“The US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by rockets and drones early Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said. While Iraq’s air defenses intercepted multiple drones and rockets, with no reported injuries, the officials said, shrapnel did hit the embassy compound, triggering an explosion and sending a plume of smoke into the sky. Meanwhile, a separate strike hit a house inside the fortified Presidential Compound in Baghdad’s al-Jadriya area. … Beijing has announced that it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to four Middle East nations impacted by the war in the region: Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. … Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi has said the war ‘should never have happened.'” (03/17/26)
“The BBC said on Monday it had asked a US federal court in Florida to dismiss a US$10 billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump against the British broadcaster. Trump launched a lawsuit last year over a BBC documentary that edited his 2021 speech ahead of the US Capitol riot. The documentary was ‘never aired in Florida – or the US’ or available to stream there on any platform, a representative for the British Broadcasting Corporation said in a comment sent to Agence France-Presse. It also argued that Trump could not show that it intended to misrepresent him.” (03/16/26)
“Officials in Cuba reported an island-wide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to it. The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and said it was investigating. President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants, and the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people. A massive outage over a week ago affected the island’s west, leaving millions without power.” (03/16/26)
“Aluminum advanced after one of the world’s biggest smelters of the metal closed almost a fifth of its capacity, deepening the risk of shortages as the Iran war chokes supplies from the Middle East. Aluminium Bahrain BSC has started a phased shutdown of three production lines, together accounting for 19% of its total output capacity, the firm said on Sunday. Alba, as the company is known, is aiming to conserve raw materials while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces disruptions. … The Middle East accounts for some 9% of the world’s aluminum output, and Alba’s cuts add to other reductions that have stoked supply fears and prompted warnings of deepening shortages for manufacturers.” (03/16/26)
“Authorities say they have arrested Haitian legislator Arnel Belizaire, who faces charges including financing terrorism and conspiracy against state security. … Haiti’s National Police made the announcement late Sunday, ending a hunt for the well-known lawmaker, who was first accused around two months ago. Belizaire previously characterized the arrest warrant against him as political intimidation. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney. Belizaire had registered his new political party late last week for the upcoming general election.” (03/16/26)
“President Donald Trump’s administration has asked a judge to reconsider his ruling that has effectively blocked a criminal investigation into U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, according to court documents made public on Monday. Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in a ruling unsealed on Friday blocked subpoenas issued by federal prosecutors in January seeking information about cost overruns in renovations at the Fed’s headquarters and Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about the project. Boasberg concluded that prosecutors had improperly issued the subpoenas, saying a ‘mountain of evidence’ suggests the investigation — as Powell has argued — was intended to pressure the Fed chair to rapidly lower interest rates or resign as chair. The Justice Department in a new filing urged Boasberg to revisit his decision.” (03/16/26)
“A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it’s the oldest such recording known. The song is that of a humpback whale, a marine giant beloved by whale watchers for its docile nature and spectacular leaps from the water, and was recorded by scientists in March 1949 in Bermuda, said researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Just as significant is the sound of the surrounding ocean itself, said Peter Tyack, a marine bioacoustician and emeritus research scholar at Woods Hole. The ocean of the late 1940s was much quieter than the ocean of today, providing a different backdrop than scientists are used to hearing for whale song, he said.” (03/16/26)
“Hungary’s ruling and opposition parties each held major rallies on Sunday as they race to shore up support ahead of hotly contested elections on April 12. The rallies, held to mark the country’s national day, pitted right-wing, pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Orban, 62, against opposition leader Peter Magyar, 44, who is seeking to end Orban’s 16-year rule and offer support to Ukraine. Orban’s nationalist Fidesz party has been trailing in polls against Magyar’s center-right Tisza party since last year and has turned to criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy more harshly. Tens of thousands of government supporters held a so-called ‘peace march’ that crossed the Danube River and headed towards Hungary’s parliament in Budapest. … Across town, Magyar accused Orban of ‘inviting Russian agents’ to ‘interfere in the elections.’ He addressed a crowd of at least 100,000 supporters at Budapest’s Heroes Square.” (03/16/26)
“White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has breast cancer, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday afternoon. Wiles, a longstanding fixture of Trump’s campaign orbit, has been his chief of staff since he took office for his second term in 2025. Trump said Wiles had ‘early stage breast cancer’ and an ‘excellent’ prognosis. She will be staying on as Trump’s chief of staff while she undergoes treatment, the president said. … Wiles joined Trump at an event at the White House shortly after the president announced her diagnosis, sitting next to him at a meeting of Kennedy Center board members.” (03/16/26)
“Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is expected to announce the U.K.’s steel strategy at Tata Steel UK’s mill in Port Talbot on Thursday. The strategy will set out new protections for Britain’s steel sector, slashing quotas on imports of many products from overseas while raising duties outside those caps to 50 percent, two people familiar with the announcement told POLITICO. … British officials have told both U.K. steel producers and downstream importers, who use steel in everything from construction to automotive manufacturing, to expect a 50 percent duty outside of new quotas in a move ‘likely to be similar to the EU,’ said a second industry figure.” (03/16/26)
