“The new U.S. ambassador to South Africa has been summoned to explain his criticism, the country’s foreign minister said Wednesday, as a diplomatic rift continues over foreign policy that the Trump administration describes as anti-American and domestic policies it calls anti-white. Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III was summoned after speaking at a meeting of business leaders on Tuesday, where he challenged the South African government over its diplomatic ties with Iran and its affirmative action laws that advance opportunities for Black people ahead of other races. The rift has grown between the former allies since President Donald Trump returned to office. Ties have plunged to their lowest point since the end of apartheid, or white minority rule, in 1994. Trump has been critical of South Africa’s Black-led government. Bozell, a conservative activist appointed by Trump, took up his role in Pretoria last month.” (03/11/26)
“At a nuclear summit near Paris earlier this week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the move away from nuclear energy made by some European Union countries as a ‘strategic mistake.’ Nuclear power, she explained, is a ‘reliable, affordable source of low-emission electricity.’ The head of the EU Commission announced new financial aid for such power plants. Von der Leyen’s words reverberated in Germany, which switched off its last nuclear reactor in 2023. … However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said on Tuesday that previous federal governments had decided to phase out nuclear energy, and that rolling back this decision was not possible. He added, however: ‘I regret this, but it is the way it is, and we are now concentrating on the energy policy we have.'” (03/11/26)
“Amazon has secured a major win in its lawsuit against Perplexity. A federal judge has ordered Perplexity to block its AI agents from placing orders on Amazon without permission. In the lawsuit filed in November, Amazon accused Perplexity of using its Comet AI browser to covertly access the Amazon website and users’ accounts to place orders on their behalf. Before filing the complaint, Amazon had also sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter accusing it of disguising Comet as Chrome to ensure its AI agents could avoid detection. … Amazon has welcomed the preliminary injunction. … For the e-commerce giant, the case could also be about protecting its advertising revenue. As Bloomberg notes, Amazon earned $68 billion from ads last year, as brands are still willing to pay huge sums for prime visibility across the platform. If customers purchase products without visiting the website, that revenue could take a hit.” (03/11/26)
“A group representing many of the world’s wealthiest countries agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects of the Iran war on energy markets and the halt of cargo shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves, which is more than double the 182.7 million barrels that the IEA’s 32 member countries released in 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ‘This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,’ IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. ‘But, to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.'” (03/11/26)
“British police said they had banned a pro-Iranian march due to take place in London on Sunday, citing the possibility of ‘extreme tensions’ with counter-protesters and the risk posed by Tehran during the conflict in the Middle East. The Al Quds march in central London is organised annually by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which the police said was supportive of the Iranian regime. The threshold to ban a protest is high in Britain, with the police saying this was the first time the power had been invoked in 14 years, but the risks of public disorder were ‘so severe’ it was right to block it. The ban also applies to any counter-protest marches.” (03/11/26)
“Iran cannot participate in the FIFA World Cup after the United States killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the country’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali. ‘Considering that this corrupt regime [the US] has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,’ the minister told state television on Wednesday. The US will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, but all of Iran’s group-stage fixtures are allocated to American cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.” (03/11/26)
“A fourth MP of the current Canadian parliament has defected to join the Liberals, bringing Prime Minister Mark Carney closer to a majority in the House of Commons. Lori Idlout, a member of the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), is joining the governing party. In a statement issued by the Liberals, she said she had undergone ‘much personal reflection and encouragement from my community, family, and supporters’. Interim NDP leader Don Davies said he was ‘very disappointed,’ adding: ‘We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put that decision to their voters.’ The Liberals said they were ‘deeply excited to welcome’ Idlout. Idlout was first elected as an MP from the Canadian territory of Nunavut in 2021. In its statement, the Liberal Party said she is ‘well known as a tireless champion for Nunavut.'” (03/11/26)
“A federal jury on Monday awarded $667,000 in damages to a group of Muslim men incarcerated in Missouri who were pepper-sprayed by state correctional officers while praying. The lawsuit in eastern Missouri’s U.S. District Court alleged that the men had been allowed to pray together many times in their prison housing unit after the chapel was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be distributed among eight men who were handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and placed in solitary confinement after praying in the housing area at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre on Feb. 28, 2021. Those who were placed in solitary confinement at the 2,684-bed facility were left without access to soap or running water to wash off the pepper spray, and some resorted to washing their faces with toilet water, according to the lawsuit.” (03/10/26)
“In a sign of the bad state of relations between Spain and Israel, Madrid on Wednesday permanently withdrew its ambassador to Tel Aviv. The diplomatic downgrade comes after years of tense exchanges between both governments. Spain has been a leading critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military operations in Gaza and, this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez blasted Israel for joining the U.S. in its ‘illegitimate’ attack on Iran. Madrid recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, veteran diplomat Ana María Salomón Pérez, last September, after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Sánchez’s government of inciting a ‘pro-Palestinian mob’ and banned Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Youth Sira Rego from entering the country. The decision to definitively retire the ambassador is a highly symbolic move that underscores the degradation of ties between the two countries.” (03/11/26)
“Cambodia hopes to shut down all of the country’s notorious online scam centers by the end of next month, the head of the Southeast Asian nation’s effort to combat the cybercrime said Wednesday. Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, in charge of the Commission for Combating Online Scams, told The Associated Press in an interview that the government since July had targeted 250 locations believed to be carrying out the lucrative criminal activity, and has shut down about 80%, or 200, of them. He said police would carry out suppression activities after April in an attempt to keep the scam centers from reemerging. Cambodia has launched previous crackdowns against online scam centers but without major effect.” (03/11/26)
