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Mar 15, 2026 - World

Yoani Sánchez says a purported policeman in civilian clothes is stopping her.

Mar 15, 2026 - World

Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump administration official, outlined a pessimistic long-term scenario for the Iran conflict, predicting that despite military devastation, the underlying tensions driving the war will remain unresolved."Most likely outcome now: Iran's military is devastated. Regime survives. The Strait stays closed until both sides find a face-saving off-ramp," Scaramucci stated, characterizing the likely trajectory of the conflict.According to Scaramucci's analysis, the war will ultimately result in a pyrrhic outcome that benefits neither side strategically. While Trump will declare victory domestically and Iran's leadership will claim resistance and defiance, the fundamental geopolitical tensions that sparked the conflict remain intact.The ex-insider predicted several consequences flowing from this stalemate. Oil prices will eventually drop as markets adjust to the new status quo, while Iran's nuclear program will be temporarily set back without being eliminated entirely. However, he emphasized this represents no permanent resolution."We'll be back here in 10 years," Scaramucci concluded, suggesting the conflict's underlying causes—unresolved regional rivalry, sanctions, and nuclear proliferation concerns—will inevitably resurface.The prediction reflects growing expert consensus that without a clear diplomatic off-ramp or decisive military outcome, the Iran war risks becoming a prolonged stalemate that exhausts resources while failing to achieve lasting strategic objectives.

Mar 15, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may end up becoming a tense standoff after the newly re-elected leader vowed to be “candid” about the economic pain the Trump administration had inflicted on the East Asian nation.“If President Donald Trump is expecting effusive praise for his war on Iran when Japan’s prime minister arrives in Washington on Thursday, he is likely to be disappointed,” wrote Bronwen Maddox, director of the British foreign-policy think tank Chatham House in the organization’s report Sunday. “Sanae Takaichi, re-elected in February in a landslide victory, says she intends to be ‘candid’ in pointing out that Japan’s oil-dependent economy is suffering badly from the conflict.”Oval Office visits, Maddox noted, have often “become bear traps” for foreign leaders, perhaps most notably for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he was chastised last year by Trump and Vice President JD Vance for nearly an hour. However, given the historic disruption to oil trade sparked by the Trump administration’s attack on Iran, Takaichi is expected to be blunt with Trump, Maddox wrote.“She will want reassurance about the US’s security umbrella, the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy since 1945,” Maddox wrote. “Trump is likely to repeat instead his demand for Japan to pay more for its own defence.”As the world’s fifth largest importer of oil, Japan’s economy has been hit hard by the disruption in oil trade, with 95% of Japan’s oil imports coming from the Middle East. Japan’s cost of living has spiked as a result, leading Maddox to predict Takaichi may “want to use the good rapport she struck up with the U.S. president at a meeting in October to make the point about the impact of the war on other countries.”

Mar 15, 2026 - World

Afghan government reports zero casualties and accuses neighbouring country of wanting to ‘fuel the fire of war’Pakistan has targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province overnight, as the fighting that erupted between the two neighbours late last month showed no signs of abating.The cross-border attacks, which have included Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, are the deadliest yet between the countries. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an “open war”, adding to concerns about regional stability as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran engulfs the Middle East and beyond. Continue reading...

Mar 15, 2026 - World

Democrat says Congress ‘doing nothing’ may embolden president to attack countries such as Cuba and North KoreaDemocratic US senator Cory Booker has criticized both his own political party as well as its Republican counterpart for being “feckless” in ceding congressional war powers to Donald Trump, saying that their decision could embolden the president to unilaterally attack Cuba, North Korea and other countries.“I’m going to be one of those Democrats [who] say I think both parties have been feckless in allowing the growth of the power of the presidency,” Booker said on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. Continue reading...