Latest news for 18 March 2026

CUBA

Complete darkness.

Millions of Cubans are now back online after another grid collapse plunged them into darkness for almost two days, three months into the US fuel embargo. (BBC)

Comment: The hardship is fomenting rare bouts of public dissent, which is presumably DC’s game-plan to test the regime’s grip on power.

UKRAINE

First to concede.

Ukraine has reportedly accepted the EU’s help to repair a damaged pipeline delivering Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, presumably in return for Hungary dropping its veto on a critical pre-approved $106B EU loan for Ukraine. (AP)

Comment: This potentially resolves an issue that’s divided Europe for weeks, but Hungary’s Putin-friendly Orbán is fighting for his political life ahead of April 12 elections, so anything’s possible. The EU wants it sorted at the big leader summit in Brussels starting tomorrow (Thursday), though Orbán is insisting he won’t drop his veto until the oil actually starts flowing, which wouldn’t be until after election day anyway.

INDIA

Rebel, rebel.

India has detained six Ukrainians and one American on suspicion of entering Myanmar to train pro-democracy rebel groups and smuggle drones. (SCMP)

Comment: India’s concern isn’t so much the fate of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, but rather that some of the opposing armed groups share ethnic ties with communities on India’s side of the border — ie, Delhi fears spillover.

PORTUGAL

Skip the queue.

Portugal has become the first to launch the EU’s new “Travel to Europe” app, allowing non-EU travellers to pre-register entry data up to 72 hours in advance. It aims to help ease the big delays that followed the EU’s new biometric border program late last year. (Euronews)

THAILAND

Higher fences.

Following last year’s deadly border clashes with Cambodia, Thailand will begin building fenced and surveilled sections along its frontier next month. (Bangkok Post)

Comment: These new fences apparently don’t involve disputed territory. The more interesting bit for us is that the construction is part-funded by more than $6M in public donations! Seems a pretty clear indicator of nationalist sentiment right now.

COLOMBIA

Early stage investor.

Colombia is seeking a US sanctions waiver to allow its state firms to invest in Venezuelan energy projects, including reviving a cross-border pipeline. (AP)

Comment: It’ll be interesting whether DC greenlights this deal to help stabilise Venezuela and ease Colombia’s energy shortage, or whether DC uses this leverage for broader concessions on (say) regional security. Either way, one neighbour having to seek US permission to invest in another is a stark reminder of DC’s gatekeeper status.

SENEGAL

Suddenly second.

Three months after Senegal won a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations soccer final against the tournament’s Morocco hosts, the league’s appeals board has now flipped that result to a 3-0 win for Morocco! The decision argues Senegal technically forfeited the match (and so now suffers a default 3-0 loss) when its team briefly walked off the field in protest. Senegal is appealing. (Reuters)

Comment: Sure it’s just sport, but it’ll play into the continent’s wider fault lines between Africa’s oil-rich, Arabic-speaking north and the rest.