OwlBrief

Ukraine’s leadership said its forces have regained roughly 300–400 sq km of territory in southern Ukraine since the end of January 2026, alongside improved air defences that kept Kyiv’s power on despite recent drone and missile barrages.

Warner Bros Discovery signed a $110B acquisition agreement with Paramount Skydance on Feb. 27, 2026, after Netflix declined to match the PSKY offer, with the revised bid raising the regulatory-failure termination fee to $7B (from $5.8B) and including about $29B of debt.

The Pentagon mistakenly used a high-energy laser counter-drone system to shoot down a US Customs and Border Protection drone near the Mexico border, and the FAA issued temporary flight restrictions near Fort Hancock, Texas, in effect until June 24 (with potential early lift).

Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) has completed its acquisition of Tata Steel’s 115-acre ferrochrome plant at Kalinganagar, Odisha for Rs 707.26 crore, adding 100,000 tpa capacity with a ramp to 150,000 tpa when a fifth furnace is commissioned in ~1 year.

Sebi revised mutual fund rules to let actively managed equity schemes invest up to 35% of assets (after core equity requirements) in gold/silver instruments and certain other assets, while also tightening scheme classification norms and approving a new life-cycle/target-date fund category with 5–30 year maturities.

On February 27, 2026, NCERT issued an advisory directing individuals and organisations to return the withdrawn/banned Class 8 Social Science textbook to its New Delhi publication division and to delete related online/social media posts, following the Supreme Court’s ban and seizure order a day earlier.

The European Commission said the EU–Mercosur free trade agreement will be applied provisionally despite a pending EU top-court review, after Uruguay and Argentina ratified the deal on Thursday.

The European Commission said the EU–Mercosur free trade agreement will be applied provisionally after Uruguay and Argentina ratified it, even as the European Court of Justice review and the European Parliament’s final vote remain pending.

Hornby sold the Scalextric slot-car racing business and related intellectual property to Purbeck Capital Partners for £20m (announced Friday).

Basin Energy executed a Mineral Rights Purchase and Sale Agreement to sell 100% of the Marshall Uranium Project in Saskatchewan to Green Canada Corporation (a PTX Metals subsidiary), with Basin receiving 9.99% equity in a newly listed entity and retaining a 25% buyback option plus a three-year ROFR; GCC also received 9-month exclusivity on the North Millennium Project.

India’s Supreme Court dismissed appeals by Torrent Power, Jindal Power and Vantage Point Asset Management, upholding Sarda Energy’s ₹1,950 crore IBC resolution plan for SKS Power and noting the plan has already been approved and implemented.

INNIO Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire Enerflex’s aftermarket operations in Australia, Thailand and Indonesia, with closing expected in 2H 2026 subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

Venezuela’s Oil Ministry has suspended 19 oil and gas production-sharing contracts with private companies signed under President Nicolas Maduro, with PDVSA taking over sales of crude produced under the suspended deals (as of Feb. 26, 2026, per sources).

A US federal judge ruled the IRS violated Internal Revenue Code confidentiality rules by disclosing taxpayers’ last-known addresses to ICE approximately 42,695 times.

Plug Power executed a definitive agreement to sell its interest in the Project Gateway site in New York to Stream Data Centers for at least $132.5M (up to $142M), with closing targeted on or before end-June 2026 (long-stop June 30, 2026).

The Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court halted oil production at the Mittelplate platform in the north-eastern Wadden Sea, citing the absence of a required FFH (Flora-Fauna-Habitat) impact assessment and an unenforceable production permit, effective until further notice.

Einride raised $113M in a PIPE financing ahead of its public debut.

Tejas Networks signed an agreement with Japan’s NEC Corporation to manufacture and supply 5G massive MIMO radios.

Ecuador said it will raise tariffs on imports from Colombia to 50% from 30%, effective Sunday, escalating the bilateral trade dispute.

India’s DGCA amended airline ticket refund rules to require a 48-hour post-booking “look-in” window allowing cancellation or changes without extra fees (subject to conditions), added a 24-hour no-fee name-correction rule for direct website bookings, and reiterated airline responsibility to complete refunds within 14 working days even for agent/portal sales.

On Feb 26, 2026, the Kerala High Court issued an interim stay on the Feb 27 release of the Hindi film "The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond" and directed the CBFC to re-examine its certification after finding prima facie guideline non-compliance.

UN Climate Change approved the first carbon credits under the Paris Agreement’s UN-run market mechanism, tied to a clean-cooking cookstove project in Myanmar that will generate credits counted toward South Korea and Myanmar’s climate targets.

India will implement CAFE III corporate average fuel-efficiency/emissions norms on April 1, 2027, with final guidelines due by end-March and no timeline relaxation, and penalties applying for non-compliance by March 31 as targets tighten over time.

On Feb 24, the US Commerce Department issued a preliminary affirmative CVD determination setting a 125.87% countervailing duty on Indian crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, with a final determination scheduled for July 6.

China’s State Council issued a January 2026 national action plan updating its solid-waste framework to mandate recyclable packaging measures, tighten packaging design/labeling standards, and strengthen producer responsibility and enforcement through 2030.

On Feb. 25, 2026, a U.S. district judge ruled the Trump administration’s DHS policy of deporting migrants to third countries with no ties is unlawful and set it aside, while pausing the effect of his decision for 15 days to allow an appeal.

India’s oil ministry has directed oil companies to sell petrol blended with up to 20% ethanol (E20) meeting BIS specs and minimum RON 95 across all States/UTs starting April 1, 2026, with limited exceptions possible in special situations.

A US federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s rapid deportations of migrants to third countries unlawful and invalid because they did not provide an opportunity to appeal removal.

Engie agreed to buy UK Power Networks from a Hong Kong-based conglomerate for £10.5bn, transferring control of a major UK electricity distribution network serving 8.5m customers across London and southern/eastern England.

A US defense contractor, Williams, has been successfully convicted for leaking sensitive Western-made hacking tools to Russia, closing a high-profile leak case.

Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to phase down the legal standard workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030, with the reform set to start next year and allowing higher weekly overtime limits while leaving rest-day rules unchanged.

India’s Supreme Court held that Hamdard’s ‘sharbat rooh afza’ is classifiable as a fruit drink/processed fruit product under the Uttar Pradesh VAT Act, making it eligible for the lower 4% VAT rate rather than 12.5% under the residuary entry.

A US magistrate judge rescinded DOJ authority to examine data seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson and ordered a court-run search process instead, after finding prosecutors omitted key facts in the warrant application and rejecting DOJ’s proposed filter-team review.

The US Treasury issued a new wave of sanctions targeting ships it says are selling Iranian oil to fund Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

A U.S. district judge ruled DHS’s policy allowing rapid deportation of migrants to countries other than their own without a meaningful chance to raise persecution/torture fears is unlawful and struck it down, with the order stayed for 15 days to allow an appeal.

Zimbabwe suspended exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates with immediate effect and until further notice, including shipments currently in transit.

Ofgem cut Great Britain’s energy price cap by 7% for 1 April–30 June 2026, lowering the typical annual bill by £117 to £1,641.

The U.N. Security Council announced sanctions on four Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanders for atrocities linked to the October takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur.

The UK will make its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) mandatory from 25 Feb 2026 for nationals of 85 visa-free countries, including EU, US and Canada, with limited transit exceptions.

South Africa’s environment ministry set new policy direction for packaging/plastics EPR, tightening focus on performance metrics and flagging deposit-refund systems for underperforming material streams (20 Feb 2026).

The US Commerce Department set preliminary countervailing duties of 126% on solar imports from India (and 81%–143% on Indonesia/Laos) after finding unfair subsidies, with a final determination scheduled for July 6.

AI chip startup MatX raised $500M in new funding, per TechCrunch.

UK autonomous-driving startup Wayve raised $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and three automakers, valuing the company at $8.6B.

China’s Ministry of Commerce imposed export restrictions on “dual-use” items to 20 Japanese companies and institutions on Tuesday, prompting an official protest from Japan.

The Trump administration’s new 10% global tariff has come into effect, applied under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and layered on top of existing most-favoured-nation duties.

Trading houses have chartered multiple VLCCs for March loading at Venezuela’s Jose terminal—enabling larger export cargoes to India—and Chevron has sold a Venezuelan crude cargo to Reliance for the first time since Dec 2023, per ship data and sources.

India’s telecom regulator Trai cut 5G spectrum reserve prices by 7–37% across bands for upcoming auctions, proposed selling ~11,789.15 MHz across nine bands (₹2.10 lakh crore reserve), urged DoT to reclaim Aircel/Reliance Telecom/RCom spectrum in insolvency for re-auction, and set new lower pricing plus a 4-year payment moratorium for the 600 MHz band while keeping upper 6 GHz reserved for telecom but off the next sale.

The UK Government has designated Auckland-based Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (NZ) Ltd on its Russia sanctions list for alleged involvement in supporting Russia via business in the Russian energy sector, as a New Zealand police investigation into alleged breaches of NZ’s Russia Sanctions Act 2022 continues.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office fined Reddit £14.5 million for failing to implement robust age assurance, finding it unlawfully processed personal data of children under 13 (based on conduct before Reddit’s July 2025 UK age-check rollout).

Stripe said a new secondary transaction values the company at $159 billion, up from $91.5 billion in its February 2025 tender offer, with buyers including Thrive Capital, Coatue, Andreessen Horowitz, and Stripe itself.

New U.S. tariffs starting at 10% took effect today on about $1.2 trillion of imports for 150 days, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down key parts of earlier global duties.

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed ISPs to block access to five OTT platforms—MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel, and Jugnu—citing obscene content, under the IT Rules 2021 and Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.

India’s Cabinet (CCEA) approved raising Powergrid’s permissible equity investment per subsidiary to Rs 7,500 crore from Rs 5,000 crore, while keeping the 15% of net worth cap, to enable participation in more capital-intensive transmission projects.

The Bombay High Court quashed a December 2025 single-bench interim stay, allowing three public sector banks to proceed under RBI Master Directions to classify Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications’ accounts as fraud (judgment released Feb 24, 2026).

US Customs and Border Protection implemented a new across-the-board additional 10% tariff on most imported goods starting Tuesday, days after the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s prior tariff regime.

Uttar Pradesh signed an MoU with AISATS for ₹4,458 crore to build a cargo campus and air-catering kitchen at Noida International Airport (Jewar), alongside a separate MoU with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise on institutional capacity and policy frameworks.

Chhattisgarh presented a ₹1.72 lakh crore FY2026-27 budget and announced the launch of the Rani Durgavati Scheme paying ₹1.5 lakh to girls on turning 18.

Chad closed its eastern border with Sudan “until further notice” on Monday, citing repeated incursions by Sudanese armed groups after fighting erupted in the border town of al-Tina.

Panama’s government physically entered and took administrative and operational control of the Balboa and Cristobal Panama Canal ports from CK Hutchison’s subsidiary after a Supreme Court ruling last month.

On Feb. 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s most sweeping tariffs, limiting his ability to impose new import taxes unilaterally.

Lebanon’s cabinet increased petrol taxes by 300,000 Lebanese pounds per 20 litres and raised VAT by 1 percentage point to 12%.

Iran signed a €500 million contract in Moscow in December for Russia to supply Verba MANPADS launchers and 9M336 missiles.

On February 23, 2026, U.S. forces began withdrawing vehicles and equipment from the Qasrak base in Syria’s Hasakah province, according to Syrian military and security sources and witness accounts.

BPCL received an excise demand order totaling Rs 1,816.65 crore (duty, interest, and penalty) dated February 21, 2026 from the Central Tax and Central Excise Commissioner, Kochi.

The US FDA approved AstraZeneca’s Calquence (acalabrutinib) plus venetoclax as a first-line treatment for adults with CLL and SLL as the first all-oral, fixed-duration regimen.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will stop collecting tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act at 12:01 a.m. EST on February 24, 2026, and will deactivate the associated tariff codes.

Haryana has ordered all state departments and state-run entities to bank exclusively with public sector banks and has de-empanelled IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank for government business with immediate effect until further orders.

Russia imposed air traffic restrictions closing Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo airports on Feb. 22, 2026 until further notice after air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones near Moscow within an hour.

Haryana’s Finance Department de-empanelled IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank for all government business with immediate effect until further orders.

The Reserve Bank of India has built a greenfield high-security data centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to host core systems for currency management, payment and settlement operations, and regulatory data functions.

The US Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump’s tariff regime unlawful, nullifying it.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed under IEEPA for lack of statutory authority.

On Feb. 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to unilaterally impose broad tariffs was unconstitutional, invalidating those tariffs.

India formally launched an indigenously manufactured tetanus and adult diphtheria (Td) vaccine at CRI Kasauli and introduced it for supply under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

India and Brazil signed an agreement to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths on February 21, 2026.

India’s central government issued a notification requiring all antimicrobial drugs and preparations to carry a conspicuous blue vertical strip on packaging labels.

President Bola Tinubu issued an executive order preventing NNPC from collecting a 30% management fee on oil and gas revenues.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a new 10% worldwide tariff that he said will take effect “almost immediately” after the US Supreme Court struck down his prior trade measures.

President Karol Nawrocki vetoed legislation to restore the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) selection process to a judge-elected majority.

Poland withdrew from the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty on February 20, 2026.

The U.S. government moved to reimpose tariffs previously struck down by the Supreme Court by invoking a different statute.

The US Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling invalidating President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs imposed under a 1977 national-emergency law.

India’s Directorate General of Shipping granted a one-month interim extension allowing four Russian insurers and Sun UW MGA to provide protection and indemnity cover for ships calling at Indian ports until March 20, 2026.

Venezuela’s National Assembly unanimously approved and President Jorge Rodriguez signed an amnesty law that can free hundreds of jailed government detractors, with exclusions for cases tied to promoting foreign-backed armed action.

France will lower the vehicle weight-tax exemption threshold and apply steeper progressive weight and CO₂ purchase taxes starting January 1, 2026.

Karnataka’s Health Department ordered all blood banks in the state to secure NABH accreditation or NQAS certification within one year of the February 17, 2026 government order.

Reliance announced a $110B investment plan focused on AI and multi-gigawatt data center buildout, with 120MW expected online in H2 2026.

Johnson & Johnson selected Montgomery County, Pennsylvania for a new $1bn cell therapy manufacturing facility.

OpenAI has tapped Tata for 100MW of AI data center capacity in India, with an expressed target of scaling to 1GW.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corp and Uzbekistan signed a Joint Investment Framework to prioritize U.S.-backed investments across Uzbekistan’s critical-minerals value chain and propose a joint investment holding company.

Cochin Shipyard signed a $360 million supply agreement with CMA CGM to build and deliver six 1,700-TEU LNG-powered containerships.

The FDA reversed its prior refusal and will now review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application under a revised regulatory pathway.

The UK High Court ruled that Palestine Action should not have been proscribed as a terrorist organization.

Poland’s army barred Chinese vehicles from entering military facilities and extended access limits to any cars that can record location, video, or audio unless those functions are disabled.

FedEx announced an investment of over Rs 2,500 crore (over US$250 million) to build a 300,000 sq ft fully automated cargo hub at Navi Mumbai International Airport with Adani Airport Holdings.

Iranian media reported parts of the Strait of Hormuz were closed for a few hours on February 17 for security precautions as Revolutionary Guards drills were broadcast.

India tightened its content rules by requiring social media platforms to remove unlawful content within three hours of notification, down from 36 hours.

In early February, the Trump administration unveiled Project Vault, a public-private partnership backed by $10 billion in EXIM financing plus $2 billion in private funds to build a US-based strategic reserve of 60 critical minerals.

The Karnataka High Court set aside S.N. Subba Reddy’s election from Bagepalli, ending his MLA tenure, after finding he falsely declared “nil” tax dues despite ₹1.3 crore in property tax arrears.

Bangladesh’s Election Commission published official results showing the July National Charter 2025 was approved in the February 12 referendum with 60.26% voting “Yes” (over 48 million votes).