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Iran struck Tel Aviv with cluster warhead missiles following Israel's killing of senior Iranian officials, while newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei ruled out a ceasefire at his first foreign-policy meeting. 

Elsewhere, Cuba's national electricity grid collapsed following three months without an oil shipment, prompting street protests, while European specialists arrived in Kyiv to inspect the damaged Druzhba pipeline amid linked loan negotiations.

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Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇨🇺 Cuba's power grid collapses amid deepening crisis: Cuba's national electricity grid failed, leaving millions across the island without power, water, or fuel, triggering street protests including the ransacking of a Communist Party office. The blackout follows three months without an oil shipment, with Venezuela's supply cut off after Maduro's seizure by the US, as Trump signals interest in a broader geopolitical play against the island.

2️⃣ 🇺🇦🇪🇺 EU engineers arrive to inspect damaged Druzhba pipeline: A team of European specialists, deliberately excluding Hungarian and Slovakian representatives, arrived in Kyiv ahead of a planned inspection of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which Ukraine says was damaged by Russian shelling in January. European diplomats have linked the release of a blocked €90 billion loan to Ukraine to progress on restoring or assessing the pipeline.

3️⃣ 🇦🇫🇵🇰 Karzai accuses Pakistan of deliberately destabilising Afghanistan: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused Islamabad of deliberately seeking to keep Afghanistan weak and ungoverned, following Pakistani airstrikes that Kabul says killed 400 people in a strike on a hospital treating drug addicts. Pakistan denied hitting the hospital, insisting its strikes targeted militant infrastructure used to facilitate cross-border attacks on Pakistani civilians.

4️⃣ 🇪🇺🇺🇸 European Parliament moves to revive EU-US trade deal: MEPs have scheduled a committee vote to restart ratification of the EU-US trade agreement after months of delays, though final approval by the full assembly remains uncertain with both March and April floated. The deal sets a 15% US tariff on EU goods in exchange for Europe eliminating its own tariffs, and includes a suspension clause tied to territorial integrity threats and a sunset provision expiring in March 2028.

5️⃣ 🇨🇬 Sassou Nguesso wins fifth term in Congo-Brazzaville: Denis Sassou Nguesso was re-elected with nearly 95% of the vote, extending his cumulative 42 years in power, though the main opposition boycotted the election and dismissed it as a farce. The vote was held under heavy restrictions, with internet access cut, traffic banned, and security forces deployed across the capital, as provisional results await constitutional court validation.

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Major Story

Military

1️⃣ Iran fires cluster warhead missiles at Tel Aviv as new supreme leader rules out ceasefire: Iran struck Tel Aviv with difficult-to-intercept cluster warhead missiles in retaliation for Israel's killing of Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholam Reza Soleimani, bringing Israel's death toll to at least 14. Newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei simultaneously rejected ceasefire proposals at his first foreign-policy meeting, saying it was not "the right time for peace" until the U.S. and Israel "accept defeat and pay compensation." 

2️⃣ Iran strikes Gulf states and Israel with advanced missiles after senior officials killed: Iran also launched multiple-warhead missiles at Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, as Brent crude remained above $100 a barrel, up over 40% since February 28. Israel simultaneously intensified strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon, with Lebanese authorities reporting over 900 killed and more than one million displaced.

3️⃣ U.S. drops bunker-busting bombs on Iranian missile sites near Hormuz: American forces deployed 5,000-pound deep-penetrator bombs along Iran's coast to destroy hardened anti-ship cruise missile positions.

4️⃣ Israel expands Lebanon ground operation as Hezbollah attacks continue: The IDF pushed additional forces deeper into southern Lebanon to widen its buffer zone as Hezbollah continued launching roughly 100 rockets and drones daily at northern Israeli towns with no injuries reported overnight. 

5️⃣ IAEA confirms projectile struck Bushehr nuclear plant: Iran informed the UN nuclear watchdog that a projectile hit the Bushehr nuclear power plant Tuesday evening, causing no damage or injuries to staff. 

Diplomacy

1️⃣ Trump dismisses NATO after allies reject Hormuz naval coalition: Trump declared the U.S. "never needed" NATO, Japan, Australia, or South Korea after they refused to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a "foolish mistake".

2️⃣ China rebuffs Trump's Hormuz request as Beijing trip delayed: Beijing declined to assist in reopening the strait, offering only a generic call for all parties to halt military operations, while analysts say China is content to let the U.S. become mired in the Middle East. The delay to Trump's planned March 31 state visit is seen as welcomed by both sides given unresolved trade differences and the difficulty of the commander-in-chief travelling abroad during active military operations.

3️⃣ Trump's counter-terrorism chief resigns over Iran war: Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, stepped down Tuesday, arguing Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S. and that the war was initiated due to Israeli pressure, and a coordinated misinformation campaign targeting Trump's America First platform. 

4️⃣ UN maritime chief warns naval escorts risk escalating Hormuz crisis: The IMO's secretary-general told Sky News that escorted convoys through the closed Strait of Hormuz could present a target for Iranian forces and would not restore shipping without a formal ceasefire. 

5️⃣ Trump expresses disappointment in Starmer over Iran war: Speaking at a St. Patrick's Day Oval Office appearance, Trump criticised the UK prime minister for declining to deploy military assets ahead of the conflict, repeating an earlier jibe that Starmer is "no Winston Churchill."

Economic/Oil

1️⃣ Asian nations implement fuel conservation measures amid Iran war disruption: Sri Lanka has introduced a four-day work week for public institutions, schools, and universities every Wednesday, alongside a rationing scheme limiting private car purchases to 15 litres of fuel and motorcycles to five litres. Across the region, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam have each enacted varying austerity measures as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which nearly 90% of Gulf oil and gas bound for Asia previously flowed — drives oil prices to around $100 a barrel.

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇺🇦🇬🇧 Zelensky urges Trump-Starmer meeting amid Iran war fallout: Visiting London as part of a European tour, Zelensky called on Trump and Starmer to meet and align on a common position, warning that divisions among western leaders are undermining Ukraine's position. He expressed a "very bad feeling" about the war in Iran's effect on Ukraine, stating that peace negotiations are being continually delayed as a direct result of the wider conflict.

2️⃣ 🇮🇪🇺🇸 Martin and Trump reaffirm US-Ireland ties on St Patrick's Day: Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin met Trump at the White House for the annual shamrock ceremony, with Trump pledging to expand the bilateral trade relationship and predicting energy prices would fall once the war in Iran ends. The visit was marked by the absence of Sinn Féin's Mary-Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who boycotted St Patrick's Day events in protest over the administration's policies.

3️⃣ 🇵🇪 Peru's prime minister resigns ahead of confidence vote: Prime Minister Denisse Miralles stepped down before a mandatory congressional confirmation vote, citing doubt over her ability to secure the required legislative majority. Interim President Jose Balcazar, himself only a month into office as the country's eighth president in as many years, appointed former general Luis Enrique Arroyo as her replacement ahead of April elections.

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