“The Chinese government is set to ban people from storing the cremated remains of their loved ones in empty apartments instead of paying for expensive cemetery plots. The new law will put an end to ‘bone ash apartments,’ which have risen in popularity as spaces in cemeteries remain scarce. Low property prices in the country mean that for many, it is more affordable to entomb the ashes of relatives in an empty apartment than pay for funeral costs. The legislation prohibits the use of residential properties ‘specifically for the placement of ashes’ as well as the burial of remains outside of cemeteries and areas where ecological burial is legal. Bone ash apartments are empty properties which are turned into ritual halls by family members of the deceased. Their loved one’s ashes are placed inside and the space turned into an ancestral shrine.” (03/31/26)
“U.S. gasoline prices have surged above $4 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, as the oil supply shock triggered by the Middle East war rapidly drives up costs for families. Prices at the pump hit a nationwide average of $4.018, the highest level since August 2022 when Russia’s war against Ukraine shook energy markets, the travel association AAA said. Gas prices have soared more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, according to AAA data. … Vice President JD Vance told consumers they face ‘a rough road ahead’ on gas prices in the coming weeks. Vance promised that the spike is temporary and prices will fall after the war has ended.” (03/31/26)
“A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing U.S. energy blockade. Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered the ship’s arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine. … Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.” (03/31/26)
“Japan’s first long-range missile was deployed at a southwestern army camp, officials said Tuesday, as the country pushes to bolster its offensive capabilities. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles, developed and produced by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, became operational at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture. … The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), a significant extension from the 200-kilometer (125-mile) range of the original that would allow it to reach mainland China. The deployment of the long-range missile gives Japan a ‘standoff’ capability, meaning it can strike enemy missile bases from afar, marking a break from the self-defense-only policy the country long followed under its pacifist constitution.” (03/31/26)
“‘It was pretty soon after James was born that I knew something wasn’t right,’ says Laura. She and her partner, Beth, have two children — James, and their eldest Kate – both conceived through IVF treatment at a clinic in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. The two women used their own eggs and carefully chose one anonymous, healthy sperm donor. They told the clinic which ordered the sperm for them that it was important the same donor was used for both babies — so their children would be biologically related. But when James was born, they both noticed that his ‘beautiful’ brown eyes were very different to those of his biological mum, Beth, and the sperm donor the family had requested. … Beth and Laura decided their children should take a DNA test. The results indicated neither child was related to the sperm donor their parents had selected.” (03/31/26)
“The Justice Department is suing the Minnesota Department of Education, asking a federal court to force it to comply with the Trump administration’s policies prohibiting transgender student-athletes from competing in girls’ sports. … Federal prosecutors are asking the court to rule that the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League are violating Title IX’s prohibition on sex-based discrimination over their policies allowing transgender student-athletes at federally funded schools to compete in girls’ sports and use spaces designated for girls, such as bathrooms and changing rooms.” (03/31/26)
“The Trump administration is pushing the FBI to look into an old investigation on California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a sitting member of Congress and leading Democratic candidate for California governor, the Washington Post reported last week. Swalwell, a former prosecutor and unsuccessful 2020 presidential candidate, called the FBI probe ‘nonsense’ and suggested last week that the president’s directive is an attempt to influence the California governor’s race in which Swalwell says he is ‘the favorite’. ‘Through great reporting, we now know the outrageous ends the White House will go to target political opponents,’ he said in an emailed statement to SFGATE. ‘As was Trump’s mortgage case against me, this decade-old story is, of course, nonsense.’ FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly has pushed investigators to revisit files from a decade-old investigation into Swalwell and a suspected Chinese operative, the outlet reported, citing three anonymous sources.” (03/30/26)
“Australia’s e-safety commissioner warned platforms like Meta, YouTube and TikTok of ‘major gaps’ in their enforcement of the social media ban for under-16s, almost four months after the law came into effect. ‘While social media platforms have taken some initial action, I am concerned through our compliance monitoring that some may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law,’ commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement on Tuesday. The legislation requires 10 of the largest social media networks, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, and X, to keep under-16s away or face fines of up to A$49.5m (£26.5m), making it one of the world’s toughest digital restrictions. … Ms Grant said the watchdog was ‘currently investigating potential non-compliance’ by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.” (03/31/26)
“Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker anchored at Dubai port, with the strike damaging the vessel’s hull, in the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israel war on Iran. Dubai authorities said the drone attack on the Al Salmi tanker caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. They later confirmed there was no oil leak.” (03/31/26)
“Manhattan’s top fraud prosecutors met with Polymarket to discuss whether lucrative bets on the prediction market platform have violated insider trading and other federal laws. The meeting follows a warning from Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District and former SEC chairman, who told a securities law conference that criminal cases involving prediction market activity were coming. … One newly created Polymarket account turned $32,000 into over $400,000 in less than 24 hours after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. In another instance, a trader netted nearly $1 million from making remarkably accurate Iran war bets on the platform. Polymarket and Kalshi are scrambling to get ahead of the scrutiny. Polymarket issued new rules last week banning trades based on confidential information. Kalshi, which has long banned insider trading, went further by blocking politicians and athletes from trading in their own markets and said it has referred over a dozen cases to law enforcement in the past year.” (03/30/26)
