SERETIS NOTES

  Donald Trump is alleged to have "lost his mind" after he was accused of lying to people's faces. President Trump has been the centre of attention since it was confirmed the U.S. military is working with Israel to try and topple Iran's current regime. Now he has come under fire again after it was claimed he was caught off guard by a reporter.

  China  is preparing for war. The evidence is   abundant , from building underground hospitals to   hoarding  grain and fuel,   hardening   air bases in the Pacific, and   constructing   a military command center ten times larger than the Pentagon.  For years,  Beijing  has been engaged in the largest military buildup in modern history. The Chinese Communist Party is girding for war with its sole competitor, the United States. Beijing seeks to supplant Washington as the world’s sole superpower, and it is willing to use every tool at its disposal, including deception, to achieve that objective.

 With Donald Trump's five-day deadline for peace talks ending on Friday, and amid rising speculation of a US ground invasion in Iran's Kharg Island, Tehran has threatened to open a new front in the war by blocking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, Iran has now shifted its focus to the Bab el-Mandeb, the gateway to the Red Sea, which carries 12% of global crude oil shipments. If this strait is also disrupted, the global energy market will face another major hit.  Iran is well aware that its chokehold on Hormuz, through which 20% of the global energy passes, gives it significant leverage in the war. Trump knows he can't end the war until he breaks that chokehold. While Trump has signalled a willingness to de-escalate the conflict, plans are afoot to put boots on the ground to occupy Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen Hormuz.

  A former NATO commander warns that Donald Trump faces humiliation in his war with Iran, as he claims the US president has been left with just two options in the conflict, which has now entered its fourth week. "Trump faces two choices: he either doubles down, escalates, and launches an operation to topple the regime. And you're not going to do that without an extraordinary, massive land force marching on Tehran, which I think is inconcivable," General Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Forces Commander Allied Forces Europe, told the BBC.

  The U.S. worldwide caution alert is now active, and it is not just another routine advisory. So what does this actually mean for Americans traveling right now? The alert, issued by the U.S. Department of State on March 22, 2026, is a global warning urging travelers to stay alert due to rising tensions and potential security threats. This is not limited to one country. It applies worldwide. Right now, officials are especially focused on regions like the Middle East, where instability and conflict risks are higher. But the message is broader than that. No location is being treated as completely risk free. The concern comes from a mix of factors, including geopolitical tensions, possible retaliatory actions, and recent incidents involving U.S. diplomatic sites.

  Five European countries and Japan announced Thursday that they are ready to assist with reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid the war with Iran. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan issued a  joint statemen t, saying: "We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces. So if the Iranian navy was decimated by the US and Israel,  why would the Straight of Hormus be shut by Iran and why can't the US or Israel just blow up whatever is blocking it,