“Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol for an additional coordinated release of oil stockpiles when they met on Wednesday, as Tokyo seeks to hedge against a prolonged Middle East conflict. After agreeing to release a record amount of oil stockpiles in coordination with the IEA to cover for the Middle East supply loss, Takaichi on Tuesday said Japan would also open up joint oil stockpiles co-owned by producing nations in the country. … There are 45 Japan-related ships that are still stranded in the Gulf as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, said Hitoshi Nagasawa, chairman of the Japan Shipowners’ Association and also head of Japan’s NYK Group, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, on Wednesday.” (03/25/26)
“British police arrested two men on Wednesday in connection with an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, which authorities are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. The Metropolitan Police said the two men, aged 45 and 47, were arrested in London on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both men have been taken to a police station in the city for questioning.” (03/25/26)
“British political parties will be banned from accepting donations in cryptocurrencies, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday, saying illicit finance poses a ‘stark’ danger to the country’s democracy. Starmer told lawmakers that ‘we will act decisively to protect our democracy’ from outside meddling. ‘That will include a moratorium on all political donations made through cryptocurrencies,’ he said during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons. The move could be a financial blow to the hard-right party Reform UK. The party led by Nigel Farage is one of the few in Britain to accept cryptocurrency donations. The government also said it will put an annual cap of 100,000 pounds ($134,000) on donations by British voters living abroad. Reform has received 12 million pounds in the past year from Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand, according to Electoral Commission figures.” (03/25/26)
“Israel has not prosecuted its citizens for killing Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade, a Guardian analysis of legal data and public records show, creating impunity for a campaign of violence. Attacks have spurred former prime minister Ehud Olmert to call for an intervention by the international criminal court (ICC), to ‘save the Palestinians and us [Israelis]’ from state-backed [squatter] violence, carried out with the complicity and sometimes participation of the police and military. ‘I have decided not only to not remain silent, but to draw the attention of the ICC in The Hague so that it may take enforcement measures and issue arrest warrants,’ Olmert said in written comments to the Guardian. Dozens of former Israeli security commanders have demanded urgent action to stop ‘almost daily’ attacks on Palestinians.” (03/25/26)
“The Agriculture Department is cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from a program aimed at helping farmers buy and retain land, three people familiar with the decision confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday. … Nonprofits, tribal governments and other organizations applied for the funding to address land access issues for underserved farmers — including access to capital, market expansions, succession planning and efforts to prevent land loss. The projects were especially targeted to address land access issues facing [b]lack farmers, immigrant farmers, [i]ndigenous farmers, veterans and other underrepresented groups. According to one of the cancellation letters shared with POLITICO, USDA determined that the program ‘involved discriminatory preferences based on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ as well as ‘wasteful spending.'” (03/24/26)
“In a surprise move, OpenAI will shut down its Sora AI video app, just months after it was first launched. ‘We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you,’ the company said in a statement. ‘What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing. We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work.’ A source familiar with the matter tells The Hollywood Reporter that Disney is also exiting the deal it signed with OpenAI last year, in which it pledged to invest $1 billion in the company and agreed to license some of its characters for use in Sora.” (03/24/26)
“Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos says he is working to secure new sources of oil after he placed the country under a state of national energy emergency in response to the war in Iran. Marcos told Filipinos in a televised address that the government would procure one million barrels of oil to add to the current stock, which is good for 45 days. ‘We will have a flow of oil. Not just one delivery, not two deliveries, but a flow of oil-related products,’ he said. The Philippines, which imports 98% of its oil from the gulf, became the first country to declare an energy emergency after local diesel and petrol prices more than doubled in the country since the war broke out on 28 February. The US-Israel war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping route – have sent shock waves through global energy markets, causing shortages and price rises.” (03/25/26)
“Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s hopes for a third term were further complicated on Tuesday, with her left-wing bloc winning the election yet failing to secure a majority. The bloc, which includes the Social Democrats, the center-right Venstre and Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen’s Moderates, took 84 seats in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament. The right secured 77 seats, official results showed. Rasmussen’s party became kingmaker with 14 seats, setting the stage for thorny negotiations as the winners strive to build a coalition government. … Her Social Democrat party had been bolstered with Frederiksen having rebuffed Trump’s threat to take control of Greenland, an island in the Arctic Ocean that is a semi-autonomous territory controlled by Denmark. But Tuesday’s vote represents the worst result for the Social Democrats since the start of the last century, sinking to 21.9%. That’s dramatic fall from the 27.5% they won in the last election in 2022.” (03/24/26)
“An Iranian military spokesperson mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves. Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari’s statement came after the Trump administration reportedly sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan. … Kuwait and Bahrain were both hit with damaging strikes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning …. News that Trump had approved the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East further undermined the US president’s repeated claims of successful peace talks.” (03/25/26)
“Democrat Emily Gregory on Tuesday won a special election for the Florida state House district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, flipping the seat from Republican control, The Associated Press projects. Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples, who had been endorsed by Trump, in the race for a seat that has been vacant since August. Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso left the seat empty when he resigned from the legislature last year and was appointed to his current office. Gregory had 51% of the vote to 49% for Maples with all precincts reporting. … The president carried this Florida legislative district by about 11 percentage points in the 2024 election, according to The Downballot, a left-leaning political site that tracks special elections.” (03/24/26)
