March 25, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1957, the Treaties of Rome were signed, establishing the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.
QotD: “Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon, who were evacuated, will not return south of the Litani River until the security of northern residents is assured,” Israeli Defense Minister Katz said, referring to Israelis living near Israel’s border with Lebanon.
US/ISRAEL/IRAN/MIL – US expected to send thousands more soldiers to Middle East, sources say.
The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to a massive U.S. military buildup even as President Donald Trump talks about a possible deal with Tehran to end the war.
Reuters first reported on March 18 that Trump's administration was considering deploying thousands of additional U.S. troops, a move that would expand options to include deployment of forces inside Iranian territory. Such an escalation could dramatically raise the stakes in the conflict, which is already in its fourth week and has roiled global markets.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not specify where in the Middle East the troops would go or when they would arrive in the region. The soldiers are stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The U.S. military referred questions to the White House, which said all announcements on troop deployments would come from the Pentagon.
"As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
No decision had been made to send troops into Iran itself, one of the sources told Reuters, but they will build up capacity for potential future operations in the region.
One of the sources said the Pentagon was set to send between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers.
MORE – Pakistan has conveyed US proposal; Turkey or Pakistan could hold talks, senior Iranian official says.
Pakistan has delivered a proposal from the United States to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkey could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The comments, on condition of anonymity, were among rare signs that Tehran might consider diplomatic proposals, despite insisting in public that no talks were under way and it would make no deal with the administration of President Donald Trump.
The Iranian source did not disclose details of the proposal passed on by Pakistan, or whether it was the same as a 15-point U.S. framework previously reported by news outlets including Reuters. The source said Turkey had also "helped to end the war and either Turkey or Pakistan was under consideration as the venue for such talks".
Oil prices fell and battered shares recovered on Wednesday after reports that the U.S. had sent the 15-point plan to Iran, with investors hoping for an end to nearly four weeks of war that has killed thousands and disrupted global energy supplies.
A source familiar with the matter had confirmed on Tuesday to Reuters that the plan had been sent to Iran.
Three Israeli cabinet sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet had been briefed on the proposal, which they said included removing Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile programme and ending funding for regional allies.
ISRAEL/LEBANON/MIL – Israel plans to control large parts of Southern Lebanon, defense minister says.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/world/middleeast/israel-southern-lebanon-defense-minister.html
Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday that the country’s military plans to expand the territory under its control in southern Lebanon, suggesting it was ramping up its ground offensive against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
In a statement, the minister, Israel Katz, said Israel will retain control of the territory south of the Litani River, which runs a few miles from the Israeli-Lebanese border at its closest point and is 15 to 20 miles away at its farthest. The river has long served as a geographic boundary in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is unclear whether Israel would deploy troops across the entire area or rely on its air force to enforce its dominance over some parts of the area.
The statement also suggested Israel was laying the groundwork to remain in large parts of Lebanon as President Trump tries to engage in talks with Iran to end the regional war.
“Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon, who were evacuated, will not return south of the Litani River until the security of northern residents is assured,” Mr. Katz said, referring to Israelis living near Israel’s border with Lebanon.
Israel, he added, bombed five bridges along the river, which he asserted Hezbollah had used to send reinforcements to fight against Israel.
The bridges are also a lifeline for civilians still living there, who rely on them for medicine and access to hospitals.
HUNGARY/POL – Hungary’s Orban faces pivotal battle against ally-turned-foe.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a self-styled country boy who put Hungary on the world map of right-wing populism, is facing the toughest fight of his 16-year rule against a former ally looking to oust him in a national election on April 12.
Orban, 62, has won endorsements from U.S. President Donald Trump and some top European conservatives but most surveys show his nationalist Fidesz party losing to Peter Magyar's centre-right, pro-EU Tisza due to Hungary's economic stagnation.
He has sought to frame the election as a choice between "war or peace", suggesting Tisza wants to drag Hungary into the war raging in neighbouring Ukraine, which it strongly denies.
"For peace, Fidesz is the safe choice," Orban said on the campaign trail in February. He has clashed frequently with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and infuriated Hungary's EU partners by blocking a 90 billion euro aid package for Kyiv.
But opinion polls suggest Hungarian voters are more concerned with domestic issues such as healthcare and the economy, which has stagnated for the past three years.
DPRK/BELARUS/DIPLOMACY – North Korea holds lavish welcome for Belarus president.
https://www.dw.com/en/north-korea-holds-lavish-welcome-for-belarus-president/a-76526613
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Pyongyang on Wednesday, signaling solidarity between two of Russia's closest allies amid escalating global tensions.
Both countries have helped Russia’s war effort: Kim has supplied Russia with ammunition and troops to fight in Ukraine, while Lukashenko allowed Belarus to serve as a staging ground for Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and later agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles on its territory, which borders three NATO countries.
The Pyongyang ceremony was lavish: Kim greeted Lukashenko as rows of soldiers and cavalry, and a 21-gun salute marked the visit, with flag-waving children greeting them.
Belarusian foreign minister, Maxim Ryzhenkov, told Belarusian state media that the two sides would sign a friendship and cooperation treaty during the two-day visit, potentially boosting trade in food and pharmaceuticals.
But exiled Belarusian opposition figure Valery Tsepkalo called the meeting "a show of solidarity" with little practical benefit.
"They are just demonstrating that they're not isolated and they can have a meeting," he told Reuters news agency. "There will be no benefit to Belarus from this visit. The same for North Korea."
UKRAINE/MIL/UPDATE – Ukraine faces new Russian offensive as peace talks stall.
Ukraine will aim to repel Russia's new springtime offensive along the front line during a breakdown in U.S.-backed peace talks by building on recent tactical successes and battlefield innovations like mid-range strikes.
The focus of the widely anticipated campaign is the so-called "Fortress Belt" of heavily defended cities in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow has repeatedly demanded Kyiv relinquish in return for peace.
Over the last week, Russia has launched a battalion-size assault northeast of Sloviansk, the belt's northern anchor, and smaller attacks near the cities of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, on its southern end, seeking to create conditions for a broader offensive, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Authorities in Sloviansk announced on Friday the evacuation of children from the city as Russian forces advanced just 20 km east - a sign of the deteriorating security situation.
Though Russian forces outnumber Ukraine's, improved tactical assaults by Kyiv and its evolving drone strike capability could slow Moscow's gains, said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank.
"Russia still has enough manpower to keep advancing this year," said Lee. "How far they're going to get is an open question."
MORE/ESTONIA/LATVIA – Stray Ukrainian drones hit Estonia, Latvia, including power station, officials say.
Two stray Ukrainian military drones entered the airspace of Estonia and Latvia on Wednesday morning via Russia, one of which slammed into a chimney at a local power station while the other crash landed, the two Baltic countries said.
The drones that hit the NATO member nations were believed to be part of a wider Ukrainian attack on Russia, Latvian and Estonian authorities said. They follow another stray Ukrainian drone that Lithuania said on Monday had crashed into a lake.
The drones landed in Estonia and Latvia at around the time that Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack set fire to oil facilities at Russia's Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, major export hubs located near Estonia and Finland.
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes over recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia's war economy and as peace talks, brokered by Washington, have stalled.
There were no reports of injuries or damage from the drone hit to Estonia's Auvere power station, located just 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Russian border, the Estonian government said.
"The drone was not directed at Estonia. This is a concrete consequence of Russia's full-scale war of aggression," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a post on X.
MOLDOVA/ENERGY – Moldova imposed 60-day energy emergency after Russian strikes in Ukraine cut key power line.
Moldova’s Parliament voted on Tuesday to impose a state of emergency in the country’s energy sector after Russian strikes on neighboring Ukraine’s energy grid disconnected a key power line linking Moldova to Romania.
The overnight strikes triggered the disconnection of the high-voltage Isaccea-Vulcanesti power line, which links southern Moldova to EU member Romania, after which Moldovan authorities urged citizens to consume electricity “rationally” during peak hours while repairs were underway.
Seventy-two lawmakers in the 101-seat legislature approved the measure that will last for 60 days. No one voted against and 18 abstained.
“What is happening in the energy sector today is not an accident,” said Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu. “Russia’s attacks on the civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine represent a war crime, but also an attack on us, here in the Republic of Moldova ... Russia is the only one responsible for this.”
The state of emergency will begin on Wednesday. It will allow authorities to “act faster: mobilize additional resources, protect critical infrastructure and, if necessary, take additional measures to limit the effects of the crisis,” Munteanu added. “We remain vigilant and act for the safety of every citizen ... This is not a measure of panic, it’s a measure of responsibility.”
JAPAN/CHINA/EMBASSY – Japan says Chinese embassy break-in ‘regrettable’.
https://www.dw.com/en/japan-says-chinese-embassy-break-in-regrettable/a-76516918
Japan on Wednesday said that it was "regrettable" that a member of the Japanese military was arrested over the suspicion of breaking into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, as relations between the two Asian nations move from bad to worse.
The alleged incident took place on Tuesday morning, leading to a lodged protest by Beijing later in the day. China's Foreign Ministry had claimed the military personnel threatened to kill diplomats.
"It is truly regrettable that a Self-Defense Forces member, who is expected to comply with the law, has been arrested on suspicion" of entering the embassy premises, said Minoru Kihara, the Japanese government's top spokesperson.
"Police are already conducting an investigation to clarify what happened and have implemented necessary measures to strengthen security" of the embassy, he told a press conference. "We will take necessary steps to prevent any recurrence of such incidents," he added.
On Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry urged Japan to bring the full weight of the law against the suspect. It added that the Chinese Embassy was cooperating with Tokyo's police.
A police spokesperson told news agencies AP and AFP that the suspect was a 23-year-old and claimed to be a Japan Self-Defense Forces officer. He is said to have scaled a compound wall and was arrested around 9 a.m. local time (0000 GMT).
The suspect told law enforcement that he was "hoping to meet the ambassador to tell him to refrain from making hardline remarks."
"If that request was rejected, I wanted to surprise him by killing myself," the suspect told police, according to Japanese media. The national broadcaster later reported that a knife was found at the scene.
US/NASA/RUSSIA/CHINA/SPACE RACE – NASA plans moon base instead of orbital lunar station.
https://www.dw.com/en/nasa-plans-moon-base-instead-of-orbital-lunar-station/a-76510267
NASA will cancel plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit, instead focusing on the construction of a roughly $20 billion (about €17.25 billion) base on the moon's surface over the next seven years.
New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who was sworn in at the US space agency in December, made the announcement at the opening of an all-day event at NASA's Washington headquarters.
He outlined a raft of changes to the agency's flagship Artemis II moon project, which has encountered a series of setbacks in recent months amid a 21st century race with Russia and China to return to the Earth's satellite.
After a series of delays, NASA repositioned its Space Launch System rocket on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida a few days ago, hoping to launch its first flight orbiting the moon soon, potentially in early April.
The Lunar Gateway station, much of which has already been built by contractors Northrop Grumman and Lanteris Space Systems, was meant to be a space station that would orbit the moon. The original plan was for this to serve as the base of operations for astronauts to use landers to shuttle to and from the surface.
"It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface," Isaacman told delegates at the event, after criticism of the project as either waseteful or a distraction from other lunar ambitions.