Global tensions rise with China seeking Canadian oil, Belgium's defense concerns, India enters the market, and financial woes for MyPillow CEO.

Good Morning,

As the trade war between the United States and China intensifies, China is shifting its focus to Canada for oil imports. Meanwhile, Belgium has expressed concerns that increasing defense spending could negatively impact its welfare state. Domestically, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has announced financial difficulties in paying court-ordered sanctions related to an election defamation case. Meanwhile, a US senator has traveled to El Salvador to meet with the nation’s leaders on multiple high-impact subjects.

Top Stories

• China Pivots From US to Canada for More Oil as Trade War Worsens (www.bloomberg.com)

• Belgium warns defense spending boost will hurt welfare state (www.politico.eu)

• Van Hollen on vice president of El Salvador: “His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” (nymag.com)

• ‘No to terror, yes to peace’: New anti-Hamas protest breaks out in northern Gaza (www.timesofisrael.com)

• Belarus and Russia ‘ready to target Nato’, says Kremlin spy chief (www.thetimes.com)

• India offers cheap loans for arms, targeting Russia's traditional customers (www.reuters.com)

• Indonesia mulls options after Russia seeks access to air force base (www.janes.com)

United States

• El Salvador won’t let US Sen. Van Hollen visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia (www.thebaltimorebanner.com)

• 'I'm in ruins' | MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he can't pay thousands in court-ordered sanctions in election defamation case (www.wusa9.com)

• Bondi says mistakenly deported man ‘not coming back to our country’ (thehill.com)

• Harvard Stacked Every Penny of Its $54 Billion Endowment and Told the Trump Administration to Bring It On (www.esquire.com)

• U.S. Coast Guard Shutters HOMEPORT Platform in Blow to Maritime Industry (gcaptain.com)

• Van Hollen on vice president of El Salvador: “His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” (nymag.com)

Africa

• A new report says Tunisia has dramatically expanded the use of politically motivated arrests (apnews.com)

• Elon Musk’s Starlink is taking over Nigeria’s internet market (restofworld.org)

• US pastor abducted in South Africa has been rescued after a police shootout (apnews.com)

• Al Shabaab attacks strategic Somalia town as it presses offensive (reuters.com)

Middle East

• Syrian president Ahmed al Sharaa named as one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2025. (time.com)

• Katz says Israeli troops will remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely | AP News (apnews.com)

• Humanitarian aid finally delivered to people of Koya town, Daraa countryside (www.sana.sy)

• Lebanese president says Hezbollah disarmament will come through dialogue not ‘force’ (apnews.com)

• The New Syrian Government’s Fight Against the Islamic State, Hezbollah, and Captagon (www.washingtoninstitute.org)

• U.S. sources: Congressional delegation expected to visit Syria (sana.sy)

• Trump opposed a planned Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites, New York Times reports (reuters.com)

Indo-Pacific

• China's Economy Grew 5.4% in the First Quarter as Exporters Rushed to Beat Trump's Tariffs (apnews.com)

• People Rescued from Myanmar Forced Labour Scam Compounds and Detained for Two Months by Authorities Attempt Mass Escape (apnews.com)

• Pakistan criticises the Waqf Amendment Act: Their Ummah goes beyond national borders, our unity couldn't go beyond states. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

• North Korea criticises US for deploying B-1B strategic bomber in South Korea (reuters.com)

• India's inflation falls to cooler-than-expected 3.34% in March (www.cnbc.com)

Europe

• Anonymous Releases 10TB of Leaked Data: Exposing Kremlin Assets & Russian Businesses (trendsnewsline.com)

• EU dismisses US demands on food standards and ties to China (www.irishtimes.com)

• Atheists are now the largest group in Germany (www.lemonde.fr)

• Slovak PM says he will go to Moscow Victory parade, despite EU warning (tvpworld.com)

• Georgia rejects Russian proposal to restore diplomatic ties (tvpworld.com)

• The children of Russian Severomorsk are told that neighbouring Nordic countries support Nazism (www.thebarentsobserver.com)

• 'The West as we knew it no longer exists,' Ursula von der Leyen says amid Trump tensions (www.euronews.com)

Latin America

• Island-wide blackout hits Puerto Rico as residents prepare for Easter weekend (apnews.com)

• Argentine peso recoups lost ground after FX control ease, Milei rules out intervention (reuters.com)

• Peru’s former first lady arrives in Brazil for asylum to evade prison (apnews.com)

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