March 23, 2026 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 2001, The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji. 

QOTD: “We want to be a civilization that expands to the galaxy with spaceships, that anyone can go anywhere they want at any time,” [Elon Musk] said. “And have a city on the moon, cities on Mars, populate the solar system and send spaceships to other star systems.”

US/IRAN - Trump Says U.S. Will Postpone Strikes on Iranian Energy Infrastructure
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-israel-news-updates-2026?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1

President Trump said the U.S. military would postpone strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days following “productive” talks between Washington and Tehran.

In a Truth Social post written in all caps, Trump said the two countries had “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”

Speaking to reporters later, Trump said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two of his leading envoys, began talks Sunday that would continue today. Trump said a deal with Iran would prohibit nuclear weapons and involve regime change.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied Tehran was in talks with the U.S., according to state media, saying there was “no dialogue” with Washington.

Here’s what else to know:

U.S. stock indexes rallied and Brent crude futures fell sharply toward $100 a barrel on hopes that energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz could soon recover.

Iran threatened wider attacks on infrastructure—including fuel, tech and desalination facilities—used by the U.S. in the region if its energy sites were hit.

Iran also warned it would lay mines across the entire Persian Gulf if its coasts or islands were attacked.

Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Iran.

The International Energy Agency said the conflict in the Middle East is delivering a heavier blow to global oil markets than the twin oil shocks of the 1970.

MORE: Iran war live: Trump postpones strikes on Iranian power plants, says 'real possibility' of deal with Tehran
https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-war-live-trump-deadline-looms-iran-vows-hit-gulf-power-water-2026-03-23/

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had given orders to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further ​escalation in the conflict now in its fourth week.

Trump added in a post on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. and Iran had had "VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE" conversations over the past two ‌days about a "COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST".

US/IRAN/STATEMENTS OF THE OBVIOUS - Trump’s changing course on Strait of Hormuz strategy raises questions about US war preparation
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-threat-power-plants-strait-hormuz-79ae8eb369c65a7fc7b06f3d0492c997

At war with Iran, President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He has jumped from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions and now escalating to a direct threat against civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic.

Trump and his allies insist they were always prepared for Iran to block the strait, yet the Republican president’s erratic strategy has fueled criticism that he is grasping for answers after going to war without a clear exit plan. On Saturday came his latest attempt, via an ultimatum to Iran: Open the strait within 48 hours or the United States will “obliterate” the country’s power plants.

Trump’s aides defended the threat as a hard-edged tactic to press Iran into submission. Opponents framed it as the failure of a president who miscalculated what it would take to get out of a geopolitical mire.

US/CHINA/TECH - Tech Exec Accused of Smuggling Nvidia Chips to China Resigns From Board
https://www.wsj.com/tech/super-micro-computer-employees-arrested-for-alleged-sales-to-china-45a2bd73?mod=world_feat2_asia_pos1

Super Micro Computer co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw has resigned from the server maker’s board of directors after being indicted for his alleged role in a scheme to smuggle high-end Nvidia NVDA chips to China, the company said.

The company had placed Liaw, a senior vice president, on leave after learning of his alleged role in the scheme, which involved billions of dollars of servers and dummy devices used to deceive an American inspector, according to a U.S. indictment unsealed Thursday. Super Micro said it also placed a second employee on leave and fired a contractor.

Shares of Super Micro slid 33% on Friday.

The case involves one of the most sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations. In recent years, Washington has blocked China from importing Nvidia’s most advanced artificial-intelligence chips. The goal is to preserve America’s technology lead over Chinese companies developing AI models.

Some Chinese companies have found workarounds to get Nvidia chips by routing shipments through third countries, The Wall Street Journal and others have reported. The new indictment offers one of the most detailed pictures of how this is allegedly done.

The three defendants helped smuggle servers into China “through a tangled web of lies, obfuscation, and concealment—all to drive sales and generate revenues in violation of U.S. law,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York.

ISRAEL/LEBANON - Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/

Israel should extend its border with Lebanon up to the Litani River deep inside the country's south, Israel's finance minister said ​on Monday as Israeli troops bombed bridges and destroyed homes in the area in an escalating military assault.

The comments by Finance Minister ‌Bezalel Smotrich were the most explicit yet by a senior Israeli official on seizing Lebanese territory in a fight Israel says targets Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Lebanon was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel. Since then, Israel has ordered all residents to leave the area south of the Litani River as it pummels the area with air strikes, ​viewing it as a Hezbollah stronghold.

Lebanese authorities say the Israeli air and ground assault has killed more than 1,000 people, and more than a ​million have been driven from their homes with Israel having ordered residents to flee swathes of the country.

[There’s a couple of trends happening vis-à-vis Israel and its neighbors; one, Israel pushes for disarmament/acquiescence of local resistance/terrorist groups and disarmament of oppositional forces. It then tries to seize territory, a la Syria and now Lebanon. 
Second, there is absolutely an expansionist zeal that I would argue is no longer a fluke or temporary political stance of a government. Israel is becoming more right-wing, more religious in a way most [American] Jews would not recognize, and people should become familiar with the shape and texture of what “Greater Israel” looks like. I wonder if the special relationship between the US and Israel will continue if (when?) Israel pushes to recapture the Sinai… -mnno]

GERMANY/POL - German Chancellor Merz's conservatives set to win state election
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/german-chancellor-merzs-conservatives-lead-state-election-forecast-shows-2026-03-22/

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) were on course to win an election in ​the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate on Sunday, ahead of their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners who faced a "bitter" defeat after ruling the ‌state for 35 years.

Early projections after polls closed showed Merz's CDU at 30.8% of the vote, ahead of the SPD at 26%, pointing to a victory for Merz after his party narrowly lost an election in the neighbouring state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8.

CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann called it a "great result" that showed strong overall backing for the two partners in Merz's coalition, which nationwide ​polls indicate has seen a sharp drop in support since elections last year.

SLOVENIA/POL - Slovenia’s ruling liberals defeat populists in photo-finish election
https://www.politico.eu/article/slovenia-election-result-robert-golob-janez-jansa/

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob’s liberals won Sunday’s national election by a narrow margin over former right-wing populist leader Janez Janša.

“We are moving forward and that is what counts the most,” Golob told his supporters after the tense ballot count. “In the next term we will do everything to make the future better for all citizens.” 

The results showed Golob’s governing Freedom Movement party securing 28.6 percent of the vote, good for 29 seats in the country’s 90-seat chamber, just ahead of Janša’s conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) on 28 percent, equaling 28 seats. It’s a substantial step back for Golob’s party, which won 41 seats in the last election in 2022.

ISRAEL/SEC - Israeli settlers smash cars and set fires in the West Bank as 4 Palestinians killed in Gaza
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-settlers-9ded87da79b032cff60ddd8797846f0e

At least 10 Palestinians were injured Sunday night in attacks in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers, who rampaged through nearby villages after holding a funeral for a settler killed in a car crash a night earlier.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the wounded in Deir al-Hatab included a 45-year-old man shot in the foot and a woman suffering from smoke inhalation. Videos obtained by The Associated Press show cars and homes set ablaze as army flares lit up the sky near the village east of Nablus and next to the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh.

The arson and assaults in four Nablus-area villages on Sunday came a day after the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported simultaneous attacks in at least six communities overnight — the latest spates of violence in the occupied West Bank.

Sunday night’s rampage came after mourners in the settlement of Elon Moreh held a funeral for Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler. Authorities said he was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area north of the villages attacked. Police said they were investigating the settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate. Israel’s military did not respond to questions about Sunday night’s attacks.

UK/SEC - Arson Hits Ambulances of Jewish Volunteer Service in London, Police Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/world/europe/jewish-ambulances-fire-london.html

Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer emergency service in London were set on fire in an arson attack early Monday, the police said, adding that it was being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the episode “a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack,” in a post on social media. “Antisemitism has no place in our society.”

The attack on the ambulances, which the police said in a statement belonged to the nonprofit service Hatzola, came after a spate of recent attacks against Jews and Jewish organizations across Europe and the United States.

The police said they were called at around 1:45 a.m. local time to Golders Green, a residential area in North London with a large Jewish community. The fire department, which sent dozens of firefighters to the scene, had alerted them.

US/TECH - Elon Musk announces large-scale chip manufacturing project, including facility in Austin
https://www.kut.org/business/2026-03-22/austin-tx-elon-musk-ai-chip-terafab-tesla-spacex

Billionaire Elon Musk announced a massive project to produce chips to power his companies, with the work starting at a facility in the Austin area.

Musk called it “the most epic chip-building exercise in history by far.”

The “TERAFAB” project is a joint effort involving Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. Musk said the chips will be used in vehicles, Tesla’s humanoid AI robots and for projects in space, including solar-powered AI satellites.

Musk launched TERAFAB at an event inside the Seaholm power plant downtown on Saturday night. Bright beams of light projected from the building into the sky, prompting questions from Austinites on social media.

In a Sunday post on X, Musk clarified that the Austin-area facility is one part of the larger project and will focus on chip design. The main TERAFAB facility, he said, would require thousands of acres, and multiple locations are being considered.

Musk said the chip production was necessary to fuel his companies’ growth. On Saturday, he shared an ambitious vision for the future powered by TERAFAB, including billions of robots and interplanetary travel.