NEED TO KNOW
ME US ultimatum & ground invasion plans: President Trump extended the 48-hour deadline he set early in the week for potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure to April 6 to allow for ongoing negotiations. However, a report from the Washington Post indicated the Pentagon is actually preparing for a ground operation that could last up to two months, primarily focused on seizing strategic coastal assets like Kharg Island. On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that 3,500 additional soldiers arrived in the Middle East on board the USS Tripoli. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Sunday the “enemy openly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue and secretly plans a ground attack…Our men are waiting for the arrival of American soldiers on the ground to set fire to them and punish their regional partners forever.”
ME Houthis join the war: Yemen’s Houthi rebels officially entered the conflict on the one-month mark by launching a barrage of missiles and drones against Israel. This marks a significant escalation, as the group had previously remained on the sidelines since the current hostilities began. This has sparked acute fears of a dual-maritime blockade that could paralyze global trade, as the group has signaled its readiness to reactivate a full-scale offensive in the Red Sea, specifically threatening to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Combined with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, two of the main strategic waterways in the world for trade and energy supplies could potentially be cut off.
CH US-Switzerland funding dispute: SRF, Switzerland’s national broadcaster, reported that the US redirected over $126 million in Swiss funds originally allocated for 36 F-35 fighter jets to cover Patriot air defense shortfalls using the Foreign Military Sales pooled trust fund, a structure that allows the Pentagon to reallocate payments across a buyer’s contracts without that buyer’s permission. Switzerland halted payments for US Patriot surface-to-air defense systems last autumn after learning deliveries would be delayed by four to five years. This move by the US circumvents the payment freeze and Swiss officials have described the situation as “highly unsatisfactory”, as it creates a significant budgetary gap. This comes after Switzerland suspended weapons exports to the US last week.
TR Turkey becomes world’s biggest gold seller: Turkey’s central bank sold approximately 58.4 tons of gold (valued at roughly $8 billion) in just two weeks to defend the lira against war-related pressures. More than half of the gold was used to borrow US Dollars through swap deals and the rest was sold directly in the open market. This drawdown represents the largest drop in 7 years, driven by soaring energy costs and high domestic demand for US dollars.
SP Spain’s strategic realignment: Following Spain’s vocal opposition to the Iran war and the withdrawal of its ambassador from Israel, Iran has granted Spanish ships rare safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Simultaneously, the country is in talks with Algeria to increase gas exports to Spain by 10% via the Medgaz pipeline. Algerian gas made up more than 29% of the country's total imports in the first two months of the year.
DE Volkswagen’s pivot to defense: Volkswagen is in discussions with Israeli state-owned defense firm Rafael to convert its Osnabrück plant from car production to manufacturing Iron Dome components. The move is supported by the German government to preserve industrial jobs while shifting toward a "permanent war economy" footing.
EU European Commission data breach: The EC confirmed a cyberattack on March 24 that compromised the cloud infrastructure of its Europa.eu platform, where the Commission, European Parliament, Council of the EU and other EU institutions’ websites are located. While internal systems were reportedly not hit and the EC said the incident is contained, it did not reveal who was responsible for the attack.
QA Qatar-Ukraine defense deal: During his visit to Doha, President Zelenskyy signed a deal with Qatar which allows Ukraine to share battlefield tactics for countering Shahed-style drones in exchange for Qatari air-defense support. According to the Ukrainian President: “We are talking about a 10-year cooperation. We have already signed a relevant agreement with Saudi Arabia, we have just signed a similar agreement with Qatar, also for 10 years, we will sign one with the Emirates”.
US Army enlistment age raised: The US Army has raised the maximum enlistment age to 42 from 35 and also relaxed rules on recruiting individuals with drug convictions as the service continues to widen its recruiting pool. The new rule that will go into effect April 20, also lifts the requirement for new recruits to receive a waiver if they have up to a single prior conviction for marijuana or drug paraphernalia possession.
US Google & Meta liability ruling: A Los Angeles jury found both tech giants liable for negligence, awarding $6 million to a plaintiff who claimed their "addictive design" features caused her severe mental health harm as a teen. While the companies plan to appeal, this is a landmark "bellwether" case that could set the tone for hundreds of similar lawsuits currently pending.
GOOD TO KNOW
Energy crisis spreads and deepens
The global energy landscape has shifted into a state of emergency as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and escalating conflict in the Middle East cut off nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply. In response, a wave of drastic rationing and operational shifts has come into effect in multiple countries.
The Philippines has declared a national energy emergency, mandating a four-day work week for some government offices. Sri Lanka and Myanmar have revived strict QR-code and license plate rationing systems, with Sri Lanka limiting private cars to 25 liters of petrol per week. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the crisis has forced the closure of schools and universities, while Bangladesh has implemented planned blackouts to save energy. South Korea launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, calling on people to ride bicycles for short trips and reduce the length of showers, while Thailand and Vietnam have also asked their citizens to reduce their energy use. The Thai government additionally ordered civil servants to work from home, set air-conditioners to 26°C, skip suits in meetings and suspend overseas trips.
In Australia, more than 500 gas stations across NSW and Victoria, the country’s two largest states, have run out of fuel, while Victoria and Tasmania announced they will temporarily offer free public transport for one month to ease the effects of rising fuel costs. In Egypt, the government has ordered the early closure of shops, malls and restaurants and introduced partial remote working. India has invoked emergency powers to divert LPG away from industrial use to prioritize household cooking needs. This austerity has also reached Europe, as Slovenia became the first EU member to implement fuel rationing, limiting private drivers to 50 liters per week.
To stabilize crumbling local markets, major economies have initiated historic drawdowns of strategic reserves. Japan has authorized its largest-ever release of 80 million barrels (roughly 45 days' worth of demand), while South Korea has released 22.46 million barrels and lifted restrictions on coal-burning to offset LNG shortages.
OpenAI’s “Strategic Retreat”
OpenAI officially announced the shutdown of its Sora video app on March 24, which reportedly cost $15 million per day to operate. This led to the immediate collapse of a $1 billion licensing deal with Disney that would have featured iconic characters from the Marvel and Star Wars universes. This pivot appears driven by staggering overhead, as internal document leaks and reports from HSBC revealed late last year that the company faces a $207 billion funding gap by 2030, driven by the massive infrastructure costs, and 2026 losses alone projected to hit $14 billion. To bridge this cash burn, OpenAI has taken the unprecedented step of offering private equity firms like TPG and Advent guaranteed minimum returns of 17.5%. The company also promised investors early access to models not yet in public release.
Beyond the balance sheet, the "QuitGPT" movement continues to gain traction. The campaign was launched in January amid a political storm triggered by the US President’s decision to deploy ICE agents across the country and as a response to OpenAI president Greg Brockman's $US25 million to MAGA Inc, a pro-Trump super PAC. Support for the movement was reignited after the controversial Pentagon contract that CEO Sam Altman recently admitted was "opportunistic and sloppy”. The backlash has led to high-profile exits, including the resignation of OpenAI’s robotics lead. With ChatGPT's web traffic share falling from 86% to 64% in just one year and dozens of pending lawsuits regarding addictive design and copyright infringement, the company appears to be under pressure, especially given the prospect of a much-anticipated IPO that might come later this year.
NICE TO KNOW
AI Apple’s Siri AI expansion: Apple announced that Siri will soon support multiple third-party AI models, including Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, via a new "Extensions" marketplace in iOS 27. This move effectively ends ChatGPT’s period of exclusivity, allowing Siri to act as a universal gateway for various AI assistants.
SG Singapore’s gold hub expansion: Singapore announced plans to significantly expand its bullion storage capacity and launch a new gold clearing system. The goal is to attract foreign central banks looking for secure, non-Western alternatives to store their gold reserves amid the escalating regional conflict.
UK Church of England leadership: Dame Sarah Mullally has been confirmed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. She is the first woman to lead the Church in its 1,400-year history, succeeding Justin Welby with a mandate to modernize the institution’s approach to social issues.
US USPS fuel surcharge: For the first time in its history, the US Postal Service has requested an 8% fuel surcharge on parcel services like Priority Mail and Ground Advantage, effective April 26. This emergency measure follows a spike in fuel costs since the regional conflict began, as the agency continues to struggle with a multi-billion dollar operating loss.
US Chaos at US airports: Travel has been severely disrupted as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown entered its sixth week, forcing TSA agents to work without pay. In what the acting TSA head has described as the “highest wait times in TSA history”, security lines at major hubs have stretched for hours, prompting the White House to issue an emergency memorandum to find back-pay funds.
DE AfD secures electoral gains: In Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate state election on March 22, the AfD party achieved a record-breaking 19.5% of the vote, more than doubling its previous score. Although the conservative CDU won the state, the AfD's surge is being viewed as a seismic shift in German politics ahead of critical eastern state elections in September.
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