Russia’s top oil port in the Baltic Sea, Primorsk, resumed loading days after it came under attack from Ukrainian drones, although Bloomberg notes that the company that pipes crude there said it is trying to divert barrels elsewhere because of the incidents.

Ukraine attacked Russia’s largest oil port in the Baltic Sea to prevent it from benefiting from rising oil prices: about 60% of Russia’s maritime oil exports pass through the port of Primorsk. pic.twitter.com/M2ghU0o6i1

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 23, 2026

The Minerva Georgia, a Suezmax-class vessel capable of hauling about 1 million barrels of crude, berthed on Wednesday. Another, the Anlan, is scheduled to depart Thursday having been there for several days.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian oil infrastructure to prevent Putin from benefiting from soaring prices. It also targeted the port of Ust-Luga this week, as well as the Kirishi oil refinery. Transneft, Russia’s pipeline operator, aims to divert flows away from the Baltic ports, Interfax reported.

If Trump is allowed, why don’t we?!

Putin’s burning russian port of Primorsk is visible for the entire flight from Finland. In general, Putin no longer has an oil-loading port in the Baltic. Ukraine has declared an oil embargo on Putin.

And f**k Biden’s escalation management… pic.twitter.com/HDbA4yI54q

— EMPR.media (@EuromaidanPR) March 25, 2026

Kiev’s moves seek to disrupt the flow of Russian petroleum at a time when the Iran war has already caused an unprecedented oil-supply shock. A Turkish oil tanker carrying Russian oil also came under drone attack in the Black Sea.

On Thursday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg delivered what many are calling one of the most significant setbacks in recent memory for the EU’s traditional bureaucratic and centrist consensus.

In a single day, MEPs advanced stricter mass deportation rules, rejected controversial mass surveillance of private communications (known as “Chat Control”), and moved forward on dropping tariffs on key U.S. goods as part of a broader transatlantic trade reset.

This might be one of the worst days in history for the EU Bureaucrats:

– Mass deportation proposal passed
– Chat surveillance proposal rejected
– All tariffs on US goods dropped

The centrists have begun voting en masse with the nationalists…

This has never been seen before. pic.twitter.com/UWokIJ4tjo

— Inevitable West (@Inevitablewest) March 26, 2026

These outcomes reflect a pragmatic and unprecedented alliance between the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and right-wing to so-called ‘far-right’ groups such as the Patriots for Europe (PfE), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and others. For the first time in years, traditional “firewalls” isolating nationalist voices have cracked, forcing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s agenda into retreat on sovereignty, borders, digital rights, and economic realism.

1. Mass Deportations Advance: A Tougher EU Return Regulation

The Parliament voted overwhelmingly to launch inter-institutional negotiations on a reformed EU Return Regulation – often called the “Deportation Regulation” by critics. The measure aims to make it far easier to deport rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants. Key provisions include:

• Extended detention periods (potentially up to 24 months or more in some cases).
• EU-wide recognition of return decisions.
• Creation of “return hubs” – offshore detention and processing centers in third countries outside the EU.
• Stronger cooperation requirements from returnees and fewer procedural safeguards.

The vote builds on earlier committee approvals and the 2024 Migration Pact (full implementation due June 2026). Centre-right and right-wing MEPs formed a clear majority, overriding opposition from Greens, Socialists, and liberals who warned of a “historic setback for refugee rights.” The International Rescue Committee (IRC) condemned the move as leading to more raids, criminalization, and detention of vulnerable people.

Supporters argue it addresses years of failed integration, rising irregular arrivals, and public frustration post-2015 and 2022 migration surges. Similar national policies in Italy (under Meloni), Denmark, and the Netherlands have already normalized this harder line.

2. Chat Control Defeated: A Victory for Digital Privacy

In a nail-biter described as a “voting thriller,” MEPs rejected attempts to expand or extend untargeted mass scanning of private chats, messages, and photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A narrow amendment (passed by a single-vote margin in key steps) limits any future scanning to targeted, judicially supervised cases involving suspected individuals or groups – explicitly ruling out blanket surveillance of entire platforms or users.

This effectively ends the temporary “Chat Control 1.0” derogation’s broader rollout and aligns with the Parliament’s long-standing 2023 mandate against indiscriminate monitoring. Digital rights advocates, including Pirate MEP Patrick Breyer and groups like DigitalCourage, hailed it as a historic win against Big Tech and Commission overreach. Critics had long argued the proposal violated fundamental rights and risked breaking end-to-end encryption.

The Commission and most of the Council had pushed hard for extensions, but Parliament’s stand – backed by a cross-ideological privacy coalition – prevailed. It sends a clear signal: Europe is prioritizing targeted security tools over mass surveillance.

3. Tariffs on U.S. Goods Dropped: Pragmatic Trade Reset with Trump’s America

MEPs advanced ratification steps for elements of the 2025 EU-U.S. Turnberry trade deal (struck last July in Scotland). This includes eliminating or suspending EU tariffs on major U.S. industrial and agricultural imports in exchange for American concessions and a 15% ceiling on most EU exports to the U.S. Earlier retaliatory tariffs on billions in U.S. goods were effectively sidelined.

The move comes amid ongoing Trump-era pressures – including threats of universal tariffs, LNG supply leverage, and even Greenland-related tensions. Committee votes (e.g., 29-9 in the trade committee) reflected realism: Europe needs stable U.S. energy and defense ties amid Ukraine stalemate and Iran conflict fallout. Full parliamentary approval is expected soon, with safeguards added to protect EU interests.

This de-escalation marks a shift from protectionist posturing to pragmatic partnership — one that right-wing voices have long advocated.

The Political Earthquake: Centrists Align with Nationalists

What makes Thursday truly historic is the voting pattern. EPP MEPs, traditionally the anchor of pro-EU centrism, repeatedly sided with PfE, ECR, and other right-wing blocs – overriding the old Renew-S&D-Green coalition. This “Venezuela majority” (named after an earlier symbolic vote) has now delivered on concrete policy.

Von der Leyen, re-elected in 2024 with broad centrist support, is reportedly furious. Multiple no-confidence motions from the Patriots have failed so far, but her Green Deal, globalist migration, and regulatory agenda face constant erosion. So-called ‘far-right’ groups now act as kingmakers, reflecting the post-2024 election reality where populist parties dominate polls in France (RN), Germany (AfD), Austria (FPÖ), and beyond.

Broader Context: Europe’s Rightward Shift in 2026

These votes are not isolated. They mirror a continent-wide backlash against open borders, digital overreach, inflation/energy crises, and perceived bureaucratic elitism. National trends reinforce the momentum:

• France: Marine Le Pen’s RN leads polls ahead of 2027.
• Germany: AfD hits record highs in western states.
• Hungary: Viktor Orbán faces a tough April 12 election but frames the EU as the real threat.
• Italy: Giorgia Meloni’s government remains stable and influential.

Upcoming local and national tests – plus full implementation of the Migration Pact in June – will determine if rhetoric translates to results. Farmers’ protests, youth discontent, and security concerns continue to fuel the shift.

Implementation Challenges and the Road Ahead

While today’s votes are symbolic victories for sovereignty advocates, real change will take time. Return hubs require third-country agreements; Chat Control’s targeted approach still needs enforcement; trade safeguards could face U.S. pushback. Courts, NGOs, and some member states are expected to challenge the hardest edges.

Yet the Overton window has permanently shifted. The old centrist consensus is fracturing. As one MEP from the Patriots group put it anonymously: “We’re at a tipping point.”

Europe isn’t undergoing a full revolution overnight, but Thursday’s actions crystallized a new pragmatic realism. Voters demanded borders, privacy, and economic common sense – and for the first time, a critical mass of MEPs listened. Whether this delivers tangible improvements before the next electoral cycle will define the decade.

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.N. General Assembly on March 25 adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans “the gravest crime against humanity” and calling for reparations.

The vote at U.N. headquarters in New York City saw 123 countries voting in favor of the resolution, with only the United States, Israel, and Argentina voting against it.

The UK, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands—who were all heavily involved in the slave trade during the 17th, 18th, and part of the 19th centuries—were among the 52 countries that abstained.

General Assembly resolutions, unlike U.N. Security Council resolutions, are not legally binding.

The resolution, put forward by Ghana, “declares the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity,” adding that claims for reparations “represent a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs against Africans and people of African descent.”

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who helped draw up the resolution, said an estimated 13 million African men, women, and children were enslaved over several centuries.

The document says that under international law, “states bear responsibility for internationally wrongful acts and have an obligation to cease the act if it is continuing and to offer appropriate assurances and guarantees of non-repetition if the circumstances so require, and to make full reparation for the injury caused, which may take the form of restitution, compensation and satisfaction, either singly or in combination.”

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dan Negrea said before the vote that the resolution’s text was “highly problematic in countless respects.” He said the United States “does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.”

“The United States also strongly objects to the resolution’s attempt to rank crimes against humanity in any type of hierarchy,” Negrea added. “The assertion that some crimes against humanity are less severe than others objectively diminishes the suffering of countless victims and survivors of other atrocities throughout history.”

Negrea said the United States “must once again remind this body that the United Nations exists to maintain international peace and security” and not to “advance narrow specific interests and agendas, to establish niche International Days, or to create new costly meeting and reporting mandates.”

The British Empire was heavily involved in the slave trade. The UK passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, but according to the UK Parliament, “slaves in the colonies (excluding areas ruled by the East India Company) were not freed until 1838—and only after slave—owners, rather than the slaves themselves, received compensation.”

At the time, the UK borrowed 20 million pounds ($26.7 million)—equivalent to 2.2 billion pounds ($2.94 billion) in 2026—to compensate slave owners. The debt was paid off in 2014.

James Kariuki, chargé d’affaires at the UK mission to the United Nations, said in a March 25 statement: “We have repeatedly recognised the abhorrent nature of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, which inflicted untold harm and misery on millions of people over many decades. Its horrors were profound and its legacy continues to leave deep scars today.”

Kariuki said that the UK disagreed with “fundamental propositions of the text” and therefore could not vote in favor of it.

“The UK is firmly of the view that we must not create a hierarchy of historical atrocities,” he said. “None of the recognised sources of international law, as set out in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, identify a prohibition on slavery and the slave trade until the 20th century.”

All 27 members of the European Union abstained in the vote. Cypriot Deputy U.N. Ambassador Gabriella Michaelidou, speaking on behalf of the EU, said the resolution had an “unbalanced interpretation of historical events.”

‘Safeguard Against Forgetting’

Mahama, who was elected in 2024, noted that the vote was taking place on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

He said before the vote that the resolution “serves as a safeguard against forgetting.”

“Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery,” he said.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who will be stepping down later this year, said he welcomed the steps some countries are taking to “apologize for their role in the evil of slavery.”

“But far bolder actions, by many more states, are needed,” Guterres said. “This includes commitments to respect African countries’ ownership of their own natural resources.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As analysts and traders continue to assess the Gulf energy shock and its implications for the global economy, another alarming development has emerged across the energy sector: Ukrainian kamikaze drone strikes have reportedly disrupted a significant portion of Russia’s oil export capacity, according to Reuters.

Reuters calculates that recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s oil and fuel export infrastructure, including attacks on all three of Russia’s major western oil export ports, Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, have eliminated 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity, or around 2 million barrels per day, in just a matter of weeks.

Taken together, the twin disruptions of Gulf and Russian energy flows (in Eurasia) materially tighten the global energy supply outlook in the coming weeks and months.

The convergence of these shocks suggests crude prices are likely to remain elevated as traders price in a sustained geopolitical risk premium and reduced global spare capacity.

Kiev has also targeted pumping stations and refineries as part of its effort to squeeze Moscow’s oil revenue, which funds a quarter of Russia’s state budget and its war machine.

This month’s attacks on Russia’s oil and fuel export infrastructure have forced Moscow to divert more flows to eastern export supply channels.

Flows to China via the Skovorodino-Mohe and Atasu-Alashankou pipelines, plus ESPO Blend shipments from Kozmino, remain solid at 1.9 million barrels per day.

Russia is also still exporting around 250,000 barrels per day from Sakhalin and sending roughly 300,000 barrels per day to Belarusian refineries.

When two separate conflicts involving major powers begin to degrade energy infrastructure across Eurasia, we are left with one very big and unsettling question: At what point do both of these conflicts start to look less regional and more like the early stages of a world already at war?

Who wins? Well, Gulf of America, so far. 

Authored by Mike Fredenburg via The Epoch Times,

Despite Air Force claims that the A-10 has no place on the modern battlefield, a claim they have been making for decades, the A-10 is once again using its unmatched versatility and loitering capability to destroy fast-attack watercraft, drones, and enemy positions.

And for the role it is performing in Operation Epic Fury, the Warthog is vastly superior to any F-35, F-15, F-16, B-2, or even the most advanced drone in the U.S. arsenal.

While somewhat sleek, high-flying stealth fighters such as the maintenance-heavy F-35 dominate the Air Force budget, it is the A-10 Thunderbolt II that the Air Force is being forced to rely on to take the fight to the enemy’s backyard in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command has confirmed that A-10s are destroying Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack boats, shooting Shahed-style drones out of the sky, and striking ground targets.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine highlighted the Warthog’s southern-flank contributions in a March 19 briefing, noting its ability to provide persistent overwatch where speed and altitude are actually negatives when it comes to the kind of clearing operations for which the A-10’s versatility and toughness make it ideal.

🚨 A-10 WARTHOGS AND APACHES ENTER THE FIGHT IN HORMUZ

U.S. forces have escalated operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to statements attributed to General Dan “Razin” Caine:

A-10 Warthogs are now actively targeting Iranian fast attack boats
AH-64 Apache gunships are… pic.twitter.com/HsdQMHEtFF

— Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) March 25, 2026

As UK’s Jim Ferguson reports, U.S. forces have escalated operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to statements attributed to General Dan “Razin” Caine:

• A-10 Warthogs are now actively targeting Iranian fast attack boats

• AH-64 Apache gunships are engaging drones and militia-linked threats

This is a significant shift.

The A-10 is built for one purpose: Close-range destruction of ground and surface targets.

And now it’s being used to hunt fast-moving vessels in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

At the same time, Apaches are expanding operations across the southern flank and into Iraq — targeting threats before they can escalate.

This marks a new phase:

Not just strikes from above… But persistent, close-range battlefield control.

And in a chokepoint like Hormuz – That changes everything.

The A-10’s versatility starts with its enormous loadout capacity. A single Warthog can haul up to 16,000 pounds of mixed ordnance across eleven hardpoints. Current missions have it carrying AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles for precision strikes on boats or armored vehicles, APKWS II laser-guided rockets that deliver low-cost kills against cheap drones and agile fast boats, and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for additional air-to-air or anti-drone capability. The A-10 can also deliver general-purpose bombs with great precision, as well as dispense mines. All of this is in addition to the aircraft’s legendary 30mm GAU-8 Avenger seven-barrel Gatling gun, firing 3,900 rounds per minute. With 1,174 rounds, the GAU-8 can shred all but the heaviest armor, small vessels, structures, and personnel with devastating kinetic energy.

No other fixed-wing platform or helicopter combines this sheer volume of firepower with the flexibility to switch seamlessly between missiles, rockets, guns, and bombs on the same sortie. And its drone-killing rockets cost just $25,000 to $35,000 each, versus the hundreds of thousands to over a million for the missiles an F-35 would have to use to kill a 20,000 drone.

That versatility is amplified by the A-10’s unmatched ability to hit a target, duck behind a ridge or other terrain features, and then come back to hit another target. Fast, high-flying fighters launched from hundreds of miles away from the target burn through fuel rapidly and typically must return to base after a single pass. Advanced, very expensive drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper offer endurance but lack the Warthog’s raw destructive power and survivability. The A-10, by contrast, can loiter for hours at low altitude, engage multiple IRGC fast boats or a flight of drones, pull back beyond visual range or behind terrain to avoid return fire, and then reenter the engagement minutes later with its gun, rockets, bombs, or even air-to-air missiles. This capability is invaluable in the ongoing, extremely important efforts to break Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Of course, the Warthog is far from invulnerable. Yet its unmatched toughness, coupled with its unparalleled ability to use low-level flying and terrain masking and an extensive suite of defensive countermeasures, allows it to operate in environments that would be more perilous for any other aircraft. Twelve hundred pounds of titanium armor form a “bathtub” around the cockpit and critical systems. Double- and even triple-redundant systems enable the plane to get its pilot home after sustaining damage that would be fatal for any other aircraft. Chaff, flares, and electronic warfare jamming pods help it avoid having to demonstrate its toughness. And its legendary low-and-slow flight profile lets pilots hug the earth or duck behind ridges to break line of sight with enemy radars and gunners. Where other aircraft need to remain at high altitude or engage from large standoff distances, the Warthog operates where the fight actually is. And with Iran’s air defenses much degraded, the Warthog’s chances of returning from a mission become all that much better.

Showing up those proclaiming its irrelevance on the “modern battlefield” is nothing new. The A-10 has been delivering stellar performance since it got its first real test in the 1991 Gulf War, where it flew more than 8,000 sorties, destroyed hundreds of Iraqi tanks, and thousands of other vehicles. And it did so while absorbing ground fire that would have downed any other aircraft, helicopter, or drone. In Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and ground troops repeatedly rated the Warthog as the best close-air-support (CAS) platform available.

Compare that record to the F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force’s prized stealth fighter is a flying computer, but its unreliability, extreme fragility, and terrible low-speed handling characteristics make it incapable of executing the persistent, low-level, high-volume attack missions the Warthog is flying today. When loaded externally with the amount of ordnance the A-10 carries routinely, the F-35 lights up enemy air defense radars and becomes a clumsy aircraft with very little range. It carries a paltry 180 rounds of ammunition for its far less powerful 25mm gun versus the A-10’s 1,150 armor-piercing 30mm rounds. The F-35 lacks the rugged construction, redundant systems, the loitering capability, and the ability to turn terrain and the horizon into features capable of foiling or degrading the effectiveness of air defense systems. Making it even more vulnerable, in a desperate effort to save the F-35 program, the F-35 was stripped of protective safety equipment, such as its ballistic liner and the onboard fire suppression system, to keep it light enough to fly. This makes it one of the most fragile fighters in the sky.

Other Warthog advantages include being able to fly at least twice as many sorties per day and costing less than half as much per flying hour as the F-35. The F-35 is the very antithesis of a close-air-support aircraft, and no amount of budget-busting “Block upgrades” will ever change that.

Retired A-10 pilot Lt. Col. Thomas Norris, with over 3,000 hours in the cockpit, stated, “Unless you have lived and breathed CAS 24/7, you don’t know CAS and are likely to underestimate how hard it is and how important it is.” A veteran Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) echoed this in past operations: “I have worked with F-16s, B-1B bombers, F-15s, F-111s, F/A-18s, etc., and no other [close-air-support] plane comes even close to the A-10.” These words continue to ring true as the Warthog loiters over the Gulf, delivering what fast jets and drones cannot.

Yet despite the A-10’s ongoing demonstration of battlefield prowess, the Air Force remains bound and determined to get rid of it. In June of last year, the service accelerated plans to retire all 162 remaining A-10s by the end of fiscal year 2026 (Sept. 30, 2026), but Congress intervened again in the latest NDAA, prohibiting reductions below 103 aircraft through the end of FY26. As it stands, the Air Force is still pushing to achieve full divestment of A-10s prior to 2029. For more than two decades, senior Air Force leaders have undervalued the A-10, even as it continues to show up uber-expensive “tarmac-class” fighters—fighters that spend far more time on the ground being maintained than actually flying.

But the troops on the ground and the JTACs who have called in A-10 strikes under fire know better. And the combat record in 2026 is making the case once again. Sure, drones can provide some types of close air support, but the robust, heavily armed, unjammable A-10, with a moral agent going into harm’s way at the real point of the spear, brings something to the battlefield a drone with its operator safely ensconced far away from the line of contact cannot—and that is precisely why the A-10’s retirement should be canceled for the foreseeable future.

So, as the battle for the Strait of Hormuz ramps up, the “obsolete” A-10 is once again providing bang-for-buck lethality unmatched by any other U.S. aircraft, proving that on the modern battlefield, durability, reliability, and an ability to operate at the line of contact are hard to beat.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

It looks like Anthropic isn’t as radioactive to other defense contractors – for now, and on paper. 

In a sharply worded 43-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin (Biden) of the Northern District of California granted Anthropic PBC’s motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking key punitive measures imposed by the Trump administration after the AI company publicly refused to lift safety restrictions on its Claude model.

Lin minced no words on the supply-chain label – the core of the dispute:

“Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the U.S. for expressing disagreement with the government.”

Recall that Anthropic refused to change the user policy for its AI tool Claude to allow the government to use it for what Anthropic described as “mass surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons.” After they were branded a Supply Chain Risk, they sued on March. 9, calling the government’s actions “unprecedented and unlawful.” 

Lin ruled that the broad measures “do not appear to be directed at the government’s stated national security interests” and instead “appear designed to punish Anthropic.” One amicus brief called the actions “attempted corporate murder”; the judge noted they “might not be murder, but the evidence shows that they would cripple Anthropic.”

The Injunction

Lin’s preliminary injunction bars enforcement of three Challenged Actions; Trump ordering the government to immediately stop using Anthropic tech, Hegseth prohibiting government contractors from ‘commercial activity’ with Anthropic, and the DoW’s formal designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” to national security.

The order does not force the Pentagon to start using Anthropic again, nor does it interfere with a planned six-month phase-out for existing systems if done without the broader bans. A separate parallel challenge to one DoW letter (under 41 U.S.C. § 4713) is pending in the D.C. Circuit; that case remains unaffected.

At the March 24 hearing, DoW counsel conceded that portions of the Hegseth Directive had “absolutely no legal effect” on their own and that DoW did not intend to terminate unrelated commercial relationships – yet declined to stipulate to an injunction, citing ongoing “assessment.”

“While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI,” Anthropic said in a statement. 

The order is a preliminary injunction only; the case will proceed to full merits. But Judge Lin’s thorough factual record and legal analysis make clear that branding a domestic AI firm a national-security threat for publicly advocating safety guardrails crosses a bright constitutional line. The government retains full authority to choose its tools—just not to punish a company for speaking out about their limitations.

BYD and VinFast are rapidly expanding their presence in Southeast Asia, where electric vehicles are gaining traction and competition is intensifying, according to Nikkei. Both companies have emerged as the fastest-growing car brands in the region’s six largest markets in 2025, with sales rising about 95% for BYD and 90% for VinFast compared with the previous year.

VinFast sold more than 100,000 vehicles across countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, while BYD delivered roughly 70,000 units. Together, they account for around 7% of total vehicle sales in a regional market of approximately 2.4 million cars. Their rapid growth has contributed to a decline in market share for long-dominant Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi.

Nikkei writes that  VinFast’s strategy emphasizes affordability and ecosystem development. The company has focused on lowering prices, building charging infrastructure, and investing in local manufacturing while also promoting adoption through electric taxi fleets and ride-hailing services. BYD, by contrast, is leveraging partnerships and a broader product lineup. It supplies vehicles to ride-hailing operators such as Grab and is expanding production capacity across Southeast Asia, while also offering plug-in hybrid models that appeal to consumers concerned about charging availability.

Southeast Asia has become a priority growth market for both companies due to its expanding middle class and relatively low penetration of electric vehicles. BYD has established manufacturing operations in Thailand and is developing additional facilities in Indonesia and Cambodia. VinFast is pursuing large-scale investments in Indonesia and India, including factories and infrastructure projects designed to support long-term growth. 

India has proven more difficult for both companies. Limited charging infrastructure, strong domestic competitors, and relatively low consumer adoption of electric vehicles have constrained sales. Pricing differences are also evident, with VinFast positioning itself more aggressively at the lower end of the market compared with BYD.

Technologically, BYD benefits from its established plug-in hybrid systems, which reduce range anxiety and make its vehicles more practical in markets where charging networks are still developing. VinFast initially focused entirely on battery electric vehicles but is now considering hybrid options to broaden its appeal.

The two companies also differ in financial strength. BYD remains profitable, supported by strong cash reserves and cost control, and is expected to continue growing earnings. VinFast, however, is operating at a significant loss as it invests heavily in global expansion, relying on financial backing from its parent company to sustain its strategy.

Both automakers are pushing aggressively into overseas markets as competition in their domestic markets increases. Their ability to sustain growth will depend on how effectively they balance expansion with financial stability and adapt to varying market conditions across regions.

Authored by Dorothy Li & Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Taipei court on March 26 found a former presidential candidate guilty of corruption-related charges and sentenced him to 17 years in prison, a verdict that has attracted domestic media attention amid the ongoing political deadlock in Taiwan.

Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei, was convicted on four counts, including accepting bribes, embezzlement, and breach of trust, the Taipei District Court said in a press release.

In addition to the lengthy prison sentence, the court said that Ko would also be stripped of civil rights for six years.

Taiwan’s semi-official media outlet Central News Agency (CNA) described Ko as the first leader of a major opposition party in Taiwan’s history to be sentenced to prison.

Ko founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) during his second term as Taipei mayor, and ran a high-profile campaign for the presidency in January 2024.

While 66-year-old Ko has the option to appeal, the verdict is likely to prevent him from running for president again in 2028. Under Taiwan’s election law, individuals sentenced to more than 10 years in prison cannot be registered as candidates for president or vice president.

Ko was indicted in December 2024. Prosecutors had sought more than 28 years’ imprisonment for Ko, accusing him of accepting roughly half a million dollars in bribes from a web of businesspeople and politicians related to a property redevelopment project in Taipei.

In a separate statement, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that it will promptly review the judgment upon receipt and, if necessary, file an appeal within the legal timeframe.

Ko has consistently denied any wrongdoing since his arrest in September 2024. At a press conference on Thursday, Ko dismissed the verdict, saying “it is not a trial in a country governed by the rule of law, but a political performance orchestrated under political manipulation.”

“I sought no personal gain, committed no corruption, and I have a clear conscience,” Ko said.

Ko’s defense lawyers told the briefing that they will discuss filing an appeal after receiving the judgment.

Huang Kuo-chang, TPP’s current chairman, called the verdict “outrageous.”

“It’s not just regret—it’s anger. This is an outright political verdict based on trumped-up charges,” Huang told the press conference.

Huang, who has announced his bid for mayor of New Taipei City in November’s election, added that he will make a formal announcement on March 27 to mobilize his party members to hold a rally in Taipei on March 29.

On his Facebook page, Huang criticized the verdict, saying the fight for Ko’s innocence would continue.

“At this moment, ​we must pull ourselves together even more, because this road ahead is still very, very ‌long. ⁠As long as Ko does not give up, we will not give up,” Huang wrote from the courthouse, where he was accompanying Ko.

The ruling against Ko may further complicate Taiwan’s political environment. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition have been mired in a rare political crisis. The opposition, consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT) party and its much smaller ally, the TPP, has used its majority in the parliament to block or stymie key government proposals, including the budget.

In a show of solidarity, the KMT said on Facebook that it “deeply regrets” the court’s decision, warning that such a heavy ruling could deepen the public perception that the rule of law and democracy are being used as “a political tool.”

Meanwhile, the ruling DPP responded by asking Ko to “respect the judiciary and face the ruling with courage.”

“While we refrain from commenting on specific cases, we will also not accept accusations that lack a factual basis,” Taiwan’s national media outlet CNA cited the party as saying.

Ko was Taipei’s mayor from 2014 to 2022. In January 2024, he finished third in Taiwan’s presidential election as a TPP candidate, receiving about 26 percent of the vote.

Taiwan is set to hold general elections in November, during which voters will choose city mayors, city councilors, county chiefs, and county councilors.

Earlier this week we reported that global chip production was in peril as “Qatar Warns Helium Exports Set To Collapse.” Best known as the gas that makes party balloons float, helium is far more important as a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging. The problem is that Qatar supplies a third of the world’s helium, and the Gulf nation had to halt production after Iranian strikes against the region’s energy producing infrastructure crippled its LNG production which is critical to make helium, leading Qatar’s state-owned gas company to warn helium exports would collapse. 

The sudden halt of the helium supply chain has forced AirGas, one of the largest distributors of packaged gases in the US, to curtail helium shipments after Qatar halted LNG production.

Airgas, an Air Liquide SA company, declared a force majeure event on March 17 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time, according to letters dated last week that were reviewed by Bloomberg News. The company anticipates that it will provide some customers with up to half of their normal monthly helium deliveries, and it will add a $13.50 per hundred cubic feet surcharge.

As noted above, Helium has several critical uses, including in health care and manufacturing. Hospitals use helium to keep MRI machines running and to treat patients with certain respiratory diseases. The inert gas is also essential to the manufacture of high-end semiconductors, such as Nvidia Corp.’s AI accelerator chips. Any shortages of the material could squeeze an already strained supply chain. The semiconductor industry is working to keep up with the massive demand for components used in the data centers that are needed for the build-out of AI infrastructure.

Airgas is prioritizing health-care customers over other industries, according to a market update reviewed by Bloomberg that was produced by Vizient, which helps hospitals purchase supplies. Vizient declined to comment on Airgas specifically, but said that in general it’s not uncommon for suppliers to prioritize health-care customers during disruptions.

The good news it that medical imaging professionals in the US say that disruptions to the helium market are not affecting patient care.

The worse news is that AirGas’s decision would mean that chip giants like Taiwan’s TSMC will see significant delays in obtaining the critical compound should the Iran war persist, painfully snarling the already stretched AI chip supply chain, potentially leading to major production shortfalls. 

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday night that activist pressure within his own party is prolonging the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, offering his observations from within the Democratic caucus for why the standoff has stretched into its sixth week.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity” on March. 25, the Pennsylvania Democrat said ongoing protests against the Trump administration—such as the “No Kings” rallies nationwide—have left some senators unwilling to vote to restore DHS funding. He said they “might be afraid to reopen” the government because demonstrators are pushing demands that he said were never achievable.

Fetterman called the shutdown “fundamentally wrong,” adding that the dynamic is one he has opposed before.

The partial shutdown entered week six since most DHS funding lapsed on Feb. 13. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which operates under the DHS, has operated without pay throughout, generating lengthy airport delays.

“Here we are at the airport every week, I talked to countless TSA agents and they are all hurting,” he said. “They are angry. They are frustrated. They’re exhausted, too, what they’ve been put through.”

He said TSA workers should be in the Democrats’ “wheelhouse” because they are union government workers, but now the party was “refusing to give them a paycheck.”

“So it’s always wrong, regardless of the party doing it,” he said of shutting down the government. “You can see the kind of chaos that’s created across right now. [People are] selling their blood.”

He added that the timing compounds the problem, with spring break travel and World Cup preparations now underway.

“Do the right thing,” he said. “Put the country ahead of the party.” 

Fetterman has been the only Democrat to vote with Republicans throughout the current standoff. He cast that vote again on Wednesday, when Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved to advance a DHS funding bill that failed 54–46, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. The Senate has now failed to pass DHS funding legislation four times.

Senate Democrats submitted a counteroffer to Republicans on Wednesday centered on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the central sticking point in the talks.

The offer includes requirements for judicial warrants before agents enter private property; restrictions on enforcement near schools, hospitals, churches, and polling places; and a mandate that ICE agents identify themselves by name, agency, and badge number.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the proposal a “reasonable, good faith” offer and accused Republicans of acting in bad faith after presenting a plan with no ICE reforms, despite verbally agreeing to some during weekend talks.

Republicans have pushed to separate ICE funding into the budget reconciliation process, which would allow it to advance with a simple majority. The White House has signaled openness to that approach. Democrats in the House have also tried and failed several times to get their Republican colleagues on board with their own proposals, which would fund all DHS agencies other than ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

Republicans also want any deal to include the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification for voting and proof of citizenship for voter registration—a provision Democrats have pledged to block.

Democrats say they are not against photo identification for voting, but have concern with President Donald Trump’s attempt to attach additional provisions to the bill, including restrictions on mail-in voting and measures barring transgender athletes and transgender procedures for minors, something Fetterman agrees with his colleagues on and has said he will not support.