USA - The problem with an increasing debt burden is that it costs more to maintain it and this is precisely the issue with which the US Treasury is wrangling at present. As total US national debt ticks over $39 trillion, the interest payments on that value are eye-watering: $529 billion for the first six months of the current fiscal year. A new budget update from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released yesterday highlights that the government — according to preliminary estimates — paid out the near $530 billion between October 2025, when the fiscal year starts, and March 2026. This equates to more than $88 billion in interest payments a month, or more than $22 billion a week.

MIDDLE EAST - Global food shortages will hit the world like a freight train in 6 to 9 months because virtually nothing will get through the Strait Of Hormuz NOW. Where do we go from here? Peace talks with Iran have totally failed, and there appears to be no hope that the gaps between the demands that the US is making and the demands that Iran is making can be bridged. There are several key issues that both sides are not willing to compromise on, and that is going to have very serious implications for the entire planet. In the aftermath of the failed peace talks, Iranian officials warned that the status quo in the Strait of Hormuz would continue. Needless to say, that was completely and totally unacceptable to the Trump administration, and in response President Trump has just announced a full naval blockade of the Strait. What this means is that virtually nothing will get through the Strait of Hormuz for an extended period of time. As a result, the spring planting season in the northern hemisphere will be a total disaster, and global food shortages will hit the world like a freight train about 6 to 9 months from now.

SAUDI ARABIA - Pakistan has sent troops and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to boost security, the Gulf nation has said. Pakistani military personnel and fighter jets arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base on Saturday, the Saudi Defense Ministry said in a statement. The deployment is aimed at boosting military coordination, improving operational readiness, and supporting security and stability on the regional and international levels, the ministry added. The move comes as part of a defense cooperation agreement signed between the two nations last September. As per the pact between the two nations, any attack on one country would be considered an attack on the other.

IRAN - Iran’s radical Muslim President Masoud Pezeshkian has rushed to praise and defend Pope Leo XIV after the Chicago-born pontiff launched yet another attack on President Donald Trump for standing up to the bloodthirsty Iranian regime. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump delivered a blistering takedown of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, slamming the Vatican leader as weak on crime, disastrous on foreign policy, and far too cozy with the radical left. Critics, however, note that the pope has remained silent on atrocities committed by the Islamic regime. Now, the leader of a terrorist-sponsoring, nuclear-obsessed Islamic theocracy, one that executes women for defying hijab laws, has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens for protesting, bankrolls Hamas, Hezbollah, and other proxies, and routinely chants “Death to America,” is now sending “glory by Allah” to the Pope for bashing Trump’s America First foreign policy.

TURKEY - Turkey has strongly criticised Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him as the "Hitler of our time". It came after the Israeli Prime Minister shared a post on X criticising Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He wrote: "Under my leadership, Israel will continue to fight against Iran's terrorist regime and its proxies, in contrast to Erdogan who aids them and even slaughters his Kurdish citizens." In response, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in which it referred to Netanyahu as the "Hitler of our time". It accused Israel of "undermining ongoing peace negotiations" and pursuing "expansionist policies in the region". The ministry said: "Netanyahu, who has been described as the Hitler of our time due to the crimes he has committed, is a well-known figure with a clear track record."

AUSTRALIA - Australia has one of the highest per-capita rates of diesel consumption in the world but it relies almost entirely on imports to meet that demand. There are two domestic refineries producing petrol but up to 90 percent of that is imported, too. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stifled one fifth of the world’s supply of oil. Much of this goes to the Asian refineries that supply Australia. Now, they’re running short. So the problem in Australia isn’t just the soaring price of fuel. It’s the prospect of not being able to get any at all. The country has 38 days’ worth of petrol left in reserve before reaching critical levels, at which point rationing would need to kick in. For diesel, it’s 31 days and for jet fuel, just 28. In a country that is the fifth-largest producer of wheat and second-largest grower of barley, McIntyre warns that “most farmers will need to decide before Anzac Day [April 25] whether they will plant a crop this year”.

USA - Donald Trump posted and then deleted a picture of himself as Jesus Christ during an extraordinary row with the Pope. The United States president said the leader of the Catholic church was “terrible” and “weak” after the pontiff criticised the American-Israeli war against Iran as inhumane. Leo, the first US-born pope, said he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak the gospel.

MIDDLE EAST - As the deadline for President Trump’s trade blockade of some traffic through the Strait of Hormuz passed on Monday afternoon, there was debate about whether the policy was now in place and, if so, what it meant for global trade — and whether the severity of the crisis was being reflected in global markets. The US military’s Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. “The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations,” Central Command said in a note to seafarers on Monday that was first reported by Reuters, the news agency. Tehran has been blocking other traffic, however. The strait has been effectively closed since the conflict began about seven weeks ago, because of fears of attacks on commercial shipping by Iran.

CHINA - A Chinese tanker under US sanctions passed though the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, defying Washington's naval blockade that began on Monday. After circling the area late on Monday and initially turning back, the 600ft long vessel passed through the waterway on Tuesday. Oil tanker Rich Starry is owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd and became a target for US sanctions because it was used to transport Iranian crude. Rich Starry is a medium-range tanker that is carrying about 250,000 barrels of methanol, according to the data. It loaded the cargo at its last port of call, the UAE's Hamriyah, the data showed. Meanwhile, China said on Tuesday that a US blockade around Iranian ports was 'dangerous and irresponsible', after the US President threatened to sink any boats that sought to leave or dock there.

MIDDLE EAST - A Chinese tanker and another vessel have made U-turns after passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil tanker Rich Starry is owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd and became a target for US sanctions because it was used to transport Iranian crude. After circling the area late on Monday and initially turning back, the 600ft long vessel passed through the waterway on Tuesday. It then turned around and headed back to the Gulf at 11am UTC (12 pm UK time). The reasons for this about-turn are not currently clear. Rich Starry is a medium-range tanker that is carrying about 250,000 barrels of methanol, according to the data. It loaded the cargo at its last port of call, the UAE's Hamriyah, the data showed. Meanwhile, the Iran-linked Christianna carried out a similar route, passing through the Strait of Hormuz before turning around just before 4 pm UK time. Again, no reason has yet been given for the Liberia-flagged vessel's sudden turn.

MIDDLE EAST - Marathon US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad produced no breakthroughs, no progress on diminution of the continuing threat the ayatollahs pose to the Middle East and the world. It was never clear why Donald Trump thought negotiations would succeed, but he must now decide whether to return to military force or accept an enormous international political setback.

ISRAEL - Israel’s army has been ordered to move to a heightened state of readiness and prepare for a return to war with Iran. Eyal Zamir, the Israel Defense Forces chief, told army units to enter war preparation mode by shortening response times and closing operational gaps. The IDF’s military intelligence directorate is increasing its list of targets in Iran, focusing on military targets including missile launchers. In co-ordination with the operations directorate, the Israeli air force is finalising updated strike plans, assembling integrated attack packages that emphasise long-range capabilities, accuracy and operational endurance, YNET reported. The IDF is also preparing its defensive capabilities in case of a renewed war with Iran, reinforcing its air defence systems. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said the Israeli and American “achievements” in Iran “are not yet finished”.

HUNGARY - Viktor Orban’s defeat does not mean that Hungarian voters have rejected his tough on immigration, pro-natalist or Brussels-critical policies. The electoral winners, Peter Magyar and his Tisza party, have achieved their robust electoral mandate on the back of a remarkably similar electoral programme. Magyar is a social conservative who wants to increase financial incentives to have children, cut taxes, double the defence budget, and has criticised Orban for admitting too many migrants under Hungary’s guest worker schemes. On effectively every issue he sits firmly on the Right of European politics.

MIDDLE EAST - For a moment, history seemed to beckon. With negotiations stretching into the night and large teams of technical experts on both sides swapping drafts, there were excited rumours that, just maybe, the impossible was about to happen. So much for that. After 21 hours of talks at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, JD Vance, the US vice-president, emerged bleary-eyed to call the whole thing off. He had offered the Iranians a take-it-or-leave-it deal. They left it. “We’ve made very clear what our red lines are,” he told reporters. “They have chosen not to accept our terms.”

USA - Donald Trump has said Pope Leo is “terrible for foreign policy” after the pontiff made a plea for peace in the Middle East. The US president posted on his Truth Social platform that the first American pope was “weak on crime”, urging him to “stop catering to the Radical Left”. Mr Trump wrote: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” He claimed the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics had been elected because the Vatican thought it would be the “best way to deal with President Donald J Trump”. Pope Leo reacted by saying he was “not afraid of the Trump administration, nor of telling the message of the Gospel”.