Latest news for 25 March 2026

UKRAINE

Over 940 drones.

Russia has launched its biggest-ever aerial attack on Ukraine, sending over 940 drones at Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, Ukraine just hit Putin’s second major Baltic energy export hub in as many days. (BBC)

Comment: The Iran war is shaping both behaviours: Putin is taking advantage of the fact the world is preoccupied with Iran and energy, while Zelensky is curbing Putin’s ability to ride the Iran price windfall.

CHINA

Can’t leave.

Authorities are barring the two Singapore-based co-founders of AI startup Manus from leaving the country while a probe into their sale to Meta is underway. (FT $)

Comment: As AI’s strategic implications come into focus, you can expect China’s strict foreign investment laws to take a keener interest, though it’s awkward timing coming the very same week as China’s Boao business forum (see below).

JAPAN

Forced entry.

A young Japanese military officer is in custody after climbing into China’s Tokyo embassy, allegedly carrying a knife. No one was harmed. (Kyodo News)

Comment: As Tokyo-Beijing ties get more fraught, the odds of something weird like this triggering a crisis will only grow.

DENMARK

Playing with fire.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has handed in her resignation after the ruling Social Democrats lost support in her snap election yesterday (Tuesday). Frederiksen will stay on as caretaker while new coalition talks are underway. (RTE)

Comment: Frederiksen was hoping to ‘pull a Carney’ and convert her popular Trump pushback on Greenland into a bigger majority, but this electoral backfire suggests that, while everyone’s aligned on Greenland, voters are focused on everyday pressures.

CHINA

Summits.

The Boao Forum for Asia is now underway in Hainan, with several Western CEOs in town (Danfoss, PepsiCo, Siemens, Bosch, Amway) praising China’s relative stability, plus its purported push to boost domestic consumption. (The Straits Times)

Comment: More surprising than any ‘CEO-praises-top-customer’ headline is the fact President Xi isn’t headlining this 25th anniversary year, but instead sending Zhao Leji (Politburo insider / head of the National People’s Congress), the lowest-ranked Boao headliner we can recall. What’s going on? It could just be a mix of a) timing (China’s bigger ‘Two Sessions’ only just wrapped), and b) other priorities (Iran et al).

CUBA

To the rescue?

The vessel that was en route to deliver Russian diesel to Cuba? It’s ended up in Venezuela instead, after the US explicitly clarified Cuba is still off-limits amid DC’s waiver for Russian barrels stranded at sea. Meanwhile, the first of three Mexico-based community aid vessels has arrived in Cuba — it’s named Granma 2.0 for the ship that famously delivered Fidel Castro to the island in 1956. (PBS)

GHANA

Partners in anti-crime.

Ghana has become Africa’s first country to sign a defence partnership with the EU, boosting ties on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and border security. (BBC)

Comment: Rather than go for size (Nigeria) or prestige (South Africa), the EU is gunning for reliability — Ghana has an unbroken democratic track record in a sub-region rattling Europe via jihadism, irregular migration, and Kremlin-friendly coups.