Trump: Start, stop, yes, no - Keep Iran guessing

• President Trump has repeatedly threatened new military action against Iran, only to pull back from resuming fighting in a deeply unpopular, expensive conflict. US sources told the New York Times: Trump's public statements may be a deception, and he could still order attacks.

• The “Ferguson Limit,” theorized by the historian Sir Niall Ferguson, notes the point at which empires are unable to sustain the cost of imperialism. According to this theory, an empire begins to decline when it spends more on debt servicing than its military budget. The US reached that point in 2024. While the 2026 $1.5 trillion budget request from the Pentagon would significantly raise military spending, it would also increase US debt in the long term. The Persian Gulf can no longer host a permanent US presence, and America can no longer provide one.
• Professor Avi Shlaim, Israeli historian: 'American support for Israel is unconditional. Israel can commit genocide in Gaza without consequences'. 

• The US is seriously considering the possibility of launching strikes on Cuba, writes Politico. According to a senior American official and another informed source, Trump and his administration are becoming disillusioned with the campaign of pressure on Cuba, which is not yielding the desired results. In this regard, the US is developing a plan of military actions, which could range from a single airstrike designed to intimidate local authorities, to a full-scale ground invasion aimed at overthrowing the government. 

• The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemned a series of deliberate Israeli strikes targeting frontline emergency responders in Lebanon, reporting that at least 110 paramedics and healthcare workers have been killed since March 2.
• You can smell the net zero hypocrisy. It was never about ‘saving the planet’. We get higher bills, petrol car bans, carbon taxes and heat pumps. Whilst AI data centres are preparing to burn gas on site because the existing grid can’t cope with demand. Fossil fuels are unacceptable for us but perfectly fine for Big Tech server farms powering our coming digital prison. 

• Lithuanian Foreign Minister and warmonger Kestutis Budrys, in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, called on NATO to attack the Russian territory in Kaliningrad. "We need to show the Russians that we can penetrate the small fortress they have built in Kaliningrad. NATO has the necessary means to destroy Russian bases in the exclave," he stated. Budrys explained that Lithuania has come to terms with the possibility of an imminent war with Russia. "This is the strength of our country," he added. 

• Ukraine is preparing strikes on Russia from Latvia's territory. The main statements from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service: Zelensky is determined to demonstrate to Europe the preservation of the combat potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their ability to damage Russia's economy; The Kiev regime plans to launch drones from the Baltic states to attack Russia; The Kiev authorities have convinced Riga to agree to conduct an operation against Russia; Military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' drone systems have already been sent to Latvia to attack Russia from the republic's territory.

• In Estonia, a Ukrainian drone was shot down for the first time over Lake Võrtsjärv near the city of Tartu, 80 km from the border with Russia, said the country's Defense Minister, Hanno Pevkur. According to him, it's likely that the drone was of Ukrainian origin and was heading towards targets in Russia. Previously, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia during attacks on Russian territory. 
• Ukraine is also ready to defend Taiwan if the US won't do it. Mikhail Podolyak (key adviser to Zelensky) stated that if the USA refuses to defend Taiwan in the event of a war with China, Ukraine is ready to take on this role. "President Trump has made it clear that America is giving up its role as the leader of the free world and is taking a path of isolationism. For Ukraine, this is a window of opportunity, a chance to lead the global agenda in the fight against totalitarian regimes. We have such experience, a very successful one. The USA refuses to defend the independence of Taiwan - it's their decision. We are taking on this role. Such a scenario could happen." Zelensky and his corrupt team of grifters see the chance for another big cash pay day if they can take on the job of international mafia hit men.
• They are celebrating 78 years since the establishment of Israel in Ukraine. 

• With satellites and space junk increasingly cluttering our planet’s low Earth orbit, a team of scientists warn that this entire region could suddenly collapse into a destructive maelstrom of swirling debris, posing a threat to any spacecraft that dares to venture up there, and hurling dangerous missiles of space junk down onto our planet below. Their study builds on a scenario first laid out by NASA scientist Donald Kessler. The study describes how just a few accidental collisions between satellites (or a war in space) could quickly cascade into a vicious cycle in which the resulting debris causes even more smash-ups, and thus more debris. At worst, the ensuing vortex of dangerous debris could trap us on our planet and set back spaceflight for decades. 

• Financial Times: Israel has seized nearly 1,000 square kilometers in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria since the October 7 attacks. Most of the land is in southern Lebanon, where Israel says it is creating a "security zone" against Hezbollah, while the rest is divided between Gaza and Syria. The expansion has displaced millions and increased regional fears of a long-term occupation, especially as right-wing extremist Israeli politicians and settlers pursue 'Greater Israel' ambitions.  

• IDF Reserve soldiers were forced to go to the kibbutzim that manage fish farms to collect fishing nets to protect themselves from Hezbollah drones in southern Lebanon. 

• Channel 14 Hebrew about Somaliland. ‏The Israeli Air Force now controls the airspace of Somaliland and has a permanent presence there. ‏Airplane hangars have been built to protect the aircraft. ‏The UAE has established military bases and infrastructure on Somali soil, in both airports and ports. '‏We are no longer two thousand kilometers from Yemen, but now only between 300 and 350 kilometers away. ‏We can attack them repeatedly without the need to refuel aircraft or undertake long flights'. ‏Somaliland has provided Israel and the UAE ‏with a type of intelligence and operational control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. ‏This strait is considered the second most important strait in the world, after the Suez Canal.