Headlines: 16-22 March 2026

Saturday, 21 March 2026

Iran says Natanz nuclear site was struck, as Tehran launches ballistic missiles at US-UK base — 21 March 2026 (LINK)

Russia has condemned the US and Israel's attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Trump says US considering 'winding down' war; Iran fired missiles at Diego Garcia military base — 20-21 March 2026 (LINK)

Friday, 20 March 2026

Iran hits Kuwait refinery, Israel kills Iranian Guards spokesman as war rages on — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

War in Iran threatens fresh food-price shock across developing world — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

— Gulf region is major fertiliser producer and transport channel. Some fertilizer prices are up 30% to 40% on Iran war, Bank of America says.

Bitcoin rallies to $71k as Bessent mulls lifting some Iran oil sanctions — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland halts new arms exports to US — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland targeted in two US trade probes — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland to bolster defences against drones and cyber attacks — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Alibaba workforce shrinks 34% in 2025 as Chinese tech giant doubles down on AI — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Norway's crown princess says she was 'deceived' by Jeffrey Epstein: Mette-Marit says she 'did not know he was a sex offender', despite Googling him three years after his prison sentence — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

US jury finds Elon Musk misled investors during Twitter purchase: two tweets posted in May 2022 by Musk contained false statements responsible for a plunge in Twitter’s share price: could be ordered to pay billions of dollars, according to damages calculated by jurors — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

US judge blocks Pentagon's restrictions on press after New York Times lawsuit: alleged changes gave DoD free rein to punish reporters and outlets over coverage it did not like — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

— Of 56 news outlets in the Pentagon Press Association, only one agreed to sign onto the new policy.

White House releases AI legislation framework, highlighting protections for children and limiting liability for developers — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Ukraine-Hungary oil pipeline row threatens EU loan — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

— No oil has flowed through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia across Ukraine, since the major oil hub at Brody, in western Ukraine, was damaged in a Russian attack on 27 January. While Ukraine argues that it will need six more weeks to repair the damage and restore the oil flow, Budapest accuses Kyiv of stalling, as revenge for Hungary's pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian position. The dispute underlines the ability of one or two countries to block EU decision-making. It also shows Hungary and Slovakia facing fuel problems, because they have refused to follow the lead of others and wean themselves off Russian oil since 2022.

Book just became the first to get canceled for AI: allegations of AI-generated text have caused Hachette to scrap the US release of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

FP: Starlink has privatized geopolitics: from Ukraine to Iran, Elon Musk's service has become an arbiter of foreign policy — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Geneva's parliament has voted to ban the burkini in public swimming pools, ending months of heated debate — 20 March 2026 (LINK)

Thursday, 19 March 2026

Israel says it will hold off striking key Iranian natural gas field after Iran intensified attacks Thursday on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf, raising the stakes — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

US launches biggest strike on Iran, expanding beyond missile and air defense sites to hit Iran's defense industrial base, underground facilities, and naval infrastructure — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

Netanyahu says Iran no longer has uranium enrichment capacity — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland risks the ire of the White House as it flags potential currency intervention: increasingly willing to intervene in foreign exchange markets — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

US TSA official: Airport security problem 'going to get worse before it gets better' — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

— "Small airports may be particularly impacted because they have fewer lanes and they have fewer people, and so, if a certain three or four out of 10 employees call out, we may, to ensure we're not degrading security, we may have to temporarily suspend operations at those airports," he said.

California's Gov. Newsom supports move to rename César Chavez Day over alleged sexual abuse — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

U.S. prosecutors charge Super Micro Computer employees, including co-founder, with smuggling Nvidia chips to China. Shares of Super Micro fell about 12% in extended trading — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

ANGEL (Shenzhen Angel Drinking Water Industrial Group Corporation) wins four awards at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva among over 1,000 entries: one gold medal, two silver medals and one bronze medal — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

— ANGEL's Gold Medal-winning Coffee Flavor Extraction Technology marks a breakthrough beyond traditional brewing parameters such as coffee-to-water ratio and grind size. Recognising that water accounts for nearly 98 percent of the final coffee beverage, ANGEL integrates natural mineral filter media with AI-driven control to optimise extraction factors, enhancing flavour performance and preserving the authentic characteristics of different coffee beans. The technology is modular and adaptable to broader applications.

— The Silver Medal-winning ANGEL Golden Ratio Countertop Mineralized Water Purification Dispenser combines advanced purification with intelligent design. Featuring a visualised mineralisation system, golden mineral ratio, and dual purified/mineralized water output, it upgrades drinking water from basic safety to visible, AI-enabled health. With 3-Second Instant Heating & Rapid Cooling, Smart Multi-Temperature & Volume Control, and multiple usage modes, it suits diverse household needs in a compact form.

— Another Silver Medal went to ANGEL's Zero-Discharge Recycling Technology. Addressing the common issue of water waste in conventional systems, it incorporates an Intelligent Domestic Water Purification with Zero-Discharge Recycling Technology. Supported by modular design and adaptive smart controls, the system improves water efficiency while ensuring safe and sustainable household use.

— The Bronze Medal-winning Innovative Sterilization Technology tackles a long-standing industry challenge of entire system sterilization. Using innovative materials, it can synthesize disinfectants at the molecular level by using water and air, enabling on-demand, broad-spectrum sterilisation throughout the system.

Dengue virus found in mosquitoes in Basel from 2024 — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

— The discovery was made in samples collected in autumn 2024, marking the first time the virus has been identified north of the Alps. Experts say the virus was likely imported by a traveller before being picked up by local mosquitoes. But, specialists stress there is no evidence of transmission to humans, and say the risk to the public remains low at this stage.

Rosin Group delivers Switzerland's largest satellite cleanroom facility for SWISSto12 — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

Wednesday, 18 March 2026

War can't entirely eliminate Iran's nuclear programme, the U.N. atomic energy chief says: "The material will still be there and the enrichment capacities will be there, perhaps some infrastructure will still be there" — 19 March 2026 (LINK)

— Health authorities have reported about 1,300 killed in Iran, 968 in Lebanon and 16 in Israel since the war began on Feb. 28. U.S. Central Command has said 13 U.S. service members have been killed and eight severely injured. Several Gulf Arab countries have also reported lower fatalities.

US judge orders Trump administration to reopen Voice of America — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

US FBI director Kash Patel admits under oath FBI is buying location data on Americans — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

US civil rights leader Cesar Chavez accused of sexual abuse — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas: Bahamas' waters around Eleuthera Island — and sharks' bloodstreams — reveal the extent of human pollution — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

The world's happiest countries for 2026: For the first time in the report's 14-year history, a Latin American country made its way into the top five as Costa Rica continued its multi-year rise to fourth place, jumping from 23rd in 2023. Switzerland is 10th — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

These 20 US airports don't use TSA screeners and are avoiding the travel chaos — 18 March 2026 (LINK)

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Israel says it killed 2 top Iranian security officials — 17 March 2026 (LINK)

Pakistan air strike kills at least 100 at Kabul drug rehab centre — 17 March 2026 (LINK)

Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump's Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat — 17 March 2026 (LINK)

— Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to testify before lawmakers this week about threats facing the U.S., an annual hearing.

Monday, 16 March 2026

Russia has taken 12 settlements in Ukraine as part of general advances, Moscow's top general says. In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the country's armed forces had disrupted Russian plans for an offensive, with Moscow failing to reinforce its troops — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Kenya and Russia agree no Kenyans will be recruited for Ukraine war — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Sean Penn misses 15 March Oscars to visit Ukraine, meets Zelensky in Kyiv — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

U.S. considers withholding H.I.V. aid to Zambia unless it expands minerals access — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Trump vents frustration with allies over strait of Hormuz; UAE closes its airspace — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Iran still exporting millions of barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz even as other traffic paralyzed — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Cuba's power grid collapses after weeks of US oil blockade — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

BBC asks UK judge to toss Trump's $10 billion defamation case: not aired in US — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

— The network said the president's claims over the way his Jan. 6, 2021 speech was edited fall "well short of the high bar of actual malice".

Last protester in immigration detention after Trump’s campus crackdown has been released on $100,000 bond after a year in custody — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Kennedy Center votes to shut down operations for 2 years and names a new president — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

— Trump hosted the board meeting at the White House in a reminder of the influence he has held over the Kennedy Center during his second term.

Unclear if Iran's leader Mojtaba Khamenei is 'dead or not,' Trump tells reporters — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Sri Lanka brings in four-day week to eke out stocks of oil and gas hit by Iran war: Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have also brought in crisis measures — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

War-driven energy price spikes highlight value of renewables: UN climate chief — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

El Salvador has arbitrarily detained nationals deported from the US and 'disappeared' into prison system, Human Rights Watch says — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

French national jailed for 10 years in Azerbaijan for spying — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

— Martin Ryan was accused in December 2023 of spying on behalf of Paris and collecting secret information about Baku's military co-operation with Turkey and Pakistan. He was also accused of helping recruit French-speaking Azerbaijanis to co-operate with French intelligence. Both France and Ryan have repeatedly denied the spying allegations. An Azerbaijani citizen, Azad Mamedli, was sentenced to 12 years for treason, AFP news agency reports.

UN report says Israeli 2025 air strike on Iran prison is a war crime — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Encyclopedia Britannica is the latest giant to sue OpenAI — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Musk's Grok chatbot made sexual images of minors, teens allege in lawsuit — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

A 100-year-old theory might explain what's wrong with quantum mechanics: physicist is on a mission to get scientists to look into Louis de Broglie’s pilot wave theory — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland faces worst housing shortage for renters since 2014 — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Swiss cinema admissions fall to lowest level in half century: 9.47 million admissions, 8% less than the previous year — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Swiss study finds the beaver is best ally for restoring biodiversity — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

Len Deighton, author of bestselling spy thrillers, dead at 97 — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

— Deighton was food correspondent for The Observer newspaper in the 1960s and wrote several cookbooks aimed at men — a then-novel idea.

The US stock market sounds an alarm for the first time in 25 years. Here is what history says the S&P 500 will do in 2026 — 16 March 2026 (LINK)

— Currently, the CAPE (cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings) ratio stands at 39 — more than double its long-term average and inching closer to its all-time high. The only other times in history when the CAPE ratio was near its current level were in the late 1920s and in 2000. Right now, the stock market remains elevated relative to historical levels, driven by tailwinds from demandq for artificial intelligence (AI). Opt for blue chip stocks with durable, diversified business models. In addition, complementing high-conviction positions with cash will further insulate you from any downturns while providing you the flexibility to buy the dip.