Overvåket av en gul påskekylling har jeg de siste dagene lest Albert Speers «Erindringer» nok en gang. Speer var Hitlers mangeårige rustningsminister. Som arkitekt ble han også satt til å virkeliggjøre Hitlers grandiose byggeprosjekter, som Rikskanselliet og den uvirkelige kuppelhallen i Berlin.
«Føreren elsket alt som var kolossalt», skriver han. «En bygning skulle ikke bare være et sted å være i, men formidle ideer, visjoner og budskapet om Førerens storhet.»
Speer var 25 år gammel da han i 1930 fikk sjansen til å høre Hitler holde et foredrag om arkitektur. Opplevelsen gjorde et sterkt inntrykk på ham, og kort tid etter meldte han seg ikke i nazipartiet. Det personlige forholdet utviklet seg først senere, særlig etter 1933, da Hitler grep makten. Speer fikk i begynnelsen flere mindre oppdrag, men med årene ble de svimlende store.
Gjennombruddet kom i Nürnberg, hvor Speer fikk ansvaret for å utforme rammen rundt nazistenes store partidager. De veldige tribunene og de strengt organiserte rommene samlet titusener av mennesker i et nøye regissert fellesskap. Men det var særlig «lysdomen» som gjorde inntrykk. Hundrevis av lyskastere ble rettet mot himmelen og dannet et takløst rom som omsluttet massene og løftet dem inn i en religiøs stemning.
«Hitler ble fra seg av lykke», skriver Speer, som nå ble Førerens favorittarkitekt.
onsdag 1. april 2026
Why US hasn’t dared try to take the Hormuz Strait
Since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February, Iran has retaliated by targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, effectively shutting down the narrow channel of water.
It’s caused a global fuel crisis, even though some ships are managing to get through the strait. US President Donald Trump has given Iran an ultimatum to fully reopen the waterway to oil and gas shipments, and called on NATO allies to help in the effort.
We asked naval expert Jennifer Parker, who served for 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy, to explain what kind of military force would be required to reopen the strait to commercial shipping and why the US hasn’t yet taken this step.
It’s caused a global fuel crisis, even though some ships are managing to get through the strait. US President Donald Trump has given Iran an ultimatum to fully reopen the waterway to oil and gas shipments, and called on NATO allies to help in the effort.
We asked naval expert Jennifer Parker, who served for 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy, to explain what kind of military force would be required to reopen the strait to commercial shipping and why the US hasn’t yet taken this step.
Only China can end the Iran war
There is a certain dark comedy in watching Washington once again discover — after the bodies have piled up and the treasury has been bled — that the war it started cannot be won on the battlefield.
The US conflict with Iran, like so many of its predecessors in the region, was launched with the intoxicating rhetoric of decisive force and regime change, and has since settled into the familiar quagmire of escalating costs, strategic drift, and an enemy that refuses to play by the Pentagon’s script.Into this mess steps an unlikely — and, to many in Washington, unwelcome — potential peacemaker: the People’s Republic of China.
The irony is rich. For years, American hawks insisted that confronting Iran was inseparable from confronting China — that Tehran was merely a forward operating base for Beijing’s grand anti-American coalition.
The US conflict with Iran, like so many of its predecessors in the region, was launched with the intoxicating rhetoric of decisive force and regime change, and has since settled into the familiar quagmire of escalating costs, strategic drift, and an enemy that refuses to play by the Pentagon’s script.Into this mess steps an unlikely — and, to many in Washington, unwelcome — potential peacemaker: the People’s Republic of China.
The irony is rich. For years, American hawks insisted that confronting Iran was inseparable from confronting China — that Tehran was merely a forward operating base for Beijing’s grand anti-American coalition.
Iran war teaching Taiwan hard lessons about US resolve
The United States and Israeli strikes on Iran have become increasingly concerning for the world due to the risks of further escalation and the impact on energy markets. In Taiwan, however, the focus has shifted in a different direction.
Rather than treating the war as geographically distant, Taiwanese political leaders and analysts are viewing it as a real-time indicator of how the US operates under strategic pressure.The key question is less about whether the US would act if a conflict with China were to break out in the Indo-Pacific region, and more about how it would manage competing pressures if multiple crises unfolded at once.
There is growing recognition in Taiwan that US resources are not unlimited. The Middle East war has caused energy prices to fluctuate and stoked fears of rising inflation in the United States, demonstrating the domestic costs of military operations.
Rather than treating the war as geographically distant, Taiwanese political leaders and analysts are viewing it as a real-time indicator of how the US operates under strategic pressure.The key question is less about whether the US would act if a conflict with China were to break out in the Indo-Pacific region, and more about how it would manage competing pressures if multiple crises unfolded at once.
There is growing recognition in Taiwan that US resources are not unlimited. The Middle East war has caused energy prices to fluctuate and stoked fears of rising inflation in the United States, demonstrating the domestic costs of military operations.
Iran war pushing India to edge of a currency crisis
In Asia, no national leader has been more effective in spinning an underperforming economy than India’s Narendra Modi.
Anytime the numbers disappoint, the prime minister rolls out the latest version of his party’s ad campaigns. Most recently, this has been a Goldilocks moment for growth. Yet Modi is being confronted by an economic indicator he can’t explain away: a chronically weak rupee.India’s currency was Asia’s worst performer in 2025, falling 5%. That trajectory has carried over into this year at a disastrous moment for the most populous nation, as surging oil pricesshake up the global economy.
The rupee has lost another 5.5% since January 1. And given that India is near the top of the list of current-account-deficit economies, the rupee remains “particularly vulnerable to further depreciation,” says economist Priyanka Kishore at Asia Decoded.
Anytime the numbers disappoint, the prime minister rolls out the latest version of his party’s ad campaigns. Most recently, this has been a Goldilocks moment for growth. Yet Modi is being confronted by an economic indicator he can’t explain away: a chronically weak rupee.India’s currency was Asia’s worst performer in 2025, falling 5%. That trajectory has carried over into this year at a disastrous moment for the most populous nation, as surging oil pricesshake up the global economy.
The rupee has lost another 5.5% since January 1. And given that India is near the top of the list of current-account-deficit economies, the rupee remains “particularly vulnerable to further depreciation,” says economist Priyanka Kishore at Asia Decoded.
Iran Peace Plan Proposed by China and Pakistan
China and Pakistan have put forward a five-point proposal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, now in its fifth week. The roadmap was unveiled by China's Foreign Ministry late Tuesday following talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing.
Pakistan maintains close ties with both Washington and Tehran and has in recent days positioned itself as an intermediary, saying it conveyed to Iran a U.S. peace plan.
China and its Pakistani ally have opposed the U.S.-Israeli strikes since they began on February 28 while also condemning Iran’s retaliatory actions in the Gulf, including attacks affecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has slowed sharply.
Pakistan maintains close ties with both Washington and Tehran and has in recent days positioned itself as an intermediary, saying it conveyed to Iran a U.S. peace plan.
China and its Pakistani ally have opposed the U.S.-Israeli strikes since they began on February 28 while also condemning Iran’s retaliatory actions in the Gulf, including attacks affecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has slowed sharply.
China As The Policeman In Traditionally US-Aligned Pacific Islands
China's growing police presence in the vast Pacific region is reshaping the security landscape in ways that are both troubling and helpful, and is part of Beijing's sweeping vision of global security, according to a new report.
Officers from China's Ministry of Public Security have been accompanied at joint policing cooperation events in Pacific island states by people with alleged criminal connections, or have engaged in intimidating behavior toward law enforcement advisors from Western countries who are also present on the ground, the report said.
Officers from China's Ministry of Public Security have been accompanied at joint policing cooperation events in Pacific island states by people with alleged criminal connections, or have engaged in intimidating behavior toward law enforcement advisors from Western countries who are also present on the ground, the report said.
Trump says he’s considering pulling U.S. out of ‘paper tiger’ NATO
U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO, in the latest threat to America’s allies after their reluctance to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with The Telegraph newspaper, the president described the 77-year-old defensive alliance as a “paper tiger” and, when asked if he would reconsider the U.S.′ membership of the bloc after the Iran conflict ends, Trump told the paper: “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration.”
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” he said, in comments published Wednesday. Trump has been angered by European allies’ refusal to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas maritime passage controlled by Iran, and at their refusal to let the U.S. use military bases to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic.
In an interview with The Telegraph newspaper, the president described the 77-year-old defensive alliance as a “paper tiger” and, when asked if he would reconsider the U.S.′ membership of the bloc after the Iran conflict ends, Trump told the paper: “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration.”
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” he said, in comments published Wednesday. Trump has been angered by European allies’ refusal to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas maritime passage controlled by Iran, and at their refusal to let the U.S. use military bases to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic.
North Korean hackers bug software used by thousands of US companies in potential crypto heist attempt
Suspected North Korean hackers have bugged a software package that has been used by thousands of US companies in a major supply-chain attack that could take months to recover from, security experts said Tuesday.
Experts who are responding to the hack told CNN they expect a long-term campaign to steal cryptocurrency to fund the North Korean regime, which often spends such stolen money on its nuclear and missile programs.
For three hours on Tuesday morning, the Pyongyang-linked hackers had access to the account of a software developer who manages the open-source software known as Axios. The hackers used that access to send malicious updates to any organization that downloaded the software during that time, setting off a scramble by the software developer to regain control of his account and by cybersecurity executives across the country to assess the damage.
Experts who are responding to the hack told CNN they expect a long-term campaign to steal cryptocurrency to fund the North Korean regime, which often spends such stolen money on its nuclear and missile programs.
For three hours on Tuesday morning, the Pyongyang-linked hackers had access to the account of a software developer who manages the open-source software known as Axios. The hackers used that access to send malicious updates to any organization that downloaded the software during that time, setting off a scramble by the software developer to regain control of his account and by cybersecurity executives across the country to assess the damage.
China factory activity rebounds in March as Iran war looms over growth
China’s factory activity expanded in March, ending two months of contraction, the government said Tuesday, but analysts say prolonged impacts of the Iran war could weigh on growth.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.4 from 49 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, beating economists’ expectations and notching the strongest reading in a year. PMI is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 and a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
While the latest official data covered a period after the Iran war began on Feb. 28, analysts say the impacts of surging energy costs have not yet been fully seen. “So far supply disruptions have not occurred in a material way,” said Jacqueline Rong, Chief China Economist, BNP Paribas, a French bank.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.4 from 49 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, beating economists’ expectations and notching the strongest reading in a year. PMI is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 and a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
While the latest official data covered a period after the Iran war began on Feb. 28, analysts say the impacts of surging energy costs have not yet been fully seen. “So far supply disruptions have not occurred in a material way,” said Jacqueline Rong, Chief China Economist, BNP Paribas, a French bank.
Japan deploys its first long-range missiles
Japan’s first long-range missile was deployed at a southwestern army camp, officials said Tuesday, as the country pushes to bolster its offensive capabilities. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles, developed and produced by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, became operational at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture.
“As Japan faces the most severe and complex security environment in the postwar era ... it is an extremely important capability to strengthen Japan’s deterrence and responsiveness,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters. “It demonstrates Japan’s firm determination and capability to defend itself.”
“As Japan faces the most severe and complex security environment in the postwar era ... it is an extremely important capability to strengthen Japan’s deterrence and responsiveness,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters. “It demonstrates Japan’s firm determination and capability to defend itself.”
mandag 30. mars 2026
China resumes direct flights to North Korea after 6 years
China’s flag carrier resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang on Monday not long after the restoration of passenger train services between the capitals. The Air China flight was welcomed by the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, and other diplomats, according to Chinese state media.
Passenger train service from China to North Korea had resumed March 12. Flights and passenger trains to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed flights between the capitals in 2023. North Korea banned all foreign tourists during the pandemic but has started easing the restrictions, with a Russian tour group entering the country in 2024.
Passenger train service from China to North Korea had resumed March 12. Flights and passenger trains to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed flights between the capitals in 2023. North Korea banned all foreign tourists during the pandemic but has started easing the restrictions, with a Russian tour group entering the country in 2024.
What the West Misses About China’s Nuclear Build-up
Western strategists have spent years asking why China is expanding its nuclear arsenal. The answer they reach is usually the same: Beijing is seeking warfighting capability, regional dominance, or leverage over Taipei. The U.S. intelligence community’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment offered a different explanation, one that deserves far more attention than it has received. China is expanding, it noted, because its leaders fear a U.S. first strike.
That fear is not irrational. And until Western strategic debate honestly grapples with what U.S. and allied conventional capabilities look like from Beijing, no stable strategic relationship with China is achievable, and disarmament and arms control becomes even less likely.
That fear is not irrational. And until Western strategic debate honestly grapples with what U.S. and allied conventional capabilities look like from Beijing, no stable strategic relationship with China is achievable, and disarmament and arms control becomes even less likely.
Taiwan opposition leader accepts Xi's invite to visit China
The leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party is set to visit China in April after accepting an invite from Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a statement on Monday, Kuomintang (KMT) said its chairperson, Cheng Li-wun, was "grateful" for the invitation and had "gladly" accepted it.
Cheng "expressed hope that the two parties (the KMT and China's Communist Party) would work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, strengthen cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, secure peace in the Taiwan Strait, and enhance the well-being of the people," her party said.
The former lawmaker assumed her role as KMT's chairperson after winning an election in October last year. She has publicly insisted on meeting Xi before an official visit to the United States, in a move that has garnered flak from both inside and outside of her party for being too pro-China. The KMT advocates closer economic ties and more exchanges with Beijing, which claims self-ruling Taiwan as its own territory.
Cheng "expressed hope that the two parties (the KMT and China's Communist Party) would work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, strengthen cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, secure peace in the Taiwan Strait, and enhance the well-being of the people," her party said.
The former lawmaker assumed her role as KMT's chairperson after winning an election in October last year. She has publicly insisted on meeting Xi before an official visit to the United States, in a move that has garnered flak from both inside and outside of her party for being too pro-China. The KMT advocates closer economic ties and more exchanges with Beijing, which claims self-ruling Taiwan as its own territory.
China Hits Out At US Visit To Taiwan
A bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation has drawn a protest from Beijing after it arrived in Taiwan to press lawmakers to boost defense spending amid a widening military gap across the Taiwan Strait.
“Taiwan firmly opposes official interactions between the U.S. and the Taiwan region and has lodged serious representations with the U.S. side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during Monday’s regular press briefing.While the U.S., like most countries, switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing,
“Taiwan firmly opposes official interactions between the U.S. and the Taiwan region and has lodged serious representations with the U.S. side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during Monday’s regular press briefing.While the U.S., like most countries, switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing,
Washington maintains robust unofficial ties with Taipei and supplies it with arms under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. A special defense budget requested by President Lai Ching-te, however, has for months been in a state of limbo in Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature, which favors closer ties with Beijing and has raised concerns over oversight and spending details.
Beijing’s surprise intervention on Meta’s Manus rattles tech founders
Tech circles from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen buzzed when Meta acquired Manus, a Singaporean AI startup with Chinese roots, for $2 billion late last year. For Chinese founders striving to build products that could rival American peers, the deal felt like a validation that an intricate offshore structure – known as “Singapore washing” where companies relocate to the city state – was the answer to circumvent scrutiny from both Beijing and Washington.
Within days, China’s surprise intervention on the deal quickly shattered that hope, as Beijing stepped up efforts to discourage Chinese AI founders from moving business offshore.
The Chinese government started reviewing whether Manus’ sale had violated laws governing technology exports and outbound investment, and barred co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from leaving China for Singapore, according to a Financial Times report earlier this week.
Within days, China’s surprise intervention on the deal quickly shattered that hope, as Beijing stepped up efforts to discourage Chinese AI founders from moving business offshore.
The Chinese government started reviewing whether Manus’ sale had violated laws governing technology exports and outbound investment, and barred co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from leaving China for Singapore, according to a Financial Times report earlier this week.
China suppliers warn of higher prices for Americans due to Strait of Hormuz closure
Pickleball paddle producer Devi Wei has a message for U.S. shoppers.
“Americans will have to pay more,” the Chinese businessman told CNBC at a Beijing trade show last week at the China International Exhibition Center.
“Americans will have to pay more,” the Chinese businessman told CNBC at a Beijing trade show last week at the China International Exhibition Center.
Because of the recent swings in oil prices resulting from the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Wei, who founded his own exporting business, Huijin Trade, has had to hike prices on his paddles and pickleballs by as much as 20%, he said.
Wei’s goods are made with polypropylene, a plastic material derived from oil and made in the Middle East, a dominant producer in the global industry. The war in Iran has stalled shipments of oil and its products through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns among Chinese manufacturers at the trade fair about further disruption across the global supply chain.
Read more
Wei’s goods are made with polypropylene, a plastic material derived from oil and made in the Middle East, a dominant producer in the global industry. The war in Iran has stalled shipments of oil and its products through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns among Chinese manufacturers at the trade fair about further disruption across the global supply chain.
Read more
India’s latest mega airport has opened. Now it just needs some flights
One of India’s most ambitious aviation projects, touted to be among the largest in South Asia, has been inaugurated more than four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially kicked off the project.
“I am happy that I had the privilege of laying the foundation stone of this airport and also inaugurating it,” Modi said in a ceremony held at the airport on March 28.
The announcement provides much-needed PR for India’s struggling aviation industry, especially as the world copes with the fuel shortage amid the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which has blocked many ships carrying oil out of the Middle East. Noida International Airport, call sign DXN, is located in Delhi’s National Capital Region. The surrounding state of Uttar Pradesh is now India’s first to have five international airports.
“I am happy that I had the privilege of laying the foundation stone of this airport and also inaugurating it,” Modi said in a ceremony held at the airport on March 28.
The announcement provides much-needed PR for India’s struggling aviation industry, especially as the world copes with the fuel shortage amid the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which has blocked many ships carrying oil out of the Middle East. Noida International Airport, call sign DXN, is located in Delhi’s National Capital Region. The surrounding state of Uttar Pradesh is now India’s first to have five international airports.
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