Thursday, March 5, 2026

World

US-Israel War on Iran Kills Over 1,000, Widens Regionally

The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran has killed more than 1,000 people, with strikes continuing on Iranian cities while Iranian rockets are being intercepted over central Israel. The conflict has spilled into the Indian Ocean, where a US submarine sank an Iranian warship, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz via Iranian drone attacks, sending energy markets into crisis. The funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — killed in the initial strikes — has been postponed amid ongoing explosions.

Politics

Senate Republicans Block War Powers Check on Trump

Senate Republicans, joined by one Democrat, voted 47-52 to defeat a resolution that would have curtailed President Trump's ability to wage war against Iran without congressional authorisation. The defeat leaves Trump with unchecked military authority as the conflict expands, though a separate House vote is still expected. A House vote to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Epstein files — backed by five Republicans — passed the same day 24-19, signalling rare bipartisan friction with the administration.

Economy

China Sets Lowest GDP Growth Target Since 1991

China has pegged its GDP growth target at 4.5–5% for the year, the first time it has dropped below 5% since 1991, as Premier Li Qiang signals a deliberate shift away from export-led growth toward a more domestically resilient model. The target was announced at the annual Two Sessions parliamentary gathering in Beijing, where leaders acknowledged "complex situations at home and abroad" — widely understood as a reference to trade pressures and the fallout from the US-Iran conflict disrupting global supply chains.

World

Ukraine Drone Strike Sinks Russian LNG Tanker in Mediterranean

A Russian liquefied natural gas carrier, the Arctic Metagaz, exploded and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya after what Vladimir Putin has called a Ukrainian terrorist attack using drones. The vessel had been carrying 61,000 tonnes of LNG and was already sanctioned by the US and EU as part of Russia's "shadow fleet" used to bypass Western energy restrictions. Putin's accusation marks a significant escalation in the geographic reach of the Ukraine conflict.

Tech

OpenAI and Anthropic Both Navigate Fraught Pentagon AI Deals

Sam Altman has told OpenAI employees that the company cannot control how the Pentagon actually uses its AI products in military operations, even as the firm rushes to add surveillance safeguards to a hastily announced defence deal. Separately, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is back in talks with a deputy to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, seeking a compromise on the terms of its own military AI agreement.