March 11, 2026 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state. 

QOTD: "World leaders used to come to the White House and walk away with billions in taxpayer-funded freebies,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “Now they’re bringing trade and investment deals—because they know President Trump means business, and that America under his leadership is the hottest country in the world.”

US/ECON/GOOD TIMING - US Core Inflation Slowed as Expected Before War With Iran
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-11/us-core-inflation-slowed-as-expected-before-war-with-iran?srnd=homepage-americas

Underlying US inflation slowed in February from a month earlier, offering some relief from price pressures before the war with Iran.

The consumer price index, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% from January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Wednesday. From a year ago, it was unchanged at 2.5% — the slowest pace in nearly five years.

The report showed lower prices for used cars and motor vehicle insurance helped keep inflation in check last month, despite higher costs for gasoline and groceries including fresh vegetables and coffee.

Inflation has generally been on a downward trend in recent months after proving stubborn for much of last year. But renewed inflation concerns from the war with Iran, which has boosted oil, gasoline and fertilizer costs, risks amplifying affordability worries among Americans ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

Federal Reserve officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at their policy meeting next week, a prediction that preceded the latest events in the Middle East. With the war threatening to push up inflation — at least in the near term — some investors now see a chance the central bank will remain on hold for longer. However, officials also need to be mindful of lingering fragility in the labor market.

CANADA/POL - Carney on verge of majority in Canada parliament after opposition MP defects
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/carney-verge-majority-canada-parliament-after-opposition-mp-defects-2026-03-11/

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday moved closer to a parliamentary majority that could help ​him counter U.S. tariffs when an opposition legislator joined the ‌ruling Liberals.

The centrist Liberals, governing with a minority after an election last April, need opposition support to pass key legislation such as budgets. That can be a ​slow process, and Carney has said he needs a majority ​to react more effectively to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade ⁠measures.

Carney said in a statement that Lori Idlout of the ​small left-leaning New Democratic Party, who represents the Arctic territory of Nunavut, ​would sit with the Liberals in the House of Commons, the elected chamber.

Idlout is the fourth opposition legislator to defect to the Liberals since last November and ​her decision means the party now has 170 seats in the ​343-seat House, two short of a majority.

Special elections will be held on April ‌13 ⁠in three vacant constituencies previously held by Liberals, two of which are safe seats. If the Liberals win two of the three, Carney would have control of the chamber.

EU/POWER/NUKES/DUH? - EU chief: Phasing out nuclear power was 'strategic mistake'
https://www.dw.com/en/europe-eu-nuclear-power-strategic-mistake/a-76289274

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that Europe's turn away from nuclear power had been a "strategic mistake" that was now exposed by the Iran war.

"This reduction ‌in the share of nuclear was a choice, I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power," von der Leyen said at the opening of a nuclear energy summit near Paris.

"For fossil fuels, we are completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports. They are putting us at a structural disadvantage to other regions," she added.

It comes as the US-Israeli war against Iran has damaged major oil refineries and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a shipping route that is a major chokepoint for the world's oil supply.

Von der Leyen called the war "a stark reminder" of the vulnerabilities that come with being dependent on fossil fuel imports.

UK/POL - Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years
https://apnews.com/article/uk-house-of-lords-hereditary-peers-expelled-535df8781dd01e8970acda1dca99d3d4

Centuries of British political tradition will end within weeks after Parliament voted to remove hereditary aristocrats from the unelected House of Lords.

On Tuesday night members of the upper chamber dropped objections to legislation passed by the House of Commons ousting dozens of dukes, earls and viscounts who inherited seats in Parliament along with their aristocratic titles.

Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the change put an end to “an archaic and undemocratic principle.”

“Our parliament should always be a place where talents are recognized and merit counts,” he said. “It should never be a gallery of old boys’ networks, nor a place where titles, many of which were handed out centuries ago, hold power over the will of the people.”

The House of Lords plays an important role in Britain’s parliamentary democracy, scrutinizing legislation passed by the elected House of Commons. But critics have long argued that it is unwieldy and undemocratic.

CHINA/DPRK - China is rebuilding its grip on North Korea. Is Kim Jong Un ready to oblige?
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/china-is-rebuilding-its-grip-north-korea-is-kim-jong-un-ready-oblige-2026-03-11/

When Kim Jong Un arrived by armored train in Beijing for a military parade in September, the pageantry signaled a thaw in one of the world's most important relationships after several years of frosty ties.

Behind the spectacle of tanks and fighter jets, North Korea’s leader brought a senior economic team to talk trade and investment. Five weeks later, Chinese Premier Li Qiang reciprocated in Pyongyang, and China’s ambassador declared both countries were “writing a new chapter.”

For China, the mission is clear: reassert its traditional influence over a neighbor that has drawn closer to Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has supplied troops and weapons to Moscow in exchange for fuel and food to shore up an economy hobbled by U.N. sanctions over its nuclear-weapons program.

A Reuters examination reveals how Beijing is deepening engagement with North Korea as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to visit China and expresses interest in reviving talks with Kim for the first time since 2019. Satellite imagery shows China and North Korea are installing new infrastructure along the border — including roadworks and port facilities, some not previously reported — and forging closer economic links that boost Beijing's sway over any U.S. overtures to Pyongyang. 

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US/IRELAND/TRADE - Ireland’s Gift to Trump: Shamrocks and a $6.1 Billion Investment Pledge
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/irelands-gift-to-trump-shamrocks-and-a-6-1-billion-investment-pledge-26592bda?mod=world_lead_pos3

When the Irish visit the White House each year, they traditionally bring a bowl of shamrocks.

This year, they are bringing $6.1 billion in planned investments. 

Micheál Martin, Ireland’s taoiseach, or prime minister, is planning to talk about investing billions in the U.S. as part of an annual St. Patrick’s Day visit on March 17, making him the latest world leader to pair a visit to the Oval Office with promises of spending billions to bring jobs to the U.S. and boost manufacturing.

Irish investments in the U.S. being announced Wednesday include $5 billion over five years from sustainable paper-based packaging company Smurfit Westrock, $1 billion from Kingspan, an insulation and building solutions company and $100 million from nutrition company Glanbia.

“We are now at record levels of investment” in the U.S., said Jenny Melia, chief executive officer of Enterprise Ireland, the country’s trade and innovation agency.  

Irish companies are also planning to announce next week that they are ramping up investments to support Amazon and other U.S. data center operators, making high-tech construction Ireland’s largest export sector outside food. CEL Critical Power, which specializes in data center power solutions, plans to expand an Amazon data center opened last year in Williamsburg, Va., that would double the number of employees to 500 by 2030, according to Enterprise Ireland.

H&MV Engineering is building high-voltage electrical infrastructure that connects data centers to power grids, and Midland Steel has set a licensing agreement with Nucor, the largest steel producer and recycler in the U.S., which uses their technology to speed up on-site build times and reduce labor for data centers.

The taoiseach is the only world leader with a standing date to meet with the U.S. president, no matter the party, and the annual shamrock-gifting ceremony has roots dating to the 1950s, initially as a way of repairing Irish-American relations that soured over the Republic of Ireland’s neutrality in World War II.

HUNGARY/POL - 

Hungarian Opposition Lead Narrows as Orban Intensifies Campaign
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-11/hungarian-opposition-lead-narrows-as-orban-intensifies-campaign?srnd=phx-politics

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party narrowed its double-digit deficit in a new poll after intensifying his campaign less than five weeks until an election, though the opposition Tisza party held a 14-point lead.

Tisza under Peter Magyar had 53% support among decided voters according to a 21 Kutatointezet poll published by 24.hu news website on Wednesday. The lead over Orban’s Fidesz shrank from a 16-point edge a month earlier. But among eligible voters, Tisza widened its lead to eight points from seven.

The first independent survey since the start of the Iran war shows the gap remains enough to hand Tisza a comfortable parliamentary majority in the April 12 ballot, even if the far-right Mi Hazank party, a potential coalition partner for Orban, clears the 5% parliamentary threshold, the pollster said.

At the same time, Tisza would fall short of a two-thirds majority that would allow it to roll back elements of the “illiberal democracy” that Orban has built over his 16 years in power, it said.

Over the past month, Orban managed to boost his support among decided voters after leveraging the outbreak of the Iran war in his campaign, which had already been focused on casting Fidesz as the “safe choice” for voters in the shadow of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

MORE: Hungary's opposition Tisza party maintains lead as election nears, poll shows
https://www.reuters.com/world/hungarys-opposition-tisza-party-maintains-lead-election-nears-poll-shows-2026-03-11/

The main Hungarian opposition party Tisza's lead over long-time Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz shrank slightly in a poll published on ​Wednesday, as campaigning enters its final month before an April ‌12 election.

Nationalist Orban faces the biggest challenge to his rule in 16 years, although the outcome of the vote - coming against the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia war ​and building economic challenges - remains highly uncertain, with opinion polls showing ​that many voters are still undecided.

A poll by 21 Research ⁠Centre (21 Kutatokozpont), conducted between March 2 and 6 and released on ​Wednesday, showed Tisza leads by 14 percentage points ahead of Fidesz among ​decided voters, down from a 16-point lead in the agency's last poll in January.

Centre-right Tisza, led by former government insider Peter Magyar, had the support of 53% of decided ​voters, unchanged from January, according to 21 Research Centre, while 39% backed ​Fidesz, up from 37% in the previous poll.

The poll, published by news site 24.hu, ‌showed ⁠38% support for Tisza among all voters, with Fidesz backed by 30%.

Based on the poll, Tisza could win 115 seats in Hungary's 199-seat parliament, and Fidesz could expect 78 seats. The far-right Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) party ​would be the ​only other party ⁠crossing the 5% threshold to win seats.

[It’s worth noting that Orban has come back from worse; even if polls reflect reality, Mr Magyar faces an uphill battle in forming a stable government and being able to enact policy, let alone reverse nearly two decades of Fidesz rule. -mnno]

WORLD/ENERGY - IEA Proposes Largest-Ever Oil Release From Strategic Reserves
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/iea-proposes-largest-ever-oil-release-from-strategic-reserves-275f4e5c?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1

The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to bring down crude prices that have soared during the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, officials familiar with the matter said.

The release of 400 million barrels of oil would more than double the agency’s biggest prior release, when IEA member countries in 2022 put 182 million barrels on the market after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the officials said. The proposal was circulated at an emergency meeting of energy officials from the IEA’s 32 member countries on Tuesday.

Countries are expected to decide on the proposal Wednesday. It would be adopted if none objects, but even one country’s protests could delay the plan, officials said.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host a video conference call at 10 a.m. ET with leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies to discuss ways to mitigate the energy situation, France’s Elysee Palace said.

In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the country would unilaterally release oil from its strategic reserves as soon as March 16. She said it would release 15 days’ worth of oil from private-sector stockpiles and another 30 days’ worth from government reserves. Meanwhile, German Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche said that should the IEA proposal be accepted, Germany would participate out of solidarity toward other members.

ITALY/US/IRAN - Italy Won’t Join US-Israeli Attacks on Iran, Meloni Says
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-11/italy-isn-t-at-war-won-t-be-at-war-says-meloni?srnd=phx-politics

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country will not participate in the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, and is instead seeking to help with a diplomatic resolution.

“Italy isn’t taking part and won’t take part” in the ongoing war in Iran, Meloni told lawmakers Wednesday, saying the expanding conflict is part of a broader “crisis of international law.”

Meloni said the Iran crisis was one of the most complex moments in recent history, and called on the opposition to rally with the government in defense of Italian interests.

She said Italy worked with Qatar and Oman to try and prevent military intervention before the war. And she added that Italy has long kept lines open with Tehran, hosting two rounds of nuclear talks last year.

Meloni also said the government could take action on companies speculating as energy prices spike over the war. She reiterated that the government was ready to further tax the firms involved, without giving details.

UAE/ENERGY - UAE oil giant ADNOC shuts Ruwais refinery after drone strike, source says
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/fire-hits-site-housing-abu-dhabi-national-oil-company-operations-after-drone-2026-03-10/

Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC has shut its Ruwais refinery in response to ‌a fire at a facility within the complex following a drone strike, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday, marking the latest energy infrastructure disruption due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The complex is the site of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) facilities that can ​refine up to 922,000 barrels of oil a day and serves as the central hub for the emirate's ​downstream operations, including significant chemical, fertilizer and industrial gas plants.

Abu Dhabi's government media office said authorities ⁠were responding to a fire at the facility after a drone attack, adding there were no injuries. It did not ​identify the facility.

The attack marks the latest since Tehran launched strikes on several of its neighbours in response to the ​U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran. The attacks have forced several countries to cut production as shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz oil transit chokepoint, carrying roughly a fifth of global oil flows, has ground to a near halt.

The refinery has been shut as a precautionary measure, the source ​told Reuters, adding all other operations at the complex were continuing normally.

ISRAEL/LEBANON/MIL - Exclusive: Hezbollah returns to guerrilla roots, awaits Israeli invasion
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-returns-guerrilla-roots-awaits-israeli-invasion-2026-03-10/

Lebanon's Hezbollah is applying lessons from its last war with Israel as it braces ​for a possible full-scale Israeli invasion and protracted conflict, returning to its roots in guerrilla warfare in south Lebanon, four Lebanese sources said.

Operating in ‌small units, fighters from the Iran-backed group are avoiding the use of communication devices that could be at risk of Israeli tapping, and are rationing the use of key anti-tank rockets as they engage Israeli troops, said the sources, who are familiar with Hezbollah military activities.

Some 15 months since Israel pounded Hezbollah in their last war, the group sparked a new Israeli offensive last week by ​opening fire to avenge the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Heavily criticised in Lebanon for dragging ​the country into a war that has displaced 700,000 people, Hezbollah has described its actions as "existential defence", framing it as a response to Israeli ⁠attacks that have continued since a 2024 ceasefire.

While Israel plans for the likely continuation of its Lebanon offensive after the Iran war, the four sources said Hezbollah's calculations ​are based on Iran's clerical leadership surviving the war, leading to a regional ceasefire of which it would be part.

[I think few modern conflicts underscore Israel’s cultural/political sensitivity toward {Israeli} casualties like the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war. Six years following Israel’s withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel clashed in a 34-day conflict that saw 165 Israelis die; enough to push Israel to accept a UN-brokered peace deal...although we can see how stable that peace has been. In terms of achieving key Israeli objectives: namely, the disarmament and destruction of Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities, the war was a failure {“missed opportunity”} for Israeli forces. Which is not to say that Hezbollah actually won anything. But I think this conflict illustrates as well as any what the current Iranian objective is—endure. Maximize suffering. And while it may seem suicidal, I would argue that there more than a handful Hezbollah and IRGC commanders that would relish a ground intrusion in either Lebanon and/or Iran, where the advantage of technological capabilities wane and the abilitiy to raise the spectre of increased enemy  casualties rises in their favor. -mnno]

IRAN/ENERGY - Iran’s Control of Hormuz Means It’s Exporting More Oil Today Than Before the War
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/irans-control-of-hormuz-means-its-exporting-more-oil-today-than-before-the-war-ede3cd91

Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers.

As Gulf Arab oil producers from Saudi Arabia to Iraq cut production and scramble for new routes that bypass the strait, Iran is conducting business as usual, according to data from tanker-tracking firm Kpler, throwing a financial lifeline to Tehran as it comes under blistering attack from the U.S. and Israel.

Since the war started on Feb. 28, seven tankers have loaded oil off the Iranian coast, according to Kpler. At least two of the most recent loadings are out of the Persian Gulf, Kpler said. Over the past six days, tankers have loaded a daily average of 2.1 million barrels of Iranian oil, higher than the 2 million barrels a day Iran exported in February, according to Kpler.

Iran’s export levels can vary week to week, but the recent increase shows that, unlike other producers, their shipments are unimpeded and that China hasn’t lost its appetite for Tehran’s crude.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to attack any ship trying to cross the strait since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes at the start of the conflict, scaring off ships carrying oil and goods between the wider world and the Persian Gulf, where about a third of global oil production takes place. Iran has fired drones and missiles at Gulf Arab oil producers and warned that it would set fire to ships crossing the strait.

IRAN/ISRAEL/MIL - New Iranian Leader Was Wounded Early in the War, Iranian and Israeli Officials Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/world/middleeast/khamenei-iran-leader-injured.html

Three days after Mojtaba Khamenei was proclaimed to have succeeded his slain father as Iran’s supreme leader, he has not appeared on video or in public nor issued any written statements.

One reason is concern that any communication could reveal his location and put him in danger, according to three Iranian officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject in Iran.

But another factor is that Mr. Khamenei, 56, was injured on the opening day of the attack by Israel and the United States, they said.

The three Iranian officials said they were told by more senior figures in the government over the past two days that Mr. Khamenei had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication.

Two Israeli military officials said information gathered by Israel had also led the defense establishment to believe that Mr. Khamenei suffered leg injuries on Feb. 28, a conclusion they reached even before he was selected as the new supreme leader on Sunday. The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

THAILAND/IRAN/MIL - Thai navy says cargo ship attacked in Strait of Hormuz
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260311-thai-navy-says-cargo-ship-attacked-in-strait-of-hormuz

Photos shared by the Royal Thai Navy showed heavy black smoke billowing from the hull and superstructure of the Thai-registered Mayuree Naree, with life rafts floating in the water.

The vessel "was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz" after departing Khalifa port in the United Arab Emirates, the navy said in a statement.

"The specific details and cause of the attack are currently under investigation," it added.

The Omani navy had rescued 20 sailors and "efforts are currently underway to rescue the remaining three crew members", it said.

Iran has launched strikes against its oil-exporting neighbours, threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and plunging the global energy economy into crisis.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident was one of three commercial ships that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre earlier said had been hit in the Gulf on Wednesday.

Ship-tracking websites showed the Mayuree Naree just off the Omani coast in the Strait of Hormuz, moving slowly at little more than one knot.

The carrier is 178 metres long and displaces 30,000 tonnes, they said, adding it was on its way to Kandla in India.

The Thai navy said it is owned by a Thai transport company, Precious Shipping.

AFP sought comment from the firm in Bangkok but did not receive an immediate response.