March 20, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1815, the Hundred Days—during which Napoleon, having ended his exile by escaping the island of Elba, would try to recapture his empire in France—began with Napoleon’s arrival in Paris.
QotD: "We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning,” said European countries, Canada and Japan in a joint statement.
IRAN/ISRAEL/US/MIL – Iran hits Kuwait refinery, Israel kills Iranian Guards spokesman as war rages on.
Iran attacked an oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday and Israel killed a spokesman of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran showed no sign of ending.
Israel promised to avoid further attacks on Iran's South Pars gasfield the day after an Iranian retaliatory strike on Qatar caused damage that will leave the world short of natural gas for years to come.
As Muslims around the region tried to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which ends the fasting month of Ramadan, and Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, the prospect of a quick end to a war about to enter its fourth week seemed remote.
The benchmark price of Brent crude oil eased slightly to $108 after surging the day before on growing fears that the largest ever disruption to world energy supplies would trigger a global economic shock.
Even if the conflict does stop soon, there will be no rapid recovery from the upheaval caused by airstrikes and Iran's virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.
Prospects of a truce have not been helped by the sense that Israel and the U.S. are pursuing different goals and strategies.
"The Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership," U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Thursday.
"The president said that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile-launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability and their navy."
MORE/EU/CANADA/JAPAN – Joint statements on Strait of Hormuz by European nations, Japan, Canada.
We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817.
Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The effects of Iran’s actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable.
Consistent with UNSC Resolution 2817, we emphasise that such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains constitute a threat to international peace and security. In this regard, we call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations.
We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.
US/JAPAN/WH VISIT – Japan’s prime minister emerges buoyed from Trump summit.
https://www.dw.com/en/japans-prime-minister-emerges-buoyed-from-trump-summit/a-76448900
The delicate summit between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi went off largely smoothly on Thursday.
Takaichi arrived in Washington bearing trade and energy deals, and Trump reciprocated by reiterating the importance of the relationship while refraining from asking Tokyo to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to support the US-Israel war with Iran.
The meeting was arranged long before the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran late last month, with Trump last week calling on US allies, specifically naming Japan, to commit military forces to the region.
Japan would be unable to make any such commitment under the terms of its strict pacifist constitution. The Iran war in general is deeply unpopular with the Japanese people, analysts point out, effectively making it impossible for Takaichi to accede to any such request.
They added that Trump never directly broached the subject in front of the media, a request that would have put his guest on the spot, which indicated that Tokyo's top aides responsible for ensuring the summit ran smoothly did their jobs.
There was a brief awkward moment when Trump made what was assumed to be a joke about Japan's 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, with Takaichi visibly stiffening at the comment. Even so, experts say the Japanese side will have breathed a sigh of relief that the visit went off so smoothly.
UKR/RUS/MIL – Ukraine faces growing pressure because of the war in Iran as Russia readies new offensive.
With U.S.-brokered Ukraine peace talks on hold due to the war in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to try to expand his military gains via new offensives against his neighbor that could put even more pressure on Kyiv.
Windfall revenues from surging global oil prices are filling Moscow’s war coffers and U.S. air defense assets are being drained quickly by Iranian attacks across the Gulf, raising concerns that little will be left available for Ukraine in the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukraine’s European allies have promised to maintain their steadfast support, but continuous bickering over a major 90 billion-euro ($106 billion) European Union loan to cover Kyiv’s military and economic needs for two years has reflected the mounting challenges.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought to hold Washington’s attention by offering its expertise in defending against Iranian Shahed drones, sending over 200 military experts to the Gulf. Trump, however, has shrugged off Zelenskyy’s offer of help, saying the U.S. doesn’t need Kyiv’s assistance.
As new signs of a rift emerge in Western alliances, Putin and his generals are pondering plans for the spring and summer campaign across more than the 1,200-kilometer (about 750-mile) front line.
MORE – Ukraine deploys units to five Middle East countries to intercept drones.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-deploys-units-intercept-targets-middle-east-2026-03-20/
Ukraine has deployed military units to five Middle Eastern countries to help protect critical and civilian infrastructure against drones, Ukrainian security council secretary Rustem Umerov said on Friday after visiting the region. He said the teams had been sent to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan, which have come under fire during the Iran war. Further steps for "long-term security cooperation" have been outlined with each of the five nations, he said, without giving details.
"Ukrainian military specialists are operating in each of these countries under the coordination of the National Security and Defense Council," Umerov wrote on X.
Kyiv has said nearly a dozen countries have sought its help and advice in defending against cheap kamikaze drones, which Iran is using against its Gulf neighbours. Russia has launched similar drones at Ukraine since its 2022 invasion, and Kyiv has developed its own advanced interceptor drone capabilities.
Although Gulf states operate sophisticated U.S.-made air defence systems, the missiles they use are in short supply and they cost much more than Iran's Shahed drones.
Moscow has bombarded Ukraine with nearly 60,000 Shaheds and similar systems. It initially bought thousands of them from Iran, before establishing its own production facilities to make them under licence. Ukraine has also launched drone attacks at Russia, although on a smaller scale.
RUS/FRANCE/SHADOW FLEET – French navy seizes oil tanker sailing from Russia accused of flying false flag in Mediterranean.
The French Navy on Friday seized the Deyna, a crude tanker accused of belonging to Russia's sanctions-busting "shadow fleet", French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a post on social media platform X on Friday.
"We are staying the course," Macron wrote. "The war in Iran will not deter France from supporting Ukraine, where Russia's war of aggression continues."
Local officials told Reuters that the French Navy boarded the Mozambique-flagged oil tanker in the Western Mediterranean after the vessel, sailing from the Russian port of Murmansk, was suspected of flying a false flag.
The operation was carried out with British allies, the French Mediterranean prefecture said.
"These ships, which circumvent international sanctions and violate the law of the sea, are war profiteers. They seek to reap profits and finance Russia's war effort," Macron wrote.
HAITI/CHAD/SEC – Chad plans to send 800 security personnel to Haiti, official says.
Chad intends to deploy 800 police officers and gendarmes to Haiti this year to participate in an international force to help Haiti's police fight powerful armed gangs, a senior Chadian police official told Reuters.
The Chadian forces are expected to arrive by June after receiving training from "European and American partners", said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said this week that the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force would reach its full capacity of 5,500 by October and that Kenyan police who deployed to Haiti under an earlier model of the force should withdraw gradually.
Alvarez, who spoke after a meeting with U.S. officials, said the forces from Chad were being trained in the U.S., though a State Department spokesperson denied that.
"We thank the Government of Chad for their pledged contribution to the Gang Suppression Force... Chadian troops are not training in the United States," the spokesperson said.
CHINA/ENERGY – China’s record oil output reaches limits of what’s possible.
China, the world's top oil importer, succeeded in a seven-year campaign to boost its own production, achieving a record high last year with aggressive drilling at ageing fields, an offshore boom and nascent shale oil output.
But it is reaching what experts say is the limit of what it can economically produce, as offshore growth starts to taper off and higher-cost unconventional resources prove increasingly difficult to exploit, according to analysts.
Output is expected to plateau just below last year's record 4.32 million barrels per day (bpd) for another decade, industry experts say, a level seen in the industry as a national security "stabiliser" for basic manufacturing and military needs.
Beijing's 2026-2030 plan, released on March 5, confirmed that view, calling for output to be maintained at 4 million bpd.
That means China will remain heavily reliant on imports, which last year totalled 11.55 million bpd, even as its oil demand peaks with the country electrifying its transportation fleet and economic growth slowing.
"The three national oil companies are trying to maintain that level as long as they can, which is seen as a minimum amount to cope with unpredictable supply disruptions," said Zhu Weilin, a professor at Shanghai's Tongji University who until 2016 was chief geologist at China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).
DPRK/LEADERSHIP/GOOD OLD FASHION DRIVING LESSON – North Korean leader’s teenage daughter drives tank in latest public appearance.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter drove an army tank with her father sitting behind her in photos from state news agency KCNA on Friday, with analysts suggesting she may be training to succeed him.
Kim's daughter, known as Ju Ae and believed to be around 13 years old, has been making increasingly frequent public appearances with her father in recent months.
In the latest photos, she is seen looking out the driver's hatch with an expression of intent focus and her hair blowing, while her grinning father leans against the turret and three uniformed military officers sit on the hull.
Earlier this month, she was seen at a firing range aiming a rifle, and on a separate occasion was photographed shooting a handgun.
There has been no official confirmation by the North of her name or age.
Kim on Thursday supervised a drill of a new type of tank, which demonstrated superior offensive and defensive capabilities against drones and anti-tank missiles, according to the KCNA report.
DENMARK/GREENLAND/US/MIL – Denmark planned to blow up Greenland runways if US invaded, report says.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33ln4mp1p2o
Danish soldiers flown to Greenland in January were prepared to blow up key airport runways over fears that US President Donald Trump could invade the Arctic island, Denmark's public broadcaster DR says.
Citing sources in the Danish government and military, and also among European allies, DR says blood supplies were also brought in to treat the wounded in the event of fighting.
The Financial Times newspaper said two European officials later confirmed the report. The Danish defence ministry told the BBC it "has no comment".
A senior Danish military official, speaking anonymously, told the BBC "only a limited number of people would have been aware of the operation for security reasons".
Both the US and Denmark are Nato members, and the issue of Greenland - a semi-autonomous part of Denmark - has deeply divided Washington and its European allies.
Trump has repeatedly said he wanted to annex Greenland during his second presidential term. Greenland's leader and Denmark have repeatedly rejected his demands to acquire the island.
DR said it based its report on 12 sources at the top of the Danish government and military, and also sources among Denmark's allies in France and Germany.
They told the broadcaster that Copenhagen asked Paris and Berlin as well as the Nordic nations for political support in dealing with Trump by demonstrating strong European solidarity and holding more joint military activities in Greenland.