Haiti
(Caitlin Stephen Hu – CNN) As a new multinational force musters in Haiti, its foreign police and soldiers could soon find themselves face-to-face with hundreds of children. Children make up about 50% of armed groups in the country, experts estimate. In 2024 alone, at least 302 children were “recruited and used” by gangs across the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the latest UN secretary general’s report on children and armed conflict. Most were used in combat roles, it said. Traces of this phenomenon can be spotted on gangs’ social media. Last week, during a gang attack that left dozens dead in Artibonite, Haiti’s agricultural heartland, one video appeared to show a round-cheeked young boy waving a rifle and mugging for the camera. Behind him, an older man repeatedly fired into the distance. That same week, the first installment of new Gang Suppression Force reinforcements arrived in Haiti, according to the force’s X account. Initial plans call for the force, authorized by the UN Security Council, to eventually field about 5,500 personnel to work with Haiti’s police and armed forces. “With the GSF operations, we anticipate that many children will be exiting the gangs. We very much hope they will not be casualties,” said Geeta Narayan, head of UNICEF’s Haiti operations. – Children make up half of Haiti’s gangs. They’re about to face a new foreign force. | CNN
Russia/Ukraine
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Russian aerial attacks on Tuesday killed four people, including a child, in Ukraine as a drone strike by Kyiv hit a house in Russia, killing a child and his parents, according to reports from local officials on both sides. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched more than four years ago, has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions in the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. – Two children among seven dead in fresh Ukraine, Russia strikes
Taiwan
(Will Ripley, Wayne Chang – CNN) Over Taiwan’s Qingming holiday weekend, as families cleaned ancestral graves and crowded around dinner tables, a familiar debate has resurfaced: should this island democracy rely more heavily on the United States for its security or try to reduce tensions by engaging with China? For some, the war in Iran has raised urgent questions about how much attention the US can sustain if multiple crises unfold at once. Delays in arms deliveries, depletion of weapon stockpiles and President Donald Trump’s transactional approach to allies and partners all reinforce those doubts. That debate is sharpening this week as Cheng Li-wun, the firebrand chair of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, heads to China on a six-day trip that could include a landmark meeting with leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. If Cheng meets Xi — who invited her as the head of the Chinese Communist Party — it would be the first official encounter between a sitting KMT chair and China’s top leader in a decade. It would also come ahead of Trump’s summit with Xi in May, where Taiwan is expected to be high on the agenda. Cheng has framed her visit as a peace-making trip, proclaiming that it is a first step to reduce tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which has vowed one day to take control of Taiwan, by force if necessary. – US weapons or China’s friendship? Trump’s Iran war volatility reignites debate for Taiwan | CNN
War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) The current oil and gas crisis triggered by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is “more serious than the ones in 1973, 1979 and 2022 together,” Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told Le Figaro newspaper. “The world has never experienced a disruption to energy supply of such magnitude,” he said in an interview with the French newspaper released in its Tuesday edition. – IEA chief says current oil and gas crisis worse than 1973, 1979, 2022 together
(Annette Choi, Isa Mudannayake, Lou Robinson, Ian Berry – CNN) The ongoing conflict in Iran has had far-reaching implications for the global economy — from food to fertilizer. Between increasing oil prices, exports caught in the bottleneck or delayed by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and widespread security concerns throughout the Middle East, many of these consequences have had a ripple effect on nearly every aspect of daily life. CNN tracks some of these effects and how they compound one another. – The global impact of the Iran war, visualized | CNN
(Al Arabiya) Russian satellites have made dozens of detailed imagery surveys of military facilities and critical sites across the Middle East to help Iran strike US forces and other targets, according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment. The conclusions, reviewed by Reuters, also found that Russian and Iranian hackers were collaborating in the cyber domain. They represent the most detailed account yet of how Russia has provided secret support to Iran since Israel and the US launched their assault on February 28. – Russia supplies Iran with cyber support, spy imagery, Ukraine says –
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, which is mediating between Iran and the United States, said on Tuesday that efforts to end the war were approaching a “critical” stage. – Iran ambassador to Pakistan says efforts to end war at ‘critical, sensitive stage’
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) China hopes relevant parties will seize the opportunity for peace and bridge differences through dialogue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday when asked about a US ceasefire proposal brokered by Pakistan that was rejected by Iran. – China hopes parties to Iran war can ‘seize opportunity for peace,’ resume talks
(Bloomberg/Al Arabiya) Two loaded liquefied natural gas carriers that had seemingly aborted an attempt to exit the Arabian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz are now headed in the direction of Qatar. The Al Daayen switched its intended destination to the emirate’s Ras Laffan late Monday, and is now traveling westward into the gulf, ship-tracking data show. Rasheeda signaled it’s waiting for orders while sailing in the same direction. Both tankers had said they were headed to Pakistan late on Monday. – Qatar LNG ships appear to abort bid to exit Strait of Hormuz
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) The Iran war has put US global leadership on the line, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said, expressing fear about the “madness” of nuclear escalation. Like some other NATO allies reluctant to join US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran, Italy last week denied permission for US military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily en route to the Middle East. – Iran war jeopardizes US global leadership, warns Italian minister
(AFP/Al Arabiya) A strike killed a fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, in Iraq near the border with Syria on Tuesday, the alliance said, blaming the United States and Israel. – Fighter from Iraq’s PMF killed in strike near Syria border: Official
(Elisabeth Buchwald – CNN) After weeks of war-driven pressure on fuel prices and supply chains, some businesses are starting to pass those higher costs along to consumers via new fees — or through other, less obvious changes. “Companies tend to look for ways to get more out of what they already have first, like packing more into each shipment or combining orders into a single delivery,” said Rahul Shahani, a partner at McKinsey leading the company’s North American supply chain practice. “Over time, those higher costs still show up in subtle ways like higher free shipping minimums, fewer discounts, smaller package sizes, or slower delivery.”. Jet fuel is one of the biggest inputs for airlines, accounting for around 25% of costs. In the United States, it has spiked by 95% since the war began, according to the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, published by Airlines for America. Additionally, due to closures at some Middle East airports, some airlines are having to take longer routes, requiring more fuel. “The reality is, jet fuel prices have more than doubled in the last three weeks. If prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11 billion in annual expense just for jet fuel,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a March 20 memo to employees. “For perspective, in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5 billion,” he added. – The sneaky — and not-so-sneaky — ways that companies are raising prices due to the Iran war | CNN Business
