Indonesian Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a video statement on Friday that her government will “delay access” to social media for children under 16, following in the footsteps of Australia’s unprecedented ban on accounts for young people. On the same day, India’s southern tech-heavy state of Karnataka announced a similar ban.
The U.N. said on Friday that over 100,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has been running at a tempo close to open warfare for the past week with no end in sight.
The Economist on Wednesday cited Israeli intelligence sources who suggested “there are signs of Iranian soldiers, police officers and IRGC members failing to show up for duty.”
China’s big “Two Sessions” annual meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature produced a report on Friday that revised GDP growth projections down to a “range” of 4.5 to 5 percent, a significant downgrade from the 4.9 to 5 percent projection for 2025.
QatarEnergy, the national petroleum company of Qatar, stunned global energy markets on Wednesday by declaring force majeure and canceling its contracts to deliver liquid natural gas (LNG) to customers around the world due to attacks from Iran on its energy infrastructure.
The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran this weekend featured the operational debut of LUCAS, the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, a “suicide drone” modeled on Iran’s notorious Shahed series of drone bombs. LUCAS is a remarkable example of American ingenuity: a vastly improved copy of Iran’s only serious technological innovation since the Islamic Revolution, taken from product rollout to battlefield deployment in just eight months.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered some 250,000 residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate on Wednesday ahead of major military action against the terrorists of Hezbollah.
Seemingly under intense pressure from China, Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) modified its threats to close the vital Strait of Hormuz to worldwide oil shipping, claiming that it would only attack American, Israeli, and European ships.
The shipping industry is concerned that the war in Iran could disrupt worldwide supply chains, far beyond the loss of oil and liquid natural gas (LNG) shipments moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar said on Tuesday it disrupted two sleeper cells working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Several media outlets in the U.S. and Israel have reported that the U.S. has asked the Iranian Kurds to join the fight against the regime in Tehran, potentially neutralizing security forces in western Iran and paving the way for another popular uprising.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Wednesday that U.S. forces struck almost 2,000 Iranian targets within the first hundred hours of Operation Epic Fury.
Pakistani officials said on Tuesday they repelled an attack from Afghanistan, killing 67 Afghan fighters in heavy fighting along the border, with only one Pakistani casualty.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is threatening to “burn” any oil tanker that attempts to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
China is pleading with Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for oil shipments, but the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) insisted on Monday that any ship attempting to pass through the strategically vital strait will be “set ablaze.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) are calling for a “formal investigation” of Chinese home electronics giant Anker, arguing that its products – including the popular Eufy line of home security cameras – pose “unacceptable risks to U.S. national security.”
Pakistan imposed a three-day curfew on Monday morning following violent protests against the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, including an attack on U.S. consulates and the embassy in Islamabad.
The Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah launched missiles and drones at Israel on Sunday night, ostensibly in revenge for the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani – seemingly the de facto leader of Iran following the liquidation of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Operation Epic Fury – insisted on social media that he will never negotiate with the United States, but there were reports on Sunday that Larijani has quietly reached out through intermediaries in Oman to resume nuclear talks.
The list of Iranian leaders eliminated by U.S. and Israeli strikes in Operation Epic Fury is growing, and includes much of the top command structure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the designated foreign terrorist organization that handles both overseas terrorism and internal repression for the Islamist regime.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz was closed to all shipping traffic.
The Chinese Defense Ministry on Saturday denounced the United States as a “war addict” for launching strikes on Iran, while more temperate Chinese government organs called for an immediate cease-fire.
Canadian PM Mark Carney and Australian PM Anthony Albanese issued statements Saturday supporting U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning strongly condemned Iranian missile attacks against U.S. bases hosted by their Gulf allies, and threatened to take actions if Iran continues violating their sovereignty.
The United States will assume the rotating precedency of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, and first lady Melania Trump is scheduled to become the first sitting first lady to preside over a council meeting.
China’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, abruptly dismissed 19 of its deputies Thursday afternoon without explanation, including nine military officers. The move came after dictator Xi Jinping purged a series of high-ranking People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leaders, and only a week before the annual meeting of the Chinese legislature in Beijing.
Pakistani Defense Minister Kahwaja Asif declared “open war” on Afghanistan on Friday, promising “there will be chaos and a reckoning” after the Taliban junta launched drone strikes against targets in Pakistan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Thursday that an “understanding” was reached on “most elements of a potential agreement with the U.S.” during talks in Geneva, Switzerland, but no major breakthroughs were announced.
The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said on Tuesday that China’s recent purges of military leadership have severely weakened the command structure of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and compromised the readiness of Beijing’s military forces – and the purges probably aren’t finished yet.
OpenAI showed how a lone Chinese official accidentally exposed a worldwide network for intimidating dissidents by using ChatGPT.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the Cuban coast guard “acted correctly” when it allegedly opened fire on a speedboat from Florida on Wednesday afternoon, claiming to kill four people aboard and wounding the other six.
The United States and Iran began the third round of their current cycle of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday, under the looming threat of U.S. military action and Iran’s belligerent threats to respond with attacks across the Middle East.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day visit to Israel on Wednesday in what both governments billed as an opportunity to build closer relations by making common cause against terrorism – and which some observers viewed as a ticking clock on potential American action against Iran, since a strike would not be likely until Modi leaves Israel.
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address made no mention of China, except for a little teasing about Chinese military hardware.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Polite Kambamura, announced on Wednesday that all exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates would be banned until further notice due to unspecified “continued malpractices” in the mining industry.
The Cuban Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday that a Cuban Coast Guard vessel fired on a U.S.-registered speedboat, killing four men aboard and wounding six other passengers.
During his 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump discussed the incredible raid that brought narco-terrorist dictator Hugo Chavez to justice — and he hosted a surprise reunion between a political prisoner of the Chavez regime and his niece.
An unidentified individual detonated an explosive device near a railway station in Moscow early Tuesday morning, killing himself and a police officer. Two other people were injured in the explosion.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held military drills on Tuesday, reportedly including tests for new weapons, even as top military official Ali Larijani was preparing to deliver Iran’s latest response in negotiations with the United States, and President Donald Trump was preparing to deliver his State of the Union (SOTU) address.
U.S. representatives told the U.N.’s Conference on Disarmament that China has conducted secret nuclear weapons tests.
