Week In Review (WIRE) News 03.30.2026

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Gooden, Emma Grace Jarvis, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet, and Meera Srinivasan

Asia and the Pacific

Written by Jesse Vu

Southeast Asian Countries Revisit Nuclear Plants After Vietnam Signs Deals with Russia.

While Southeast Asia has never produced nuclear energy, a newly advanced nuclear deal between Vietnam and Russia this week reignited conversations around nuclear energy production in the region. These conversations come in the middle of a severe and rapidly worsening energy crisis, as the Iran war enters its fourth week.

Earlier this week, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, in Ha Noi to sign a deal that would entail the building of two nuclear reactors in Vietnam, both using Russian designs. While there is no specific start date for the project, the deal for “Ninh Thuan 1 plant” will be underway sometime in the near future, and the Vietnamese newspapers called this deal a symbolic project of the two countries’ friendship, according to AP News.

Due to the 2000 data centers in the region that require a substantial amount of energy to operate and the fact that Southeast Asia alone is projected to account for a quarter of growth in global energy demand in 2035, according to the International Energy Agency, Southeastern Asian countries are among the worst victims of the current energy crisis and are looking for immediate solutions to the problem. While the U.S. historically supports the production of nuclear energy for peaceful uses, the nuclear deal between Vietnam and Russia might be viewed as Russia’s attempt to increase nuclear and diplomatic influence in the region that has been hit hard by the energy crisis and the war in Iran.

Central America and the Caribbean

Written by Gabriella Ramirez

Mounting Crises in Cuba and Another Strike in the Caribbean Sea

While United States President Donald Trump pushes for change in Cuba’s leadership, speculation surrounding who will replace Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rises. Former President and brother of Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, is involved in discussions with Cuba and the United States amidst tensions between the two nations. 94-year-old Castro is still considered the most powerful person in the nation. During his presidency, he led historic talks with the former U.S. President Barack Obama that reopened embassies and reestablished diplomatic relations. Currently, Cuba is plagued by nationwide blackouts due to a crumbling power grid and an ongoing oil blockade implemented by President Trump. As a result, the island has not received any fuel shipments in the past three months. Francisco Pichón, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, has warned that if the situation continues to worsen, it could cause a “humanitarian crisis.”

The U.S. oil blockade on Cuba is also crippling the island’s universal health care system. Cuban doctors assert that the deteriorating conditions are causing deaths that would otherwise be preventable. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also raising pressure on Latin American and Caribbean countries to pull out of arrangements with Cuba, specifically in relation to a Cuban program that sends its doctors abroad. However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated Mexico will continue to work with Cuban doctors. Additionally, the first boat in a humanitarian aid flotilla has arrived in Cuba to support the island during its economic and energy crises. The flotilla is part of a caravan called “Our America Convoy to Cuba,” and was loaded with solar panels, bicycles, food, and medicine.  

Lastly, the U.S. military stated it carried out a strike on Wednesday on a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people. The strike brings the number of people killed by the U.S. military as a result of President Trump's anti-drug trafficking crusade up to at least 163. The Southern Command announced the strike on social media with a 15-second video clip. Legal specialists on the use of lethal force have posited that the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military cannot target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat of violence, regardless of accusations of criminal activity. Additionally, the Trump administration has not provided evidence of drug smuggling.

Europe

Written by Ethan Joyce

European Chemicals Agency Backs Ban of PFAS

On Thursday, March 26, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released an opinion supporting a widespread ban on “forever chemicals”, or PFAS, across Europe (with some exceptions to minimize disruptions to critical industries). Also, the European Parliament adopted new legislation to reduce pollution in groundwater and surface water, while strengthening water quality standards. The legislation revises the list of pollutants requiring monitoring and control, adding PFAS and other industrial substances. 

The ECHA is the agency responsible for regulating hazardous chemicals and ensuring their safe use across the European Union, and its new opinion signals a paradigm shift—from managing the risks and consequences of PFAS to phasing them out entirely.

PFAS are a group of nearly 15,000 different chemicals that are used primarily for industrial purposes. They are in a variety of everyday items, like personal care products and food packaging. In January 2023, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway submitted a joint proposal to the European Commission to ban the production, sale, and use of PFAS, to address their impacts on public health. In July 2025, Denmark's EU Council president invited all EU environment ministers to take PFAS blood tests in order to raise further awareness of their initiative, and to spur conversation surrounding the prevalence of PFAS while they awaited ECHA’s opinion regarding the joint proposal (in order to draft legislation). 

While the European Commission further deliberates ECHA’s new recommendations, communities facing the brunt of PFAS pollution have sought quicker relief. This January, PFAS-impacted community members affiliated with the European Environmental Bureau (EBB) had their requests to meet President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, denied for the third time since 2023 due to “scheduling conflicts”, despite her apparent willingness to meet with leading industry executives. 

Middle East and North Africa

Written by Ansley Hovater

Syrian Alcohol Ban Leads to Social Outcry

Amidst the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, residents of Syria rallied on Sunday to protest the alcohol ban in Damascus, the nation’s capital. The groups present at the demonstration, both Muslim and Christian, argued that the implementation of this policy limited personal rights and threatened civil liberties. Following the protest, the Syrian government agreed to clarify and potentially modify restrictions on the policy.

Since December 2024 brought the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the remodeling of the Syrian governmental structure, restrictive policies have begun to spring out of the government. Beginning with laws mandating full-body swimsuits for women on the beach and the prohibition of women in the public sector wearing makeup to work, the Syrian government, headed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has restricted citizens' actions and therefore civil rights. 

The government established the alcohol ban in Damascus last week, also raising concern among those who fear that the government is shifting toward stricter social policy. Many protesters claimed that Syria, historically, has been a place where various religions and lifestyles lived in harmony, and that policies such as this threaten that balance. Demonstrators called for personal freedom and warned against government interference in the lives of citizens. Government officials responded by claiming that the policy was designed to maintain public order. However, many citizens still remain unconvinced. Transparency remains a top priority. 

The social stresses in Syria seem minor compared to the concerning conflict throughout the Middle East, but these domestic struggles show that, even while drastic and politically impactful conflicts steal the headlines, seemingly minor events play an important role in international affairs as well, determining the actions of each individual country’s leaders and thus influencing political decisions internationally.

North America

Written by Justin Cohen

Ignoring American Pressure to End Cooperation, Mexico Continues to Accept Cuban Doctors

Earlier this week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced her country will continue to accept assistance from Cuban medical workers amidst American pressure to end Latin American participation in the exchange program. Speaking to reporters, Sheinbaum stated, “It’s hard to get Mexican doctors and specialists to go out to many rural areas where we need medical specialists, and the Cubans are willing to work there.” 

Cuba has practiced extensive international medical outreach since the 1960s, with experts viewing the effort as both an attempt to bolster international goodwill and an important revenue source for the impoverished communist state. At the moment, an estimated 19,000 Cuban medical professionals are at work abroad on international brigades. American Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently described the program as “human trafficking,” stating that “[countries who accept the doctors are] paying this money to the regime…Virtually none of this money goes to these doctors.”

The recent push against the Cuban medical program is a part of the larger American effort to initiate regime change on the island. Mexico has been resistant to following the American lead on this issue, including by continuing to accept the medical exchanges and sending humanitarian aid to the country. Regardless, living conditions have almost entirely collapsed on the island as of late, with nationwide power outages occurring three times throughout March. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Written by Alex Whirley

Simandou 2040: Guinea’s High-Stakes Bid to Escape the Resource Curse

On March 5, 2026, Guinea’s national legislature passed a sweeping framework to manage an incoming influx of cash. Officials dubbed the initiative the “Simandou 2040 Master Plan”, outlining a strategy for sustainable socio-economic development that will fund 122 mega projects and mobilize an estimated $200 billion in investments over the next 15 years. The World Bank projects that Guinea’s economic growth will reach around 10% between 2026 and 2027, with mining sector expansion largely driving the increase.

The Guinean government wants to avoid the classic “resource curse,” where raw materials are exported while the country remains poor. The new laws mandate the creation of local steel transformation plants, a sovereign development fund for education, and multi-use infrastructure: this means that new railways will not just be used for transporting ore, they will be used for commercial and passenger transport too.

While a 10% GDP growth rate is incredibly impressive on paper, international institutions are offering a healthy dose of reality alongside the optimism. Despite this mining boom, Guinea’s poverty rate remains high at around 52%. Additionally, while mining is highly lucrative, it is heavily mechanized and does not create enough broad-based employment for the general population. 

The World Bank stresses that unless Guinea uses the Simandou tax revenues to aggressively fund non-mining sectors like agriculture and human services, this explosive GDP growth will not translate into prosperity for its citizens. “With the Simandou iron ore project poised to transform the economy,” says World Bank Group Country Manager Issa Diaw, “Guinea has a narrow window to ensure that the benefits of growth are widely shared.”