MIDDLE EAST - This is a moment in history that we will remember for a long time to come. Even though we were told over and over again that a deal with Iran was almost “finalized”, the truth is that there never was going to be a deal with Iran. It was all smoke and mirrors. The US couldn’t give Iran what it was demanding, and Iran simply refused to give the US what it was demanding. Now negotiations have totally collapsed, and it appears that the war is back on. Needless to say, this is going to be absolutely devastating for the global economy.

UK - “Britain is bust.” Those were not the words of a politician or a scaremongering economist. They were uttered in 2012 by Sir Robert Chote, then head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). He warned that unless the government acted by either spending less or taxing more, the national debt risked spiralling out of control. At the time, Britain’s national debt had recently surpassed £1 trillion and alarm bells were already ringing. Today, the country stands on the brink of another symbolic milestone. Within months, the United Kingdom’s national debt is expected to exceed £3 trillion for the first time, a threshold that could be crossed as early as September. Senior economists are raising uncomfortable questions. Chief among them: will the International Monetary Fund (IMF) soon be called back to Britain?

UK - The Royal Navy's entire available fleet of hunter-killer submarines is stuck in port unable to sail – leaving Britain at risk from Vladimir Putin's Russia. In a fresh humiliation for Britain's Armed Forces, all five of its Astute class submarines are currently laid up awaiting maintenance and other repair work. Military experts have also warned that the Navy's lack of available nuclear-powered attack submarines – which carry up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and a battery of Tomahawk missiles – leaves the UK's sub-sea internet and power cables dangerously vulnerable to sabotage by the Kremlin. The subs also play a critical role in protecting the larger Vanguard submarines, which carry the Trident ballistic missiles that make up the UK's nuclear deterrent. The extraordinary revelations come just a day after the Mail told how one of Britain's flagship £3.5 billion aircraft carriers had broken down again and was forced into port in Norway for repairs. And on Friday the head of the UK's military warned that the threats faced by Britain are greater than at any time since the Cold War.

GERMANY - German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Thursday rejected an European Commission request to drop internal border checks, emphasizing their continued necessity to fight illegal migration despite the commission’s claims. Presently, Germany is one of several European Union members that have active internal border checks to fight against uncontrolled illegal migration, terrorist threats, and other risks to their national security. Germany’s current controls have been active since 2024. “The migration turnaround is working in Germany and it is also working at European level, and we are firmly determined that we will continue along this path consistently with our neighboring countries and partner countries,” he added.

MIDDLE EAST - How many times have we heard that a peace deal with Iran “is almost finalized” or “could be signed today”? And how many times has it not happened? Sometimes I feel like I am watching a really twisted version of “Groundhog Day” where people wake up each day and decide to believe the same lies over and over again. Iran is never, ever, ever going to sign anything unless it includes an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But Israel just launched a major military operation against Hezbollah in response to a spike in drone attacks against Israeli targets.

MIDDLE EAST - Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a fresh ceasefire which will boost Donald Trump’s broader efforts to strike a long-term peace deal with Iran. In a joint statement with the US, both Jerusalem and Beirut said the truce was contingent on Hezbollah withdrawing its fighters from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. The Iranian-backed militants renewed attacks across the frontier on March 1, a day after the US-Israeli strikes began on Iran.

USA - Anthropic, the world’s most valuable AI start-up, has called for a global freeze in AI development and warned that humans risk losing control of the technology. The company behind the Claude chatbot offered to suspend work on more powerful systems if it could be assured that others would do the same. “If it were possible to effectively slow the development of this technology to give ourselves more time to deal with its immense implications, we think that would likely be a good thing,” executives at the company wrote. They compared the rise of powerful AI systems to an “arms control problem” and warned that there was a limited amount of time to rein in the technology. Anthropic recently surpassed ChatGPT maker OpenAI to become the world’s most valuable AI company with a $965 billion (£719 billion) valuation. It has withheld the release of its most powerful system, Mythos, from the general public due to fears it could be used to carry out devastating cyber attacks.

EUROPE - In what can only be described as the latest humiliating blow to the crumbling Pax Americana, gold has officially overtaken US government bonds as the world's top reserve asset. The FT reports that, according to a fresh report from the European Central Bank released Tuesday, bullion now accounts for 27% of global central bank reserves at the end of 2025 - up sharply from 20% the prior year. US Treasuries, once the untouchable king of the reserve world, have been knocked down to 22% from 25%. The euro's share remained flat at 15%. This isn't some organic portfolio rebalancing. It's a full-scale de-dollarization revolt years in the making, turbocharged by Washington's own weaponization of the dollar.

GERMANY - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has blamed Berlin’s failure to secure a seat at the UN Security Council on his country’s superior moral positions. If only there were a German word for that… Germany failed to win a temporary seat on the UN Security Council for the first time in history on Wednesday, losing out to Portugal and Austria in the ‘Western Europe and Others’ group.

USA - INSANITY: New York State Democrats Pass Bill Replacing the Words “Mother” and “Father” with These Two Ultra-Woke Terms. Democrats in New York State have declared war on the nuclear family after passing a bill designed to kowtow to the radical pro-trans lobby. As The New York Post reported on Wednesday, the New York State Legislature this week passed legislation that would erase the terms “mother” and “father” from state child custody and parental laws in favor of two woke, gender-neutral terms. The terms that would be used instead? Gestating parent and non-gestating parent. This sounds like something straight out of the Babylon Bee.