The far-right Alternative for Germany spent €35,000 to hold an “Alliance of Sovereign Nations” conference in Washington, bringing right-wing figures from all over Europe together under the banner of Trump’s MAGA movement. The participants included not only European right-wing populists but also politicians who openly or indirectly endorse Kremlin narratives — and of course, several summit attendees maintain ties with both Washington and Moscow.

On March 4, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate rejected a resolution that sought to limit Donald Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran without congressional approval. The document called for halting the operation in Iran that began over the previous weekend, when the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes against Iranian territory, killing most of the country’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Photo: Gettyimages.ru / Coprid Russia’s federal budget deficit for the first two months of 2026 amounted to 3.449 trillion rubles — 1.032 trillion more than in the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance. This is an absolute record for the first two months of any year. In 2025, the figure was 2.416 trillion rubles, and in 2024 it amounted to only 1.032 trillion.

Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first address to the nation. The document was distributed by the Tasnim agency and was read out on Iranian television, but he himself did not appear on camera. Khamenei admitted that he learned of his appointment at the same time as other Iranians - from a television broadcast of the Council of Experts' vote.

The Russian government has proposed allowing development companies to use copyrighted articles, books, films, images, etc. to train AI without obtaining permission from their copyright holders. This provision was included in the bill on artificial intelligence, which was prepared by the Cabinet of Ministers, writes the Vedomosti newspaper. It is assumed that it will be possible to use works without the consent of the author if users of the service ultimately do not see their content.

Moscow's income from oil exports in February 2026 amounted to $9.5 billion. This is stated in the monthly report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), writes Forbes . This indicator has updated the minimum since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, The Bell noted. Compared to January, revenues from oil exports in February fell by $1.5 billion. Year-on-year, the figure also worsened: in February 2025, revenues were $4 billion higher.

Politics Anton Shekhovtsov March 12, 2026 The German far-right party Alternative for Germany spent 35 thousand euros to hold the Alliance of Sovereign Nations conference in Washington, which united right-wingers from different European countries under the auspices of the MAGA movement. Among the participants were not only European right-wing populists, but also politicians who openly or indirectly endorsed the Kremlin’s narratives.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said the Liberian-flagged container ship it leases, Source Blessing, caught fire after being hit by an unknown shell while attempting to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz. Statements from company representatives are quoted by Stern. “The container ship Source Blessing was hit by shrapnel or shell debris. We don't yet know who fired the shot. The crew managed to put out the fire,” the statement said.

Saudi Aramco is in talks with at least two Ukrainian companies to purchase interceptor drones to protect oil facilities from Iranian attacks, sources familiar with the situation tell The Wall Street Journal. According to them, the oil giant is seeking to get ahead of its own government and regional competitors, including Qatar. Negotiations are ongoing with Ukrainian companies SkyFall and Wild Hornets, which produce interceptors that destroy enemy drones by colliding or detonating near a target.

At the end of last year, Rostrud began a massive inspection of Russian marketplaces to identify employees not working under an employment contract. According to Kommersant, the corresponding instruction was given in December by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. The authenticity of the document was confirmed to the newspaper by Rostrud.

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has launched a formal investigation into the authorities of Belarus over the violent campaign against the country's civilian population that began after the 2020 elections. This is reported on the organization's website. Since Belarus is not a state party to the ICC, the investigation is being conducted at the request of Lithuania regarding crimes committed partly on its territory, namely deportations for political reasons.

News The Insider March 12, 2026 Photo: pronedra.ru The International Energy Agency (IEA) has officially agreed to a record 400 million barrels of oil reserves being released onto the market to contain the price spike caused by the war with Iran. The decision was made unanimously by all 32 member countries of the agency on March 11. Even before the vote, Germany, Austria and Japan announced their readiness to allocate reserves.

Shares of the Japanese payment service PayPay on the first day of trading on the Nasdaq exchange opened 19% higher than the offering price. The securities began trading at $19 per share with an IPO price of $16, and the company's valuation reached approximately $12.7 billion, Reuters reports. During the offering, PayPay and an investment fund controlled by SoftBank Group sold about 55 million American depositary receipts and raised approximately $880 million.

The Second Western District Military Court sentenced four perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall to life terms, Interfax reports . There were 19 defendants in the terrorist attack case. Four of them - Dalerjon Mirzoev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov - were sentenced to life imprisonment. RBC clarifies that they will have to serve part of their sentence in prison, and part in a special regime colony.

The Russian federal budget deficit in the first two months of 2026 amounted to 3.449 trillion rubles - 1.032 trillion more than in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance. This is an absolute record for the first two months of the year: in 2025 this figure was 1 trillion less, in 2024 it was only 1.1 trillion rubles. Thus, in January–February the treasury has already spent 91% of the planned deficit for the entire 2026 (3.786 trillion rubles).