China
(Suranjana Tewari – BBC) China’s leaders are trying something new to revive the country’s slowing economy: encouraging people to spend more. At this year’s Two Sessions in Beijing – the country’s most important political meeting of the year – officials set an annual growth target of 4.5%–5%, the lowest since 1991. Alongside the goal, policymakers unveiled measures aimed at boosting household spending – a tacit admission that the old drivers of growth may no longer be sustainable. In many ways, it marks a reversal of China’s traditional approach. In the past, when growth slowed, Beijing built more apartments, motorways, factories and industrial parks – fuelling expansion through state investment, exports and a booming property market. Now policymakers are placing more emphasis on raising household incomes and strengthening consumption. “It’s a recognition by Beijing that the old growth model no longer works,” said Dexter Roberts of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. The question now is whether China’s leaders can persuade households to open their wallets – and whether consumption can realistically become an engine of growth. – China Two Sessions: Will China’s new plan to boost spending work?
Iran, Middle East, Gulf, and beyond
(Stephen Collinson – CNN) President Donald Trump’s top aides are already scripting a victory narrative in Iran for the inevitable day when he tries to extricate himself from the war. The White House is conjuring a surreal endgame scenario that he will personally certify an unconditional surrender by the Islamic Republic — even if it’s not true. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says only Trump can judge whether the war is at “the beginning, the middle or the end.” It’s as if his boss is the sole arbiter of reality amid a raging regional conflagration. – Analysis: Why the US and Iran are fighting two different wars | CNN Politics
(Nathan Hodge – CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin knows how to find opportunity in crisis, and the metastasizing Iran war is the latest case in point. Putin began the year projecting confidence about his campaign to subjugate Ukraine, despite incremental progress on the battlefield. But in early January, the Trump administration dealt a blow to Russia’s prestige with the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a strategic partner of Moscow, in a daring commando raid. And when the new war erupted in the Gulf region, Putin initially looked to be a loser: US-Israeli decapitation strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, another longtime ally of Russia, and decimated Iranian military targets. The strategic partnership Moscow inked with Iran last year appeared to be a mere scrap of paper. Khamenei, it’s worth remembering, was only the latest friend of the Kremlin to fall: In early December 2024, just over a year before the toppling of Maduro, the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a longtime client of Moscow, came crashing down. – Putin finds opportunity in Trump’s war with Iran | CNN
(Laura Paddison – CNN) On particularly bad, sleepless nights, Sofia finds herself worrying about whether the taps might run dry. “We are, at the end of the day, in a desert,” said the United Arab Emirates resident. Oil and gas may be at the heart of the economy, but water is “the basis of our survival.”. As the Iran war escalates, so do her fears. “If I were to put myself in the shoes of the enemy, for lack of a better term … this is what I would target, our most valuable resources … I never thought that I could be in danger of not having potable water,” said Sofia, who asked that her real name not be used. She is not alone, concerns are growing across the region that one of its greatest strengths could become a target of war. The arid countries of the Gulf, including the UAE, are exceptionally dependent on desalination, the process of converting seawater into drinking water. It’s why this acutely water scarce region is home to lush golf courses, vast water parks and ski slopes; it’s also why it faces an increasingly alarming vulnerability. Bahraini officials said on Sunday an Iranian drone had damaged a desalination plant, although not affected water supplies. The attack followed Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi’s accusation that the US hit a desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island affecting 30 villages, which he called a “dangerous move.” The US denied involvement. – Water is even more vital than oil and gas in the Middle East — and it’s at risk as war heats up | CNN
(Barak Ravid – Axios) The U.S. military destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying naval vessels on Tuesday amid concerns that Iran is preparing to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Why it matters: A senior U.S. official told Axios the strike on the inactive ships was a preemptive measure that was a result of intelligence about Iran’s operational plans. Iran’s deployment of mines would create an extreme threat for commercial shipping in the region and prevent any oil from leaving through the Strait. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the waterway. hat they’re saying: President Trump threatened Iran in a Truth Social post with “military consequences” at a level “never seen before” if they were to place mines in the Strait. – US destroys 16 Iranian vessels amid worries of mines in Strait of Hormuz
(Avery Lotz, Julianna Bragg – Axios) Ten days after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, President Trump’s endgame is a murky, ever-moving target. Across interviews, press conferences and social media, Trump floated and erased timelines, predicted the war’s end or promised new escalation, and argued he must choose Iran’s new leader while the administration denies regime change is the goal. The administration claims its goals of knocking out Iran’s nuclear capabilities, ending its support for terrorism and defeating its navy are clear. But Trump’s messaging is more fluid. – Trump’s mixed messages on Iran war strategy
(Herb Scribner – Axios) Mixed signals from President Trump and his own Pentagon are leaving allies, markets and lawmakers guessing how — or when — the Iran war ends. Every week without a resolution deepens economic pain at home and instability abroad — raising the political stakes for Trump ahead of the midterms. Trump told Republicans at an annual retreat on Monday that the U.S. has already won the war, “but we haven’t won enough.” That came hours after he told CBS News that the war is “very complete, pretty much.”. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, said that Tuesday “will be our most intense day of strikes” yet. – 5 scenarios for how the Iran war could end
(Jonathan Josephs – BBC) Increased shipping costs driven by the conflict in Iran will be passed on to consumers, the boss of the world’s second biggest shipping company has said. “We have traditional contracting mechanisms that pass on this fuel fluctuation, whether they go up or they go down, onto the customers,” Vincent Clerc, the boss of Danish shipping giant Maersk told the BBC in an exclusive interview. “So what it means is that ultimately, in this case, these increases will pass to our customers and will pass on to the consumers.”. The Danish firm is dominated by its container shipping arm, which plays a vital role in moving consumers goods such as toys, clothing and electronics around the world. – Iran war cost will be passed to consumers, shipping giant boss tells BBC
Russia – Ukraine
(Dmytro Basmat – The Kyiv Independent) The Kremlin’s own classified assessments estimate that 1,315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded on the battlefield since the start of Russia’s full-scale of Ukraine in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 10, citing Ukrainian intelligence reports. Zelensky, who made the comments following a meeting with Oleh Ivashchenko, the new head of military intelligence (HUR), said on social media that the estimate of Russian losses comes from documents obtained by Ukraine’s intelligence networks. “We have reason to believe that these figures are understated,” Zelensky added. The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify the intelligence reports. – Moscow’s own assessments reveal staggering losses in Ukraine, intelligence suggests
(Dmytro Basmat – The Kyiv Independent) The forced deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia throughout its full-scale war in Ukraine amounts to crimes against humanity, a United Nations (UN) investigation published on March 10 found. Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s national “Children of War” database has documented 20,000 Ukrainian children that have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas. “The Commission concluded that crimes against humanity and war crimes by Russian authorities have targeted children, who are among the most vulnerable victims,” a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found. – Russia committed crimes against humanity through deportation of Ukrainian children, UN inquiry finds
UK
(Imran Mulla – Middle East Eye) A new study of 40,000 articles from across 30 media outlets in Britain has found that almost half published about Muslims in the UK contained a “high degree of bias”, and 70 percent associated Muslims or Islam with negative aspects or behaviours. The Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), a nonprofit organisation analysing the media’s portrayal of Muslims, says in its report published on Monday that “Muslims are systematically portrayed through lenses of conflict, threat, and controversy” in the media. The report defines “bias” in terms of the “presence of negative associations with Islam or Muslims, use of broad generalisations rather than specific attribution, instances of misrepresentation, omission of contextual information or diverse perspectives, and quality of headlines”. The report reveals that 70 percent of news articles in 2025 highlight negative aspects of Islam and Muslims, with 44 percent “omitting essential context”. Seventeen percent of articles contain generalisations about Muslims and 13 percent feature “outright misrepresentation”, the CfMM says, warning of a “crisis of public understanding”. – Half of UK news articles about Muslims are biased, landmark study finds | Middle East Eye
US
(Gloria Pazmino, Katherine Koretski – CNN) Three days after an attempted ISIS-inspired terror attack outside his home, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood in a pre-school classroom on Staten Island to announce expanded childcare highlighting one of the key pillars of his agenda. But Mamdani was peppered with questions about Saturday’s attack, which unfolded as counterprotesters clashed with a group of demonstrators who gathered in front of Gracie Mansion to attend a protest “against Islam.”. Mamdani, who made history as the city’s first Muslim to be elected mayor, has previously spoken out against Islamophobia and the threats he faces as one of the highest profile Muslims in the country. – Gracie Mansion attempted attack: How Mamdani’s politics and identity are new elements to a familiar story | CNN Politics
(Kate Santaliz, Marc Caputo, Hans Nichols – Axios) President Trump’s top advisers are urging House Republicans to turn the 2026 midterms into a choice election — and hammer Democrats on taxes, crime and border security. Midterm elections are almost always referendums on the president and the party in power. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Trump are looking to buck history and retain the House by focusing on the Democrats’ national brand, with 52% of voters viewing the Democratic Party unfavorably. At the House GOP retreat in sunny Doral, Florida, (high 84°) White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told lawmakers to stop emphasizing “mass deportations,” Axios scooped earlier Tuesday. – Inside Trump’s Republicans meeting to save US House in midterms
