a disastrous state. There is a shift in the national psyche towards the Bundeswehr. A survey conducted by German public broadcaster ARD in March found 66% of respondents believe it’s right to increase spending on defense and the Bundeswehr, while 31% said spending should remain the same or be cut further. 59% of those surveyed ’agreed that Germany should significantly increase its debt’ in order to cope with upcoming tasks, especially in defense and infrastructure. (Source: CNN - U.S.)  

Ireland
23 Mar 2025  As a result, the proposed 25% tariffs imposed on the EU by the US from early April could cost Ireland up to 80,000 jobs, in the worst case scenario, over the next four to five years - an impact of between two and 4% on its GDP, Finance Minister Donohoe has warned. Trump has threatened to impose 200% tariffs on alcohol from the EU. The Irish Whiskey Association is outlining that the export value of Irish drinks to the United States is over €800 million a year. US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick said that Ireland is his favourite ’tax scam’, which had “all our great tech companies and great pharma companies” because of its low rate of corporation tax, and said “that’s got to end”. (Source: The Journal - Ireland)

European Commission
23/03/2025  Speaking in Cairo where she was attending a meeting of the Arab-Islamic Committee on Gaza, with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the European Union's foreign affairs chief Kallas, today announced plans to visit Israel 'and raise questions' about the return to war in the Gaza Strip. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

United Kingdom
(Sunday), Mar 23, 2025  The prime minister is the only person in the United Kingdom authorized to order a nuclear strike. The Vanguard must be maneuvered to the right depth to launch its Trident missiles. Prowling silently in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, for nearly 30 years, ’it is designed to deter a nuclear conflict with Russia’ (at least one of the four Vanguard-class submarines is always on patrol). Starmer said these mighty boats were an ironclad symbol of Britain’s commitment to NATO. He now finds himself ’fighting to avert a rupture’ of the post-World War II alliance between Europe and the United States. The immediate question is whether Britain and Europe will play a meaningful role in Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Putin. Starmer ’is trying to assemble a multinational military force that he calls a coalition of the willing’. ’The goal, he says, is to keep Ukraine’s skies, ports and borders secure after any peace settlement’. Behind Starmer’s even more elusive goal: persuading Trump of the value of NATO, that the president disparages as a club of free riders, sheltering under a U.S. security umbrella but failing to pay their fair share. Britain? It faces hurdles on every front. Russia has rejected the idea of a NATO peacekeeping force; Trump has yet to offer security guarantees; Aside from Britain and France, no other European country has done so. Senior British military and defense officials said they expected that ultimately, multiple countries would contribute planes, ships or troops to the effort. Starmer said ’he felt he had little choice but to get ahead of the pack’. Unlike French President Macron or Germany’s incoming chancellor, Merz, Starmer has not called for Europe to chart an independent course from the United States on security. He insists that the special relationship is unshakable and that, in any case, British and U.S. forces are deeply intertwined. (The United States supplies the Trident missiles on British submarines.) Two men could hardly be less alike: Starmer with leftwing political roots, Trump, with habits and instincts that shade into the regal. Trump occasionally calls him on his cellphone, to discuss favorite topics such as Trump’s golf resorts in Scotland. ’I understand what he’s trying to achieve’ Starmer said of Trump. The president - from imposing a 25% tariff on British steel to berating Zelenskyy - had generated ’quite a degree of disorientation’, he said. The right response, was not to get provoked by it. In offering himself as a bridge, Starmer said, that after a period in which Britain had been disinterested and absent from the world stage, ’we’re back, if you like.’ But there are limits to Britain’s role in a post-Brexit world. The EU said it would exclude British weapons manufacturers from a defense fund worth €150 billion ($162 billion), unless 'Britain signs a security partnership agreement with Brussels'. Britain, analysts say, will find it harder to act as a bridge if Trump spares it from more sweeping tariffs that he has vowed to impose on the EU. Dogged by a torpid economy, Starmer said the crisis ’had injected an urgency’ into his government. Domestic woes keep piling up, events can temporarily swamp a government’s agenda. Starmer has faced a backlash over decisions such as cutting payments to help retirees with winter heating costs. Even the fire at an electrical substation in London on Friday, which shut down Heathrow Airport is a reminder. Painful trade-offs loom, further down the road. Starmer has pledged to increase military spending to 2.5% of Britain’s gross domestic product by 2027, financed with a cut to overseas development aid. It is not clear how Britain will pay for a promised further increase to 3% of GDP within a decade. PM Starmer is noting that Europe is moving into a darker era. I don’t want to veer into scaremongering, he said, but he added, ’We need to think about defense and security in a more immediate way.’ A new fleet of ballistic missile submarines are being built at a shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, in northwest England. Four Dreadnought-class vessels, each almost the length of St. Paul’s Cathedral, are scheduled to go into service in the early 2030s, at an estimated cost of 41 billion pounds ($53 billion). The Vanguard-class submarines being replaced by the Dreadnoughts are nearly 30 years old, which necessitates prolonged maintenance periods. That has extended the patrols for the other vessels in the fleet and put acute pressure on their roughly 130-person crews. The Vanguard set a Royal Navy record for longest patrol, seven months at sea. Sailors said the food, excellent at first, deteriorated as the submarine’s provisions dwindled. This has doubled my resolve to ensure we go further and faster in our capabilities, the PM said, "to make sure they are not put in that position again.” (Source: The Japan Times / The New York Times - U.S.)

Asia

Gaza
(Sunday), 23.03.2025  Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved the formation of a directorate for voluntary departure of Palestinians from Gaza Strip. The head of the new directorate will be selected by the defense minister soon. /Photo/ (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

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Europe

European Union
(22 March 2025)  EU lender shifts strategy toward defence and critical minerals. The European Investment Bank (EIB) ’has taken steps to begin financing Europe’s security and defence industry’ and infrastructure, the Luxembourg headquartered lender announced yesterday evening. Until now, EU rules did not allow the EIB to finance production of military equipment. ’The EIB’s eligibility criteria have now been expanded to ensure that excluded activities are as limited as possible in scope, the bank said. The move will allow the EIB to finance security and defence projects in areas like barracks and storage facilities, land and aerial vehicles, drones and helicopters, radars and satellites, advanced avionics, military mobility, cyber security, etc. ’The bank yesterday also announced its intention to double its investment for security and defence projects this year’. ’The message of European leaders is clear: we must strengthen Europe’s security and defence capabilities. Today’s decisions show that the EIB is part of the solution,’ said EIB Group President Calviño. ’It follows calls from EU leaders at a special European Council on 6 March for stronger financial backing of Europe’s defence industrial base’. In parallel, the bank launched a new strategic initiative on critical raw materials (CRM), a vital input for semiconductors, defence and aerospace. The initiative includes a €2 billion financing package for 2025, a new task force, and a one-stop-shop to help project developers access funding and technical support. The bank also approved a total of €8.9 billion in new financing across transport, energy, education, water and small and medium enterprises (SME) sectors. These include rail investments in Germany, Czechia and Spain, port upgrades in Estonia. (Source: Luxembourg Times)

Asia

China
Mar 22, 2025  US Senator Daines, a strong supporter of President Trump, met China’s Vice-Premier He, today, marking the first visit by a US politician to Beijing since Mr Trump returned to the White House. Mr Daines was to meet with Premier Li tomorrow, coinciding with the start of the annual China Development Forum in Beijing that is expected to be attended by dozens of foreign executives, including representatives from US companies. Ahead of his visit, Mr Daines told on Fox News he would be talking with Chinese leaders about “what they can do” on fentanyl. Mr Daines also said he was planning to talk about the trade deficit the United States has with China, and what can be done to change “trade practices”. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)

Turkey
22/03/2025  The detained opposition politician, the 53-year-old Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu faces questioning over allegations of corruption and terror links. The arrest of the major has sparked consecutive nights of protests across Turkey. Imamoglu's arrest came just days before he was to have been formally named as the main opposition CHP's candidate in the 2028 presidential race. He is widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Erdogan. Police have arrested 343 people since the start of the protests. (Source: France 24)

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Germany
21/03/2025  Speaking at the annual Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) Congress, Germany's likely next chancellor, Merz, pledged continued robust financial support and weapons deliveries to Ukraine. 'There is some good news. This afternoon, immediately after the Bundesrat (upper house of parliament) decision, parliament's budget committee will meet and release €3 billion ($3.25 billion) for Ukraine'. This funding has been requested since last year September but was held up due to the budget situation, he said. Earlier today, the Bundesrat approved constitutional changes that will enable the incoming government 'to significantly boost defense spending' and infrastructure investments. 'Under these changes, Germany's strict fiscal rules will be eased, allowing borrowing for critical defense spending', intelligence service enhancement, IT system protection, and aid to states attacked in violation of international law. With this latest injection, Germany's total military assistance to Ukraine will reach €7 billion in 2025. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

United Kingdom
(Friday), 04:09 GMT; 14:05 GMT, 21 March 2025  A blaze broke out at the nearby substation at 8pm on Thursday, the fire caused a major power outage. Flights forced to return to India, the Caribbean and the US as Heathrow shutdown at around 3am today triggered worldwide travel chaos with more than 200,000 passengers left stranded in airports. Dozens of flights have been diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Lyon and other European cities. The airport is handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day. The cause of the fire remains unknown. (Map, photo/ (Source: Daily Mail – United Kingdom)

5 3 22 .19:51

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European Council
Thursday, March 20, 2025  All European Union nations but Hungary signed a joint statement today backing Ukraine. Conclusions ’reaffirming the EU’s continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity were firmly supported’ by 26 out of 27 leaders. The second time in a month, Budapest was the bloc’s sole member to decline to sign such a statement of support. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is unable to hold up real EU assistance to Ukraine. As a matter of principle, the 27 EU member nations strive for unanimity on big decisions. When it comes to sensitive foreign affairs questions, it is often a legal necessity. Hungary’s European partners are coming up with workarounds to avoid any veto. Under Orbán, Hungary has drifted ever further from the EU fold over the war in Ukraine, repeatedly holding up the passage of multibillion-euro aid packages and sanctions. Two weeks ago, Hungary already refused to put its name to a joint EU statement that referred to Ukraine achieving ’peace through strength’ by counting on continued European military and financial support. At that emergency summit, European Council President Costa described Hungary as ’isolated’. “We respect Hungary’s position,” he said. “But it’s one out of 27, and 26 are more than one.’ Earlier this week, Hungary’s European Affairs Minister Bóka indicated that Budapest would refuse to sign the joint statement. “The part on Ukraine in several points is against the strategic interests and the strategic vision of Hungary on how to create the new European security architecture,” Bóka said Monday. Ahead of the summit today, EU officials and diplomats from other countries made clear they wouldn’t spend time being drawn into hours-long debates with Budapest when agreement on Ukraine was impossible. At the same time, Orbán is the closest to Russian President Putin of all EU leaders, and is backing U.S. President Trump’s peace talks with Moscow, which have largely sidestepped Kyiv and the EU. Orbán is emboldened by U.S. President Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump has blamed Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Kyiv of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. Hungary can take the symbolic step of blocking joint statements and holding up proceedings. The rest of the bloc 'is growing more inclined to proceed without it'. Two courses of action that will directly benefit Ukraine - a major EU defense loan package and countries spending more on their military budgets – can not be blocked by it. With talks on the future of Ukraine unfolding day by day, the rest of the EU is looking for ways to signal support for Kyiv. Ministers and representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which are close to or share borders with Russia, called for “concrete proposals on how to decisively advance Ukraine’s accession process” in a letter. Kyiv got the green light to open membership negotiations last year, after Hungary dropped a veto, but the talks are yet to start. Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Rosencrantz told that supporting Ukraine’s journey to EU membership was ’an investment in the security of our entire continent.’ Joining the EU typically takes years or even decades of difficult reforms, though ’European Commission President der Leyen has suggested Kyiv could possibly join by the end of the decade’. In Hungary, Orbán has threatened to block Ukraine’s membership, and he is planning to hold a public opinion survey on whether the country should be allowed in. Enlargement decisions require unanimity, which has seen other EU membership bids, notably Turkey’s, grind to a halt. At a gathering of ’far-right’ EU politicians on the eve of the summit, Orbán said he does not support giving money to keep Ukraine fighting. “In our understanding, there is one simple mission to be done by the European Union: to support Trump, President Trump’s efforts to make peace,” he said. While EU leaders ponder long-term measures to back Kyiv, it is the United States that is shaping the course of the conflict. Future U.S. support for Kyiv is far from certain following a bust-up between Trump and Zelenskyy. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after Trump spoke to both presidents, though it remains to be seen when and how it might take effect. (Source: The Washington Times / The Associated Press = U.S.)

Russia
„Thursday, March 20, 2025  Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after President Trump spoke with both countries’ leaders this week. The tentative deal to partly rein in the grinding war came after Russian President Putin rebuffed Mr Trump’s push for a full 30-day ceasefire. After an hour-long call with President Trump yesterday that both leaders said went well, President Zelensky told reporters that “technical” talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend would seek to resolve what types of infrastructure would be protected under the agreement. But it was immediately clear that the three parties had different views about what the pact entailed, with the White House saying “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin saying the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure” and President Zelensky saying he’d also like railways and ports to be protected. ’One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure,’ Mr Zelensky said on social media following his call with Trump, which came a day after the US president held similar talks with President Putin. ’I supported this step and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.’ During their call, President Trump suggested that Zelensky should consider giving the US ownership of Ukraine’s power plants, supposedly to ensure their long-term security, according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Rubio and National Security Adviser Waltz. Mr Trump told President Zelensky that the US could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the statement said. President Trump suggested “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure,” according to White House officials. The idea was floated even as the Trump administration looks to finalise an agreement to gain access to Ukraine’s critical minerals, under the guise of repayment for US support for Ukraine during the war. (Source: Morning Star – United Kingdom)

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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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Europe

European Commission
March 18, 2025  'Yesterday, the Council of the EU approved a third payment of non-repayable grants and loans to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility. Ukraine will soon receive approximately €3.5 billion. The Ukraine Facility, which entered into force on 1 March 2024, provides up to €50 billion of stable financing, in grants and loans, to support Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction, and modernisation for the period 2024 to 2027. 'With this third disbursement, Ukraine will have received close to €20 billion under the Ukraine Facility since its entry into force a year ago. 'The Foreign Affairs Council also discussed defence support to Ukraine'. 'EU High Representative Kallas told after the meeting that there was a 'broad political support' for [the] defence initiative of [€]40 billion'. (Source: Eu Neighbours east, 'under the guidance' of European Commission, headquarters Brussels, Belgium)

18 March 2025  Donors at a European Union-led conference yesterday pledged €5.8bn to help Syria's new authorities 'as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems' after the fall of Assad. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that toppled Assad, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN. 'But EU officials want to engage with the new rulers as long as they stick to pledges to make the transition inclusive' and peaceful. 'This is a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, as tragically evidenced by the recent wave of violence in coastal areas,' EU foreign policy chief Kallas said. European Commission President der Leyen said at the meeting that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost €2.5bn for 2025 and 2026 - an increase of about €160m to its previous pledge for this year. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa)

18/03/2025  Czech Republic has hosted Radio Free Europe for 25 years. During Monday's gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels, Czech Foreign Minister Lipavský has urged the EU to step up and support RFE/RL. The outlet has provided critical coverage in Ukraine. Two projects of RFE/RL - Crimea Realities and Donbas Realities  have also provided sources of information 'about the Russian-occupied territories'. EU foreign policy chief Kallas, recalled the influence the network had on her as she was growing up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union when she was a child. 'It is sad to hear that US is withdrawing its funding,' she told, after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers. 'There was really a push from the foreign ministers to discuss this and find the way', she added. "Coming up with funding may prove difficult". (Source: Euronews, based in Lyon, France)

Russia
(18 March 2025)  Russian President Putin agreed today to a proposal by U.S. President Trump that Russia and Ukraine cease attacking each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said following a lengthy phone discussion between the leaders. Trump and Putin discussed the Ukraine war today which Washington hoped would convince Moscow to accept a 30-day ceasefire and move towards a permanent peace deal. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said before the call that Trump and Putin would discuss settling the conflict in Ukraine and normalising relations between Russia and the United States. "The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace," the White House readout said. Peskov said there was already a "certain understanding" between the two leaders, based on a phone call they held on February 12 and on subsequent high-level contacts between the two countries. Putin said last week he supported in principle Washington's proposal for a truce but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out. The two countries plan to begin negotiations "immediately" in the Middle East, according to a readout from the White House. Dmitriev, Putin's international cooperation envoy, said that under the leadership of Trump and Putin the world had become a much safer place. Trump hopes also to secure progress towards a longer-term peace plan, which he has hinted could include territorial concessions by Kyiv and control of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Putin has said Russia must keep control of Ukrainian territory it has seized, that Western sanctions should be eased and Kyiv must stage a presidential election. ’European Commission der Leyen warned today that Russia had massively expanded its military-industrial production capacity in preparation for ’future confrontation with European democracies.’ Zelenskiy, elected in 2019, rules under martial law he imposed. Putin said he sent troops into Ukraine because NATO's creeping expansion threatened Russia's security. He has demanded Ukraine drop its ambition of joining the Western military alliance. (Source: Independent - Ireland)

Tue, March 18, 2025  Russian leader Putin has demanded that all Western arms supplies to Ukraine be halted. The news agency sources in Moscow said that during the visit of Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkoff to the Russian capital, Putin called this condition mandatory for the signing of a ceasefire agreement. Bloomberg sources added that Russia wants to stop all arms supplies to Ukraine, but its minimum goal is to cut off US aid. The Russian sources also insist that Putin's request to suspend arms supplies will be temporary. Arms deliveries will allegedly resume after a peace agreement is concluded, in which Ukraine agrees to limit its military potential. Earlier, the agency wrote that Putin allegedly generally supports the US proposal for a "truce", but insists that a number of conditions must be met before Russia agrees. An unnamed European official said it was unlikely that Europe would agree to Russia's demand that its allies block arms supplies to Ukraine during any "truce". He stressed that this could lead to a situation where Russia would be able to rearm during the cessation of hostilities, while Ukraine would not have such an opportunity. The White House says that the US president is "determined" to conclude an agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine and that the world is close to such a peace. (Source: Yahoo / Ukrainska Pravda ’with reference to Bloomberg')

Serbia
(Tuesday), Mar 18 2025  A protest movement formed after 15 people were killed in a railway station roof collapse in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, following massive government-backed renovations on the facility. Between 100,000 and 300,000 people are estimated to have taken part in one of the largest anti-corruption demonstrations in Belgrade on Saturday, in the biggest turn-out yet in the national movement. At one point the crowd stretched for nearly two kilometres, with people filling the streets in and around the parliament and the capital's main pedestrian square. Suddenly, a deafening roar ripped through the place. A whooshing sound was heard across triggering panic and a brief stampede. Screaming protesters scrambled for cover, leaving the middle of the downtown street almost empty as they fell over each other. It is claimed riot police deployed a military-grade sonic cannon to disperse peaceful protesters. 'Many people who were victims of the alleged attack complained on social media about strong headaches, nausea and disorientation'. Experts say that sonic cannons can emit up to 160 decibels, roughly equivalent to standing next to a rocket launch or a shotgun blast. Human ears have a pain threshold of 120-130 decibels and anything above that is painful. Sonic weapons are used by military and law enforcement agencies for crowd control, deterrence, or psychological warfare. One example is the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), which emits concentrated sound waves at high decibel levels. LRADs are frequently deployed to disperse crowds or deter threats, such as pirates at sea. Calls are now mounting in Serbia for an independent investigation into reports that security forces used the prohibited sonic weapon. Often designed to be non-lethal, the sonic weapon remains banned in Serbia. Serbian officials insist that it was not used during Saturday's rally. Serbia's President Vucic denied that the crowd-control device was deployed, calling it a "wicked lie" aimed at destroying Serbia. He said he would soon invite the investigations agencies including the FBI and Russia's FSB to investigate the claims. Vucic added: "It is important for history to see how they lied”. (Source: The U.S. Sun)

18.03.2025  The Serbian Foreign Ministry said today that it will send an urgent request to Albania and Croatia, seeking clarification on a trilateral defense cooperation agreement with Kosovo. The agreement that was signed in Tirana focuses on strengthening defense capacities, advancing military technology and improving regional interoperability through joint training and exercises. It reaffirms Albania and Croatia’s support for Kosovo’s full integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, a move Serbia firmly opposes. The trilateral cooperation reflects the growing strategic partnership among the three countries. Serbia warned that forming a military alliance without consulting Belgrade is concerning, particularly given the involvement of Kosovo, which Serbia does not recognize as an independent state. The development adds to tensions in the Balkans. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Africa

South Africa
March 18, 2025  EU Commission President der Leyen and Council President Costa have been at the EU-South Africa Summit in Cape Town to strengthen Europe’s strategic partnership with the country. 'She announced a Global Gateway Investment Package worth €4.7 billion. The biggest bulk of the package – €4.4bn – will be invested in projects supporting 'a clean and just energy transition in the country'. (Source: EU Reporter, headquarters Brussels, Belgium)

Asia

Gaza
18 Mar 2025  Hundreds killed as Israel launches air strikes across Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the attacks due to a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire and secure the release of remaining captives taken by Hamas in October 2023. Hamas warned that Israel had breached the ceasefire and put the fate of the captives still held in jeopardy. The White House said it had been consulted and it voiced support for Israel’s actions. /Photo/ (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

(March 18, 2025)  Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early today, killing at least 326 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. Hundreds more were wounded. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. The White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Hughes said the militant group "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.” An Israeli official said Israel was striking Hamas' military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks. Israel's defense minister Katz said the 'gates of hell will open in Gaza' if the hostages aren't released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said. Talks on a second phase of the ceasefire had stalled. The strikes came two months after a ceasefire was reached to pause the war. Over six weeks, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in a first phase of the ceasefire. But since that ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward with a second phase aimed at releasing the 59 remaining hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. (Source: Burnaby Now - Canada / The Associated Press - U.S.)

Pakistan
(Tuesday), Mar 18, 2025  'China may deploy troops in Pak amid attacks by Baloch insurgents'. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has intensified its insurgency in Pakistan, targeting both the military and Chinese interests. On Sunday, the group ambushed Pakistani troops in Balochistan, blowing up a military bus and claiming at least 90 casualties. Pakistan is deeply worried about the potential fallout of these attacks on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion-dollar initiative that is a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The persistent threat has led to intelligence reports suggesting that China may soon deploy its own troops in Pakistan, a move that would mark a major shift in Beijing's security presence in the region. Beijing has stepped up its involvement in Pakistan's security. China has signed a private security and military contract to protect its engineers and workers engaged in various CPEC projects. Under this arrangement, three private Chinese security firms - Dewe Security Frontier Service Group, China Overseas Security Group, and Huaxin Zhongshan Security Service - will now play a role in safeguarding Chinese nationals in Pakistan. The Baloch rebels, apart from demanding independence from Pakistan, have been vocal in their opposition to Chinese projects in the region. They accuse China of exploiting Balochistan's rich natural resources-such as natural gas, coal, copper, and other minerals - in collaboration with Pakistan, leaving the local population marginalised. (Source: India Today)

North America

United States
18 March 2025 US  President Trump yesterday revoked secret service protection for former president Biden's children Hunter and Ashley. He has had secret service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the US taxpayer Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter will no longer receive secret service protection. Likewise, Ashley, who has 13 agents, will be taken off the list, Trump added. (Source: TimesLive - South Africa)
Note: See also on X - U.S.
Since March 18, 2025 6:54 a.m.: 33 600 views

March 18, 2025  Trump said that some provisions of a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine had already been agreed upon with Russian President Putin. Trump made the statement on his social network Truth Social late yesterday, ahead of a scheduled phone call with Putin. (Source: Meduza, based in Riga, Latvia)

Space

Tue, Mar 18 2025  Boeing Starliner astronauts complete return to Earth in SpaceX Dragon capsule. Wilmore and Williams are back on Earth after about nine months at the International Space Station. The pair - both veteran astronauts and retired Navy test pilots - arrived at the ISS in June on a troubled Boeing Starliner capsule “Calypso” that returned empty without them. They and two other crew members - Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Gorbunov - splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. ET today. The astronauts will now head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for several days of routine health checks before they can go home. Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on its Starliner spacecraft. NASA officials reiterated that Starliner needs to undergo more testing and left the option open that its next flight could be uncrewed. (Source: CNBC - U.S.)

18 March 2025  Williams, Wilmore undock from Space Station; Journey to Earth begins after 9 long months. US President Trump earlier in March spoke about the possibility of personally launching a rescue team into orbit to help bring astronauts Wilmore and Williams back to Earth - and blasted former President Biden for their eight-day mission stretching to nine months and counting. He also had some words of appreciation for NASA’s Indian-origin astronaut Williams' hair as he told a pair of stranded astronauts aboard the International Space Station that "we're coming up to get you." “We have two astronauts that are stuck in space. I have asked Elon I said, ‘Do me a favour. Can you get them out?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He is preparing to go up, I think in two weeks.” /Video/ (Source: Outlook India)

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2025. március 18.  Nemet mondott az Országgyűlés a fegyverkezési célú új közös Európai Uniós hitelfelvételre. A parlament politikai nyilatkozatot fogadott el a „Fegyverezzük újra fel Európát" (’REARM Europe’) új EU-s finanszírozási eszköz hitelfelvételi eleme tárgyában, 138 nem, 29 igen szavazattal és egy tartózkodás mellett utasítva el a közös európai hitelfelvételt. Az Európai Bizottság elnökének javaslata szerint a ’REARM Europe’ terv a tagállamoknak hiteleket biztosítana, amelyeket az EU költségvetése szavatolna. A nagymértékű, 150 milliárd euro-s eszközzel az Európai Bizottság célja, hogy hozzájáruljon az európai védelmi képességek növeléséhez. A nyilatkozat szerint az Országgyűlés az Európai Bizottság tervezett új EU-s finanszírozási eszközével kapcsolatban megállapítja, hogy Magyarország egyetért az európai védelmi képességek fejlesztésével és „e célkitűzés megvalósítását nemzeti hatáskörnek tekinti”. Magyarország támogatja, hogy a kapcsolódó nemzeti finanszírozási igények biztosításához az Európai Unió is járuljon hozzá. Ugyanakkor „Magyarország az Alaptörvény értelmében az EU olyan hitelfelvételéhez, amely miatt Magyarországnak fizetési kötelezettsége keletkezik, az országgyűlési képviselők kétharmadának szavazatával, a kormány egyedi döntése alapján járulhat hozzá”. Döntöttek: „Az Országgyűlés az európai adósságközösséggel szembeni elvi fenntartásai miatt, okulva a korábbi hitelfelvétel gyakorlati tapasztalataiból, ellenezi az Európai Bizottság elnöke által javasolt, nagymérvű, 150 milliárd euro-s eszközhöz szükséges közös európai hitelfelvételt”. (Forrás: Origo - Magyarország)

Poland
18.03.2025  Poland, Lituania, Latvia and Estonia today recommended withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines, 'in light of this unstable security environment marked by Russia's aggression and its ongoing threat to the Euro-Atlantic community,' the defense ministers said in a joint statement. The international treaty was signed in 1997 and aims to ban landmines that target humans. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Commission
8/03/2025  'A joint Task Force is planned to coordinate the EU’s and member states increasing military support to Ukraine, Der Leyen told the cadets at the Royal Danish Military Academy in Copenhagen'. 'But Ukraine can support us too. In fact, there is a lot that we can learn from the transformation of Ukraine’s defence industry,' she added. Der Leyen was calling 'for Ukraine's integration in the European defence equipment market to be sped up'. 'We will set up a European Military Sales Mechanism,' she announced. And ' 'the Commission will convene a strategic dialogue with the defence industry' '. Der Leyen already unveiled a 'ReArm Europe proposal two weeks ago 'to help member states boost defence spending that includes a new instrument to raise money on the capital markets' to then loan it to member states for defence projects, 'as well as the use of the national escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact to allow governments to deviate from stringent EU fiscal rules for defence spending'. 'EU leaders gave their political backing to the proposal at an extraordinary summit last week'. But no decisions are expected at this meeting with leaders instead set to wait until a summit in late June that will come immediately after a gathering of NATO heads of state. 'Europe is more united than ever', she said. The bloc is also 'fully committed' to working with NATO and the United States and is working with the UK and other partners, including Canada and Norway, Der Leyen said. Recent comments from President Trump and other top officials in his administration have raised concerns about Washington's continued commitment to European defence. Another area of contention with the US is Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark. To all the people of Greenland – and of Denmark as a whole – I want to be clear that Europe will always stand for sovereignty and territorial integrity, von der Leyen told the cadets. (Source: Euronews, based in Lyon, France)

Russia
2025-03-18  Russian forces have seized Sudzha and surrounding villages. Several tens of square kilometres of Russian territory including two settlements remain under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and fighting is ongoing over two others. The Russians continue to try to physically cut off the enemy’s logistics by attacking in the border region of Sumy. Particularly fierce battles are being fought over Basivka, located on the Ukrainian side 2.5 km from the Sumy-Kursk road. Its seizure would allow the Russians to go to the rear of the Ukrainian forces and force their final withdrawal from the Russian territory. Today, day 1119 of the war, Ukrainian forces entered Russian territory in the Belgorod region, 30 km south of Sudzha, presumably to draw back some of the Russian forces attacking on the Kursk and Sumy oblasts’ border. There are no reports that this diversion was successful. (Source: Center for Eastern Sudies, headquarters Warsaw, Poland)

Ukraine
2025-03-18  Western military support:    On 13 March Finland’s Defence Minister Häkkänen announced that has earmarked €200 million in military support for Ukraine, 'The country’s 28th aid package is to include artillery ammunition'. On the same day, Häkkänen and his Ukrainian counterpart Umerov signed a memorandum on defence cooperation.     On 15 March, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that Ukraine had used up all the Aster-30 missiles for the two SAMP-T air defence systems given to them. France and Italy are said to be holding off the decision to send more due to their own stocks running low.    'On 17 March, the German government updated the inventory of military aid supplied to Ukraine. 'The new deliveries included three Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 10,000 pieces of ammunition for them, missiles for IRIS-T air defence systems, 24 MRAP armoured vehicles, artillery ammunition (5,000 155 mm calibre shells, 2,000 122 mm and 8,000 mortar grenades, ammunition for Leopard tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 50 Vector reconnaissance drones and 30 Gereon RCS tracked platform robots'.     'On 13 March, Kyiv’s 18th military support package, worth €271 million, was announced by the Swedish government. It provides for the purchase of 18 howitzers on the Archer vehicle chassis and five Arthur counter-battery radars, deliveries of which will begin in 2026 and 2025 respectively. Part of the funds will go to support the Ukrainian arms industry (including the development of the Bohdana howitzers), as well as to contribute to the ‘artillery coalition’, which Stockholm plans to join'.    Washington’s suspension of military support to Ukraine took place on 3 March and did not have time to visibly affect the situation on the frontline. 'On 11 March, the US resumed the supply of arms and military equipment to Ukraine and the transfer of intelligence to it.  On 17 March, the move was officially confirmed by the Pentagon. (Source: Center for Eastern Sudies, headquarters Warsaw, Poland)

North America

United States
March 18, 2025  In accordance with President Trump’s directive of March 17, 2025, all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are released, showing 2 182 entries. (Source: National Archives - U.S.)

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Europe

France
Sunday), March 16, 2025  French President Macron wants to lead a charm offensive to convince EU countries to stop buying U.S. defense equipment and buy French and European instead. ’Those who buy Patriot should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale. That's the way to increase the rate of production, he said. yesterday in an interview with several French media. Macron's comments come as European NATO members ’have become even more dependent on U.S. weapons’. This month, the Netherlands and Belgium confirmed they would still buy American-made F-35 fighter jets. Portugal is wobbling about replacing its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets with more modern F-35s because of the recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO. The French president also clarified what a possible deployment of European troops 'to help' Ukraine could look like. The goal is to ’deploy a few thousand men per nation’, at key points, ’to carry out training programs’ and ’show our support over the long term,’ he said. (Source: Politico - Headquarters U.S., owned by a German company)

Germany
17.03.2025  The German Foreign Ministry announced ahead of the 9th international conference in support of Syria, hosted by the EU, that Berlin will allocate €300 million ($326 million) for social and reconstruction projects in Syria and humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. The ministry emphasized that all measures will be implemented solely through UN aid agencies and non-governmental organizations. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

European Commission
17/03/2025  On Wednesday, 19 March, the European Commission presents ’its White Paper on the Future of European Defence, along with a closely linked communication on the Savings and Investments Union’. ’The defence paper will outline ways to boost production and readiness, while the investment plan is indispensable to der Leyen's Rearm Europe initiative’. 'We need to ensure that the billions of savings from Europeans' are invested in markets inside the EU, the Commission president wrote to member states earlier this month. European households save €1.4 trillion annually compared to €800 billion in the US - yet €300 billion of those European savings flow into non-EU markets each year. ’The Savings and Investments Union aims to improve the channelling of these savings into productive investments, unlocking the full potential of the bloc's capital markets’. ’According to a draft, the plan targets areas such as encouraging retail investor participation, growing the supplementary pension sector, promoting equity and venture capital investment, and enhancing market integration across the EU’. ’As for defence, the white paper will urge member states to spend more’, spend better, and spend European. 'The latest draft outlines five strategic priorities: securing critical industrial inputs and reducing dependencies, promoting defence skills and expertise, strengthening industrial capacities across the EU, cutting red tape, and removing barriers to the circulation of defence products. Then on Thursday, 20 March - and likely Friday - EU leaders will gather in Brussels to hash out these proposals, set priorities for the next long-term budget (2028-34), and tackle competitiveness, which tops the agenda. ’Defence continues to dominate discussion across the bloc and within its various institutions’. The proposal for a ’Rearm Europe plan’, presented by President der Leyen, raised concerns among MEPs who feel sidelined by the executive’s plans. ’Weber, the German leader of the EPP, criticised Commission der Leyen for bypassing the European Parliament in shaping the defence initiative, arguing that excluding MEPs undermines democratic accountability”. 'The new financial instrument, worth €150 billion in loans, was presented directly to the Council, with the justification that the ’emergency situation’ warrants proceeding without consulting Parliament'. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

European Parliament
17 March 2025  'Renew Europe' calls upon the European Union 'to take immediate action to support Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and similar organisations'. 'This support could involve direct funding, facilitating partnerships, or integrating these entities into existing EU frameworks dedicated to promoting media pluralism and freedom'. (Source: Renew Europe Group)

Russia
(17 March 2025)  By March of this year retreat from Kursk in full swing. Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Russia's Kursk region have described scenes "like a horror movie" as they retreated from the front lines. They recount a "catastrophic" withdrawal in the face of heavy fire, columns of military equipment destroyed and constant attacks from swarms of Russian drones as Ukraine lost Sudzha, the largest town it held. On 9 March in Sudzha was "panic and collapse of the front". Ukrainian troops were trying to leave - columns of troops and equipment. Some of them are burned by Russian drones on the road. It is impossible to leave during the day. Movement of men, logistics and equipment had been reliant on one major route between Sudzha and Ukraine's Sumy region. By 9 March it was all under the fire control. Before Russia retook Sudzha, Ukrainian forces were being pressed from three sides. By 11 March, Ukrainian forces were battling to prevent the road being cut. A few days earlier, they received an order to leave the defence lines in an organised retreat. Russia had amassed a significant force to retake the town. Military experts estimate Russia had amassed a force of up to 70,000 troops to retake Kursk – including about 12,000 North Koreans. Russia had also sent its best drone units to the front. It was using kamikaze and first-person-view (FPV) variants to take fire control of the main logistics routes. They included drones linked to operators by fibre-optic wires - which are impossible to jam with electronic counter-measures. They managed to destroy dozens of units of equipment, and twrecks had created congestion on supply routes. On 11 March Russia had an advantage with more accurate air strikes and a greater number of troops. Western officials estimate that Ukraine's Kursk offensive involved about 12,000 troops. Their ogistics no longer work – organised deliveries of weapons, ammunition, food and water are no longer possible. They were some of their best-trained soldiers, equipped with Western-supplied weapons including tanks and armoured vehicles. Russian bloggers published videos showing some of that equipment being destroyed or captured. On 13 March, Russia said the situation in Kursk was "fully under our control" and that Ukraine had "abandoned" much of its material. "The roads are littered with hundreds of destroyed cars, armoured vehicles and ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). There are a lot of wounded and dead. Vehicles were often hunted by multiple drones. Many Ukrainians retreated on foot, walking 15km to 20km. 14 March. „Everything is finished in the Kursk region... the operation was not successful." Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had died since the first crossing into Russia in August. Last week, Zelensky said he believed the Kursk operation had ’accomplished its task’ by forcing Russia to pull troops from the east and relieve pressure on Pokrovsk. But it is not yet clear at what cost. Any 'hopes' that Ukraine would be able to trade Kursk territory for some of its own have significantly diminished. Ukraine's top general, Syrskyi, insists that Ukrainian forces have pulled back to ’more favourable positions’, remain in Kursk, and would do so ’for as long as it is expedient and necessary’. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

March 17, 2025  Russia seeks Nato exclusion in Ukraine's peace treaty. In a broad-ranging interview with the Russian media outlet Izvestia that made no reference to the ceasefire proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko said that any long-lasting peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow's demands. "We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement," Izvestia cited Grushko as saying. "Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of Nato countries to accept it into the alliance." Moscow is categorically against the deployment of Nato observers to Ukraine, Grushko also reiterated the Kremlin's position. "It does not matter under what label Nato contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, Nato, or in a national capacity," Grushko said. "If they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict." Grushko said that a deployment of unarmed post-conflict observers can be discussed only once a peace agreement is worked out. Grushko said that European allies of Kyiv should understand that only the exclusion of Ukraine's membership in Nato and the elimination of the possibility of deploying foreign military contingents on its territory will work for the region. "Then the security of Ukraine and the entire region in a broader sense will be ensured, since one of the root causes of the conflict will be eliminated," Grushko said. Britain and France both have said that they were willing to send a peacekeeping force to monitor any ceasefire in Ukraine. Australian Prime Minister Albanese said his country was also open to requests. French President Macron said in remarks published yesterday that the stationing of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine is a question for Kyiv to decide and not Moscow. US President Trump is trying to win President Putin's support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week and which Putin says needs to meet crucial conditions to be acceptable. Trump is expected to speak with Putin this week on ways to end the three-year war in Ukraine, US envoy Witkoff told yesterday after returning from what he described as a "positive" meeting with Putin in Moscow. (Source: AsiaOne - Singapore)

Asia

Syria
Monday 17 March 2025  Hundreds of Syrian civilians killed in attacks. /Video/ (Source: Sky News - United Kingdom)

North America

United States
Mar 17 2025  President Trump said the U.S. would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis who have launched repeated attacks on shipping passing through the Red Sea and on Israel. The militant group is allied with the Islamic Republic and Hamas. U.S. crude oil futures rose 0.6%, to $67.58 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent traded higher by 0.62%, at $71.02 per barrel. Trump has reimposed a maximum pressure campaign against Iran 'with the goal of driving down the Islamic Republic’s oil exports'. Treasury Secretary Bessent recently said 'the Trump administration’s goal is to collapse Iran’s economy'. The White House believes Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, an allegation the Islamic Republic denies. Trump’s national security advisor, Waltz, said yesterday that all options are on the table to ensure Iran does not acquire a nuclear bomb. “We cannot have a situation that would result in an arms race across the Middle East in terms of nuclear proliferation,” Waltz said. Trump has said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. (Source: CNBC - U.S.)

(Monday), March 17, 2025  The National Nuclear Security Administration - one relatively small outpost in a federal work force - has lost a huge cadre of scientists, engineers, safety experts, project officers, accountants and lawyers. The nuclear agency not only manages the nation’s 3,748 nuclear bombs and warheads, it is modernizing that arsenal  - a $20-billion-a-year effort that will arm a new fleet of nuclear submarines, bomber jets and land-based missiles. Though it was still hundreds of employees short of what it had said it needed, it had edged up to about 2,000 workers by January. Now: retraction. More than 130 employees took the government’s offer of a payout to resign. Those departures, together with those of about 27 workers who were caught up in a mass firing and not rehired, wiped out most of the recent staffing gains. Engaged in top-secret work, tucked away in the Energy Department, the agency typically stays below the public radar. But the Trump administration’s cuts, touted as a cure-all for supposed government extravagance and corruption, are threatening the muscle and bone of operations that involve national security. The exodus is going to make the job more difficult because what you lost were some of your most valuable leaders. The agency lost not only officials deeply steeped in the weapons modernization program, but also a noted arms control expert at a time when President Trump has said he hopes to restart talks with Russia and China about limiting nuclear arsenals. “Contrary to news reports, the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons production plants and nuclear laboratories are operated by federal contractors and have been exempt” from cuts, Dietderich, the Department of Energy’s chief spokesman said. But the loss of staff would hobble the agency’s ability to monitor the more than 60,000 contract employees who carry out much of the agency’s work. The federal oversight is vital. (Source: Dnyuz - Armenia ? / The New York Times - U.S.)

Mar 17, 2025  President Trump today declared all the pardons issued by his predecessor Biden as void, claiming that they had been executed without Biden's approval. "The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Biden, he added. In final hours in office of Biden were issued a series of preemptive pardons to several individuals, including his family members - brothers James and Francis, sister Valerie, and their spouses. Biden stated that his family had been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt him - 'the worst kind of partisan politics'. Additionally, there were granted pardons to figures such as Dr Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; retired General Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol. These preemptive pardons were intended to protect individuals from potential politically motivated prosecutions by the incoming administration. The specific application of the autopen for presidential pardons has not been extensively tested in courts, leaving room for legal debate. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)

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Europe

Romania
March 16, 2025  On Sunday, the government barred a popular candidate, Georgescu, from running in the country’s upcoming May presidential election. This action was preceded by Georgescu, an independent right-wing candidate who is skeptical of NATO, the EU, and support for Ukraine, winning the first round of the presidential election. His background reveals a man well-versed in human rights and sustainability and whose name has been floated for political leadership long before 2024. It is not his background but his ideas that have struck fear into the NATO and EU establishments. Actions against Georgescu were undertaken following U.S.-backed allegations of Russian interference in the election despite the fact that the then-president of Romania, who has since resigned in the fallout from this scandal, admitted that these allegations were “nearly impossible” to prove. The Trump administration has taken notice. In a blunt speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Vance chided Eurocrats for their glee over Romania’s canceled election. Likewise, Director of National Intelligence Gabbard cited Romania’s canceled election as just one example of European allies acting in an undemocratic manner. American leaders should be more ambitious and view the situation in Romania as an opportunity to reset the U.S. relationship with Europe. Romania could prove the perfect proving ground for the new normal. After he won the first round of Romania’s presidential election, news reports described Georgescu as an 'unknown' who achieved a shock victory thanks to a successful TikTok campaign. A closer look shows that while he is an outsider to the NATO and EU establishments, the reality of Georgescu is starkly different from the portrayal of him as Putin’s puppet. He is a soil scientist who has worked for the UN as a Special Rapporteur and his 2012 report on the long-term deleterious effect of American nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands remains on the UN website today. Following his work with the UN, he worked on sustainability issues with the Club of Rome. Georgescu was discussed as a potential candidate for prime minister as far back as 2010; he was formally proposed as prime minister in 2020 and 2021. Romania is home to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, the easternmost NATO base in Europe. The Biden administration invested heavily in this base near Ukraine and facing Crimea, planning to turn it into one of the largest in Europe, surpassing the Ramstein base in Germany. Georgescu’s campaign included a skeptical attitude toward the continued presence of U.S. troops in Romania. Meanwhile, President Trump challenges the conventional view of NATO, is seeking to tamp down tensions with Russia, end the war in Ukraine, and has attempted to withdraw troops from Europe in the past. It’s not hard to see how these facts could combine into a recipe for a U.S. drawdown and shifting the burden of Romania’s defense onto Romania. This pragmatic vision diverges from the status quo and the emerging transactional model. Biden’s description of the alliance as a 'sacred obligation' encompasses the status quo. Hungary exemplifies the more transactional model wherein the United States signals a greater defense commitment, including an enlarged troop presence, for countries that spend more on their defense. Georgescu’s model represents a third way which would permit and encourage NATO allies to make their own sovereign defense decisions, emphasizing self-reliance instead of taking the U.S. security guarantee as a given or acting to curry favor with Washington through increased defense spending. This model makes sense for many reasons. As much as we are accustomed to talking about NATO and Europe, these coalitions refer to groups of countries that have very different interests and security needs, making any blanket approach to policymaking unwieldy. An alliance should not and need not attempt to level these differences. Of course, Georgescu being barred from running presents a hurdle to implementing this vision. Nonetheless, his ideas and influence could continue to have an impact on how Romanians think about defense and foreign policy. That said, Washington can and should pursue a reset in Romania regardless of who runs or wins in the upcoming presidential election. Canceling elections and barring candidates from running are decisions most Americans are uncomfortable with. And if Trump is serious about diplomacy with Russia and pivoting to Asia, a troop drawdown in Romania and a cancellation of the plans to expand the airbase would serve both purposes. Doing so would align with American interests, incentivizing our allies throughout Europe to do more for their own defense needs, and simply highlight that the indefinite deployment of U.S. troops can’t be taken for granted. Withdrawing troops from Romania would rattle NATO, yes, but it would demonstrate American resolve and encourage Europeans to do more than just talk about strategic autonomy. This action could even be used as a bargaining chip to incentivize Russia to cease fighting in Ukraine as Moscow has long complained of NATO troops moving ever eastward. If the Biden administration’s plans to expand the airbase and U.S. troop presence in Romania are seen through by the Trump administration, this would keep Washington more committed to tensions with Moscow and tied to an increasingly undemocratic government in Bucharest. It is hard to see that as a mission vital to American interests. It is preferable to maintain good relations with Bucharest and Europe absent the deployment of U.S. troops. However, the American interest in drawing down in Europe and finding a modus vivendi with the only other nuclear superpower remains regardless of how much we like or dislike the governments in Europe. (Source: The National Interest, U.S.)
by Hall, the Communications Manager of Defense Priorities.

North Macedonia
(Sunday, 16 March 2025)  Today a massive fire began at about 2:3o a.m. local time in a nightclub in North Macedonia’s eastern town of Kocani, killing 59 people and injuring 155. (Source: Irish Independent - Ireland)

 Asia

Pakistan
Mar 16, 2025  Baloch insurgents release first visuals of attack on Pakistan military convoy comprising eight buses in Balochistan's Noshki. One of the buses was hit by a vehicle loaded with IEDs, possibly a suicide attack, while another was targeted by Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs), said a Pakistani official. The BLA, which has been seeking the separation of the mineral-rich region from Pakistan and had hijacked a Peshawar-bound train last week, claimed that they killed all 214 military hostages. (Source: India Today)

Syria
16 March, 2025  Ankara, allied with Syria's new rulers who ousted president Assad and took power in December, has called on the European Union to unconditionally lift all sanctions on war-torn Syria ahead of an international aid conference in Brussels tomorrow, to which the country's new authorities have been invited. The European bloc on February 24 already announced an easing of sanctions on Syria's energy, transport and banking sectors. ’The sanctions must be lifted unconditionally and for an indeterminate period,’ Turkey's ministry said. EU foreign ministers have warned that the sanctions they eased could be reimposed if Syria's new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy. Turkey, which hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees, urged reconstruction of Syria to encourage returns, adding that economic opportunities and jobs need to be created. Turkish deputy foreign minister Yilmaz will attend the Brussels conference. (Source: The New Arab, based in London, United Kingdom, owned by a Qatari company)

North America

United States
(Sunday), 16/03/2025  The administration of US President Trump has launched a broad cutback of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other government programmes. On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed the latest funding bill, Trump instructed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. These included the U.S. Global Media Agency, a budget-funded government organisation to which the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia, and Radio Marti, which broadcasts Spanish-language news to Cuba, all report. Together, the networks reached about 427 million people. They date back to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organisations trying to expand US influence. These organisations include USAID, another agency that Trump has opposed. Voice of America’s director Abramowitz said that virtually the entire staff of 1,300 people has been placed on administrative leave. Yesterday morning, Lake, whom Trump appointed as a senior adviser to the U.S. Global Media Agency, wrote on website X that employees should check their emails. In another post she described the U.S. Global Media Agency as "the most corrupt agency in Washington DC." The video released by Lake was filmed in a building leased by Voice of America, which Lake called a waste of money. "We're doing everything we can to cancel contracts that can be cancelled, save money, reduce staffing and make sure your dollars are not misused," she said. The letter instructs employees not to use the Global Media Agency's facilities and to return equipment such as phones and computers. 'In a post on X the Czech Republic's foreign minister Lipavský said he would raise the cuts with the Council of Europe' tomorrow. ’Radio Free Europe is one of the few credible sources in dictatorships like Iran, Belarus, and Afghanistan’, he said. 'Reporters Without Borders, an international non-governmental organisation, said it calls on the US government to reinstate Voice of America and calls on Congress and the international community' to take action. The cuts are a sharp blow to a key element of the post-Cold War order. Trump's downsizing order also includes several other lesser-known government agencies such as the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (a nonpartisan think tank). /Source: Euronews, based in Lyon, France/
See also Lake's announcement: (Source:X): 'Massive national security violations, including spies and terrorist symphatizers and/or supporters infiltrating the agency'; '§100s-of-millions being spent on fake news companies'; "This agency is not salvageable".
March 16, 2025 7:42 a.m.: 146 700 views

Space

(Sunday), 16/03/2025  A SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station today, delivering the replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The four newcomers  - representing the U.S., Japan and Russia  -  will spend the next few days learning the station’s ins and outs from Wilmore and Williams. Then the two will strap into their own SpaceX capsule later this week, one that has been up there since last year, to close out an unexpected extended mission that began last June. (Source: Euronews, based in Lyon, France)
See also: /Video/ (Source: X)
March 16, 2025 6:51 a.m.: 30 500 000 views

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United States
March 15, 2025  US diplomatic and security officials developed the draft list of 43 countries, which suggests a “red” list of 11 countries, an “orange” list of 10 countries, and a “yellow” list of 22 countries. Out of the 43 countries, 22 are African nations.   Citizens of countries on the red list – Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen - would be flatly barred from entering the United States.    Countries on the orange list – Eritrea, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Belarus, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. - will face travel restrictions. Individuals arriving on immigrant or tourist visas would be denied access.    With 16 counties - Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Zimbabwe - Africa dominates the yellow list. The remaining six countries on the list are Antigua and Barbuda, Cambodia, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Vanuatu. Countries on the yellow list will be given a 60-day window to address concerns before a verdict is reached.   The list could be changed as it has yet to be approved by the administration. (Source: Premium Times - Nigeria)

March 15, 2025  Democrats confront limits of their minority power after bruising shutdown vote. The days leading up to yesterday’s vote on government spending were particularly bleak after several hourslong meetings that became contentious. Senate Democrats repeatedly left the meetings stone-faced and refusing to talk with reporters. The angst was particularly acute among rank-and-file who have spent years messaging about the perils of shutdowns. Thursday evening, after Senate Democratic Schumer announced he would vote to move forward on the Trump-backed spending measure, ensuring its eventual passage even though Democrats said it would give Trump broad discretion on decisions that are traditionally left to Congress, internal dissension burst into the open. Schumer’s move to support the spending legislation put him in the rare position of bucking his party’s base. He said that of two bad options, a partial government shutdown was worse because it would give Trump even more control to shut down agencies and there would be ‘’no off-ramp'' to get out of it. (Source: Minnesota Star Tribune - U.S.)

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Europe

Hungary
March 15, 2025  Today, in a speech at a party rally in Budapest marking Hungary’s 1848 revolution against Austrian rule, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterated his criticism of the European Union’s military support for Ukraine, and his opposition to a Ukrainian accession to the EU. Orbán published earlier today a wishlist which included what Hungarians want from Brussels: a strong veto for national governments, halting migration, the removal of what he said were ’Soros agents’ in the European Commission and peace in Europe, as well as a Union without Ukraine. 'The rulers of Europe decided that Ukraine must continue the war at all costs, and it will get a fast EU membership in exchange, using our money. We can only have one answer to that: a Union but without Ukraine,” he said. The Hungarian leader has taken a hard line in EU talks to support Ukraine, vetoing an EU push to replace U.S. military aid for Ukraine earlier this month and forcing the remaining 26 EU leaders to issue their conclusions without him. He vowed to crack down on a ’shadow army’ in the country, who he said were working for foreign powers. Orbán accused them of taking ’corrupt dollars’ at the expense of their own country. (Source: Politico, an American online newspaper owned by a German company)
by Cokelaere

Serbia
(15 March 2025)  Tens of thousands of people have descended on Serbia's capital to attend anti-government protest against the deaths of 15 people in the Novi Sad railway station collapse last November. Students have been calling for full transparency and accountability over the collapse. They want the government to publish all the documentation relating to the renovation project and say they are not satisfied with the papers the authorities have released so far. They also want those responsible for the disaster to be charged and convicted. Demonstrators blame corruption and corner-cutting for the loss of life. Prosecutors have indicted at least 16 people, but the charges have yet to go to trial. President Vucic described the student protests as "well-intentioned". But he had less flattering words for opposition parties, labelling them members of a "criminal cartel". He accused them of attempting to force the formation of a "'raudulent interim government'. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

United Kingdom
(Saturday), 15/03/2025  UK premier Keir Starmer told some 26 fellow leaders in a group call he hosted that they should focus on how to strengthen Ukraine, protect any ceasefire and keep up the pressure on Moscow. Military chiefs will meet again on Thursday in the UK as the coalition moves into the operational phase, he added. Summit leaders meeting virtually today shifted planning for a peacekeeping force into an 'operational phase.' Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated after the call, which she joined, that Italy's 'participation in a possible military force on the ground is not envisaged". French President Macron today called for joint US and European pressure on Russia to accept the proposed ceasefire. Starmer and Macron have been leading efforts to assemble a so-called 'coalition of the willing' ever since Trump opened direct negotiations with Moscow last month. They said they are willing to put British and French troops on the ground in Ukraine. US Secretary of State Rubio said yesterday he was "cautiously optimistic" about reaching a truce, but a lot more work needed to be done. US President Trump today appointed Kellogg as special envoy to Ukraine. He had previously been described as special envoy for both Ukraine and Russia. (Source: France 24)

Africa

South Africa
(March 15, 2025)  The U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced yesterday that the South African Ambassador to the U.S. Rasool was no longer welcome accusing him of being a race-baiting politician critical of President Trump. Rubio’s statement followed a webinar where Rasool discussed demographic shifts in the U.S. and the Trump administration's policies. This rare diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and South Africa over a land law and claims made by Trump about discrimination against South Africa’s white minority. (Source: Africa News - located in Lyon, France)

Asia

India
03/15/2025  Christians in the eastern Indian state of Odisha have been denied the right to bury their loved ones until they convert to Hinduism. The denial of burial is a serious violation of fundamental rights. A recent ruling by the Indian Supreme Court is becoming a pretext for more discriminatory acts. “Denying Christians the right bury their dead follows a recent Supreme Court ruling not allowing a Christian in Chattisgarh to be buried in his own land. This has opened Pandora’s box,” Fr Singh, a Catholic priest and human rights activist notes. “It is unconstitutional and a violation of human rights and disrespect for the dignity of person even after death,” Fr Singh explained. What is more, he warns that, “This is an alibi for fanatics to intimidate Christians into forceful abandonment of the Christian faith. This is not in line with our secular faith and social fabric.” The latest case occurred on 3 March, in Siunaguda, a village 20 km from Umerkote (Nabarangpur), when the family of a 70-year-old man was not allowed to bury him. Siunaguda is a Hindu-majority village with only three Christian families. “We accepted Hinduism out of fear,' the elder son of Santa family said, noting that his father had embraced Christianity five years earlier, but was forced to posthumously reconvert to Hinduism. The episode is part of a broader pattern of discrimination against religious minorities. (Source: AsiaNews, an official press agency of the Catholic Church's Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, which headquarters Rome, Italy)

Yemen
March 15, 2025  President Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen today, promising to use overwhelming lethal force until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said 13 civilians were killed in the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when this ceasefire in Gaza took effect. The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which includes the carrier, three Navy destroyers and one cruiser, are in the Red Sea and were part of Saturday’s mission. The USS Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region. (Source: AP News - U.S.)

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Europe

France
14/03/2025  Boycotts of American products are mobilising tens of thousands of consumers’ in France, Sweden, Denmark and Canada. Created on February 28, the Boycott USA: Buy French and European! Facebook group started in France, encourages members to support the French and European economies by refusing to buy products made in the United States, sharing tips on how to replace popular US brands with local equivalents. (Source: France 24)

Italy
14 March 2025 15:20   Extreme weather 'red alert' in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna. Many of the areas affected were the same ones hit by flooding and landslides last September and in May 2023 which were linked to unprecedented rainfall. (Source: Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata - Italy)

Romania
14 March 2025  Romania was approving a bill in late February that introduced stricter regulations on social media platforms and online content providers. Key features of the bill were speedy illicit content removal, with material deemed to be inciting violence, hate speech or disinformation on major national-interest topics to be removed within 15 minutes of publication. During this period, platforms would be expected to use algorithms, potentially AI-driven, to analyse and classify content. The bill allowed authorities, including the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) and the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), to order content removal or site blocking without prior independent judicial review in certain cases. This meant that once content was blocked, affected users must take legal action to restore their posts - a lengthy court procedure that would likely continue until the original message’s relevance and impact had effectively disappeared. On March 11, the government together with TikTok and Facebook announced “a partnership” to fight disinformation, focusing on quickly removing content. The Romanian Government has stated it will step up its efforts to 'combat illegal content online'. The news on March 14 came ahead of contentious presidential elections following the annulled ballot of November last year due to claims, considered unsubstantiated in Romanian media, of Russian interference. On March 27, officials will conduct a test run simulating potential electoral scenarios to evaluate rapid intervention capabilities. Institutions including the Permanent Electoral Authority, the National Audiovisual Council, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Defence will have the power to directly request the deletion of posts or the blocking of users’ access to them. There were strong concerns of possible political use or even abuse, especially regarding the elections. Critics noted there was a major risk of censorship. “While we understand the need for effective mechanisms to combat illegal content, we believe that the urgency imposed by this proposal, the strong reliance on AI, and the broad definition of ‘potentially harmful content’ could lead to errors and potentially infringe on freedom of expression,' lawyers from CMS Law Now, a leading international law firm with 79 offices in more than 40 countries and more than 5,000 lawyers worldwide conclude. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)

European Union
14.03.2025  The EU’s $868 billion 'ReArm Europe Plan' could lead to economic collapse due to debt, warns former EU Commission senior economist Alkas. It leaves out funding strategy, leading to concerns amid Germany’s $900B debt agenda, he says. Der Leyen’s plan does not include a clear financial mechanism, raising concerns over how the EU will fund such a large-scale rearmament effort. Under current circumstances the EU is in no position to save its economy or support Ukraine. Especially Germany, being treated as ‘the sick man of Europe', currently is in intensive care, Alkas said. Energy policies have brought Europe’s economy to the brink of collapse. Recovery is impossible with high prices. The Nord Stream pipeline needs to be rebuilt and natural gas should flow through these pipes. Alkas said deindustrialization is rampant across the EU, pointing to plans by the new center-right government in Germany to borrow €900 billion. “Why would they want this? Because they realize their entire industry is now sinking,' he said. Alkas called Europe a bankrupt economy 'trying to salvage itself by supporting Ukraine and preparing for war'. Alkas warned that US tariffs would only exacerbate the situation. 'This much borrowing – one last fatal blow to an already failed economy,' he said. Debt partnership always pits people and countries against one another and it never works in the long run. He mentioned that exemptions to industrial investments can also lead to abuse. Alkas said Europe, with its aging society of 500 million people, has a weak economy. Europe’s ties to (US President ) Trump are being broken, prompting the bloc to become a new power under its own flag, he noted. "Europe cannot become a military power without Türkiye', Alkas added. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

March 14, 2025  The European Union today agreed to drop three Russian individuals from its sanctions list as the price for Hungary's Viktor Orbán to drop a threat to veto Europe's sanctions against Russia. They are oligarch Kantor, Russian sports minister Degtyaryov, and Ismailova, sister of oligarch Usmanov, an Uzbek-Russian mining tycoon. (Source: UPI - U.S.)

Georgia
14 March 2025  Today, US Ambassador to Georgia Dunnigan met with Georgian Foreign Minister Botchorishvili, the first formal meeting held between US officials and representatives of Georgian Dream since the parliamentary elections in October. The meeting came after months of a diplomatic freeze between the US and Georgia, particularly during the final months of former President Biden’s administration. Ambassador Dunnigan outlined President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s top priorities and steps that Georgia can take to demonstrate its seriousness about improving its relationship with the US. (Source: OC Media (Open Caucasus Media), an 'independent' * online news platform. Headquarters Tbilisi, Georgia)
by Ostiller, who after a year at The Kyiv Independent joined OC Media, where he covered Ukraine, Russia, and the South Caucasus.
* "The Trump/Musk cuts could shut us down - permanently", NGO 'OC Media' announces.

Russia
March 14, 2025, Friday  Trump’s special envoy, Witkoff, visiting Moscow yesterday, held late-night discussions with Putin and relayed additional signals regarding the ceasefire proposal, according to Kremlin spokesperson Peskov. Trump has described Putin’s response as very promising but not complete, and has indicated he is open to a direct meeting with the Russian leader. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said there was now a very good chance of a resolution and claimed he had urged Putin to spare Ukrainian troops allegedly surrounded by Russian forces in Kursk Oblast. According to Trump, "thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military," and he had "strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared," warning that otherwise, it would result in a massacre of a scale not seen since World War II. On March 12, Russian authorities claimed they had regained control of over 86% of the territory in the region, including the key town of Sudzha. Putin stated that Ukrainian forces in the area were facing a complete physical blockade, leaving them with only two choices: surrender or die. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

Friday 14 March 2025  Mr Witkoff, a former property mogul who has become Trump's chief negotiator, and is often referred to as the president's 'fixer', had been dispatched to Moscow to deliver the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Putin. After arriving around lunchtime yesterday, he was left 'twiddling his thumbs' for at least eight hours before being called into the Kremlin. Mr Witkoff was leaving Russia not with Mr Putin's agreement but with a list of demands. It's now up to Mr Trump to decide what to do next. (Source: Sky News - United Kingdom)

Mar 14, 2025  Ukraine carried out drone attacks in central Moscow today, hitting buildings not far from the Kremlin, during Trump's envoy Witkoff's visit to Russia for secret talks with officials. Witkoff met with Putin in the Kremlin late yesterday. A plane linked to him had apparently left Moscow at around 2:00am. (Source: NewsBytes - India)

North America

Canada
March 14, 2025  Canadian Foreign Minister Joly, hosted counterparts from Britain, 'the European Union', France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. at the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Canada, today. 'They reached a deal on a joint statement aimed at showing unity that backed Ukraine's territorial integrity and warned Russia to follow Kyiv in accepting a ceasefire or face possible further sanctions. Washington had sought to impose red lines on language around Ukraine to not harm its talks with Russia and opposed a separate declaration on curbing Russia's so-called shadow fleet, while demanding more robust language on China. The final communique stated G7 opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion. There had been wrangling over language regarding Gaza and the Middle East, notably the notion of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, something the U.S. was resisting. (Source: Nikkei - Japan)

United States
March 14, 2025  European security advisers dash to Washington after Witkoff’s talks with Putin. Germany’s national security adviser, Plötner, traveled to Washington today for urgent talks alongside his British counterpart, Powell, and French President Macron's diplomatic adviser, Bonne. The three met with U.S. National Security Adviser Waltz at the White House. (Source: Politico, an American online newspaper owned by a German company)

NATO

March 14, 2025 Friday  NATO Secretary General Rutte has stated that relations with Russia should eventually be restored after the war in Ukraine comes to an end. In an interview with Bloomberg, he noted that it would be normal to gradually return to normal diplomatic relations with Moscow, but emphasized that such a step is not currently possible. He stressed the need to maintain pressure on Russia to ensure that it takes negotiations seriously. Rutte's comments came following his meeting with U.S. President Trump yesterday. Rutte stated that the issue of Ukraine's NATO membership is no longer on the agenda, explaining that Trump has effectively removed that option. Trump dismissed concerns that Russia could pose a direct military threat to NATO, saying he does not believe Moscow would attack a member country. He argued that once the conflict in Ukraine is resolved, Russian troops would have no interest in further aggression. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

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Europe

Poland
13-Mar-2025  Poland's President Duda, discussing with Kellogg, U.S. President Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, 'has called on the U.S. to deploy nuclear weapons on Polish territory' 'to deter Russia', The Financial Times reported today. (Source: CGTN - China)

March 13, 2025  The Polish Ministry of Defense 'is set to sign a $6.2 billion contract to acquire 180 South Korean K2 Black Panther main battle tanks (MBT) manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. MBT's main armament consists of a Rheinmetall 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun, produced under license in South Korea. 'That follows a previous contract inked in August 2022 for an equal number of the advanced MBTs from Seoul. The Polish Army has received just under half of the vehicles, with the final ninety-six set to arrive later this year. 'In addition, South Korea provided the Eastern European NATO member with 219 K9 self-propelled howitzers, forty-eight KAI FA-50 light attack aircraft, and 218 K239 Chunmoo mobile multiple launch Rocket System (MLRS). That initial deal was valued at $12.4 billion. 'The agreement will be finalized next month, and deliveries of additional tanks will continue over the next four years. Still, that timeline could be truncated if a planned domestic manufacturing center, where the K2 would be produced under license, is approved. Warsaw has already worked with Seoul on adapting the K239 Chumoo MLRS, locally designated the Homar-K. It is mounted on the domestically made Jelcz 8×8 chassis, which replaced the South Korean-made Doosan chassis. It was further outfitted with the Polish TOPAZ Integrated Combat Management System. 'As Warsaw receives the South Korean MBTs, it will continue to supply Ukraine with its aging T-72 and PT-71 tanks. 'Kyiv has already received around 280 T-72M and T-72M1 tanks from Poland and nearly 200 more from the Czech Republic (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)
by Suciu, a Michigan-based writer

European Parliament
March 13, 2025  Belgian federal police conducted raids on 21 addresses in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia and in Portugal in the early hours today, as part of a corruption probe involving the European Parliament on preliminary charges of active corruption, forgery of documents, money laundering; around 15 former and current MEPs are “on the radar” of the investigators, according to investigative news outlet Follow the Money and Belgian publications Le Soir and Knack. Several individuals have been arrested. (Source: Politico - Headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, U.S., owned by a company based in Berlin, Germany)
Note: ’Related Tags: Corruption; Cyber Espionage; CybersecurityData / privacy; EU affairs; Lobbying; MEPsMoneylaundering; Telecoms. Related Organization: Huawei’.

European Union
(13 March 2025)  Hungary has threatened to block the EU’s renewal of sanctions imposed on about 2,000 Russians unless oligarch Fridman is removed from the list. /Photo/ (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

Russia
Mar 13 2025  Russian President Putin today said Russia agrees in principle with the U.S.-led ceasefire plan brokered by the White House, backed by Ukraine earlier this week, but stopped short of signing up to any deal, arguing that it needed further negotiation and must lead to enduring peace. “We are in favor of it but there are nuances,” he said when asked about the 30-day ceasefire deal. “The idea [of a ceasefire] itself is correct and we are certainly supporting it, but there are issues that need to be discussed. I think that we need to talk to our American colleagues and partners. Maybe call President Trump and discuss it together. But we support the very idea of ending this conflict through peaceful means,” he said. “Hopefully they all want to end this nightmare,” U.S. President Trump said today, speaking during a press briefing with NATO Secretary-General Rutte. Putin also said a deal must “proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.” Putin also questioned whether the 30 days would be used to supply weapons or train newly mobilized units, and how potential violations of a ceasefire would be monitored. Earlier indications from Russian officials appeared to indicate the country would not immediately sign up to the U.S.-led deal. Ushakov, a Russian presidential aide, did not confirm or deny but noted that a truce would give Ukraine a chance to boost its forces, calling the plan 'a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more.' The draft deal would see all Russian and Ukrainian military activities cease, potentially beyond the 30-day term by mutual agreement. It also requires the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children "to Russia.” The U.S. immediately lifted its pause on sharing intelligence and military aid with Ukraine following its sign-up to the deal. Analysts say that Russia is now advancing slowly but steadily in Ukraine. Putin also said today that if the U.S. and Russia struck an energy sector cooperation agreement then Russia could provide a gas pipeline for Europe, benefiting the Continent with cheaper energy prices. European natural gas futures dated to April were 3.5% lower following his comments. (Source: CNBC - U.S.)

13 Mar 2025  'A bombshell new document, which was uncovered by the Washington Post, allegedly shows Putin has no intention of signing up to deal and ending the war, even temporarily. Putin's demands: Weakened US at the negotiating table; Complete dismantling of Zelenskyy's government; No resolution until 2026; Creation of new buffer zone; No European peacekeeping troops; No Nato membership for Ukraine; Sovereignty over 'stolen land'. (Source: Daily Star - United Kingdom)

March 13, 2025  Russia has laid out a list of demands to U.S. authorities that need to be met in order for the war in Ukraine to end. /Video/ (Source: Fox News - U.S.; „Reuters - United Kingdom and The Associated Press - U.S. contributed”).

March 13, 2025  Trump's envoy arrives in Russia for Ukraine ceasefire talks. Kremlin spokesperson Peskov did not say whether Witkoff would meet with Russian President Putin. /Video/ (Source: ABC News – U.S.)

March 13, 2025  Russia has send a list of demands to the US for a ceasefire deal to end the war against Ukraine.  (Source: The Week – India)

Mar 13, 2025  The Kremlin said that U.S. negotiators were flying to Russia. It said Kremlin foreign policy adviser Ushakov and U.S. National Security Adviser Waltz had spoken by phone yesterday. /Photo/ (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)

Thu, 13 Mar, 2025  Russian President Putin met General Gerasimov during his visit to military headquarters in the Kursk region yesterday and spoke to military commanders there. Russian forces have driven the Ukrainian army out of Sudzha, the biggest town in Russia’s Kursk border region. /Photo/ (Source: Irish Examiner / The Associated Press)

North America

United States
Mar 13, 2025  President Trump’s Ukraine policy is strengthening NATO and investing America in Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity. It is doing so in a way that is realistic and is intended actually to work rather than sound nice. There is a difference between alliances and free ridership. He believes allies must contribute meaningfully to the alliance. ’The European Commission pledged to raise the area’s military spending by nearly $200 billion a year in the aftermath of supposedly disastrous meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky. This demonstrates that the meeting was a great success for the perspective of what the U.S. has been trying to do for years - get the EU to take its own defense seriously’. In just the past few days, Germany ’has made plans for hundreds of billions of dollars in additional defense spending in coming years’. Britain will raise defense spending to 2.5% of the budget in 2017. Other European allies are following suit. The U.S. was the principal backstop for Europe’s regional defense. 'The continent' allowed itself to be invaded by migrants, „spend vast amounts on social programs”, and an ’ever-stronger Brussels bureaucracy’. Europe’s adoption of Trump’s agenda would normally be depicted as a strengthening of the Atlantic alliance, which indeed it is. Recent events show that the U.S. takes the NATO alliance extremely seriously. NATO and Europe have not been abandoned, but shocked to their senses by the president’s brash manner. But they simply did not get the message when it was delivered in calmer tones. Trump understands that paper promises are worthless and suggested a new approach to cementing alliances - by creating real joint interests. The mineral deal between the two countries makes the U.S. directly invested in Ukraine’s territorial integrity, an interest that will exist across administrations. (Source: The Heritage Fundation, based in Washington D.C, U.S.)
By Kontorovich, Senior Research Fellow, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom

March 13, 2025  NATO Secretary General Rutte visited the White House today. Pledges from European and allied nations to increase defense spending coincide with negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. /Video/ (Source: Fox News, „The Associated Press contributed” = U.S.)

03/13/25  Today, in the Oval Office, during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Rutte, President Trump expressed confidence the United States would annex Greenland, even suggesting the head of the NATO alliance could be a key player in facilitating the acquisition. “And I’m just thinking, I didn’t give it much thought before but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental". You know, Mark, we need that for international security, Trump said, gesturing to Rutte. Rutte agreed that Greenland and the Arctic Circle are critical for security reasons, noting that China and Russia have a growing presence in the region. But he said any discussion about Trump’s attempts to acquire Greenland were outside of his purview. (Source: The Hill - U.S.)

Thu, Mar 13, 2025  The US president said last week that "to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it". Trump has reportedly ordered the US military to come up with plans to increase the number of troops in Panama as part of his mission to "reclaim" the canal. US Southern Command chief Admiral Holsey sent draft strategies to Defence Secretary Hegseth this week ahead of his visit to Panama next month. /Photo/ (Source: Express - United Kingdom)

Global

13 March 2025  From Michigan to Hungary, foreign factories are facing local pushback. (Source: Rest of World - U.S.)

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Europe

Greenland
(12 March 2025)  Greenland's centre-right opposition wins election. The Demokraatit party - which favours a gradual approach to independence - is getting nearly 30% of the vote. About 44,000 Greenlanders out of a population of 57,000 were eligible to cast their votes to elect 31 MPs, as well as the local government. Six parties were on the ballot. Naleraq, another opposition party which wants to immediately kick-off divorce proceedings from Copenhagen and have closer ties with the US, is polling second with about 25%. Prime Minister Mute B Egede's Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) - also a pro-independence party - is third with over 21%. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

European Commission
Mar 12, 2025  The European Commission has invited Syria’s Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) administration to an official conference in Brussels after the slaughter of hundreds of Alawites in the country's west. Hipper, the European Commission spokesperson, revealed at a daily press briefing that ’an invite was sent’ to HTS foreign minister Shaibani to attend the donor conference for Syria's new rulers on March 17, Press Tv reported. Titled ‘Standing with Syria: Meeting the Needs for a Successful Transition’, the donor conference – which the EU has been organizing annually since 2017 – is set to be the first held since the ouster of the Assad administration in December. Hipper said the conference presents a ’very important occasion’ to engage with the new Syrian rulers. HTS-led forces have over the past weeks perpetrated a vast array of massacres against minorities, especially Alawites, in the country’s northwestern coastal region. More than 1,540 people, the majority of them civilians, have been killed so far in the violence in the provinces of Tartus, Latakia, Hama and Homs, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). In harsh rebuke of the massacres by HTS-led forces, human rights groups as well as the international community have called for an immediate halt to ethnic cleansing and sectarian-based atrocities in Syria. They have also called for the establishment of an independent international investigation committee under the UN’s direct oversight. EU foreign policy chief Kallas, yesterday ’stopped short of condemning the killings and defended the deeds of HTS militants’. ’It is very, very early to tell whether this goes to the right direction. The first signals are good, but we are not rushing into any kind of arrangements yet, if we don't have certainty,’ she said. Kallas only expressed concern about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the Arab country. According to SOHR, at least 973 Alawite civilians were slaughtered on March 10 alone. Violence has surged in Syria under the HTS rule, with kidnappings and extra-judicial killings reported since the fall of Assad’s government on December 8, 2024. While the HTS administration claims its killing operations target remnants of the old regime, the military crackdown on Alawites that started in early March quickly has descended into open massacres of civilians. (Source: MEHR News Agency – Iran)

March 12, 2025  The European Union's member states would place countermeasures to the Trump administration's steel tariffs. The measures were designed to match the scope of U.S. tariffs, which the European Union said would be worth about $28 billion. The countermeasures were expected to begin on April 1 and be fully in place by April 13, the commission said. (Source: ABC News - U.S.)

Wed, 12 Mar, 2025  The 25% US levies on global imports of the metals came into force today. The EU retaliates against Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs with €26bn in countermeasures, which would come into force from April 1. The retaliatory measures target notable US goods - often from Republican states - worth €4.5bn and include Brussels reimposing tariffs on US goods including bourbon whiskey, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorbikes. The European Commission plans further retaliation targeting goods worth €18bn, including a wide range of steel and aluminium products, as well as agricultural produce, such as poultry, beef, seafood and nuts. These tariffs would be imposed from mid-April, after a vote by EU member states and consultations with industry. ’We try to hit … where it hurts,’ said a senior EU official: ’The bloc was targeting soya beans, which are grown in Louisiana, the state of the US speaker of the House, Johnson’. ’We’re happy to buy them from Brazil or from Argentina or from anywhere else’. ’If it came to a situation where we had to go further, digital services or intellectual property could be included,’ France’s European affairs minister, Haddad said. Lange, the German Social Democratic MEP who chairs the European parliament’s trade committee, described the tariffs as ’another dose of self-inflicted tariff pain by the Trump administration’,’particularly bad’ because they target US trade partners, ’they are set arbitrarily, without legal and economic justifications, and they fail to address non-market overcapacity – the main issue steel and aluminium industry across the Atlantic is confronted with’. EU officials said they were talking to counterparts in other countries, including the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Canada and Japan, but there had not been any coordination over responses. Officials not ruled out imposing tariffs or quotas on steel and aluminium from other countries – if US trade barriers resulted in a flood of imports into Europe. (Source: Irish Examiner - Ireland / The Guardian - United Kingdom)

England
(Wednesday), March 12, 2025  A 59-year-old Russian national was the captain of the Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship which collided with a U.S. tanker off the coast of England, according to Russ, the owner of the cargo ship. The ship’s 14 crew members were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals. One of them remains missing and is presumed dead. The Solong collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a U.S.-flagged tanker transporting jet fuel for the American military. /Photo/ (Source: Fox News - U.S.)

Russia
March 12, 2025 Four reasons why Russia have no reason to - may not accept - ceasefire with Ukraine at this stage: Russia is on a serious offensive - a breather to Kyiv would mean an opportunity to regroup and re-energise; Europe’s military industrial complex, the key supporter of the counter-offensive to the Russians, is in a depleted state. 'The European Commission has proposed to set up a 150-billion euro ($157.76 billion) fund to majorly rearm Europe - part of a bigger package that could garner 800 billion euros for the European military buildup'; The Russian economy is with rising stock value, unlike in Europe where the economies are in a spot of crisis; Fourthly, a main military aim to gain a land corridor to Transdniestria, a Russian separatist enclave in Moldova. That aim has not been achieved yet. (Source: The Week - India)

Asia

Iran
(Wednesday), Mar 12, 2025  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Saturday that Tehran would not be bullied into negotiations, a day after Trump said he had sent a letter urging Iran to engage in talks on a new nuclear deal. While expressing openness to a deal with Tehran, Trump has reinstated the 'maximum pressure' campaign he applied in his first term as President to isolate Iran from the global economy 'and drive its oil exports down towards zero'. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said last week, "there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. Yesterday President Pezeshkian said Iran would not negotiate with the US while being threatened. "It is unacceptable for us that they (the US) give orders and make threats. I won’t even negotiate with you. Do whatever the hell you want', state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying. (Source: India Today)

Saudi Arabia
(March 12, 2025)  Following the talks, US President Trump’s administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine. (Source: AfricaNews - located in Lyon, France)

March 12, 2025  A temporary 30-day ceasefire in the Russian-Ukrainian war is set to be discussed between March 17 and 23, Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office told early today, following U.S.-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia. Teams at the technical expert level will begin discussing all the details, he said. The United States brings the proposals developed during the talks to Russia. (Source: Meduza, located in Riga, Latvia)

North America

United States
12 March 2025  President Trump has promised the US will respond after the EU announced counter-tariffs. (Source: LBC – United Kingdom)

March 12, 2025  President Trump reversed course yesterday afternoon on a pledge to double tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada to 50 per cent, just hours after announcing the higher tariffs, in rapid-fire moves that scrambled financial markets. The switch came after a Canadian official, Ontario Premier Ford also backed off his own plans for a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity which Canada's most populous province supplies to more than 1 million US homes. Stocks rebounded after Ford said he would suspend the surcharge and Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. US stocks have fallen hard since reaching a record high about a month after Trump took office on Jan 20, with nearly US$5 trillion of market value erased from US indexes. (Source: AsiaOne - Singapore)

12 March 2025  The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed legislation to fund the government through 30 September and avert a shutdown at the end of the week. Senate Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to vote with them to prevent a lapse in funding, which could disrupt everything from financial oversight to scientific research and force hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go without pay. Several have said they would vote for the measure to avert a shutdown. (Source: RNZ - New Zealand)

March 12, 2025  The breadth and depth of Department of Defense’s supply chain. The DoD needs to understand the total impact, requires real-time supplier data to understand and mitigate supply chain risks, to have the necessary visibility into the materials and components its warfighters rely on to protect the nation. (Source: War on the Rocks - U.S.)
by Dr. Michienzi, a former senior defense official, the owner of MMR Defense Solutions LLC, a nonresident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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Europe

France
Tuesday 11 March 2025  Army chiefs from more than 30 countries met in Paris today, for talks on creating an international force to deter future Russian aggression once a ceasefire is established. They include troop size, location and, crucially, military options in the event of a transgression. A French military official said the talks included nearly all 32 Nato countries – notably without the United States – as well as Commonwealth nations and Asian powers Japan and South Korea. France’s defence minister, Lecornu, said ahead of the meeting that Ukraine’s own army remained the main security guarantee for the country, adding that France ’will refuse any demilitarisation of the Ukrainian army’. Dutch defence minister Brekelmans said that it’s a dream for Putin, and it’s a nightmare for the rest of Europe Putin will continue his aggressive efforts to increase the influence and the territory of the Russian empire towards his dream to re-establish a Russkiy Mir, or a Russian world. Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk laid out some details around his plan for voluntary large-scale military training of Poland’s adult population in 2026, and expand the target to be able to train 100,000 people in 2027. Those taking part in the month-long training get a one-off salary of 6,000 Polish złoty (£1,200) – with the scheme open to all adults aged between 18 and 60. (Source: Independent - United Kingdom)

Germany
March 11, 2025  Germany hosts about 20 U.S. B-61 nuclear bombs at the Büchel airbase. For much of the past few decades, „a majority of Germans were in favor of getting these nuclear weapons out of Germany”. ’Berlin needs an ambitious nuclear policy rethink that includes a push to recreate nuclear sharing 'at the European level'  - with the continent’s nuclear powers, France and the U.K.’ Leaders of Germany and Poland have already expressed openness to concrete nuclear sharing arrangements, like having French capabilities stationed in German or Polish soil. Members engaged in nuclear sharing would contribute financially to the burden of maintaining the French and British nuclear arsenal. For Europeanizing extended deterrence and nuclear sharing, one option would be to recreate NATO’s nuclear planning group at the European level, with France and the U.K. ’The EU could be collectively represented through the European Council president or the EU foreign affairs chief’;) ’The only other option for Germany’ aside from a ’European nuclear umbrella’ would be to pursue its own nuclear weapons. At this stage, given the „political fallout”, the financial burden and the time that it would take to make a German bomb ’is not a cost-effective alternative’. Germany needs to recommit to civilian nuclear research. Germany’s likely next chancellor CDU leader Merz calls for switching to hoping for the best and still preparing for the worst. ’Uncomfortable this might be for many in Germany’, this 'strategy has to include a Plan B' for nuclear deterrence for the possible end of the U.S. nuclear umbrella. (Source: Foreign Policy – U.S.)
by Benner, a co-founder and the director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin.

Romania
(11 March 2025)  Romanian ’far-right’ Georgescu has lost his appeal against a ruling barring him from participating in May's presidential election. The Constitutional Court issued the final ruling today afternoon. A large crowd who were gathered outside the court in Bucharest shouted "traitors" and "we are going nowhere". They chanted ’Georgescu is president’ and "freedom". (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Russia
Mar 11, 2025  Speaking at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, Kremlin spokesman Peskov cautioned against people getting excited about the prospect of Musk cutting off the Ukrainian military from his Starlink communications system or about Trump's decision last week to suspend military aid to Kyiv. "Don't rush to put on rose-tinted spectacles," Peskov told the audience. "We always need to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests." Peskov said that Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of what decisions the U.S. was taking. He said the amount of weapons circulating in Ukraine was so large that Kyiv had enough to keep fighting for many months despite the suspension of U.S. deliveries. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)

March 11, 2025  Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems shot down 337 Ukrainian drones - 91 drones over the Moscow region, 126 over the Kursk region, 25 over the Belgorod region, 22 over the Ryazan region, 10 over the Kaluga region, eight each over the Lipetsk and Oryol regions, six over the Voronezh region, and three over the Nizhny Novgorod region. overnight. By 8:45 a.m. local time today, Russian air defense forces had shot down 74 drones heading toward the capital. In the Moscow region, two people were killed and 14 others injured in the attack in the towns of Vidnoye, Domodedovo, and Ramenskoye, as well as the villages of Yam and Sapronovo. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) imposed temporary restrictions at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports. (Source: Meduza, based in Riga, Latvia)

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