🇺🇸Republicans are introducing legislation to abolish the TSA

🔗 Leading Report

🇦🇪 Dr Andreas Krieg: Iran has the 'Axis of Resistance' - the UAE has the 'Axis of Secessionists' from Libya, over Yemen, to Sudan and Somalia.

"Paradoxically, yearning for a strong state, Abu Dhabi’s ruling elite has created a network of strongmen whose reliance on armed violence has done more to destabilise central governments and undermine state sovereignty across the region

The UAE’s support for the RSF is just one piece of a much wider networked puzzle, which aims to generate strategic depth through a web of intermediaries. Abu Dhabi has established itself as a hub in a regional network that not only augments the UAE’s limited capacity and status, but creates an organic, self-sustaining system of interdependence, where nodes operate with degrees of autonomy that in turn provide the UAE with plausible deniability"

https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/abu-dhabi-built-axis-secessionists-across-region-how

🔗 andreas_krieg

🇺🇸/🇾🇪 Unclassified Report — Inside America’s 14-day ongoing strike campaign against the Houthi

At least 158 precision air and naval strikes targeting Houthi infrastructure & leadership.

My most detailed brief ever and an unprecedented look at U.S. strike operations in Yemen:

🧵 https://fxtwitter.com/ianellisjones/status/1905749402251415861

🇺🇸 The State Department has officially informed Congress that it will absorb the remaining functions of USAID, effectively dismantling the agency.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-absorb-remaining-usaid-programming-independent-agency-dismantled

🔗 AF Post

🇵🇪 An Indigenous community in Peru has built one of the largest informal copper mines in the world. Annual revenue: $300 million

It’s not entirely legal, yet its copper flows to top commodity traders.

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-copper-conflict-peru-indigenous-mining/

https://archive.ph/aPAA4

🇸🇴 Somalia Offers What It Doesn’t Control in Desperate Bid for U.S. Support

President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has reportedly written a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, offering exclusive control over key strategic assets in Somalia. The offer includes the ports of Berbera and Bosaso, as well as the airbases of Baledogle and Berbera, in exchange for increased American engagement in the region.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s decision to reach out to the United States comes amidst a rapidly deteriorating security situation in southern Somalia. The FGS has been losing ground in its war against the Al-Shabab militant group, with the government’s control extending little beyond the capital city of Mogadishu.

Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has long sought international recognition as a sovereign state. The region has established its own government, currency, and security forces, and has been out of Mogadishu’s control for decades.

Similarly, Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia, has also refused to recognize the new constitution of 31 March 2024, withdrawing its recognition of the FGS. Puntland has accused the FGS of failing to consult with regional stakeholders and of attempting to centralize power at the expense of the federal member states.

The assets offered by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to the United States are indeed strategically significant. The ports of Berbera and Bosaso are vital for maritime trade and security in the region. The Berbera port, in particular, has been the subject of international interest, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia both investing in its development as a regional trade hub. The base’s location, close to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, makes it a valuable asset for monitoring maritime traffic and responding to potential threats.

https://thesomalidigest.com/mogadishu-offers-what-it-doesnt-control-in-desperate-bid-for-u-s-support/

🇺🇸🇨🇳🇵🇦 China Halts Panama Port Sale to BlackRock

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, led by tycoon Li Ka-shing, will not sign a deal next week to sell its two strategic ports at the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

The deal was expected to be signed on April 2, according to the sale announcement made on March 4.
It is understood the situation does not mean the deal has been called off, the South China Morning Post added, citing the source.

CK Hutchison and BlackRock did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Chinese authorities have reacted negatively to plans by the conglomerate, while the deal was hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump who wants to retake control of the strategic waterway.

https://gcaptain.com/china-halts-panama-port-sale-to-blackrock/

🇮🇱🇵🇸 IDF says it expanded ground op in southern Gaza, pushing further into Rafah

The Israeli military says it expanded its ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip in the past few hours.

Troops pushed into the al-Jneina neighborhood of Rafah, as part of efforts to expand a buffer zone along the borders of the Strip, the IDF says.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-expanded-ground-op-in-southern-gaza-pushing-further-into-rafah/

🇺🇸🇮🇷 US Military Buildup At Diego Garcia Signals Tensions With Iran

The deployment of B-2 bombers and increased air activity raises concerns of potential military action against Iran amid ongoing conflicts in the region.
A significant amount of US military power has been on the move over this past week, including several B-2 strategic bombers which have landed at the US military base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, just over 2,000 miles southeast of Iran. According to press reports, this is the most significant B-2 presence on the island in nearly half a decade. Flight trackers are showing increased activity by at least nine KC-135R refueling aircraft in the region. Several C-17 cargo planes have also been spotted by satellites on the island.

The US President has ordered US Carrier Strike Group Carl Vinson to the Mideast. While the Administration continues to escalate its illegal bombing campaign against Yemen—with more than 60 strikes reported on March 29, 2025, alone—speculation is increasing that the Diego Garcia buildup is the beginning of the long process of positioning US military muscle for an attack on Iran. President Trump warned on March 29, 2025, that "if we don’t work it out, bad bad things are gonna happen with Iran."

https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/us-military-buildup-at-diego-garcia-signals-tensions-with-iran-306191

📈 The modern day gold rush:

Gold prices are now up +70% in 16 months with a new record market cap of $20.75 trillion.

In fact, gold is worth $1.25 trillion MORE than the COMBINED value of the remaining top 10 most valuable assets.

What is gold telling us?

(a thread)

https://fxtwitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1906117296919019630

🇸🇸 The world’s youngest country fought for decades to govern itself. Now it’s on the cusp of another civil war

A peace deal ending a conflict that killed tens of thousands in South Sudan is in danger of collapsing, raising fears that the world’s youngest nation — and one of its poorest — could swiftly lapse back into war.

South Sudan split from the rest of Sudan in 2011 after decades of pro-independence unrest but has struggled to keep the peace in its territory, which is divided along ethnic lines.

What’s the current crisis about?

The nation is governed by a coalition government, led by President Salva Kiir and five vice presidents, who include Kiir’s rival Riek Machar, the leader of the SPLM/A-IO party.

Machar was arrested this week, prompting the SPLM/A-IO to issue a statement Thursday saying his detention “effectively brings the (peace) agreement (between him and Kiir) to a collapse.”

“The prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy,” it added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/29/africa/sudan-peace-deal-cusp-civil-war-intl/index.html

💸 Paper Promises, Golden Truths

The dollar will remain an important player for some time to come. But the era of the petrodollar system, where the dollar was the only way to buy oil, is over.

We are entering a new multi-polar era where countries use their own currencies to buy oil and other goods. And the U.S. is no longer the sole superpower.

Central banks around the world are gobbling up gold and diversifying away from the dollar as debt spirals out of control.

We’re approaching the end game now. This is why we’ve been pounding the table on gold and silver so much lately. And it’s why we will continue to going forward.

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/paper-promises-golden-truths

🇪🇨🇺🇸 Ecuador is preparing for US forces, plans show, as Noboa calls for help battling gangs

Ecuador is laying the groundwork for US forces to arrive, according to plans obtained by CNN – as its president calls on US President Donald Trump to help battle powerful gangs in a country once known as the “island of peace.”

According to a high-level Ecuadorian official familiar with the planning, construction of a new naval facility in the coastal city of Manta is part of that preparation, with barracks-style housing and administration offices designed to support sustained operations and US military personnel. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

“The expectation is that these will be eventually occupied by US troops,” the official told CNN.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has made no secret of his desire for foreign boots on the ground as gangs unleash terror across the country – a request he is expected to reiterate this weekend. Noboa is set to meet Trump in Florida on Saturday to discuss immigration, trade and “security cooperation.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/29/americas/ecuador-trump-noboa-gang-intl-latam/index.html

🇺🇸🚢📝 Sal Mercogliano: Remember when US shipyards actually built ships!

The US made the decision to end the symbiotic relationship between the US Navy and the US Merchant Marine.

Instead, they outsourced US commercial shipping and shifted naval construction into private yards like HII and GDNASSCO.

Even now, with calls for reform, we default back to putting naval officers in charge of US maritime reform.

🔗 mercoglianos

🇪🇺💶 "Where will the EU source the funds to re-build its defense base?" - Macro & geopolitical commentators

"Because that's where the money is." -Bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks.

Where the money is:

🔗 Luke Gromen

🇲🇽🇺🇸 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called her meeting with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “fruitful,” saying both nations benefit from a relationship grounded in “respect for each other’s sovereignty.”

🔗 AF Post