Egyik 19

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Asia

Iran
March 31, 2026 11:41 CET  Explosions. Fires lit up the night sky in the Iranian city of Isfahan which is home to the Badr military air base. The US reportedly used a large number of bunker-busting bombs overnight on March 30-3l. (Source: RFERL)
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31/03/2026 1:04 pm  Iranian air defense forces announced today that they shot down a US MQ-9 drone flying over the city of Isfahan. This move represents a new escalation in the ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Iranian military spokesman indicated that the drone was conducting a reconnaissance mission. (Source: Voice of Emirates - Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

March 30, 2026  Instead of an immediate collapse, the decapitation of the Iranian regime appears to have produced an unpredictable constellation of second-order effects. The February 28 decapitation strike convinced Iran’s remaining leadership that this is an existential war - not a limited confrontation like the Twelve-Day War. At the very least, it physically eliminated Iran’s few pragmatic leaders who in the past favored restraint. It thus handed over power to the hardliners of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The war appears to have paralyzed Iran’s domestic opposition, whose adherents may despise the regime but - unlike the U.S. and Israel - do not want to see their country break up into ethnic statelets. Today’s ruling Principalists in Iran are largely provincial in origin, domestically rooted, and lack the international ties that once offered pathways of exit. They do not hold dual citizenships, do not maintain foreign residences, few of them possess the linguistic or social capital to relocate abroad. They have no viable exit. For them, defeat is not exile - it is annihilation. Under such conditions, the expectation is not capitulation, but resistance to the very end.    Starting in 2001, the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq offered Iranian war planners a prolonged and unusually comprehensive vantage point from which to study the American way of war in their immediate neighborhood. The Iranians analyzed these methods, learned from them, and internalized their logic into their own asymmetric warfare doctrine, now put into operation. It channels the state’s military, civilian, economic, and informational assets into a multi-domain, protracted insurgency campaign designed to inflict maximum pain on its enemies. It rests on its asymmetric patience - its capacity to endure more physical and emotional torment than its Western or Western-backed opponents - refined skill during the 'War of Holy Defense' (1980-1988), the deadliest conventional war ever fought in the developing world. The then-newly formed Islamic Republic suffered over 500,000 casualties - many of those due to exposure to chemical warfare - but managed to bring Hussein’s Western-backed Iraq into a standstill and force it into a truce. To do so, they even resorted to so-called human wave assaults. That was largely how the Basij, the Iranian regime’s paramilitary ’street gangs’ that continue to operate in modern-day Iran, were initially formed.    On March 28, the Telegram channel belonging to the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei issued an infographic titled The Path to Defeating the Enemy in the Economic War, first developed in 2014 by the late Supreme Leader Khamenei. The goal of the economy of resistance is to prevent the destruction of the Islamic Republic and the Westernization of Iranian society. With crucial help by China and Russia, Iran has largely managed to insulate its economy from the global economic system that is now reeling under Iran’s asymmetric attacks. Controlling the flow of traffic in the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is the center of gravity of Iran’s economy of resistance doctrine. The Iranian regime has managed to transform its conflict with the U.S. and Israel from a regional skirmish into an international war with potentially epoch-defining ramifications for the global financial system. Tehran is therefore highly unlikely to surrender the Strait back to its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors without expressed guarantees for the regime’s survival. It is exceedingly difficult to see how the control of the Strait could be wrestled away from Iran using naval military assets. During the peak of the Red Sea crisis, even the most advanced navy destroyers were overwhelmed by a land-based assailant that is able to launch a saturation attack against them with drones or other projectiles. These warships can defend themselves, until they run out of ammunition and are forced to return to port in order to rearm. Analyses of Iranian targeting reveal Tehran’s central tactical goal to disable enemy radar installations and refueling aircraft needed to support American and Israeli fighter jets for long-range air operations. The regime has placed most of its strategic military components deep inside Iran. There is little doubt that Moscow began providing Tehran real-time targeting data about American and Israeli military and civilian assets at the very onset of the war. Moscow and Beijing also begun supplying Iran with drones and rocket fuel, according to Western intelligence. So long as the Iranian regime remains in control domestically, it will never run out of drones, which they can use to attack ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. For the foreseeable future, therefore, Iranian authorities will continue to force ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay a toll in order to sail through unharmed. Many ships have complied by paying as much as Chinese ¥14 million (U.S. $2 million) in exchange for an official certificate from the Iranian authorities. By showing this certificate to their marine insurer they keep their insurance costs manageable and stay in business. Without such a certificate no insurance firm in the world will agree to insure a ship going through the Strait of Hormuz at a reasonable price. And, unlike the stock market, maritime insurance firms such as Lloyds of London do not get swayed by U.S. President Trump’s posts on TruthSocial. They will wait until they see tangible proof before lowering insurance costs. The entirely rational Russian and Chinese assistance to Iran undoubtedly frustrates American and Israeli war planners. The Kremlin 'has emerged as one of the primary beneficiaries' of the Iran war, as the surging oil prices and the lifting of American sanctions on Russian oil exports have helped reinvigorate Russia’s long-suffering economy. China has also seen an extensive array of American carrier strike groups and highly sophisticated air defense systems vacate the Indo-Pacific region for the Middle East. China has stockpiled enough oil for over 200 days, after which time it can secure oil via land from both Iran and Russia. In contrast, a prolonged energy standoff in the Arabian Gulf has the potential to push the economies of its regional rivals - including Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand, to the brink. Beijing therefore will do its best to ensure that a protracted and inconclusive conflict in Iran continues.    Victory in this war will not belong to the side that can inflict the most pain, but rather to the side that can endure the most pain for the longest time. Iran’s demonstrated asymmetric patience places it in a dominant position over the neurotic and anxiety-ridden markets, to which the Trump administration is extremely attune. The Iranian regime is also far better-placed to endure this conflict than the demanding and perpetually impatient American voter, to whom Trump promised in 2024 that “starting on day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again” Even the Israelis, who are markedly more stoic than the Americans, cannot necessarily be counted to continue to support this war for very long. They will soon be entering their second month of nightly air raids, with massive disruptions in daily life and a desperately strained war economy. The White House is clearly weighing the possibility of using a ground force as a means of putting added economic and military pressure on Tehran.   Much has been made of the 5,000 U.S. Marines, as well as a host of stand-by global-response elements of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, who are on their way to the Gulf. There are reports that these forces could move in on Kharg island and occupy the sea port that Iran uses to distribute up to 90 percent of its oil exports via tankers. Other reports claim that U.S. ground forces could occupy Iranian coastal regions around the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to prevent Iran from launching missiles and drones against cargo ships. Such plans are unlikely to materialize. Numbers associated with these reports seem inadequate to occupy Kharg or the coastline around the Strait of Hormuz for more than a few days and require substantial support in the form of near-complete air dominance, persistent surveillance capabilities, as well as a multitude of naval assets for force protection and adequate resupply. It is far more likely that these troops will be used for short-term raids aimed at destroying or disabling key Iranian military or civilian installations. These operations may or may not prove successful. They are also likely to face rates of attrition that the U.S. has not seen since the peak period of the Iraqi insurgency. Another possible option is for the U.S. and Israel to leave the Iranian regime in place and attempt instead to defang it by covertly extracting its strategic uranium stockpiles. This would require the use of highly specialized Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) elements trained in the covert extraction of weapons of mass destruction. Which does the precise whereabouts be of these stockpiles? Providing that such intelligence can be acquired, that the stockpiles are not scattered in too many disparate locations, and that the uranium is physically possible to extract safely, a covert expeditionary force is conceivable. Alternatively, the JSOC extraction force would need to be supported by elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, possibly the Ranger Regiment, as well as perhaps multiple Delta Force squadrons. This could end up resembling a small military campaign. Once again, the possibility of high attrition rates would need to be carefully weighed.   The strategic reality is now stark. The U.S. and Israel are no longer dictating the tempo of this war - they are reacting to it. A wounded but resilient Iranian regime has seized the initiative, and no external actor - certainly not NATO - is coming to reverse that fact. What remains are narrowing choices, each more costly than the last: escalation, attrition, or strategic compromise. None promise clean outcomes. All carry risk. This war will spill into markets, into supply chains, into households. What comes next will be messy, violent, expensive. (Source: Intelnews - U.S.)
by Fitsanakis

March 30, 2026  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced yesterday that Iran’s heavy water production plant in Khondab is no longer operational, following damage sustained amid U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. In a post on X, the UN nuclear watchdog stated that the facility currently does not contain any declared nuclear material. IAEA Director General Grossi underscored the gravity of the situation yesterday, stating that “nuclear facilities should never be targeted, nor should their physical integrity be compromised.” (Source: SANA - Syria)

05:45, 29 Mar 2026  Iran signed the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1973, banning the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons. Since 1979, the US has continued to raise the alarm that the country has accelerated offensive research. All signatories are called upon to submit an annual report, but this requirement is not a legal commitment. Each report includes data on research centres and laboratories, national biological defence programmes, outbreaks of infectious diseases, details on policies for publishing results of biological research, a declaration of all laws and regulations, and vaccine production sites. Iran has done so twice – once in 2016 and then in 2021. 'Turning to chemical or biological as its missile supply dwindles is a real risk that the West is blind to'. Iran carnage could spiral into chemical and biological warfare from weaponised botox clinics to leaks from DIY labs. But it is feared an accidental deadly leak from a lab or nuclear infrastructure could also be sparked as the US and Israel continue to trade blows with the 'rogue' nation. De Bretton-Gordon, former commander of the Army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment warned Iran is known to have chemical capability – having used it during its war against Iraq in the 1980s. 'The Russians are advising them [Iran] and giving them a lot of intelligence and you only have to look to Ukraine and how Russia has used chemical weapons', he told. 'When I was with the Peshmerga [security forces of the Kurdistan Region] as their chemical weapons advisor in the fight against isis and the Iranian militias in between 2015 and 2017, the Iranian militias used nerve agents and chlorine against us. So one must assume that they still have that capability'. MacIntyre, a professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, said Iran 'could be plotting to create temporary labs in enemy nations to develop biological weapons undetected' – ready to be released at any chosen time. 'The clandestine labs discovered in the US in Reedley and Las Vegas as well as recent examples of smuggling biological materials indicate how easy a Trojan Horse attack would be'. The biggest risk is that we fail to recognise a serious epidemic as having an unnatural origin, MacIntyre said. In health and medicine, we are not taught about biowarfare, and 'epidemics, when they occur, are assumed to be natural'. Legitimate medical and scientific studies can very quickly be used for dual purpose. A pharmaceutical facility inside Iran that is making botox for their medical use can very quickly be ramped up to be making huge quantities of something that is highly toxic. There are two manufacturers of the neurotoxin – most commonly used cosmetically for facial wrinkles and medically for migraines. Derived from the botulinum toxin, one of the most poisonous substances known, a large dose could kill tens of thousands of people. Illegal botox supplies linked to illegal cosmetic clinics means there is a blackmarket in botox already, which could be exploited. Physical disruption to labs is possible during conflict, which may then result in biocontainment breaches and epidemics. (Source: The U.S. Sun)

29/03/2026 - 11:45  Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have threatened to target U.S. university campuses in the Middle East unless Washington formally condemns the strikes on two Iranian universities. Iran has also continued attacks on major infrastructure in Gulf countries, recently hitting aluminum plants in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates that it claims are linked to the US military. (Source: France 24)

11:06-29 March 2026  The war-outcome future of Iran’s regional allies, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed factions in Iraq: Scenarios. At present, diplomatic solution scenario appears unlikely. The United States is demanding concessions that Iran had previously rejected, while Tehran is putting forward conditions that are seen as difficult to meet. Among these are demands related to control over key maritime routes and broader regional security arrangements. Iran has also linked any potential ceasefire to developments on the Lebanese front, suggesting an effort to maintain influence there. A diplomatic resolution would raise critical questions about Hezbollah’s future, including the status of its weapons, its fighters and its role within Lebanon’s political system. If current situation persists, a prolonged war of attrition is seen as a scenario that could work in Iran’s favor. Time and economic resources, particularly oil revenues, could allow Tehran to sustain the conflict while gradually wearing down its adversaries. This scenario could lead to deeper instability across the region, particularly in Gulf states, while exacerbating internal tensions in Iraq. In Lebanon, continued conflict could further weaken state institutions and increase the risk of internal unrest. In a war scenario a broader military escalation remains a possibility. The United States has considered expanded operations involving ground, naval and air forces. Potential targets could include Iran’s strategic oil export facilities, such as Kharg Island, as well as key islands controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz. More complex operations, such as seizing enriched uranium, are considered less likely due to the challenges involved. For Washington, any such operation would need to achieve a clear outcome. If a military campaign were to succeed, Lebanon would face major challenges, including addressing Hezbollah’s future and managing relations with Israel. Iraq could see an opportunity to strengthen state authority and consolidate internal stability. Failure could have significant consequences for the United States and its allies. The broader regional situation would likely remain unstable, with limited immediate impact on Iraq but continued uncertainty for Lebanon. (Source: Asharq Al Awsat - headquartered in London, England, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family)

Iraq
2026/03/29 11:34 AM  In a statement published on the State Department’s website, the United States today condemned an attack targeting the residence of Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Barzani in Duhok, describing it as a threat to Iraq’s sovereignty, unity and stability. Washington said it unequivocally condemns the terrorist attacks carried out by Iran-linked militias against the residence of the Iraq’s Kurdistan Region president. (Source: SANA - Syria)

(29 March 2026)  The British Embassy in Iraq today condemned the drone attack targeting the residence of Kurdistan Region President Barzani in Duhok, calling the incident unacceptable. The statement was posted on the UK mission’s X account. The drone strike on Barzani’s residence occurred yesterday, marking the fifth known attack on his headquarters since the onset of the ongoing conflict in Iran. (Source: Kurdistan24)

Mar. 29, 2026  Targeting Kurdistan Region President Barzani’s Duhok residence was a despicable and unacceptable act, Walai, secretary-general of Iraq's pro-Iran Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, said today, drawing similarities to last week’s attack on the residence of Fayyadh, head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC), and implying US-Israeli involvement in the attack on the Kurdish leader’s domicile. PMC was institutionalized and officially incorporated into the Iraqi state security apparatus as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The group was designated by the US State Department in September. Walai was citing the Kurdish leader’s opposition to a potential entry of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups into the conflict. American-Israeli strikes have targeted PMF positions across the country since the start of the war, killing over 80 PMF fighters and wounding hundreds others. Iran has denied involvement in the attack, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) condemning it as an act of terrorism, and blaming the US and Israel for the strike. The US on the other hand blamed Iran and its proxies. The Kurdistan Region has repeatedly been targeted throughout the US-Israeli war with Iran. The attacks by Iran and its proxies have not been limited to US interests in the Region. On Tuesday, at least six Peshmerga were killed and 30 others injured in an Iranian ballistic missile attack on the forces’ bases in Erbil province’s Soran administration. President Barzani said in the early hours today that the Kurdistan Region has been targeted over 450 times since the war started. (The NewRegion - headquartered in Erbil Governorate, Iraq)

Israel
31.03.26, 11:50 AM  Knesset passed a law that allows death penalty by hanging for Palestinians convicted for murdering Israelis. There is a separate bill under consideration dealing with punishment for the October 7, 2023 attackers in Israel's custody. The Association of Civil Rights in Israel called the legislation discriminatory by design and said the parliament had enacted it without legal authority over West Bank Palestinians, who are not Israeli citizens. Many in Netanyahu's far-right coalition seek to annex the West Bank to Israel. The law also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges - language that legal experts say effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens. (Source: Telegraph - India)

30 March 2026 11:12 (UTC +04:00)  The Health Ministry reports that in the past 24 hours, 232 injured people have been taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran. Since February 28, 6,008 people have been admitted to hospitals, 121 of whom are currently hospitalized. The casualty figures include soldiers and civilians. (Source: APA - Azerbaijan)

(Sunday), 29/03/2026 1:39 pm  The Israeli military announced today morning that it had thwarted a large-scale Iranian missile attack targeting the city of Dimona and strategic areas in the Negev desert in southern Israel. A military spokesperson confirmed that at least one ballistic missile was intercepted, while another landed in an open area. No casualties or significant damage have been reported so far. (Source: 'Voice of Emirates - headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Palestine
March 29, 2026 at 11:15 am  Mladenov, the former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, now the Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza, is misrepresenting Gaza to the full capability of Western complicity with colonialism. No amount of double speak by Mladenov can disguise the fact that disarmament and reconstruction facilitate Israel’s control over Gaza through the Board of Peace. The first stage actually points to the failure of maintaining the agreed-upon ceasefire in October 2025 and entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The second stage refers to the collection of the most dangerous weapons and destroying Gaza’s tunnels. While focusing on collecting weapons from Hamas – on a scale from the most dangerous to personal weapons, there is no mention of Israel’s US-made 2,000 pound bunker buster bombs. Hamas, resistance groups and Palestinians in possession of weapons are no match for Israel’s military arsenal. Verification is the third stage. Compliance is only requested from Palestinians, not from Israel which committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Mladenov noted that reconstruction will only take place if Hamas is disarmed, thus clearly implying that human rights and basic needs are now negotiable and cannot be taken for granted. In the fourth stage, which according to Mladenov addresses the people, Palestinians affiliated with resistance groups will be allowed to re-enter civilian life with dignity, through structured amnesty arrangements and reintegration programs. Israel will likely oppose any so-called reintegration; Hamas has been used as the narrative for genocide in Israel’s rhetoric, and Israeli leaders ’have called the entire population of Gaza a legitimate target for genocide’. The fifth state would verify the disarmament, and Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Gaza except for a presence in a security perimeter. Based upon verification of disarmament, reconstruction would then be able to start. Mladenov told the UN Security Council the end state is a reformed Palestinian Authority capable of governing Gaza and the West Bank, and ultimately a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. Reform and Palestinian statehood may look like a gradual progress in diplomatic rhetoric. The PA has not been able to negotiate one single demand towards Palestinian statehood, although it did celebrate its futile symbolic achievements while Israel further expanded its settlements in the occupied West Bank and eroded even the illusion of a Palestinian state. It is easy to see why Mladenov, Israel and the US would want Gaza to suffer the same fate as the occupied West Bank. The international community would benefit from the illusion of prosperity, of a society that partly mimics the normalised economic inequalities found in Western societies. Such discrepancies are easier to overlook than the unfolding genocide in Gaza, where the near total destruction of the land and its visibility have now reached an unwanted global scrutiny. Hypothetically, disarming Hamas will leave Israel with a lesser security narrative. However, turning Gaza into a replica of the occupied West Bank facilitates the colonial process for Israel. With Palestinian anti-colonial resistance stamped out, and the PA as the governing body, the West would envisage a similar scenario of donor funding creating dependence on the West and marginalising the resistance movements. One crucial detail which the Western narrative leaves out is Gaza’s strength as a representation of the entirety of the Palestinian population since 1948. Israel and Western leaders worked hard to consolidate an image of Gaza and the occupied West Bank as distinctive entities to fragment Palestinian liberation. The same colonial dynamics will now have an equally hard time convincing Palestinians in Gaza to subjugate themselves to what the occupied West Bank symbolises in terms of politics and security coordination with Israel, paid for by the West. (Source: The Middle East Monitor - financed by the State of Qatar)
by Wadi

Persian Gulf
(30.03.2026)  Since February 28, Iran launched 5,471 missile and drone attacks, targeting US bases and critical sites in seven Arab countries across Gulf as US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation continue. Bahrain’s Defence Force General Command said 174 missiles and 391 drones were neutralised. Jordan’s military said 262 missile and drone attacks have been recorded. Kuwait said it intercepted 309 ballistic missiles and 616 drones. Oman said it was targeted by 19 drones. Qatar’s defence ministry reported 206 ballistic missiles and 93 drone attacks targeting the country. Saudi Arabia said at least 52 missiles and 1,006 drones targeted its territory. The United Arab Emirates defence ministry said its systems intercepted 414 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,914 drones. (Source: TRT World - Turkey)

Southwest Asia
March 31, 2026 at 10:22am BST  The US has hit the central Iranian city of Isfahan sending a massive fireball into the sky. Nasa fire-tracking satellites suggest the explosions happened near Mount Soffeh. Isfahan is home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the US military in June. One of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored or buried or there. A satellite image taken just before the 12-day war in June between Iran and Israel suggests Tehran transferred a truckload of highly enriched uranium to its nuclear facility at Isfahan. The image shows a truck loaded with 18 blue containers going into a tunnel at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre about two weeks before the US bombed the site. Analysts determined that the truck likely carried most or all of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. That is a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%. Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran in the early morning hours. Sirens and loud explosions were also heard in Jerusalem. Tehran struck a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, in Dubai waters. Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and to mine the Persian Gulf if US troops set foot on its territory. Two dozen people have been killed in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been killed, and more than one million have been displaced. The UN Security Council planned to convene an emergency session on Tuesday after officials said three peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had been killed in less than 24 hours, in the region where Israel is battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The UN peacekeeping mission did not say who was responsible for the deaths. Ten Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon. In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. (Source: The Irish News - Ireland / Associated Press - U.S.)

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Europe

Hungary
March 30, 2026, 7:08 AM  Orbán has become an icon in the global ’far-right’ movement. The Orbán government defines itself as both Christian-national and illiberal. 'Admirers' approve of his opposition to immigration and curtailing of LGBTQ+ rights, and applaud benefits to young families such as abolishing income tax for mothers with multiple children and providing state-backed loans to first-time homebuyers. Yet "such measures have not translated into youth support' for Orbán, who 'has drifted away' from partners in the European Union in favor of closer relations with Russia and China. Tisza has built his campaign on promises to end Orbán's 'drift' toward Russia and to 'revive the stagnating economy by recovering' billions in EU funds that are blocked. While many young people view Orbán's family support policies positively, their “very strong sense of justice is incompatible' with ’the authoritarian' exercise of power. “Young people, wake up!” Orbán said at a rally last week. “These are not times for taking risks, experimenting or trying new things. Believe me, today only Fidesz and my humble self can provide this country with security.” While Tisza 'leads in the polls’, its victory is far from assured. A generational gap 'is widening', Orbán has a lead among older voters and in much of the countryside. Loyal to the prime minister, Prépos, a retiree, said at one of Orbán’s recent campaign rallies that she was very happy with the government's pension policies, pension supplement for retirees, and that she's supporting Fidesz because it helps young people. “When I was young ... I didn’t get anything. Now young people have a lot of help,” she said. (Source: ABC News / Associated Press= U.S.)
by 'Spike'

Mar 27, 2026 14:13 IST  One of Europe's longest-serving leaders, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been the PM of Hungary since 2010, has urged that Nato alliance should join the US to end the conflict swiftly with Iran as soon as possible. He believes that any delay could spiral into a wider crisis with a fresh wave of refugees into Europe and far-reaching consequences for Europe and the world, particularly for smaller nations like Hungary. Orbán made the remarks in an interview with journalist Nawfal, a geopolitical observer himself. 'To go in, it's easy. To get out is almost impossible,' Orbán said, drawing on his experience witnessing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Energy vulnerability compounds the risk. As a landlocked nation poor in raw materials, Hungary suffered a 10 billion Euro economic hit when energy import costs surged during the Russia-Ukraine war. A renewed oil price spike from disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz would deliver another blow. "These are the main challenges, not how to reorganise the Middle East," Orbán said bluntly. "That's very nice, but that belongs to the big guys.’ Orbán warned that destabilisation could send migrants through Turkey and the Balkans toward Hungary's borders. Europe's earlier migration challenges, like the 2015 EU refugee crisis, has already left many nations in deep, deep trouble regarding identity and social cohesion, he noted. His statement comes even as the Nato alliance is divided over the war in Iran, as well as Trump's sabre-rattling over the Greenland. Other leaders - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Macron, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer - have emphasised that this is not Europe's war, and rejected direct military involvement or Nato's role in the Strait of Hormuz. Orbán emphasised, 'If this war ends fast, it will look like a success. If not, it becomes a disaster.' He acknowledged his own long friendship with Trump, even as he said that the US President represents a break from a tired, boring Western elite lacking new ideas. 'The Iran war is a consequence of the New World Order. Previously, the national interest was not common at all. But now big powers play an important role, and they act in their national interest. And that's what the US is doing,' Orbán explained. He argued that the Islamic Republic of Iran was 'the centre of a violent, anti-Semitic, anti-freedom network, suggesting that destroying its paramilitary capacity could advance peace'. However, he cautioned that failure to achieve this quickly could lead to an even bigger, complicated, longer war. As the conflict in Iran continues, with the US extending pauses on further strikes, Orbán's call for swift resolution and allied support shows that the stakes are high not just for the Middle East but for the whole world. (Source: India Today)

27/03/2026 - 07:49  Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán's officially declared wealth is fairly modest: some savings and a jointly owned villa in Budapest. 'The anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has labelled Hungary as the EU's most corrupt country alongside Bulgaria in its Corruption Perceptions Index'. It highlighted systemic risks in public procurement and limited competition for the largest contracts which make up five percent of Hungary's GDP. The government rejected the ranking and insists Hungarian procurement rules comply with EU standards. ’The EU has frozen 19 billion euros ($22 billion) in funds’ destined for Hungary ’over persistent concerns about corruption and respect for the rule of law’. While Orbán claims to live modestly, several members of his family have grown spectacularly rich since his return to power in 2010. His father Győző, who is 85, owns several building material companies as well as the historic Hatvanpuszta estate he had rebuilt into a luxurious manor worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Protected by high walls, the sprawling domain close to the premier's home village has two swimming pools and its own wildlife park, as well as extensive outbuildings. Orbán's son-in-law Tiborcz has become one of Hungary's most influential entrepreneurs through public lighting contracts won by his former company Elios. The deals were partly financed by the EU - until the EU anti-fraud office OLAF found serious irregularities. Tiborcz has since switched to real estate and tourism. Orbán's childhood friend Mészáros, a former plumber, has become Hungary's wealthiest man worth $4.8 billion according to Forbes magazine, with an empire of construction, energy, banking and media firms thriving on public contracts. ’Independent lawmaker Hadhazy' said graft has drained the equivalent of 2.84 billion euros ($3.27 billion) from state coffers every year since 2016. Magyar, Orbán's top rival in the upcoming vote, ’has pledged to recover the funds if elected’ and to investigate how the current leaders and their families have grown so rich. The wealth amassed by Orbán's inner circle is fuelling the increasingly palpable frustration of a population grappling with sluggish growth, high inflation and worsening public services. (Source: 'France 24 / AFP')

Germany
29 March 2026 3:39pm BST  Chrupalla, the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) co-leader has called for the withdrawal of all US soldiers from the country. He told a meeting yesterday in Saxony, that it was time to remove allied troops and nuclear weapons from Germany in order to pursue an independent foreign policy. Nearly 40,000 American troops are stationed in the country, which hosts more than a dozen major US military installations, including its European Command headquarters. Mr Chrupalla has previously claimed that Nato serves US interests too much. Yesterday, he also stressed that Germany should not be drawn into foreign wars and Spain was exactly right in deciding not to get involved in the Middle East conflict. The US president’s foreign policy, including his military action against Venezuela and Iran, has increasingly distanced the non-interventionist AfD from Washington. Mr Chrupalla’s comments put him at odds with the Trump administration, particularly over whether America should be able to use German bases for its military activities in the future. Germany’s Ramstein Air Base is being used by US forces as a hub to co-ordinate drone and missile strikes against Iran, attracting criticism from opposition politicians. The ’far-right’s' popularity is proving durable. A new poll released today showed the AfD and Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were tied for first place among German voters at 26 per cent each. The German chancellor has also been criticised for not having a consistent policy on the Israeli-US war against Iran. The Social Democrats – currently governing as a junior partner – are still languishing at a historic low of 14 per cent, (the centre-Left Greens were at 12 per cent, while the liberal Free Democrats were at 3 per cent). Meanwhile, a recent state poll in Saxony-Anhalt indicated that the 'far-right' was within striking distance of an absolute majority at the state level. (Source: The Telegraph – United Kingdom)

European Parliament
30/03/2026 - 12:32 GMT+2  Orbán still retains ’some’ supporters in the European Parliament and across the EU. Orbán's Fidesz belongs to the Patriots for Europe (PFE or Patriots), the third-largest in the European Parliament, and Orbán’s government enjoys support even beyond his political allies, with over a hundred MEPs hoping for his reappointment as prime minister. The Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), a ’far-right’ group in the Parliament, will officially support Our Homeland Movement, a minor nationalist force that is part of the group and polls around 6%. However, ESN MEPs say they admire Orbán for his hard line on migration, his anti-EU and anti-woke narrative. "I hope that Fidesz remains in government, ideally in a coalition with our partners, as a corrective force. It is no secret that we maintain good relations with Viktor Orbán," Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Froelich told. Orbán's opponent, Magyar, leader of the Tisza party is a member of The European People's Party, group which is in full support of his party. Magyar has found backing left-wing lawmakers. Renew Europe group President Hayer is reflecting a widely shared view in the hemicycle, where Hungarian elections are seen as the most important vote of the year. French Socialist MEP Ridel hopes that Orbán loses the elections 'to prevent him from holding hostage the EU'. The Greens will use their social media to call upon ’all Hungarians’ to go to the vote and bring this system down, ’a MEP from the group said’. The Left in the European Parliament looks forward to the fall of Orbán, 'a group representative told. European ’nationalist’ leaders, including France’s Le Pen and Italy’s Salvini, showed their support for the current Prime Minister during an event called The Patriots’ Grand Assembly on 23 March in Budapest. Within the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) some parties are endorsing Orbán, such as Poland’s Law and Justice and Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)
by ’Zsiros’

Kosovo
Monday 30 March 2026 12:06 BST  Kosovo has announced its intention to deploy troops to Gaza, joining a US-backed international security force established in the wake of last year's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The decision was formally approved by Kosovo's government today. The initiative, known as the "Board of Peace" under US President Trump, aims to maintain stability and support a transitional administration in the territory. We are ready to participate and help the people of Gaza, because we ourselves have been and are beneficiaries of international forces since 1999, Prime Minister Kurti said. Kosovo, a Balkan country of 1.6 million people, is an ally of the US which backed its independence from Serbia in 2008. Trump's Gaza plan, to which Israel and Hamas agreed in October, sees Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza and reconstruction starting as Hamas lays down its weapons. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

Russia
29.03.2026)  A detachment of ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet has arrived at Tanjung Priok port in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. The detachment includes the corvette Gromky, the submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and the sea tug Andrey Stepanov. Russia and Indonesia plan to carry out joint maneuvering and communications drills in the coming days. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Ukraine
28.03.2026  Zelenskyy said he secured diesel supplies for at least a year during his recent visit to the Middle East. Total supplies of diesel and gasoline for the entire country, including the army, amount to about 700,000 tonnes per month, he said. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

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Africa

Uganda
March 26, 2026 at 8:08 am  “We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war - on the side of Israel, Gen. Kainerugaba, chief of defense forces and son of President Museveni, said on the US social media company X. (Source: Middle East Monitor - location: London, United Kingdom)

Asia

China
March 25, 2026, 4:15 PM  Chinese shipping company Cosco has resumed bookings to send cargo containers to the Middle East. New bookings to the Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE will resume immediately. The service from Asia was suspended on March 4 because of the Iran conflict. Nearly 3,200 ships are currently anchored in the Gulf, according to the Financial Times. Tehran said yesterday that it would allow “non-hostile vessels” to transit the Strait of Hormuz. (Source: Arabian Gulf Business Insight - headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with a primary newsroom located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Iran
28 March 2026 19:27  Between February 28 and March 28, 2026, military and government facilities in at least 190 cities across 27 provinces of Iran were targeted by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes and missile attacks. The strikes targeted a wide range of installations, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bases, Basij militia centers, military airbases, missile facilities, police stations, judicial institutions, intelligence headquarters, army barracks, and special forces units. 6,180 government military personnel have been killed, the majority affiliated with the air force, the IRGC, and the Iranian army. The highest military casualties have been recorded in the provinces of Tehran, Kermanshah, Hormozgan, Lorestan, Alborz, Khuzestan, Kurdistan (Sanandaj), and Sistan and Baluchestan. The highest numbers of civilian casualties have been recorded in the provinces of Tehran, Hormozgan, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Fars, Alborz, Ilam, and Markazi. At least 720 civilians have been killed. Intensive airstrikes by Israeli and U.S. forces targeted military and government positions in 35 cities across the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan (Sanandaj), and West Azerbaijan (Urmia). At least 250 military bases and security centers were struck in these areas. At least 1,540 Iranian military and government personnel were killed in these four provinces alone. At least 107 civilians were killed in these attacks. (Source: Hengaw Organization for Human Rights - headquarters in Norway; NGO, reporting and documenting human rights violations in Iran's Kurdish-populated areas)

March 27, 2026 at 8:36 am  Iran has announced the mobilisation of one million fighters to counter what it describes as a suicidal US ground war on Iranian soil. According to reports, Tehran is particularly focused on defending the strategic Kharg Island, from where nearly 90 percent of Iran’s oil is exported. In addition to the million-man force already equipped for ground combat, the Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted a military source who noted a massive surge in applications from Iranian youth over the past several days. Volunteers are reportedly flooding recruitment centers for the Basij paramilitary force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the regular army, seeking to participate in the anticipated conflict. (Source: Middle East Monitor - 'financed by State of Qatar)

27 March 2026 11:31 (UTC +04:00)  The Israeli Air Force bombed in Yazd, Iran’s most central site for the production of naval missiles and mines, the military says. This is a site where most of the missiles and naval mines are developed by the Iranian navy forces, the military says. The facility was used by Iran to plan, develop, assemble, and store advanced missiles intended for launch from cruise vessels, submarines, and helicopters toward mobile and stationary maritime targets, the IDF says. (Source: APA - Azerbaijan)

27 Mar 2026  Russia is providing Iran with satellite and intelligence data on the locations of US warships and aircraft. Data on US military assets Iran is receiving most likely comes from Liana, Moscow’s only fully functional system of spy satellites. The [Liana] system has been created to spy on US carrier strike groups and other navy forces and for identifying them as targets, Luzin, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a US think tank, told. Russia also played a key role in the development of Iran’s space programme and its key satellite, the Khayyam launched in 2022 from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome. The 650kg satellite orbits the Earth at 500 kilometres and has a resolution of one metre. Moscow can, in theory, receive and process data from Iran’s optical imaging satellite and share data from its own several satellites, Luzin said. On Wednesday, Tehran claimed to have struck the Abraham Lincoln carrier with multiple cruise and ballistic missiles, but the Pentagon called the claim pure fiction. On Sunday, Iranian media claimed that a massive blaze was caused by a strike on a US destroyer refuelling in the Indian Ocean. Moscow and Tehran loudly proclaim their strategic partnership. They do not have a mutual defence clause. Moscow has not intervened in the conflict directly. But the arms supplies have been mutual. Russia has, for decades, supplied weaponry to Iran, including advanced air defence systems, trainer and fighter jets, helicopters, armoured vehicles and sniper rifles, worth billions of dollars. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Tehran has provided Moscow with ammunition and artillery shells, firearms and short-range ballistic missiles, helmets and flak jackets. There are the Shahed kamikaze drones – slow, noisy, yet cheap to manufacture – which have been launched on Ukrainian cities in swarms of dozens and then hundreds. Moscow has manufactured and modernised Shaheds, making them faster and deadlier, and equipping them with cameras, navigators and, occasionally, artificial intelligence modules. Now, some of the upgrades have made their way back to Iran. A Shahed drone ’with a pivotal Russian component’ launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah from southern Lebanon was able to hit a British airbase on Cyprus on March 1. ’It reportedly contained Kometa-B (Comet B), a Russian-made satellite navigation module’ that also acts as an anti-jamming shield, making drones more resistant to interference. Russia has also perfected the tactic of sending waves of real and decoy drones to exhaust and overwhelm Western-supplied air defence systems in Ukraine. These days, the scheme helps Iran hit targets in the Gulf, Western officials say. However, if Iran is suffering a shortage of drones – as some analysts believe it is – that would render the use of Russian tactics, as well as Russia-supplied satellite data useless, experts say. After four days of intensive strikes using up to 250 drones a day in early March, Iran has been launching only up to 50 drones a day, according to Mitrokhin, a researcher with Germany’s Bremen University. The Kremlin doesn’t pursue a breakthrough in this war, doesn’t help Iran break the United States and Israel, Suleymanov, an associate fellow at the New Eurasian Strategies Center, a US-British think tank, told. The current intelligence and military aid is more of a goodwill gesture, to show Tehran that despite the lack of formal commitments, Russia doesn’t leave its friend in need, he said. It seems that Trump’s assessment that Moscow “might be helping them a bit” may not be too far wide of the mark. (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

00:14, 27 Mar 2026  Iranian state media has reported that any hotel used by US forces in the region is a legitimate target. (Source: Mirror - United Kingdom)

26/03/2026 2:54 pm  In an official announcement reflecting Israeli escalation deep inside Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Katz confirmed today the killing of Admiral Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. This followed a precise airstrike by the Israeli military targeting a strategic site in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas. Tangsiri, who had led the navy since 2018, was one of the most prominent hardliners in the Iranian regime. He was also considered the chief architect of the fast boat strategy and mine warfare in the Persian Gulf. (Source: Voice of Emirates - United Arab Emirates ?)

25.03.2026  Iran’s army claimed today that it targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with coastal cruise missiles. The state-run IRNA news agency said that cruise missiles capable of striking coastal targets were launched toward the US carrier group, forcing it to change position. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Iraq
25/03/2026 3:56 pm  Seven fighters were killed and 13 others wounded in an airstrike targeting medical and military facilities inside the Habbaniyah airbase - the second such attack in less than 24 hours. A previous bombing targeted Popular Mobilization Forces positions, resulted in 15 deaths and 14 injuries. These attacks raise serious concerns that Iraqi territory is becoming an open arena for settling regional scores. The Iraqi government announced today that it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires in Baghdad and handed him a strongly worded protest note following the heavy airstrike that targeted the Habbaniyah military clinic in Anbar province. (Voice of the Emirates - United Arab Emirates ? ; Egypt ? )

Israel
26.03.2026  Israel says 5,229 people have been wounded in Iranian attacks since war onset. 114 people remain hospitalized, including 14 in serious condition. According to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, at least 19 people have been killed since the start of the war with Iran. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

March 25, 2026 5:00 a.m. EDT  Concern that Iran was amassing missiles to overwhelm defenses was a key factor in the push for war. Israel’s multilayered air defense system is considered among world’s best, fending off attacks from multiple fronts. Each layer is designed for a specific type of interception: Iron Dome for short-range rockets and artillery shells; David’s Sling for ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and medium-to-long-range rockets; and Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 for long-range ballistics. The expensive Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, developed by the U.S. Army, is a backup. A single Arrow missile costs about $3 million. David’s Sling interceptors cost around $700,000 each, experts say, and Iron Dome interceptors cost around $50,000 to $70,000. A THAAD interceptor costs about $15 million. The top level of Israel’s air defense network, the Arrow 3, is designed to intercept missiles outside the atmosphere. If it misses, Arrow 2 is used. An Israeli military official said that when planning the war, the IDF made sure it had enough interceptors to carry itself through a war it knew would take time. Recent strikes laid bare Israel’s vulnerability. In the first 23 days of the war, Israel has had a successful interception rate of about 92 percent. Shoshani, the IDF spokesman, said that at least 70 percent of Iran’s missile launchers and stockpile has been destroyed since the start of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. He also said Iran’s fire rate was reduced by 90 percent. He said that in June, Israel saw 300 missiles per day launched toward it; today, it’s about 30 on average, he said. (Source: The Washington Post - U.S.)

25 March 2026  The skies over Tel Aviv yesterday. (Source: Daily Mail - United Kingdom)
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Kurdistan
March 28, 2026, at 11:18 pm  Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today strongly condemned the drone attack targeting the residence of Kurdistan President Barzani in Duhok, describing the incident part of ongoing security threats facing the Kurdistan Region. In a statement, Iranian foreign minister Araghchi strongly denounced the strike on Barzani’s home in Duhok and also suggested that the attack could be linked to operations by the United States and Israel, alleging that such actions aim to undermine relations and create tensions between countries in the region. He reiterated that Iran rejects any attacks that threaten stability or target national figures in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. Türkiye's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fidan, held a phone call with the Kurdistan Region President Barzani today evening and strongly condemned the drone strike on Barzani’s residence in Duhok and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to supporting the security and stability of both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. (Source: Kurdistan 24)

Pakistan
Mar 26, 2026 17:44 IST  Israel removed Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Qalibaf from its hit list after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target them. Last week, Israel's Defence Minister Katz said that he and Netanyahu had authorised the military to target officials without prior authorisation. The two officials have been removed from the list for up to four or five days, the The Wall Street Journal said, citing US officials, but did not mention any Pakistani role in it. Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are playing the role of mediator between Tehran and Washington to end the Iran war. Islamabad has maintained direct contact with both Washington and Tehran and it has also been seen as a likely venue if peace talks are held. (Source: India Today)

Persian Gulf
26.03.2026  US forces in Middle East operate from hotels and sites across temporary locations as Iran strikes bases, according to the New York Times. Due to Iranian attacks on multiple military sites, thousands of US troops dispersed across temporary locations, Pentagon officials say. Strikes at Port Shuaiba (Kuwait) killed six US service members and destroyed a tactical operations center. Other bases in Kuwait including Ali Al Salem and Camp Buehring, Al Udeid in Qatar and Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia sustained extensive damage to aircraft, fuel, and communications facilities. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Philippines
March 26, 2026 5:23 AM  Due to a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Manila that came into force in September, the Japan Self-Defense Forces will send a large contingent of troops to the Philippines for the first time since World War II as it joins the major Balikatan drills-Tagalog joint military exercise next month. (Source: Miami Herald / Newsweek = U.S.)

Yemen
March 28, 2026 4:22 PM  The Israeli military said its aerial defense systems had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen. Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, said the attacks from Yemen would continue until the aggression ends - a reference to both the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and Israel's campaign against Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group in Lebanon. (Source: Miami Herald / Newsweek = U.S.)

(28 March 2026)  Houthis in Yemen announce entry into the conflict if any alliance joins the US and Israel. It looks like this is aimed at deterrence. (Source: InvestingLive - Cyprus)

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Americas:

Caribbean

Haiti
March 31, 2026, Tuesday // 11:09  At least 70 people have been killed and around 30 others injured after a violent gang assault in Haiti’s Artibonite region. Officials said the attack took place around 3 a.m. on Sunday in the Jean-Denis area and was carried out by armed members of the Gran Grif gang designated as terrorist organization by Washington. No major gang leaders have been captured so far. Since 2021, gang violence in Haiti has displaced over one million people, contributed to worsening food insecurity, and caused nearly 20,000 deaths nationwide, Haitian security forces, supported by a UN-backed international mission and a US private military contractor, have increased operations against armed gangs controlling large parts of the capital. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

North America

United States
March 31, 2026, 5:20 p.m. ET  US deploys 3rd aircraft carrier - the USS George HW Bush - to Middle East, with a fleet of support ships in tow. The Bush carrier group departed from its base in Norfolk, Virginia. It will join two other aircraft carrier groups already in the Middle East - the USS Gerald Ford, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. (Source: The New York Post - U.S.)

Mar 31 2026  Foreign central banks have slashed their holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve to the lowest level since 2012. In the wake of the Iran war, the value of Treasuries held in custody at the New York Fed by official institutions - a group that is largely made up of central banks but also includes governments and international institutions - has dropped by $82bn since February 25 to $2.7tn, according to Fed data. Oil importers such as Turkey, India and Thailand are probably among those selling Treasuries as they pay higher prices for oil, which is denominated in dollars. The surge in energy prices triggered by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has upended the finances of countries that rely on oil imports, as well as boosting the dollar across the board. Foreign central banks are selling US bonds at a time when the Treasury market is already under pressure as traders worry that the Middle East conflict could drive up inflation. That has pushed yields on both two- and 10-year Treasuries up this month by the most since 2024, increasing borrowing costs for the government as well as businesses and households. It also comes at a time when some central banks have intervened in foreign exchange markets to prop up their currencies, a move that typically involves selling US dollars. A number of countries don’t want their currencies to weaken further because it pushes up the local currency price of oil - and either means more fiscal subsidies or more pain for households. Turkey’s central bank has sold $22bn of foreign government securities from its foreign currency reserves since February 27. Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries could also be selling those assets to make up for oil revenue, though they represent a small portion of overall Treasury holders. Treasuries are relied upon by global central banks as the pre-eminent reserve asset, since the $30tn market for the securities is the biggest and deepest in the world. Some investors said foreign central banks’ Treasuries holdings often drift lower as the dollar strengthens - as they seek to rebalance their assets and defend their currencies - but others said the data could be a sign holders are drawing on funds amid the market volatility. The data suggested foreign official holders could be stocking ’the war chest’ by cashing out Treasuries. Foreign official holdings of Treasuries held at the Fed have declined in recent years, as managers of foreign currency reserves have diversified away from dollars. That has made foreign private investors an increasingly important part of the market. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

Tuesday 31/03/2026  The US military’s request for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war has met with a cool reception in the US Congress. President Trump has not yet sent a request for the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the sum and his administration has made clear that the number could change. Trump wants Arab states to help pay for Iran war as Congress resists funding. US president Trump has told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Washington would then press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait. (Source: The Arab Weekly - headquarters in London, United Kingdom)

29.03.2026 3rd  ‘No Kings’ protest across US, voicing opposition to the Trump administration. The events were held yesterday in all 50 states and 16 countries. Organizers, including anti-authoritarian groups Indivisible and 50501, labor unions, and other grassroots organizations, reported more than 3,000 events nationwide. Critics, as reported by the Washington Post, cite his new conflict with Iran, rising gas and grocery prices, costly tariffs affecting everyday goods, and long airport security lines caused by government gridlock. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

29 March 2026 11:49 (UTC +04:00)  Iran has shot down a US Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft. It is a highly advanced reconnaissance platform used for airborne surveillance, command, and control operations. It plays a critical role in monitoring airspace, coordinating military assets, and detecting potential threats over long distances. (Source: APA - Azerbaijan)
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March 28, 2026 4:22 PM  U.S. casualties continued to rise as the war entered its second month: An Iranian strike on the Prince Sultan military base in Saudi Arabia injured two dozen American service members, two of them seriously, yesterday. The attack, which involved missiles and drones, also significantly damaged at least two U.S. KC-135 military refueling planes. (Source: Miami Herald / Newsweek = U.S.)

Mar 28, 2026, 12:17 PM EDT  More American forces are reaching the Middle East, with a Navy ship carrying about 2,500 Marines having now arrived in the region, U.S. Central Command announced today. The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, as well as the elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit that are aboard, are based in Japan. They were conducting exercises in the area around Taiwan when the order came to deploy to the Middle East almost two weeks ago. Central Command said that in addition to the Marines, the Tripoli also brings transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault assets to the region. The USS Boxer and two other ships, along with another Marine Expeditionary Unit, have also been ordered to the region from San Diego. Central Command said yesterday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the war, 10 were considered seriously wounded, 13 service members have been killed. The Islamic Republic’s overall goal is not killing American service members. It’s inflicting economic pain on U.S. allies and the world, Jeffrey, who is now a scholar at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said. (Source: Huffpost / AP = U.S.)

March 28, 2026 - 10:17:24  Trump says 'Cuba is next'. Commenting on Iran, Trump said that their leaders are dead. And: 'Their supreme leader is no longer supreme. He's dead. The son is either dead or in very bad shape because no one has heard from him. I think he's saying, 'just keep me out of this.'' He reiterated his frustration over the refusal by North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to join the war. 'We are very disappointed, by the way, with NATO. They did not come to our aid,' he said. He went on to say, "I always said NATO is a paper tiger." "I always said we help NATO, but they will never help us," he said. (Source: The Koreas Herald / Yonhap = South Korea)

22:03 GMT, 27 March 2026  The US has already launched 850 Tomahawks, each costing between $2 million and $3.6 million depending on the variant, and prized because they allow the Navy to strike targets up to 1,000 miles away without risking pilots. Concerns about the stockpiles are now being whispered within Pentagon walls due to the difficulty in manufacturing the cruise missiles. Only a few hundred Tomahawks are made each year. Only 57 were purchased last year, according to the defense budget. The Pentagon has also fired more than 1,000 air-defense interceptor missiles in response to Iranian retaliatory strikes across the region, including from the Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems. These are some of the most advance in the world and the US also has a limited stockpile of these munitions, which cost far more than the cheaper missiles and drones fired by the Islamic regime. multiple sources told Reuters today that the US can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed one-third of the Islamic Republic's arsenal. (Source: Daily Mail - United Kingdom)

Mar 26, 2026 14:35 IST  Even superior forces still face risks in modern combat. Iran's own air force, consisting of a motley crew of old and new US and Russian models, has been almost entirely knocked out. Over the course of the conflict, the US has lost at least 16 aircraft, including drones and jets, with several more damaged. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, an American twin-engine fighter capable of both air-superiority and ground strike roles entered service in 1976, and cost up to $100 million a unit for the latest EX variant. On the night of March 1, three F-15's which were engaging Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones over the skies of Kuwait were shot down in rapid succession - 'mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences' - with all six crew members successfully ejecting from their stricken fighter jets. The most likely culprit was a Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 jet, whose pilot launched three missiles at the aircraft. At least one Stratotanker - American air-to-air refuelling aircraft that entered service between 1957 - 1967, derived from the commercial Boeing 707 aircraft - was lost after it crashed in western Iraq on March 12, killing all six crew members abroad. CBS news reported that on the same day, a second KC-135 made an emergency landing at Israel's Tel Aviv airport. Officials told CBS that two aircraft may have been involved in a mid-air collision. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least five more Stratotankers were damaged on the ground after an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia on March 13. The first time that an F-35, which entered service 10 years ago, has been hit by enemy ground fire was on March 19. It was forced to make an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East. Bloomberg reported that the most likely culprit was an Iranian-operated infrared-guided 358 surface-to-air missile battery, which has a small, mobile launcher. They can hit targets at altitudes up to 25,000 feet and, because they have no radar, aircraft will have no warning they are being tracked. At least a dozen MQ-9's have been lost in combat as part of the war against Iran. The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (also called Predator) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that first entered service in 2007. The Reaper is used primarily for reconnaissance, as well striking ground targets with its complement of Hellfire missiles. The Reaper drones, each of whom cost about $16 million each, were lost either to Iranian missiles while in flight or were destroyed on the ground by incoming fire. Key ground-based radar sets have also been hit due to a combination of Iranian action and operational accidents. As a result of an Iranian strike, the long-range AN/FPS-132 radar, located near Umm Dahal in Qatar is the most significant such loss. The structure, built at a cost of $1.1 billion, designed to provide early warning coverage across a 3,000-mile radius, had sustained damage to its main radar structure. A AN/TPY-2 radar, the primary sensor for a US THAAD missile defence battery, was struck and apparently destroyed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan during the second week of the war. This radar, valued at roughly $300–500 million. Other AN/TPY-2 radars associated with THAAD systems were also reported hit or damaged at sites in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. (Source: India Today)

Mar 25, 2026, 01:47 PM  Army raises maximum enlistment age to 42. The announcement comes as the Army continues efforts to widen its recruiting pool after falling short of its Regular Army enlistment goals in 2022 and 2023 before rebounding in 2024. The upper limit of the Army’s previous allowable enlistment age was 35, but waivers were sometimes granted for older enlistees. The Air Force and Navy allow recruits over 40, while the Marine Corps caps enlistment at 28 but allows hopefuls who are 29 or over to request waivers. (Source: Army Times - U.S.)

Wednesday 25/03/2026  Despite President Trump’s talk about a possible deal that would end the war with Iran soon, the Pentagon is expected to send thousands of additional soldiers. It was reported in recent days that the US will send thousands of Marines and sailors aboard the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, along with its Marine Expeditionary Unit and accompanying warships to the Middle East. The 82nd Airborne Division, which can deploy within 18 hours of receiving orders, specialises in carrying out parachute assaults. The Pentagon is reportedly set to send between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers currently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Prior to the additional forces being sent to the region, there were 50,000 US troops there. The US has so far carried out strikes against 9,000 targets inside Iran since US and Israeli military operations against Iran started on February 28. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published yesterday found that 35 percent of Americans approve of the US strikes on Iran, down from 37 percent in a survey conducted last week. Some 61 percent disapproved of the strikes, compared to 59 percent last week. Thirteen US troops have been killed so far in the war and 290 have been wounded, a US official said. While ten remain seriously wounded, 255 troops have returned to duty. The New York Times reported yesterday that Washington sent Tehran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12 said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan. It said the plan would include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, ceasing support for proxy groups and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran named Zolqadr, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and senior figure in the hardline political faction yesterday to replace the powerful head of the Supreme National Security Council, Larijani, killed in US-Israeli strikes last week. Tehran is now demanding significant concessions from the United States if mediation efforts lead to serious negotiations. In any talks with the US, Iran would not only demand an end to the war but also prohibitive conditions, including guarantees against future military action, compensation for wartime losses and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran would also refuse to negotiate any limitations to its ballistic missile programme. Tehran has denied that direct talks have taken place. Iran’s parliament speaker Qalibaf on Monday dismissed such reports as fake news. (Source: The Arab Weekly - with a primarily London-based editorial team, publication printed in the United Kingdom, U.S., and United Arab Emirates)

March 24, 2026 11:18 IST  Yesterday at 7:22 pm local time an explosion shook Valero's oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, sending smoke and fire into the sky. The refinery  employs around 770 workers and produces 435,000 barrels per day of crude oil, which is then processed into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Port Arthur is a city with a population of about 56,000. The port is a critical piece of the US’s fuel supply chain. (Source: The Week - India)
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South America

Colombia
(Tuesday), March 24, 2026 1:58 AM ET  A military transport plane with 128 people on board crashed shortly after taking off yesterday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 soldiers. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru. The Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020. Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given less flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews. (Source: NPR / The Associated Press = U.S.)

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Hungary
24 March 2026  The network actor: Panyi (Source: Sovereignty Protection Office - Hungary)

Magyarország
2026.03.24  A hálózati személy. A Szuverenitásvédelmi Hivatal a magyarországi politikai nyomásgyakorlás és dezinformációs kampányok vizsgálata során az Európai Bizottság és az Egyesült Államok demokrata hátterű megbízói által finanszírozott és mozgatott hálózati személyként azonosította be Panyit. A saját bevallása szerint külföldi titkosszolgálatokkal együttműködő Panyihoz kapcsolódó szervezetek szintén a transzatlanti nyomásgyakorló hálózatnak a részei. Panyi kapcsolatrendszerének kiépülésében jelentős szerepet játszottak az Egyesült Államokban elnyert ösztöndíjak, valamint a Transparency International által szervezett szakmai programok. Kutatói tevékenységét egy, az Atlantic Council égisze alatt működő szervezetnél végezte. Az Atlantic Council tagja a 2022-es választások kapcsán feltárt tiltott külföldi finanszírozásokban kulcsszerepet játszó Korányi, illetve az egykori baloldali miniszterelnök, Bajnai is. Panyi elsősorban a Direkt36 és a VSquare portálokhoz kötődik. A Direkt36 korábban a Transparency International Magyarország támogatásával működött, finanszírozói között pedig olyan brüsszeli és Soros-pénzekből működő szervezetek is megtalálhatók, mint a Sigrid Rausing Trust vagy a Civitates Alapítvány. A portál 2026-ban Berlinbe költözött. A német főváros több elemzés szerint a Magyarországgal szemben végrehajtott dezinformációs és politikai műveletek stratégiai gócpontja. A VSquare a visegrádi térségre fókuszáló kezdeményezésként jött létre, feladata, hogy varsói központjából fogja össze az Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) nevű politikai nyomásgyakorló szervezet közép-európai partnereit. Az amerikai hírszerzési szakemberek által létrehozott OCCRP az elmúlt években a nemzetközi politikai küzdelmek egyik fontos eszközévé vált azzal, hogy hetvenöt különböző oknyomozó portálból, ügynökségből álló globális hálózattá formálódott. Vezetője, Sullivan nyíltan elismerte, hogy szervezete 'legális pénzmosással' foglalkozik, amerikai demokrata köröktől és befektetőktől származó forrásokat juttat el a partnerszervezetekhez, amelyek a finanszírozásért cserébe a megrendelők számára fontos témákat dolgoznak fel. A Szuverenitásvédelmi Hivatal értékelése szerint Panyi ebben a rendszerben nem önálló szereplőként, hanem egy nemzetközi politikai és média-infrastruktúra végrehajtójaként jelenik meg. A körülötte kirajzolódó kapcsolatrendszer ezért nem egy független újságíró pályaívét, hanem egy politikai nyomásgyakorlást folytató hálózati személy portréját mutatja. (Forrás: Szuverenitásvédelmi Hivatal - Magyarország)

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Space

Around Earth
Tue 31 Mar 2026 12.15 CEST  A satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control. In the space around Earth more than 30,000 objects are in orbit. That figure is rising exponentially. Soviet Union scientists achieved a historic breakthrough in 1957, sending a metal ball with four radio antennae – called Sputnik – so high and speeding so fast that it would reach such a velocity that it would spin in orbit around Earth. Space race gathered pace between the United States and the Soviets. The Apollo 11 mission successfully landed humans on the moon in 1969. By the end of the 1970s, over 14,000 tracked objects had been launched – with around 7,000 still in orbit. The 1980s and 1990s were especially busy decades for launches. Over decades, other countries joined. Around 20,000 objects were being tracked in orbit at the turn of the millennium. Space launches soared in the 2020s. Today, Earth’s orbit is packed with around 32,000 satellites and fragments, all circling the planet at immense speed, even after accounting for the fact that a lot of satellites have fallen out of orbit and been destroyed. Reports suggest that by the end of this decade there could more than 60,000 active satellites in space - scientific and military spacecraft objects, publicly and privately owned, placed into different orbital lanes, each serving a variety of purposes, including communication and weather satellites, navigation satellites and Earth observation technology that takes images of the surface. Over time, satellites gradually lose altitude due to atmospheric drag, eventually reentering the atmosphere and usually being destroyed. Of the 60,000+ objects ever launched into space, more than half have since decayed and reentered. In the 21st century, the focus of space exploration shifted from government-led missions to a private age of satellites, private companies began to launch satellites at unprecedented rates, fundamentally changing how people access and utilise Earth's orbit. This transition was accelerated by companies such as Musk's SpaceX, which launched its first Starlink satellites in 2019, marking the beginning of the ’mega-constellation’ era. Unlike the solitary, school-bus-sized satellites of the past, these private ventures rely on thousands of ’smaller’, mass-produced spacecraft launched in ’trains’ to provide ’global high-speed internet’. By 2026, the number of active satellites has exploded, with other private players such as Amazon joining in. Space debris - often called space junk - is there too; discarded rocket stages and the remnants of defunct satellites, as well as fragments from collisions between two satellites. The US and Russia, whose count includes all former Soviet Union launches, are responsible for the biggest number of orbital objects by a long stretch. Yet only China and France have launched over 1,000 objects into orbit, with several others responsible for a handful of satellites. Russia has only launched 284 objects into space in the 2020s – 1% of its total. The US and China are becoming increasingly dominant players. The US has launched 49% of its total in the 2020s, China 36%. Still, these new mega-constellations have significantly added to the complexity of managing orbital traffic in an increasingly crowded space. A satellite can have different speeds and heights throughout its lifetime. The surge in orbital activity has created a significant collision risk. There have already been crashes, including a 2009 event where a US satellite hit a defunct Russia military satellite. Tens of thousands of tiny fragments of metal are now spinning at high velocities. There is a genuine threat of a chain reaction from satellites smashing into each other. The big fear is that future collisions will cause a domino effect where Earth’s orbit becomes cluttered with tiny, high-speed bits of metal. The cascade potential could create a near-impenetrable layer of debris that would make space launches so dangerous it would essentially trap humans on Earth. The current system of tracking satellites only works as it relies on constant cooperation. Satellite operators move their craft daily to avoid collisions. If they stopped, it would take only days or weeks for the situation to spiral. Getting rid of large defunct satellites would help reduce the risk. Space agencies are actively testing ways to deorbit satellites, including by capturing them with nets or a robotic arm attached to another satellite, or by shooting them off course with high-powered lasers. (Source: The Guardian - United Kingdom)

International Space Station
Monday 23 March 2026 14:44 GMT  The International Space Station (ISS) has captured NASA photographs, which were taken on 27 December, 2025, which appear to show Russian ballistic missiles being fired towards Kyiv. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
Video

Moon
(3 April 2026)  The Artemis II mission plans to take the astronauts further into space that humans have been before - more than 7,600 km beyond the Moon - before gravity swings them back. Artemis II leaves Earth's orbit on track for far side of the Moon. The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission have now left the Earth's orbit, after their Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for a final push towards the Moon. The five minute and 55 second engine burn is known as the translunar injection (TLI). Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again. It is the first time since 1972 that humans have travelled outside of the Earth's orbit.  The team have run hundreds of thousands of simulations to ensure that they are able to get the crew home safely, Orion programme manager Hu said before the launch. In the event of an emergency, the U-turn is the fastest way home in the first 36 hours after the TLI. After that it can be just as quick, and often simpler, to stay on course around the Moon and fall back to Earth, he added. The astronauts' orange suits can provide life support for up to six days in the event of an emergency. In the first public video conference with the crew since the launch, Commander Wiseman said as the spacecraft moved away from Earth they were afforded a spectacular view. The astronauts said in their maiden video call they had been glued to the window as the view changed before them. As Orion surges into deep space, the Earth is shrinking to a small blue and white marble behind them, while the Moon grows from a bright disc into a heavily cratered world filling the frame of the windows. On about the sixth day of the mission, as Orion cruises beyond the Moon, the astronauts will get to see a total solar eclipse. The Moon will slide directly in front of the Sun so its bright face is completely covered to reveal its normally concealed shimmering halo, with Earth hanging off to one side. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

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Black Sea

26/03/2026  Crude oil tanker Altura, with about 1 million barrels of crude ​oil sailing from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to Istanbul was hit by a naval drone 33 km from the Bosphorus strait near Istanbul, today morning. The attack took place just outside Turkish territorial waters. The attack had targeted the ship's engine room. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Europe

Hungary
26 March 2026  Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán’s dynamic tour of the country, which the opposition did not expect on this scale, is drawing crowds in every town. Is Hungarian opposition already preparing a Plan B in case of defeat? Transcripts of conversations intercepted have been widely circulated in the European media: Szijjártó talks to Lavrov, ’supposedly selling him the secrets of EU Council meetings at ministerial level’. It is difficult to find any real scandal in contacts with Lavrov or great secrets in the Hungarian government’s requests to the Russian government regarding the situation in Slovakia. The conversation took place in 2020. Szijjártó emphasises that as many as 80 people are present at Council meetings and they all have mobile phones so it is difficult to speak about any special secrets there. The topics discussed there are widely reported in the media by the participants beforehand, and discussed at press conferences after the meetings. The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured in an official statement of the “full transparency” of diplomatic activities and “loyalty to European Union partners”. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise. The real scandal is that Panyi - an activist with ’non-governmental organisations, financed from abroad' and opposition media outlets - is alleged to have passed on the foreign minister’s telephone number to one of Europe’s foreign intelligence services. This is the same man, who published the transcript of the conversation from 2020. Observers say his actions bear no resemblance to journalism, let alone investigative journalism. The weekly Mandiner received an email on the matter which contained a recording of a conversation in which Panyi allegedly passes on the minister’s telephone number. From context it may be assumed the conversation took place last year. The letter’s authenticity has been confirmed and reveals that Panyi and other people associated with the opposition party TISZA are in contact with foreign secret services. Panyi not only works with TISZA politicians but is also a friend of Orbán (no connection to Viktor Orbán), who is tipped to become Hungary’s foreign minister should TISZA’s Magyar win. The unconventional move taken by opposition figures to discredit a key FIDESZ politician may indicate that the opposition’s plan is falling apart. The attempt to create the impression, using opinion polls that the outcome was already decided, has failed. (Polls are unreliable in Hungary and have been wrong on numerous occasions). Orbán weathered Magyar’s attacks and launched a counter-offensive. The big showdown at the rally on March 15 did not result in a triumph for TISZA, and there is evidence that Viktor Orbán attracted more supporters. His dynamic tour of the country, which the opposition did not expect on this scale, is drawing crowds in every town. The focus of the campaign has shifted to issues of security, energy supplies, and attitudes towards the war and Ukraine. A very strong surge of support for FIDESZ emerged from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Hungary. Polish President Nawrocki broke ranks and, despite attacks at home, visited Budapest and backed the Hungarian Prime Minister. A visit by US Vice President Vance is expected.     The opposition has therefore decided to resort to a smear campaign: - wiretaps thrown onto the table in a sensationalist tone, overt interference by the secret services of other countries, a false plot, alleged ’leak about a fake assassination attempt on Orbán' - likely concocted by Magyar’s Polish political friends. The common denominator: Creating the artificial impression that the elections are neither fair nor lawful, laying the groundwork for action following Viktor Orbán’s victory. The European establishment will likely attempt to intervene and refuse to recognise these elections, seeking to have the results annulled. It has growing experience in this: The annulment of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania and the attempt to refuse to recognise the result of the presidential elections in Poland. As early as last Monday, European Commission spokeswoman Hipper spoke of deep concern over press reports regarding the ’absolutely unacceptable’ talks between Szijjártó and Lavrov. Behind the scenes in EU institutions are voices suggesting that if the allegations are confirmed, Hungary ’could face serious consequences, including political sanctions or restricted access to certain information and decision-making processes’ within the EU. There are also suggestions that, regardless of the election result, Brussels will attempt to oust Prime Minister Orbán. Today, he is effectively the last major obstacle to the extra-treaty restructuring of the Union towards an even more centralised structure, with even more limited sovereignty for nation states. Aaltola, a Finnish politician and member of the European People’s Party (EPP) group – which includes the members from Tisza Party – wrote in a post published on X that ’the European Union would intervene in the Hungarian elections’ through legal means should FIDESZ win. He is already putting forward claims of ’rigged’ elections. The politician cites Article 279 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which would allow him to request an extraordinary measure from the Court of Justice of the European Union. The 279 article mentioned ‘provisional measures.’ This means that Brussels’ plan for Hungary is simple: Either it will succeed in defeating Orbán, or it will attempt not to recognise the election results. As can be seen, what is at stake is not only who will govern Hungary, but also whether voters in this country still have a real choice. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)
by Karnowski

March 26, 2026 7:03 pm CET  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government accused journalist Panyi of being a spy. '[What’s] serious is that this Hungarian journalist, who maintains active ties with foreign services, belongs to the innermost circles of the Tisza Party,' FM Szijjártó said in a Facebook video. 'Panyi … spied against his own country in cooperation with a foreign state,' Minister of Prime Minister’s Office Gulyás said today at a press briefing. Previously, Orbán accused EU institutions of interfering financially in the Hungarian election campaign to prevent him from being reelected. Szijjártó and Gulyás, both members of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, have publicly accused the Tisza party and Ukraine of being involved. Later today, Gulyás linked the probe to another espionage case with two more alleged spies involved, both of whom 'were trained abroad, maintained contacts, and moved in and out of the Ukrainian embassy.' (Source: Politico - U.S.)

(26 March 2026, about 18h, CET)  Viktor Orbán's Fidesz government in Hungary stands accused of mass voter intimidation in a film aired today evening at a Budapest cinema and on YouTube ahead of 12 April parliamentary elections. The documentary film presents the results of a six-month investigation by 'independent' filmmakers and reporters. The campaign has been shrouded by almost daily claims alleging domestic and foreign plots to undermine a fair vote. A significant proportion of Hungary's Roma minority live in deep poverty. According to Hungary's state-supported Maltese charity, 270,000 of them live in the 300 poorest settlements in Hungary. 'One of the most shocking allegations made by several characters in the film is that crack or smok – a cheap and highly addictive synthetic drug widely used in poor villages - is also being used to buy votes'. "Hungary under the Fidesz government has some of the toughest drug criminalisation laws in Europe". To tackle the crack epidemic, the Delta programme of the Hungarian police was set up in March 2025. Fidesz officials, including the prime minister, allege interference by the EU and Ukraine to prevent a fifth consecutive Orbán victory. "We will not abandon the national interest, even if there is very crude foreign intelligence interference in the Hungarian elections with the participation of Brussels.' Yesterday, 'the Median agency reported a 58% to 35% lead for Tisza.' "The government-funded Nézöpont put Fidesz ahead by 46% to 40%." (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
Note: Before the film was released on YouTube, the broadcaster already shared details about it.

25.03.2026  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a Facebook post announced that Hungary would begin reducing gas deliveries to Ukraine and instead store remaining volumes domestically, citing concerns over energy security. Ukraine halted deliveries of energy resources via the Druzhba pipeline. Until Ukraine provides oil, it will not receive gas from Hungary, Orbán said, accusing Kyiv of blocking the operation of the Druzhba pipeline and attacking infrastructure supplying Hungary. Hungary has maintained that it must break the oil blockade and secure stable energy supplies while also preserving regulated fuel prices domestically, which Orbán said remain among the lowest in Europe. Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of intentionally blocking shipments to gain political leverage and have since decided to suspend diesel fuel supplies to Ukraine in response. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

23.03.2026  Hungary’s foreign minister has denied allegations that for years he shared confidential EU information with Russia, calling the reports fake and lies. 'Fake news as always,' Szijjártó wrote yesterday on US social media platform X. 'You are telling lies in order to support Tisza Party to have a pro-(Ukraine) war puppet government in Hungary,' he added, referring to the main opposition party ahead of the country’s April 12 parliamentary elections. He said the allegations were part of Ukrainian propaganda aimed at supporting the opposition and influencing the election outcome. A story in The Washington Post, cited by multiple European outlets, said that Szijjártó regularly briefed Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on closed-door discussions held during EU Council meetings. 'EU Commission spokesperson Hipper called the allegations greatly concerning'. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Denmark
March 25, 2026, Wednesday // 09:00D  Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats recorded their poorest election result in more than a century. The vote delivered 84 seats to the left bloc in the 179-seat Folketing, compared with 77 for right-wing parties, setting the stage for complex coalition negotiations. Frederiksen, who has led Denmark since 2019, signaled she intends to remain in office. Her party is projected to secure a vote share to around 21.9 percent - 38 seats, a sharp drop from the 50 won four years ago. The outcome reflects growing dissatisfaction among voters, highlights the strength of anti-immigration sentiment. Domestic issues dominated: rising living costs, debates over taxation and dissatisfaction with welfare policies shifted attention away from foreign policy 'achievements' - navigating relations with US President Trump and Europe’s response to the war in Ukraine. The result underscores a shift in voter priorities, with domestic concerns taking precedence over international issues and leaving Denmark facing a period of political bargaining. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

France
24/03/2026 - 18:58 GMT+1  'A fake Euronews-style article and website claiming that Hungary's opposition leader Magyar insulted Trump is circulating online as part of a wider campaign researchers have linked to Storm-1516, a Russian disinformation operation. 'The article, which utilises a real byline and appeared on a fake Euronews website that has since been taken down, claims that Magyar delivered a blistering critique of Trump at a campaign rally. Among other claims, the article says Magyar called Trump a senile grandpa and promised to undo key agreements made with the US, should Magyar win parliamentary elections in Hungary scheduled on 12 April. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

Germany
26.03.2026  German parliament 'approves measures to combat high gas prices': Move includes stricter rules on price increases at gas stations - for a limited time, price increases will be permitted only once a day, at noon. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Greece
March 23, 2026  Souda Naval Base is one of the most important US Navy bases in the world. At least three men have been arrested over the past year for illicitly taking pictures of American warships at the Souda Naval Base on Crete. Iranian handlers were specifically interested in the movements of the US Navy and Air Force. Since January, the Greek National Intelligence Service and the Greek police have arrested several foreign nationals spying on US military movements at Souda Naval Base on the island of Crete. A 26-year-old Azerbaijani with a Polish passport had taken some 5,000 photographs of Souda Naval Base and the movements of US Navy warships. He had been sending the material to an unknown recipient through specialized cryptographic software. The second spy, a 36-year-old Georgian man, was arrested in February. On his person, Greek authorities found photographs of US Navy and Air Force assets from Souda Naval Base. A third spy - the 58-year-old Polish man - was arrested on March 12. Greek law enforcement officers found binoculars, data storage devices, multiple SIM cards, a laptop, a tablet, as well as handwritten notes with his observations in his possession. A digital forensics investigation revealed photographs of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, a guided-missile submarine, F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets, KC-135 Stratotankers, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. The spy was transmitting the information to at least 10 unknown people. Using spies to snap pictures often amounts to a waste of resources. The global strategic landscape is largely transparent: access to commercial satellites is easy, X accounts monitor the movement of warships and combat aircraft with surprising precision, and maritime traffic websites map out naval traffic. American and Israeli intelligence officers have managed to recruit assets to penetrate Tehran’s political, military, and intelligence establishment. As a result, the country’s head of state is dead and its senior leadership has been decimated. Iran’s attempts to gather intelligence on its enemies seem amateurish by comparison. (Source: The National Interest - U.S.)

European Commission
Mar 25, 2026 - 20:26  Who recorded and why a phone call between der Leyen’s chief spinmeister, Henman, and Politico reporter Fortuna? Fortuna wanted to know whether the Commission was pressuring Ukraine to allow EU inspectors access to the damaged Druzhba pipeline, which supplies both Hungary and Slovakia with oil. 'One theory is that whoever is behind it were sending a message to der Leyen that they have more. (Source: Euractiv - Belgium)

March 25, 2026 1:37 pm CET  'Euro-speach': 'Comitology'. The General Court in Luxembourg ruled today in favor of ClientEarth, an NGO that challenged the Commission’s refusal in 2021 to provide information it requested about the renewed approval of cypermethrin - a substance known to harm bees and fish. The NGO had asked to see the positions shared by EU countries in closed-door meetings. At EU level, country representatives and the Commission regularly authorize chemicals in private committee meetings through a procedure known as comitology - a system now likely to face fresh pressure in Brussels to open up. It adds to a growing line of cases testing how far transparency rules stretch when institutions argue disclosure could disrupt internal deliberations. Today's ruling is the latest in a string of judgments where the General Court has found the Commission has not been forthcoming enough with access to documents. In 2024, the General Court found that the Commission was not transparent enough when it published Covid vaccine contracts, choosing to redact large parts of the documents. The Commission is currently fighting that ruling at the EU's top court. In May 2025, the court found that the EU executive was wrong to block access to the text messages exchanged between Pfizer CEO Bourla and Commission President der Leyen at the height of the Covid pandemic. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

Greenland
25.03.2026  Guillot, commander of US Northern Command, told a Senate hearing on March 19 that the US is seeking to extend its military footprint beyond Pituffik Space Base, the former Thule Air Base in northern Greenland. Analysts say potential sites could include Narsarsuaq in the south, Kangerlussuaq in the southwest, and areas near Pituffik - all of which retain strategic infrastructure such as airfields or deep-water ports dating back to Cold War-era US military presence. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
25/03/2026 - 15:48  Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones at various sites in Ukraine yesterday. The raids claimed several lives and caused damage in various cities, hundreds of kilometres from the front line. (Source: France 24)

March 25, 2026 13:17 CET  A fire broke out at the Ust-Luga oil port in Russia's Leningrad region following a Ukrainian drone attack today, say Russian officials. The port of Ust-Luga is one of Russia's largest multipurpose ports on the Baltic Sea, located in the Gulf of Finland. (Source: RFE/RL -U.S.)

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Asia

Israel
March 22, 2026, 12:11 am EDT  Iranian missiles sow panic, destruction in Israeli towns. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said 84 wounded people were taken to hospitals from the Arad scene, including 10 in serious condition. An earlier missile attack hit the town of Dimona, about 25 kilometres southwest of Arad. The missile fell about five kilometres away from the facility, leaving about 30 people wounded according to rescuers. (Source: Barrons / Newsweek = U.S.)
Photo, video

05:16, 22 Mar 2026  Iranian missiles rain down on towns near Israel’s secretive arsenal of nuclear weapons. More than 180 people have been wounded in Dimona and Arad, in southern Israel. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed it had received no indication of damage to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center at Dimona itself, and that no abnormal radiation levels had been detected in the area. The research centre, built in secret with French assistance, opened there in 1958. While Israel is a member of the IAEA, it does not allow the watchdog to inspect its nuclear sites as it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is widely believed to possess the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East. 'If the Israeli regime fails to intercept the missiles in the highly protected Dimona area, it is operationally a sign of entering a new phase of the battle,' Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Parliament wrote in a post on X. Iran said the strikes 'were retaliation' for attacks on its own nuclear site at Natanz, one of the country’s most important uranium enrichment sites, about 135 miles southeast of Tehran. (Source: The U.S. Sun)
Photo, videos

22.03.26, 10:44 AM  Late Saturday, Iran launched a strike on Arad, marking the first time the area near Israel’s nuclear research centre was hit during the conflict, resulting in multiple deaths and extensive damage to buildings (Source: The Telegraph - India / Reuters - United Kingdom)
Photo

Pakistan
Mar 22, 2026 09:58 IST  At a time when geopolitical tensions remain elevated, even hypothetical remarks have drawn attention for their potential impact. Former Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Basit, suggested that Pakistan could target India in the event of a foreign attack. Speaking during a discussion centred on a hypothetical conflict, Basit said, 'If America attacks Pakistan we have to attack India, Mumbai, New Delhi, without a second thought. We won’t leave it we’ll see what happens later.' (Source: India Today)

Persian Gulf
22.03.2026  A coalition of 22 countries, led by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and key Western powers, has formally declared its readiness to secure maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic alliance includes Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. (Source: Yeni Şafak - Turkey)

Southwest Asia
(Tuesday), 24.03.26, 11:58 AM  Yesterday, Trump had postponed for five days a plan to hit Iran's energy grid. No negotiations have been held with the US, Iranian parliament Speaker Qalibaf posted on X, adding that 'fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.' Iran fired three waves of missiles at Israel early today, with reports of an impact in the country's north. Iran has threatened that if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops it could mine the Persian Gulf, which would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area. The delay could be timed to coincide with the arrival of US Marines in the region, expected Friday. Iran's death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon. Israel, on its part, pounded Beirut's southern suburbs saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages in several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states. Oil prices: $104 a barrel in morning trading. (Source: Telegraph - India)

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United Nations

The International Monetary Fund
March 23, 2026 11:45 a.m.  Time for the IMF to stop blaming the victim. The IMF standard analysis of imbalances puts too much blame on Europe and way too little on China. (Source: Council on Foreign Relations - U.S.

Security Council
23 March 2026  Ukraine violence worse than ever, the head of UN political and peacebuilding affairs said today in a briefing to the Security Council. DiCarlo reiterated the UN’s long-standing call for a ceasefire. Since the war began, 15,364 civilians have been killed, including 775 children, and more than 42,000 others injured, though actual numbers are likely to be higher. The longer the war exists, the deadlier it becomes, with growing risks to regional and international security, she said. Russia has reported Ukrainian attacks that have impacted civilians and civilian infrastructure in its territory. The largest drone attack targeting the capital, Moscow, occurred over the weekend from 14 to 16 March when at least 250 drones were reportedly shot down. No civilian casualties were reported. In Russian regions bordering Ukraine – Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, as well as the southern Krasnodar region – local officials have reported civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure from alleged strikes, she said. Damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure brought the country’s energy grid to the brink of total collapse, she told ambassadors. Some 60 per cent of gas production capacity has been destroyed and all power stations are damaged, which has caused persistent disruption in electricity, heating and water supply across the country. Reports point to an increase in strikes targeting railroads and other transport infrastructure. In Odesa, energy, industrial and port infrastructure have been damaged. Damage to the Novodnistrovsk hydroelectric plant in the south of Ukraine on 7 March led to an oil spill and widespread water pollution of the Nistru River in neighbouring Moldova, she said. The crisis prompted a 15-day environmental alert. Ms. DiCarlo underscored that a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire is imperative. She welcomed diplomatic efforts led by the United States over the past year to advance peace. These efforts require sustained commitment and support, she said. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Fletcher also briefed the Council. One of his requests was for greater financial support for the $2 billion humanitarian plan to assist 3.6 million people this year. Nearly three quarters of that plan is still unfunded. (The United Nations Office in Geneva - Location: Switzerland)

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Hungary
(Saturday), March 21, 2026 5:13 pm CET  U.S. President Trump today reiterated his “complete and total endorsement” of Orbán in the Hungarian elections. And U.S. Vice President Vance is reportedly due to fly to Budapest in April in support of the prime minister. “The prime minister has been a strong leader whose shown the entire world what’s possible when you defend your borders, your culture, your heritage, your sovereignty and your values,” Trump said in a video address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) taking place in Hungary today. Trump praised Hungary’s “strong borders” and said the country will continue to “work very hard on immigration,” and said Europe has to “work very hard” to solve 'a lot of problems' around immigration. The American president said that Hungary and the U.S. are “showing the way toward a revitalized West,” and would also work “hard together on energy.” (Source: Politico - U.S.)
See: March 21, 2026 10:59 a.m. President Trump's video address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) taking place in Hungary on Saturday. (Source: X / Orbán Viktor)
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13:26, 21/03/2026, Saturday  Human Rights Watch * has issued an urgent call for Hungarian authorities to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he set foot in the country, as the Israeli leader prepares for a visit beginning today. The visit comes just weeks before Hungary’s April 12 general elections, adding political dimensions to the diplomatic encounter. (Source: Yeni Safak / Anadolu Agency = Turkey )
* with the main headquarters located in New York City

(Saturday), March 21, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT  During Orbán’s first stint as prime minister, from July 1998 to May 2002, Hungary joined NATO -  over Moscow’s objections. After Orbán was elected for the second time, in 2010, "they made a deal about Russian energy imports for Hungary”. Russian energy has been supplied not directly but through different intermediaries. For years, a central node in this relationship has been MOL, the Hungarian oil and gas conglomerate that is one of the country’s biggest and most profitable companies benefiting from the supply of cheap Russian energy. Just before Orbán became prime minister, MOL sold a 50 percent stake in its gas trader MOL Energy Trade, later renamed MET, to a Cyprus-registered company, Normeston Trading. Once Orbán was in power, Normeston transferred its stake in MET in 2011 to two of Orbán’s closest allies, allowing them to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends through the purchase of cheaper gas on the European spot market. MET’s management bought out the shareholders in 2018. Another key way for Orbán and his allies to benefit came through Orbán’s decision to award a contract to Russia’s state nuclear monopoly Rosatom to build the Paks II nuclear reactor in 2014 with Russian state bank VEB providing a 10 billion euro loan for the project, of which 40 percent was to go to Hungarian subcontractors. Orbán’s childhood friend Mészáros was a key beneficiary. He received tens of millions of dollars’ worth of construction deals, according to E.U. procurement contracts, helping him become Hungary’s richest man and earn the moniker Orbán’s wallet. In an internal report for the Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) ’obtained and authenticated by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post’, ’the operatives proposed a way to fundamentally alter the entire paradigm of the election campaign -  the staging of an assassination attempt on Viktor Orban.’ Such an incident will shift the perception of the campaign out of the rational realm of socioeconomic questions into an emotional one, where the key themes will become state security and the stability and defense of the political system, the 'operatives wrote in a report prepared for the SVR’s main unit for political influence operations, Directorate MS, or Active Measures Department'. "There have been no physical attacks on Orbán". Orbán last week accused Ukrainians of plotting physical attacks on his family, while Zelensky earlier this month, speaking about Orbán, threatened to give ’this person’s address to our armed forces.’ On Thursday, the Hungarian government said it was banning three Ukrainian citizens from entering its territory. They made threats against Hungary, Orbán and his family. Mere suggestions of staging an attempt on Orbán’s life’ underscores high stakes in the Hungarian race. Orbán said he was moving troops to protect Hungary’s critical energy infrastructure against a potential attack by Ukraine. In the current campaign, Orbán has sought to promote himself as the candidate for peace, while presenting the rival, Magyar, as a stooge of Brussels who would drag Hungary into war on Ukraine’s side. The two candidates held rival rallies on Sunday, which drew ’hundreds of thousands’, with both sides claiming their gatherings were the largest ever. Russia is not the only outside power potentially looking to prop up Orbán. Orbán acted as a bridge for the Kremlin to U.S. conservatives in hopes of forging a new post-liberal world order. Hungarian foreign minister Szijjártó has made 16 official visits to Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most recently on March 4 when he met with President Putin. (He ’made regular phone calls during breaks at E.U. meetings to provide his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, with live reports on what’s been discussed and possible solutions, one of the European security officials said’). Secretary of State Rubio visited Budapest last month, telling Orbán that “your success is our success.” Orbán has made no secret that he hopes Trump will do the same. Szijjártó said Vice President Vance will visit instead. And Kremlin spokesman Peskov dismissed questions from The Post about the SVR strategy document: 'This is another example of disinformation, he said." (Source: The Washington Post - U.S.)

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Iran
Mar 22, 2026 12:48 IST  Can Iran make a dirty bomb? The short answer is yes. (Source: India Today)

Mar 21, 2026 16:55 IST  Today Tehran attempted to strike the US-UK base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with two intermediate-range ballistic missiles, 4,000 km away, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. One failed and the other may have been intercepted. By targeting Diego Garcia, Iran has expanded the theatre of conflict from the Middle East into the Indian Ocean. This attempt reshapes the risk map. Iran achieves a strategic impact simply by forcing the US to engage defensive measures. Diego Garcia is a pivotal platform for US power projection, hosting heavy bombers, surveillance aircraft, and critical logistics infrastructure. US officials, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, reported that one missile failed mid-flight while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the second. It remains unclear if the interception was successful. Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi had previously said the country’s missiles could reach 2,000 kilometres. This is a strategic demonstration as much as a technical test. Experts suggest Tehran may be testing systems approaching true intermediate-range ballistic missile capabilities, with potential reach into southern Europe or deeper into the Indian Ocean. (Source: India Today)

21.03.2026  Iran says Natanz nuclear enrichment complex hit again in US-Israeli attack. The attack targeted the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan enrichment facility in Natanz, no radiation leak detected, says Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Mar 20, 2026 14:48 IST  The story of how this war began is, at its core, the story of a phone call. On February 23rd, Netanyahu rang Trump with a piece of intelligence: Iran's supreme leader and his top advisers were all convening at a single location in Tehran that Saturday morning. They could all be killed in one strike. It was, Netanyahu told the President of the United States, a now-or-never moment. Trump took the deal. Netanyahu had visited the White House a record-breaking six times in the prior year. In call after call, he had been methodically shifting Trump's gaze toward Iran's nuclear ambitions. When Omani mediators were reportedly on the verge of announcing a potential diplomatic breakthrough in Geneva, Netanyahu worked to derail those talks. Then came the Saturday morning airstrike. Israel's elections are scheduled for October 2026. Polls before the war showed his coalition projected to win just 49 to 52 seats in the 120-member Knesset, against 57 or 58 for the opposition. His corruption trial grinds on. Conviction could mean prison. Political analysts say the war is one of the cornerstones of his reelection strategy. The plan: battlefield achievements would allow him to reframe October 7th not as a catastrophic failure of his leadership but as the opening chapter of a broader, triumphal transformation of the Middle East. Despite 81 percent of Israeli Jews supporting the strikes, the latest Channel 12 survey shows Likud receiving exactly the same number of Knesset seats as before the war began. The pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs remain deadlocked at 53 seats each, well short of the 61 needed for a majority. He needed a game changer. The war alone may not be enough. He is now reportedly counting on regime change in Tehran. Now turn the lens to Washington. Trump ran for president in 2024 promising to end wars, not start them. MAGA's core instinct is isolationist. And yet here he stands, the man who once mocked endless Middle Eastern entanglements, presiding over America's largest military operation in the region in two decades, without a congressional vote. The American public has noticed. According to NPR/PBS/Marist, 56 percent of Americans oppose the military action, and just 36 percent approve of Trump's handling of Iran. He is now being guided by neo-conservatists like Rubio in the government. These hawks want him to put boots on the ground to either capture Kharg, or Iran’s stock of Uranium. The war is being fought on the go. Senator Van Hollen put it pungently: Netanyahu 'finally found a president stupid enough to attack Iran.' Gulf allies who trusted American security cooperation now experience that cooperation as a direct threat to their own stability. There is a scene that captures this entire relationship. Netanyahu, meeting with US Ambassador Huckabee, reportedly showed him a literal 'punch card' of Iranian leaders Israel had already assassinated or intended to assassinate. A punch card. As though the lives of leaders, the fate of a 90-million-person nation, the disruption of global energy markets, and the risk of American soldiers dying were items to be tallied toward some reward. On the morning of March 18, 2026, Israel struck the South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf, the world's largest, without telling the United States it was going to do so. Trump, the man whose military is also fighting the war, found out when everyone else did. There is no scenario in which both men get what they want. Netanyahu needed this war to survive an election. Trump may lose one because of it. Israel has a clear endgame. America, watching its midterms approach and its approval ratings crater, does not. The tail has wagged the superpower. (Source: India Today)

20 March 2026 2:30 pm  Dylan’s song has never felt more alive than today. He wrote: '...you don’t count the dead when God’s on your side.' Iran and its allies are speaking of jihad, the holy war, and the return of Imam Mahdi, the supposed redeemer of Islam. Jerusalem, a site historically important for all three Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - has become the bull’s-eye of three major state powers to bomb, and bomb enemy territories indiscriminately, targeting even schools and hospitals. All for geopolitical dominance, but in the name of God. Today’s Iran cannot be compared with ancient Persia. Nevertheless, Israel is using this story to paint their war efforts as the fulfilment of a religious quest of the Jewish people against a supposedly ancient enemy. When secular strategic interests get baptised in sacred language, wars become harder to end. Atrocities become divine will. Everybody can claim to have God by their side. But it’s we who have to figure out - whose side God, the merciful, is really on. Israel and the US continue to use Biblical references. Trump would not and does not hesitate to express his real intentions. Iran’s nuclear programme is a lame excuse the US-Israel alliance is citing, much like how the US invaded Iraq, alleging the presence of weapons of mass destruction, but could not provide any evidence of Iraq building such things. Netanyahu wants to weaken Iran as much as possible. He even wishes for a collapse of the state. A fragmentation of Iran along ethnic lines would be his most favoured outcome. Trump does not want that. He feels that a collapse of Iran, or even of its current regime, would destabilise western and central Asia; it would also hurt US interests there. Trump wants Iran’s regime itself to shift and collaborate with the US, like what happened in Venezuela. As Dylan’s song pointed out, 'And you never ask questions when God’s on your side.' The current war efforts have both religious and material motivations because these efforts are being driven by religious nationalism, not religion or nationalism alone. Since nationalism is even more powerful than religious sentiments, even religious fundamentalists have to frame the ideology as religious nationalism. There is also a growing Islamophobic dimension in the ideological beliefs held by proponents of Hindutva, Zionism and right-wing conservative Christian evangelism claim terror as an inherent characteristic of Islam. However, the fact remains that terrorism can be and is justified in the name of all kinds of ideologies - religious and secular. Can believers who do not want the war go on to reclaim God to end it? “If God’s on our side, He’ll stop the next war,” Dylan concluded. (Source: Outlook - India)
by Bhattacharya

12:12, 20/03/2026, Friday  The Israeli military announced today that its air force struck Iranian naval infrastructure in the Caspian Sea, marking the first such attack in that theater since the conflict began. The army alleged the strikes targeted a military port housing dozens of vessels, including missile boats, along with a central command headquarters. The Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water, borders northern Iran and lies far from Israel's traditional operational reach. (Source: Yeni Şafak - Turkey)

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United States
03/23/26 1:31 p.m. EDT  USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier leaves Middle East amid Iran fight. It reached Crete, Greece for repairs due to a fire onboard, in the laundry room on March 12 amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. The U.S. military only has one aircraft carrier in the war against Iran unless Washington sends another such vessel to replace it. The Navy said the Gerald R. Ford arrived at Souda Bay for maintenance and repairs today but remains fully mission capable. The ship, along with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, has played a key role in the Trump administration’s war against Tehran. It has been at sea for nearly nine months after departing Norfolk, Va., in June, initially sent to the European theater. The vessel was then ordered to head to the Caribbean as the Pentagon was establishing a massive military presence near Venezuela. Then, in early February, the Ford was ordered to the Persian Gulf region as tensions climbed between Washington and Tehran. (Source: The Hill - U.S.)

March 23, 2026, 11:14 AM ET  The U.S. government is insolvent - it’s the conclusion drawn directly from the Treasury Department’s own consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2025, released last week to near-total media silence. The numbers: $6.06 trillion in total assets against $47.78 trillion in total liabilities as of September 30, 2025. If the $88.4 trillion in 75-year off-balance-sheet obligations were added to the $47.8 trillion in official balance sheet liabilities, total federal obligations would now exceed $136.2 trillion - roughly five times U.S. annual GDP. 'Congress has clearly lost control of the nation’s finances. America is facing a fiscal catastrophe'. (Source: Fortune - U.S.)
by Hanke, a professor of applied economics at The Johns Hopkins University, a member of the Board of Directors at the Federal Fiscal Sustainability Foundation, co-editor, with Poulson and Merrifield, of "Public Debt Sustainability: International Perspectives" (2022); Walker is the former Comptroller General of the United States and the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Federal Fiscal Sustainability Foundation.

March 22, 2026, 7:45 p.m. ET  “The Department of State advises Americans worldwide, and especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased caution. Americans abroad should follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” the State Department said in a statement. The alert comes after Iranian military spokesman Gen. Shekarchi issued a threat on Friday, warning that Tehran terrorists will now be targeting popular tourism havens as the US and Israel continue their attacks against Iran. Iran quickly hurled retaliatory rockets at American interests in the region, with missiles hitting tourist hubs in Dubai and Israel. Iran yesterday vowed to deploy a policy of zero restraint and hit energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf as well as banks that do business with the US if President Trump carries out his threat to obliterate Tehran’s power plants. Trump’s ultimatum demanded an end to the Islamic Republic’s hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz. The president set a 48-hour deadline for the deal, which ends around 8 p.m. ET today. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Qalibaf said his country would make no such concession, warning of a retaliatory attack if Trump follows through with the blitz. (Source: New York Post - U.S.)

21.03.2026  A federal court in the US yesterday ruled that the 'Department of Defense’s' (Pentagon) restrictions on the press violated freedom of speech rights protected by the Constitution. 'It provides no way for journalists to know how they may do their jobs without losing their credentials,' Federal Judge Friedman says in ruling. The federal court announced its decision in a lawsuit filed by The New York Times in December 2025. In its decision, the court acknowledged the need to protect national security, military personnel, and war plans. Pentagon spokesperson Parnell said that they disagreed with the ruling and would immediately begin the appeals process. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

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Indian Ocean

Diego Garcia
March 23, 2026 1:09 p.m.  The tiny, British-owned Chagos Archipelago has been home to a major U.S. military base for decades. A deal to return the islands to Mauritius has raised alarm in the White House. What’s on the table in the UK-Mauritius agreement, why Trump has chosen now to advocate against it, and whether or not it’s likely to go through. Mauritius has argued that it was illegally forced to cede the islands to the UK as part of a deal to gain independence from Britain and has claimed sovereignty over the islands for decades - going as far as pursuing a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019. The establishment of the U.S.-UK military base in the early 1970s included forcibly removing native Chagossians to Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the UK, and enacting measures to prevent their permanent return. In 2022, the UK entered into negotiations with Mauritius to transfer sovereignty of the island. In October 2024, the newly elected Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, reached a political agreement with Mauritius, which both parties later signed in May 2025. The agreement grants Mauritius full sovereignty over the archipelago, while allowing the UK to continue exercising authority over Diego Garcia for an initial ninety-nine-year period. The agreement’s exploratory memorandum outlines an annual sum of roughly $220 million for first three years; a fixed annual sum of about $160 million for years four through thirteen, and then an annual sum indexed to the GDP deflator; a sum of about $53 million for a trust fund to benefit Chagossians; and an annual grant of about $60 million for twenty-five years to promote the economic development and welfare of Mauritius and its people. During this time, Mauritius will allow the United States and the UK to access, maintain, and invest in the joint military base. It will also bar other countries from accessing the outer islands surrounding Diego Garcia without explicit permission from the UK. The military base on Diego Garcia is jointly held. It is primarily operated by roughly 2,500 U.S. personnel. It also hosts some of the world’s most advanced military and logistical equipment, including B-52 bomber aircraft, radar installations, and fuel storage facilities. The United States heavily relied on the base for air and maritime operations. “The U.S. national interest is crystal clear, and that is to get legal access to the base in perpetuity, for one hundred years, and have somebody else pay for it,' said Harris, a Colorado State University professor who has studied the Chagos Islands for nearly two decades. The UK did not permit the United States to use Diego Garcia or any other UK air bases in its initial February 28 strikes on Iran, to Trump’s dismay. The next day, Starmer allowed the U.S. military to rely on UK bases, including Diego Garcia. Trump also seeks to counter China’s foothold in the Indian Ocean, citing Beijing’s bilateral relationship with Mauritius and its growing interest in strengthening its regional security presence. Mauritius’s close partnership with India would likely cull any Chinese efforts to build a presence on the islands. The British government wants to see the deal through into alignment with international law. It currently sits with the House of Lords in the UK Parliament, and will then require formal approval from King Charles III. Recent reports indicate that thousands of Mauritian officials have traveled to China for specialized courses ahead of the planned handover, with hundreds more set to receive training from Beijing. (Source: Council on Foreign Relations - U.S.)

Mar 21, 2026 16:55 IST  Today Tehran attempted to strike the US-UK base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with two intermediate-range ballistic missiles, 4,000 km away, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. One failed and the other may have been intercepted. By targeting Diego Garcia, Iran has expanded the theatre of conflict from the Middle East into the Indian Ocean. This attempt reshapes the risk map. Iran achieves a strategic impact simply by forcing the US to engage defensive measures. Diego Garcia is a pivotal platform for US power projection, hosting heavy bombers, surveillance aircraft, and critical logistics infrastructure. US officials, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, reported that one missile failed mid-flight while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the second. It remains unclear if the interception was successful. This is a strategic demonstration as much as a technical test. Experts suggest Tehran may be testing systems approaching true intermediate-range ballistic missile capabilities, with potential reach into southern Europe or deeper into the Indian Ocean. (Source: India Today)

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United States
19 March 2026  Distressing as it may be for America’s allies and friends – given that this would be a disaster for the entire West – the possibility of American defeat in Iran should be taken into account, if for no other reason than to properly understand what’s at stake so that governments can make informed policy decisions. What would defeat mean in this case, then? Notionally, it would involve an outcome that leaves Iran heavily battered but still standing as a missile and drone power, keeping its nuclear programme, and with demonstrated control over the Strait. In this version of the future, for some reason – political, economic or military – at some point the US president decides to cut his losses and pull out of the war whether or not the Strait is fully reopened, and while Iran can still strike at least across the Gulf. Let’s just assume this is the White House (or indeed Mar-a-Lago) decision. However, this cannot be done unilaterally: If US forces simply stand down and stop engaging the Iranians, there would be nothing stopping Tehran from continuing to block the Hormuz and bomb the Gulf states as a way to exert its power over the Arabs and force concessions including reparations. This course of action would be absurd. So if the American goal at that point is to actually stop the war altogether, Washington will obviously require Tehran’s assent, i.e. a deal that also makes Iranian forces stand down. Any deal with an Iran that remains an active threat, still firing missiles and drones (even if just sporadically), perhaps still harassing Strait traffic, and still formally in possession of its enriched uranium stockpile, will be widely seen as a framework of defeat for the US. The actual terms of the agreement may add to that perception given that Iran will likely request a significant or even complete US withdrawal from its Gulf bases. We agree to stop only if you leave, would likely be the IRGC message. A US president under heavy pressure to terminate the conflict may have no better option than to negotiate on that basis; all alternatives (escalation, open-ended war, etc), at that point, might be worse. Staying with this purely theoretical scenario for a while longer, let us consider the colossal implications of such an outcome. The Gulf would come under Iranian dominance, with Chinese (and Russian) backing. In the Pacific, US inability to break a much weaker Iran would change deterrence calculations and likely persuade Taiwan that peaceful reunification is the only rational way forward. Chinese power would replace America’s across the region perhaps without a single shot being fired. For Europe, the consequences of an American defeat would depend on US politics in the aftermath of the Iran war. The backlash against foreign involvement could be so strong as to accelerate US isolationism and focus on the Americas, thus hastening perhaps even a de facto US exit from NATO. Coupled with the panic and demoralisation which would ensue among Europeans, the new situation would likely make the Ukrainian war effort unsustainable – allowing Russia to impose harder peace terms and perhaps achieve a new Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. A more hopeful case can also be made for the eventuality in which a new, more traditional political administration takes over the White House. Instead of further retreating from the world, a future president might look for ways to repair the damage and compensate for the presumed Iran 'mishap'. Doubling down on US support for Europe and Ukraine, to keep Russia at bay and shore up the transatlantic strategic space as a base for a future re-assertion of US power across the Middle East, and indeed to backstop Israel, would make grand-strategic sense and thus be rather likely. The main risk with all this, though, is that the sheer scale of the instability and strife that would engulf the period of transition from one US political order to the other, and the ultimate uncertainty about the outcome, will create the conditions not only for major economic disruptions but also for further international conflict. What about the domestic scene? As suggested above, the key consequence of any form of US defeat in Iran will primarily play out in domestic politics – in America but also in Europe. If the Iran campaign goes the way of Iraq or Afghanistan – i.e. if it comes to be seen as an incredibly foolish, expensive mistake – then this will likely collapse not just Trump but the entire MAGA movement as well as its overseas copycats, irrespective of how they’ve positioned themselves on the war. Only one narrative will emerge from the potential political ruins of the attack on Iran: That MAGA-style populism ultimately means only chaos engineered by demagogues who don’t know what they’re doing. But if anyone thinks that this would open the way for a return to sensible centrist politics, think again: It’s far more likely that the pendulum will swing towards more extreme forms of politics as large majorities of people begin seek radical solutions to chronic problems. A perceived American defeat in this Iran war is mere speculation at this point. But victory is also not clearly in view either – at least not yet – and the US is now at a point where it feels compelled to ask for help from allies to finish the job. So thinking through some of the potential consequences of the worst-case scenario might focus the minds of policy-makers, certainly when it comes to decisions as to whether and how to support the US-Israeli effort. Irrespective of higher questions of the war’s legality or strategic wisdom, its reality – the fact that it is now underway – is the only thing that matters for practical policy purposes. However it was begun, a war must be fought to victory, either full or partial; the only alternative is accepting the consequences of defeat. 'The path to a favourable outcome in Iran for the US and Israel is now narrowing considerably. If it begins to vanish, it will quickly become clear that “their problem' is in fact everyone else’s problem as well, and hard choices about allied involvement will need to be considered. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)
by Elefteriu

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Global
19 March 2026 6:11pm GMT  The benchmark TTF contract for gas in Europe was €29 (£25) per megawatt-hour (MWh) in mid-February. Bank of America says it could reach €500 this winter if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for 10 weeks, as it may well do. That would blow through the record high seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amount to a full-blown economic emergency 'for Europe, the UK', Japan, South Korea and South Asia. It is just as bad for oil. Physical deliveries are under far greater stress than Brent futures, at about $113, would suggest. Actual barrels of the Dubai basket and Oman’s Murban are fetching close to $170 a barrel as Asian refiners scramble to buy anything they can. Jet fuel deliveries have hit $210 in Rotterdam and $240 in Singapore. Barrow, the vice-president of oil at S&P Global Energy says it may become physically impossible to obtain supplies. 'If the Strait stays closed for two months, you’ll have plants without feedstock and we’ll get real rationing. We’ll have panic buying and hoarding,' he said. 'Net, we’re around 15 million barrels a day (b/d) short in the market. Crude gets the headline but the actual impact is further downstream in refined products, diesel, jet, fuel or naphtha. There are 68 refineries in the war zone.' The world will hit a brick wall within two months. 'We may need to ground planes, shut chemical plants and accept lower crop yields,' Currie, an oil veteran at the Carlyle Group, said. Currie compares today’s nonchalance to the misjudgement in January 2020 as Westerners watched the Covid lockdown in China and carried on as if the virus had nothing to do with them. Europe will face its own physical shortage as we go into April, Kaneva, the commodity chief at JP Morgan, said. The average tanker trip from the Gulf to Asia is 10 to 15 days. It is 25 to 30 days to Europe via Suez, and 35 to 45 days via the Cape. Europe is still receiving normal pre-war cargoes. West Asia is not. That is where violent “demand destruction” has begun. Plans to try to hold down prices within the US fortress economy by starving the rest of us would deprive the global market of up to seven to eight million barrels a day (b/d) of oil and petroleum products, depending how much Trump would allow out to help his culture war friends. 'We continue to watch for any signs that the Houthis may enter the conflict and imperil the Red Sea,' said Croft, a former CIA analyst now at RBC Capital. (Source: The Telegraph - United Kingdom)

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Europe

Hungary
(Sunday), March 22, 2026 10:52 PM CET  Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán refused to sign off on €90 billion in loans for Ukraine at Friday’s European Council, sparking a furious reaction: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on X yesterday ’of long-standing suspicions’ Viktor Orbán’s government is ’sharing information with Russia’; Tusk has backed the Hungarian opposition leader in the election. The Washington Post said in a report yesterday that Orbán’s government maintained close contacts with Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine, and Foreign Minister Szijjártó ’used breaks during meetings with other member countries to update’ his Russian counterpart, Lavrov. Despite widespread agreement on the threat posed by Russia, a diplomat pointed out that the content of discussions among leaders and foreign ministers are routinely reported in the press and frequently take place in an unrestricted format, meaning leaders don’t leave their phones outside to minimize the risk of surveillance. Szijjártó, for his part, rejected the content of the Washington Post article and accused the media of putting forward conspiracy theories that are more preposterous than anything seen before. For example: 'The EU is limiting the flow of confidential material to Hungary and leaders are meeting in smaller groups'; 'The Bucharest Group of Nine, a club of countries on the military alliance’s Eastern Flank, reportedly contemplated kicking Budapest out of the format in 2024' over failures to agree on support for Ukraine. The allegations come as Orbán’s foreign supporters set course for Budapest to help him campaign in the final stretch of the elections. Polish President Nawrocki - a political rival of Tusk’s - will attend events on Monday, while U.S. Vice President Vance will jet in ahead of the vote next month. Whatever the EU and its leaders do, Orbán will use it in his favor in the campaign. Despite ’lagging behind Tisza in the polls’, the Hungarian prime minister told Politico on Friday he could certainly secure another term. Over the weekend were fake news designed as a desperate reaction to [Orbán’s party] Fidesz gaining momentum in the election campaign, but the Hungarian people won’t be deceived, Hungary’s Europe Minister Bóka told the reports. (Source Politico - headquarters in the U.S., owned by a German company)

20/03/2026 - 17:58 GMT+1  Speaking to media in Brussels a day after he blocked the €90 billion loan to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán raised the prospect of further actions his government could take against Ukraine to force the resumption of Russian oil deliveries that have been stalled to Hungary and Slovakia since January. "40% of Ukraine's electricity supply goes through Hungary, we haven't touched that yet. (The EU) constantly wants to introduce new sanctions (against Russia). That will require unanimity and we will not give it." Orbán insists that Ukraine has purposely sabotaged the pipeline to orchestrate an energy crisis ahead of a tight election on 12 April and has promised to block all EU measures to assist Kyiv until shipments resume. Orbán also threatened today to veto the EU's next seven-year budget if it includes financial aid for Ukraine. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

March 20, 2026, Friday // 09:17  Hungary has maintained its opposition to a major EU financial package for Ukraine at a European Council meeting in Brussels yesterday. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán again refused to lift his veto on the €90 billion loan intended to support Ukraine through 2026–2027, linking his position to the resumption of Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary is insisting that oil flows through Druzhba must resume before it backs any further decisions favorable to Kyiv. The funding is designed to cover roughly two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial needs over the two-year period. Ukraine remains heavily dependent on external assistance. The dispute has widened beyond Hungary alone. Slovakia has aligned itself with Budapest, with Prime Minister Robert Fico warning of possible additional measures against Ukraine. Fico was suggesting that Ukraine’s actions could be politically motivated and even linked to Hungary’s domestic electoral dynamics. Both Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the adoption of the bloc’s 20th sanctions package against Russia, which had been expected to pass last month. In parallel, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine signed by 25 member states, excepting Hungary and Slovakia, highlighting a growing split within the Union. Inside the summit, Orbán reiterated his position with the message “first oil, then money,” arguing that restoring energy flows is a prerequisite for further support. His stance drew sharp criticism from several leaders. European Council President Costa 'described Hungary’s actions as unacceptable'. Some leaders also took issue with remarks made by Zelenskyy, saying his tone toward Orbán had complicated negotiations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told colleagues she understood Orbán’s reasoning. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

(Thuersday), 19/03/2026 - 16:04 GMT+1  Leaders fail to lift Orbán's veto on Ukraine loan. Early on the day, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reaffirmed his veto on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which he has linked to the interruptions of oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline. "We are ready to support Ukraine when we get our oil, which is being blocked by them. Until then, there is no decision that is favourable for Ukraine," Orbán said today. The 27 leaders have finished their lunch with United Nations Secretary General Guterres and have begun their discussion on the raging war in the Middle East. The high-level talks could very well stretch into tomorrow, dominated by the spiralling war in the Middle East and the high energy prices that continue to weigh down the economy. The 27 heads of state and goverment will also address competitiveness, the single market, trade, security, migration, the multilateral system and the next EU budget. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France) 

(Thuersday), 19/03/2026 16:03 GMT+1  Hungary accuses Ukraine of attacking key gas infrastructure on Russian territory, endangering its energy security. Foreign Minister Szijjártó said Ukraine had targeted a compressor station in Russia that forms part of the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian natural gas through Turkey and the Balkans to Europe. Moscow reported that Russian defence forces had repelled the attack and that no damage was sustained. 'The Ukrainians are keeping us under an oil blockade, and now they want to make our natural gas supply impossible. We call on the Ukrainians to end this immediately," Szijjártó said. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

Czechia
Sun 22 Mar 2026 07:24 CET  People gathered yesterday in Letná Park in the Czech capital, Prague, to demonstrate against the government and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. According to the organizer, up to 200,000 demonstrators were there to protest the government, which they believe threatens democracy and steers the country away from support for Ukraine. The protest follows a recent decision in the lower house to maintain Babiš's immunity from prosecution 'in a wide-ranging fraud case involving EU subsidies'. "The government has aligned with Hungary and Slovakia in its position on Ukraine and opposes all financial aid to the country and EU loan guarantees in its war against Russia". (Source: Sweden Herald)

France
(Sunday), March 22, 2026 9:52 a.m. ET  Billionaire Stérin, 52, is funding France’s ’far right’, financing projects to make France less Muslim, more Catholic and more capitalist. He says his program has trained thousands running for municipal office today. Mr. Stérin has spent millions, to ensure France doesn’t disappear. He has steered money to right-wing think tanks, political training programs, social media influencers and nonprofit groups. One program funded by Mr. Stérin has, by his count, trained at least 4,000 right-wing candidates in the municipal elections. With the far-right National Rally party projected to potentially win the presidency next year Mr. Stérin is striving to accelerate France’s rightward shift. The France of Mr. Stérin’s dreams would be socially conservative and Trumpian. It would tolerate little immigration, particularly from Muslim countries that France colonized. Undocumented immigrants who commit crimes or do not work would be deported. Muslim dress would be banned in public, and halal food no longer served in schools. Mr. Stérin wants to ban abortion, access to which was enshrined two years ago in the French Constitution; to swell Catholic church attendance; and to encourage more French couples to procreate. The ultimate goal, Mr. Stérin said, is to bring to power a right-wing government that fundamentally changes how the country looks and works. He is meddling in sectors where the far right has generally not been very present - sports, culture, nonprofits, training, schools. It was the 21st that made him rich - Smartbox, a company that offers experiences as gifts. Within six years, he had earned enough to launch a private equity firm, Otium Capital. Around a decade ago, realizing that he would soon become a billionaire, Mr. Stérin looked for another life-framing objective. He committed to Catholicism, he said, because it offered him a moral framework to separate right from wrong - a rational and mathematical way of guiding his life. He vowed to worship more, he said, and give away 99 percent of his wealth to serve Christ. In 2021, Mr. Stérin founded the Common Good Fund, funneling his own money toward beneficiaries including a Catholic boys’ boarding school - the first of 50 that the fund hopes to open - and exhibitions. The fund had also dispensed roughly an additional $116 million to private enterprises, rather than charities. He realized his funding would be more effective in a more favorable political and legislative environment. In 2023, that led him to start Périclès, an organization that funds and promotes political projects that many associate with the 'far right'. It supports think tanks opposed to immigration and to woke ideology; right-wing media; social media influencers; and groups opposed to Islamism. He became convinced that more Muslim customs should be banned in public after seeing many hijabs while driving through poorer suburbs of Paris. ’If we don’t do that, France in 50 years would be the first Islamic republic of Europe, or the second after Belgium,’ he said. „I don’t want my country to become an Islamic republic.’ A major recipient of Périclès’s money is a training school, Politicae, for aspiring right-wing municipal politicians. Some believe Mr. Stérin’s impact is minimal. Last year, Mr. Stérin had assets worth roughly $1.85 billion. He made it all himself. Former French President, Mr. Hollande said that Bolloré, who owns news outlets associated with the far right, is more influential. Mr. Stérin’s funding for so many municipal candidates potentially gives him outsize influence over the selection of French senators. (Source: The New York Times - U.S.)

Germany
22.03.2026  The German government has withdrawn its support for Israel in its defense against a genocide charge before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The German government intends instead to focus on the legal proceedings initiated by Nicaragua which filed a lawsuit against Germany before the ICJ in March 2024, Hinterseher, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Nicaragua filed the complaint with the court alleging that Germany was aiding and abetting genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by supplying weapons to Israel. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Slovenia
22.03.2026  Slovenia today imposed temporary limits on fuel purchases at gas stations nationwide. Individuals are allowed to purchase up to 50 liters of fuel per day at a single station, while legal entities and self-employed individuals, including those in agriculture, are limited to 200 liters. The Slovenian Armed Forces have been mobilized to assist in fuel distribution, with personnel supporting transport and supply operations. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Europe
(19 March 2026) 14:05  State-owned QatarEnergy, the operator of Ras Laffan, told Reuters the damage to two of its LNG units, in which ExxonMobil was a co-investor, would take three to five years to repair, cost the company $20bn a year in lost revenue, and force it to cancel long term contracts with Italy, Belgium, Korea and China. The volume of gas now lost for the foreseeable future is roughly 17 per cent of Qatar’s total capacity. Gas prices in Europe rose 30 per cent as markets reopened and have more than doubled since the start of the war, as traders try to calculate the impact of months, or longer, without Qatar’s gas flowing to world markets. Oil prices also jumped 10 per cent to almost $119 a barrel, due to fears of further strikes on energy supplies. One trader said that gas prices in Europe would be pushed higher through 2027 and that Europe would find it harder to refill its gas storage tanks this summer as Asian buyers snapped up LNG from the US to make up for the lost supply. Europe, which has become more reliant on LNG 'since Russia slashed pipeline exports' during its war with Ukraine, is now expected to be pitched into direct competition against countries such as Japan and South Korea for limited cargoes. Many countries are already starting to switch to coal-fired power generation. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

European Commission
(19/03/2026) 14:15 GMT+1  Slovakia and Hungary complained to der Leyen about not being informed in advance of an EU expert mission to inspect damage to the Druzhba pipeline and regretted that their own experts were not included, despite early offers to participate. Bratislava and Budapest sent a letter to der Leyen and argue that this exclusion raises doubts about the credibility and objectivity of any findings and call for greater transparency and cooperation involving all affected parties. The two countries are expressing dissatisfaction with the European Commission's slow and ineffective response to issues related to oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, claiming the EU executive consistently advocates for Ukraine's interests rather than those of the bloc's member states. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

European Council
(Thuersday), 19/03/2026 - 14:29 GMT+1  Vetoes remain. The European Council has adopted joint conclusions on support for Ukraine, but without the signatures of Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Slovakia's Robert Fico, both of whom are involved in a dispute with Kyiv over the Druzhba oil pipeline. The statement speaks of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which Hungary is blocking, and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which Hungary and Slovakia are blocking. There is no real Plan B or workaround to allow the cash to flow to Ukraine. Budapest and Bratislava have harshly criticised the European Commission for excluding their own national experts from the inspection of the pipeline. 'Their exclusion raises fundamental questions regarding the credibility and objectivity of any conclusions,' they say. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

Greenland
19.03.2026  Danish soldiers have been preparing for a possible US attack on Greenland amid President Trump's takeover threats, broadcaster DR reported today, citing sources in Denmark, France, and Germany. When Danish soldiers were flown to Greenland in January, they reportedly brought explosives to destroy key runways and blood supplies to treat the wounded in a bid to prepare to block a possible US takeover. Sources also noted that if the US attempted an attack, Danish soldiers would carry ammunition and engage in combat, while the F‑35 fighter jets that rushed north were also heavily armed. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
March 20, 2026 4:29 pm CET  During their meeting last week in Miami, Russian envoy Dmitriev made a proposal to Trump administration envoys Witkoff and Kushner. Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia. 'The U.S. rejected the proposal'. Dmitriev labeled the report of the proposal as fake in a post on X. The U.S. continues to share intelligence with Ukraine, even as it has reduced other support. French President Macron had said in January that two-thirds of military intelligence for Ukraine is now provided by France. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

Ukraine
22/03/2026 - 15:23 GMT+1  Yesterday, a Ukrainian delegation sent by Zelenskyy met with a US delegation in Miami in the hope of restarting peace talks. US Special Envoy Witkoff said on X that the talks were constructive.  ' A NATO delegation led by French Admiral Vandier is in Ukraine for the first time since the 2022 full-scale invasion. Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Palisa, wrote in a post on X that they discussed in detail 'the involvement of Ukrainian military personnel in future NATO exercises in the role of the conditional adversary,' as well as the future of JATEC (NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre), an initiative 'supporting coordination and development between Ukraine’s forces and NATO '. (Source: Euronews - based in Lyon, France)

United Kingdom
March 22, 2026 7:00am EDT  Churchill, Shakespeare and the UK flag all under siege in modern Britain. The statue of Churchill, the British prime minister during WWII, was vandalized in Westminster in 2020 and again last month. The face of Churchill is being removed from the five-pound note by the Bank of England. The proposal was to replace Churchill with a picture of a beaver. Now Shakespeare is under attack. Apparently, being White is a bad thing, and some say the Bard was really a Black woman. Flying your own country’s flag can get you in trouble. Left-wingers in Britain, such as Labor Party supporters, often view the flying of the United Kingdom’s Union Jack flag, or St. George's Cross, as racist or anti-immigration. 'Much of this flag-hating began following the invasion of Israel by Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist organization. 'The U.K. then witnessed a surge in Palestinian flags flying on public buildings. This upset more than a few British patriots, who then stepped out with the British flags. 'Decades of woke education policy have taught people to deny and decry the history of this country. 'The teaching labor unions controlled by the hard left have enforced their agenda on generations of pupils. (Source: Fox News - U.S.)

20 March 2026  UK allows United States to use bases to bomb Iranian sites targeting ships in Strait of Hormuz. Ministers agreed today that permissible actions include degrading missile sites being used by Tehran to attack ships in the Strait. The two British bases being used by American bombers are RAF Fairford in England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

Vatican
Sunday 22 March 2026 13:14 GMT  On Wednesday, the Vatican's top diplomat, Italian Cardinal Parolin, a senior advisor to Pope Leo had called on U.S. President Trump to end the expanding Iran war as soon as possible and suggested Israel should also stop its strikes against Lebanon. Parolin said he was worried that the conflict would continue to escalate and called on Trump and other world leaders "to resolve problems ... through the peaceful ways of diplomacy and dialogue". "I would say to finish it as soon as possible ... and to leave Lebanon alone," , said in a direct appeal. "This message goes also to the Israelis," he added, speaking to journalists at an event at the Italian parliament. Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State since 2013, is known for speaking in muted tones and seeking to avoid the spotlight. During his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, US-born Pope Leo XIV has renewed his plea for an immediate ceasefire, calling the death and suffering caused by the war in the Middle East a 'scandal to the whole human family'. "We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many people, the defenceless victims of these conflicts,' Leo said as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its fourth week. "I strongly renew my appeal for us to persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and the way may finally be paved for peace.” Leo, who is known for speaking diplomatically, has been ramping up calls for an end to the Iran war in recent days. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)

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Asia

India
Mar 17, 2026 05:45 AM IST  The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested seven foreign nationals - six Ukrainian nationals and one from the United States - on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India. The accused had entered India on valid visas, but had proceeded to Mizoram without the mandatory Restricted Area Permit. From there, they crossed into Myanmar, where they reportedly met ethnic groups hostile to India. The group was plotting terror strikes, and their movements had raised alarm over cross-border threats. Investigations uncovered that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by them in Mizoram. According to the NIA, the accused were involved in illegally importing huge consignments of drones from Europe to Myanmar via India for the use of Ethnic armed groups. These groups were allegedly also supporting some proscribed Indian Insurgent Groups by way of supplying weapons and other terrorist hardware and training them. National Investigation Agency (NIA) wanted to apprehend the close unknown associates still at large who are likely to surface after technical analysis of the social media accounts. (Source: Indian Express)

Iraq
Saturday, 21 March 2026   A drone attack targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi intelligence services in an upscale residential neighborhood in central Baghdad today at around 10:00 am local time (0700 GMT). The attack targeted a telecommunications building with the National Intelligence Service, which cooperates with US advisors in Iraq as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition. Another drone, filming the operation, crashed into a private members sports club popular with Iraqi elite and foreign diplomats. On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the latest conflict. Overnight from Friday to today, at least three drone attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport. A fire broke out near the base following the third attack. (Source: Asharq Al-Awsat - headquartered in London, England, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family)

Kuwait
March 20, 2026 / 5:06 AM  Tehran government vowed to hit the energy infrastructure of U.S. allies following the South Pars attack. Iran attacked Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery for the second time in two days today. Yesterday saw Iranian drones strike the Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries, sparking fires that were later extinguished. Together, they are among Kuwait's most significant refineries. Established in 1949, Mina Al-Ahmadi spans 6 1/2 miles along the Kuwaiti coast, producing up to 346,000 barrels of oil a day. The Mina Abdullah refinery has a capacity of 454,000 barrels a day. (Source: UPI - U.S.)

Southwest Asia
Mar 19, 2026 11:33 IST  Iran has placed sea mines across the Strait of Hormuz. There are fears that Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea could also be hit by Iran's proxy Houthis. The world's digital arteries pass through these routes in the form of vital subsea cables that carry global internet traffic and also pass through Hormuz. Amazon, Microsoft and Google have poured billions into building huge data centres in Gulf countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. And seventeen submarine cables run through the Red Sea, carry the main share of internet traffic linking Europe, Asia and Africa. The active subsea cables in the Persian Gulf are AAE-1, FALCON, Gulf Bridge International Cable System and Tata-TGN Gulf. These thin lines stretch for thousands of kilometres and carry nearly all the data that powers the global internet - from video calls and e-mails to banking transfers and AI services. Any damage to them could trigger internet outages and hit financial systems across countries, including in India. In the Red Sea, Houthi groups from Yemen are firing at passing vessels, turning that narrow waterway into a danger zone. That both passages are blocked, repair work has become almost impossible. A single accident, mine strike, or deliberate cut could leave lines out of action for weeks or even months. In 2024, Houthi-related attacks - a broader campaign in solidarity with Hamas amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza - damaged several Red Sea cables. Internet speeds dropped sharply in parts of Asia and Africa, and full repairs took months because ships stayed away. Yet with mines in the water, attacks continuing and repair ships locked out, the risk has never been higher. (Source: India Today)

17 Mar 2026  Now, 18 days into the conflict, aid agencies and countries neighbouring Iran are increasingly concerned about a potential refugee crisis. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 3.2 million people have already been displaced in Iran since US-Israeli strikes began on February 28. More than 10,000 civilian sites have been damaged since the war began, including 65 schools and 32 medical facilities. There have been attacks on residential areas in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan. Things could get worse if Tehran, a city of about 10 million people, were to lose its electricity grid or water supply. In a US-Israel attack, for instance, residents could be forced to leave en masse. Infrastructure destruction produces sudden, massive displacement, driven by the collapse of basic urban services. If a country of 90 million experienced the same scale of crisis as Syria, nearly 56 million people would be forced to flee their homes, and nearly 26 million of them would become international refugees. For now, the number of people crossing Iran’s borders remains comparatively modest. Iran borders seven countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkiye and Turkmenistan. Provinces bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, are absorbing much of the internal displacement. Countries such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Pakistan are facing varying degrees of economic, political, or security challenges. These internal pressures make it difficult for them to accommodate a large influx of refugees. Only Iraq, Pakistan and Turkiye, have extensive experience of hosting large refugee populations. Iran itself hosts one of the world’s largest refugee populations: about 3.7 million displaced people, most of them from Afghanistan.    Afghanistan: Between one and 1.5 million Afghans fled to Iran in the immediate aftermath of the US withdrawal, pushing the total Afghan population in Iran to upwards of five or six million. Iran and Pakistan initiated aggressive mass deportation campaigns, forcing millions back into Afghanistan. Iran drastically accelerated its expulsions, deporting nearly two million individuals in 2025 alone. Since October 2023, about 5.4 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan, many not by choice.    The South Caucasus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan have each expressed concern while trying to balance relations with Washington and Tehran.    Armenia’s border with Iran, which is just 44km long, remains open.    Azerbaijan has closed its land borders to routine traffic, requiring government approval for any crossing.    Iraq shares the longest frontier, stretching for almost 1,600km. The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, which, unlike the rest of the country, still allows visa-free entry for Iranian passport holders, adds a layer of complexity. The region hosts several Kurdish armed groups, some of which have reportedly been in discussions with Washington about receiving military support in return for joining the war against Iran. The development has prompted Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to strike Kurdish positions inside Iraqi territory. Baghdad has publicly stated that it will not allow its territory to be used to infiltrate Iran, but experts on the region say its ability to enforce the position is limited.    Pakistan faces its own geographical and security challenges. The country’s border with Iran runs through Balochistan, its largest but most volatile province, where separatist sentiment has simmered for decades. Balochistan’s porous border is next to Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, a region that has historically been home to various separatist groups. Any refugee crisis could make the situation in Balochistan difficult for Islamabad to manage. In February this year, Pakistan’s military concluded a weeklong security operation in the province and claimed it had killed 216 fighters in targeted offensives. October 2025 led Pakistan to close its borders with Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of newly displaced Afghans crossed into Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of the US withdrawal, joining a long-established refugee community there and swelling the total number of Afghans in the country to more than three million. Pakistan’s stringent repatriation plans pushed out more than 1.3 million people. Large-scale and hurried returns of refugees could trigger further instability in the region. Further complicating the situation, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in fighting.    Turkiye shares a 530km border with Iran and allows visa-free entry for Iranian citizens. It already hosts the world’s largest refugee population, including roughly 3.6 million Syrians, and anti-immigrant sentiment has hardened within domestic politics over the past decade. Turkiye’s Interior Minister Ciftci said earlier in March that the government had prepared three contingency plans in light of the war in Iran. The first involves intercepting migration flows within Iranian territory before they reach the border. The second proposes establishing buffer zones along the frontier. The third would allow refugees to enter Turkiye under controlled conditions as a last resort. Turkish authorities say they have already strengthened the border with Iran, 380km of concrete wall, 203 optical towers and 43 observation posts were undertaken.  (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

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Americas

North America

United States
March 22, 2026 / 9:00 AM EDT  Iran war, rising gas prices fuel economic concerns; most say conflict not going well, don't want regime left in power, CBS News poll finds. When gauging a war, Americans consider at least two important things: what the goals are overseas and its impact back home. Right now, Americans want a lot of things to happen in Iran: Most feel it's important to stop its nuclear program, ensure the Iranian people are free, and, now that the conflict is underway, that it would be unacceptable to leave the Iranian regime in power at the end of it. But it's also important to end the conflict as fast as possible, they say, with growing economic pressure back home. Rising gas prices are fueling some pessimism about the U.S. economy more broadly, with concerns about negative impacts on it in at least the near-term, if not the long term. That uncertainty is underpinned by a rising number of people who feel the Trump administration hasn't explained things. In all, most Americans feel the conflict isn't going well right now, though it gets continued support from most of the president's Republican base, in part because they express a lot of confidence in him personally. Most Americans don't think the conflict with Iran is going well so far. Many aren't sure how long it will last. They don't see payoffs, not in making the U.S. safer, nor in making the economy stronger. Americans see this as a war of choice, not a war of necessity. MAGA Republicans say Trump is doing what he promised in the 2024 campaign regarding Iran. (Survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of 3,335 U.S. adults interviewed between March 17-20, 2026). /Source: CBS News - U.S./

March 22, 2026 12:12 AM  Pentagon adopts Palantir AI system after dispute with Anthropic. Concerns about AI warfare continue to grow. The move signals long-term reliance on advanced artificial intelligence tools for defense operations. According to Deputy Defense Secretary Feinberg, the Maven Smart System will provide warfighters with advanced tools to detect and respond to threats. He explains that the system analyzes battlefield data and identifies potential targets. The decision ensures stable funding and wider adoption across all military branches by the end of the fiscal year. The Maven platform already serves as a key command-and-control system and has supported thousands of targeted operations in recent weeks. The Pentagon plans to shift oversight of the program to its Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. The U.S. Army will manage future contracts with Palantir which states that humans remain responsible for final decisions. (Source: Daily Times - Pakistan)

March 20, 2026  Hundreds of millionaires are trying to escape the US. California’s millionaires are trying to pay hand over fist for golden visas, an extremely expensive and controversial form of residency. New Zealand, along with several other countries like Greece, Portugal and Italy, are currently offering wealthy foreigners what’s called a golden visa. To obtain one of these visas in New Zealand, aka the Active Investor Plus visa, applicants must spend a minimum of $2.9 million on “Growth” investments for three years or $5.8 million on “Balanced” investments for five years, and simply processing this paperwork costs an equivalent of over $15,000. In exchange, applicants receive an “enviable lifestyle brimming with adventure,” as boutique immigration firm Greener Pastures New Zealand puts it on its website, and cinematic views of rolling hillsides. Once this investment period is fulfilled, they and any immediate family members who were included in the original application can become permanent New Zealand residents. Over the last several years, the super-rich have set their sights on the island country as a place to build elaborate bunkers and opulent estates in anticipation of societal collapse. Many of investor applicants are merely interested in summer homes. According to the advocacy group Transparency International, golden visa programs are allowing criminals to treat residency and citizenship in European countries as luxury commodities and use them for money-laundering schemes. In April 2025, the European Court of Justice declared that Malta’s “golden passports” program was illegal, and Spain, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands have recently ended their investor visa programs amid rising security concerns, Forbes reported last year. Meanwhile, New Zealand officials announced in September that golden visa holders can now buy or build homes valued at the equivalent of around $3 million or more. Ultimately, Kiwis pity us, and they’re right to: Our behavior is embarrassing. I thought of my friends who are educated and employed and living in cars and on couches. I thought about the laid-off tech workers who could be entering another year of unemployment, unsure of how they’ll pay their mortgages and medical bills. My biggest fear, though, is that I’ll look back on this years later and reminisce about how good we had it. (Source: SFGate - U.S.)

March 18, 2026 8:00 pm ET  The Pentagon has deployed the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid-response force of about 2,200 Marines, to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. could use the unit to seize one or more of the islands off the southern coast of Iran to use as leverage or as a base to counter Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. The unit, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, is slated to arrive in the Middle East from Japan in just over a week. (Source: WSJ - U.S.)

Caribbean

Cuba
(Wednesday), Mar 18 2026  Two vessels heading for energy-starved Cuba carrying Russian oil and fuel are due to arrive as early as next week in defiance of US President Trump’s energy embargo. The Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, believed to be carrying some 27,000 tonnes of Russian gas, was headed towards the island after appearing to divert course last month. The Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying some 100,000 metric tons of crude - equivalent to 725,000 to 728,000 barrels depending on oil grade - was estimated to arrive in Cuba on April 4. 'Whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “They are a very weakened nation right now.' Cuba’s last delivery was an oil shipment from Mexico on January 9. (Source: Financial Times - United Kingdom)

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A kormányfő március 15.-én, vasárnap, kora délután a budapesti Kossuth Lajos téren, a Parlament előtt felállított színpadon mondott beszédet. Kiemelte: akármekkora is a sokaság, ha gyűlölet és düh hozta össze, abból sohasem lesz szabadság. A sokaság önmagában sosem elég, szabadság csak szeretetből szökhet szárba, és csak az összefogás erősítheti meg - fűzte hozzá. Kijelentette: sohasem fogják megengedni, hogy Magyarországot gyűlölet és düh kormányozza. Hangsúlyozta azt is: ma Brüsszel is magyar embernek öltözött, az ő 12 pontja a szolgaság 12 pontja. Arról szól, mit kívánnak a brüsszeliek, de "mi, márciusiak sohasem törődünk bele, hogy a magyarok 12 pontjából brüsszeli 12 pontot csináljanak a budapesti labancok. Nem engedjük, hogy 30 brüsszeli ezüstért eladják, amit 16 év alatt felépítettünk" - fogalmazott. Nem adjuk a nemzeti és keresztény alkotmányunkat, a rezsicsökkentést, a 13. és 14. havi nyugdíjat, a világbajnok családtámogatási rendszerünket és Európa legjobb adórendszerét - sorolta, hozzátéve: megvédjük az édesanyák támogatását, a gyermekeinket, és "nem hagyjuk, hogy ukrán vagy szivárványos zászlóra cseréljék a nemzeti színeinket". Emlékeztetett: ünnepeljük a Rákóczi-felkelést, a ’48-as szabadságharcot, az ’56-os forradalmunkat, amiket egytől egyig mind elveszítettünk, de nem azért, mert elment volna az eszünk. Akik a felettünk aratott katonai sikereiket ünnepelhetnék, már nincsenek meg. Ma a győztes bécsi és cári udvarnak kellene itt ünnepelnie, de már nincsenek meg. Mohácsot se tudja megünnepelni a győztes ottomán birodalom, mert már nincsen meg. Az 1944-ben Magyarországot megszálló német Harmadik Birodalom sem ünnepel, és az ’56-os forradalmat leverő Szovjetunió sem tud ünnepelni, mert már az sincs meg - sorolta. "Ők már nincsenek. Mi pedig itt vagyunk, és itt is leszünk. Akkor is, ha az égből százszámra potyognak a brüsszeli ejtőernyősök" - fogalmazott. Hozzátette: "Majd összeszedjük őket, kiporoljuk a nadrágjukat, és visszaküldjük őket. Van, akit Brüsszelbe, és van, akit Kijevbe". Magyarország ezeréves állam, nem nekik való vidék - szögezte le. Orbán Viktor az ukrán elnöknek is üzent, úgy fogalmazva: "Látjátok, ukránok, látod, Zelenszkij! Ez itt a magyarok ezeréves állama". 'Ti azt hiszitek, hogy olajblokáddal, zsarolással, a vezetőink fenyegetésével ránk tudtok ijeszteni? Legyen eszetek, és ezt hagyjátok abba!" - szólított fel, kiemelve: aki a magyarokat meg akarja törni, annak 'jónéhány száz évvel korábban' kell felkelnie. "Van elég bajotok a keleti fronton, miért támadtok bennünket?" - tette fel a kérdést, hozzátéve, hogy a magyar békeszerető és béketűrő nép, "adjátok ide az olajunkat, aztán guruljatok a furgonokkal a brüsszeli kasszához a nyugatiak pénzéért, ha már ők nem tudnak nemet mondani'. "Forr a világ bús tengere" - folytatta, utalva arra, hogy háború van keleten és a Közel-Keleten is. Hozzátette: Ukrajna elzárja az olaj útját Magyarország felé, a másik háború pedig elzárja az olaj útját az óceánok felé. Felidézte: a 2015-ös migrációs invázió úgy kezdődött, hogy Szíriában kitört a háború, és a milliós tömegek megindultak Európába. Arra figyelmeztetett: Irán kilencszer nagyobb, mint Szíria: 90 millió ember, a térség 400 millió, ráadásul az izraeli-muszlim háborúskodás beköltözött Nyugat-Európába, mert beengedték a migránsokat. "Adjunk hálát a Jóistennek, hogy helyén volt a szívünk, volt merszünk nemet mondani, és mi nem engedtük be őket. Vállalom, hogy amíg én vagyok a miniszterelnök, ez így is marad" - rögzítette. Úgy értékelt: "reng a föld" az európai gazdaság alatt is, hiszen egymillió ipari munkahelyet zártak be Nyugaton. Hozzátette, hogy Magyarországon is nehéz négy évük volt és igazságtalannak nevezte, hogy olyan bajoktól kell megvédeniük az országot, amiket mások okoztak. "De megvédtük: Magyarország ma Európa legbiztonságosabb országa. Sikerült megvédeni a munkahelyeket, a rezsicsökkentést, a családokat, és nem hagytuk magukra a nyugdíjasokat sem" - szögezte le. Hangsúlyozta: elegük van az állandósult veszélyekből, izgalommentes, unalmas évekre vágynak, azonban nem ez következik, "megint embert próbáló idők dörömbölnek". Arra figyelmeztetett: Brüsszel magára vette az ukrán háborút, háborúra készül és már át is állt a hadigazdálkodásra. Nem távol akarják maguktól tartani a bajt, hanem egyenesen belemasíroznak: még több fegyver, még több pénz, még több katona - sorolta a miniszterelnök, aki szerint olyan próbatétel előtt állnak, amit még a magafajta "vén csatalovak se láttak". Hangsúlyozta: nem lehet tudni se a napot, se az órát, amikor a brüsszeliek első katonája Ukrajna földjére lép, de biztosan tudják, hogy ez meg fog történni. Maguk harsogják büszkén és lelkesen, alig várják, hogy európai uniós felségjelű katonák induljanak Ukrajnába. Ez az, amiből ki kell maradnunk, ez az, amivel szemben meg kell védeni magunkat - jelentette ki. "Vállalom, hogy egy ilyen felfordult világban is megőrizzük Magyarországot a biztonság és a nyugalom szigetének" - rögzítette. Orbán Viktor kijelentette: Ideje, hogy Kijev és Brüsszel is megértse, a "mi fiaink nem fognak Ukrajnáért meghalni, hanem Magyarországért fognak élni". Azt mondta: háborúban nem számít, hogy ki vagy, mire jutottál, miben vagy jó, mit akarsz elérni az életben, csak az számít, jól fogod-e a gépfegyvert, az számít, hogyan futsz az ellenség után vagy elől, csak az számít, hány embert öltél meg, hány golyót fogtál fel. "De mi nem ilyen sorsot szánunk a gyerekeinknek. Mi nem azt a sorsot szántuk a gyerekeink édesanyjának, hogy a fiaikat idegen földön, idegen zászlók alatt temessék el" - fogalmazott. Úgy folytatta: Brüsszelből a bürokraták, Kijevből a háborús maffiózók zsarolják, fenyegetik és riogatják Magyarországot. Mindenki azzal, amije van: Brüsszelből a pénzeinket, Ukrajnából az olajunkat blokkolják. Nem hagyjuk, hogy az ukránok euromilliókat és aranytömböket mozgassanak, ki tudja, mi célból Magyarországon, és mert nem hagyjuk, hogy Ukrajna belépjen az unióba, és ezzel Magyarország nyakára hozza a háborút - sorolta. Kiemelte: most kell igazán észnél lennünk, mert a magyarok pénzét el akarják vinni Brüsszelbe és onnan Ukrajnába. Mert a háborúhoz pénz kell, és Brüsszelben kifogytak belőle. Kell a magyarok pénze is, de még ez sem elég, kell a hitel is, és kell mögé a tagállamok fedezete. 'Nem elég nekik a mi pénzünk, még a gyerekeink és az unokáink pénzét is meg akarják szerezni. Ukrajnára hivatkozva adósrabszolgákká akarnak tenni benneteket sokad íziglen' - fogalmazott Orbán Viktor, hozzátéve "amíg én vagyok a miniszterelnök, nem hagyom, hogy elvegyék, ami a tietek és ami nektek jár, nem hagyom, hogy kizsebeljék Magyarországot". (Forrás: kormany.hu)

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